Howdy

[PaintmePlum]

...ok, so not to good at these intro things, but I shall do my best. Hello! My name is Plum (er, Rachel - although I like Plum more lol) I'm 20 and I hail from Lubbock Texas (originally from Brenham, but I'm here for school). I am a sophomore studying microbiology although I'm currently taking a year off to get some things sorted out in my life and to get all of my Army training out of the way before I  go back to school.

 A little bit about my background; I had a very interesting childhood. I was home schooled and raised by two hippies, one of whom (me mum) was highly interested in Native American religions and considered herself Pagan (minus a very short period of about a year and a half when she decided to go hardcore Christian...that was interesting  

I have a lot of interests though, I love to read - mainly books on history or science (biology is my favorite though  :banna: *is having way to much fun adding smilies everywhere....*

It's a pleasure to be here and I look forward to meeting all of you!

-Plum

[rlrose328]

Welcome, Plum... first, I'm sorry you lost your mom at such a young age.  I lost my dad 3 years ago (when I was 42) and that was hard enough.  And I felt the same about his passing... not to say it was hard and wow, I shed plenty of tears because I'll miss him, but just to know that his physical body is no longer is pain and that he had 3 good painfree months before he died has to be good enough.  I have wonderful memories of him with his grandson the last few years and I'll always cherish those. He's alive in my memory.  

Finally, I'm curious... in your studies, in the field you're in, do you find many hard-core believers?  Just a thought I had.   :hmm:

Anyway, welcome!  

[curiosityandthecat]

Welcome, Rach. I'll admit, I want to give you a big hug.  

[jcm]

It's a pleasure to be here and I look forward to meeting all of you!

-Plum

I'm glad to see this forum continues to attract friendly and interesting people. Welcome.

[SteveS]

Hey Plum - welcome on board!

[Tom62]

Hi Plum, welcome  to the club.

... I drink more coffee than can possibly be good for me, ...

If that's American coffee then it doesn't  count, if you are drinking what I normally drink then better watch out! I always have to stir my coffee very quickly because otherwise the spoon would melt.

[McQ]

Welcome, Plum. Thanks for sharing your background. My dad died from cancer when I was 17. I hate the cliche, but I know a bit how you feel.

You do have an interesting past, for sure! Glad to have you here. Jump right in!

[dodgecity]

Hey Plum, nice to meet you.

[PaintmePlum]

Finally, I'm curious... in your studies, in the field you're in, do you find many hard-core believers?  Just a thought I had.

Thank you for the warm welcome!
Way more than you needed to know in your intro thread! I apologize!
Again, welcome.

[Msblue]

Hi Plum. Nice to "meet" you!

Can I pile on the cliche? I also know how you feel, my Dad died suddenly when I was 21. I experiencd a bit of what you did. The usual "he's in a better place" nonsense. People who would say I'll pray for you (or him) instead of actually doing something to help. It's become a pet peeve of mine. If Christians know someone when they die, straight to heaven. If someone is gay or an Atheist (like my father) they're hell-bound but, I digress.

Well aboard!

*Hugs* Yeah....watch out, I'm a hugger. Lol. I don't mind hearing that kind of stuff at all. In fact, I appreciate every single one of you who has shared their personal experiance with death as well, it's comforting to know that I'm not alone and that other people have gone through what I've gone through. It's not easy for anyone to talk about, although I think it should be ok to talk about death in this day and age, it's just that most people don't want to admit there is an "elephant in the room" (has anyone else heard that poem?). It's even nicer to know that I'm not the only person who had to go through the multiple "comforting" experiances of being told that "god wanted my mother back" or that "she's with god now, or in heavin now" ect. ect.

Just a thought, but did any of ya'll go through that crazy christian gathering phenomenon as well? Maybe it's just because I'm in a bible belt, but when my mom died an enormous amount of christian friends (most of them actually strangers) showed up at our front door and smothered up with attention (and food...I ate a lot of donuts that week. Why donuts, I don't know...)  for about a week and then in the blink of an eye dissapeared? I don't know if it was just me that that happened too, but I realized when mom died that there is a very unhealthy outlook on death in America and specifically the christian culture.

Can I pile on the cliche? I also know how you feel, my Dad died suddenly when I was 21. I experiencd a bit of what you did. The usual "he's in a better place" nonsense. People who would say I'll pray for you (or him) instead of actually doing something to help. It's become a pet peeve of mine. If Christians know someone when they die, straight to heaven. If someone is gay or an Atheist (like my father) they're hell-bound but, I digress.

Well aboard!

[MommaSquid]

Thank you all very much for the welcome!! I feel all warm and fuzzy now  :banna:

[myleviathan]

Welcome, Plum. My old pastor was originally from Lubbock, TX. His name is Dr. Hayes Wicker. He's an ass-face.



This is after plastic surgery. He looked like more of an ass before - this picture kind of makes him look human.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the forum.  

[PipeBox]

Hiyas Plum!  Welcome to my favorite forum!

I'm saddened by what happened to your mom, but glad to see you have made your peace with it.  I'll leave it at that, as my experience and communication skills would fail if I attempted to speak further.

As far as your field of study, we here at happyatheistforum.com find your intelligence and experience promising.  Your mind will be added to that of the collective.