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3rdWorldUSA's Homepage http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:31 EST Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:31 EST Zorpia.com On The Edge http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA/journal/1566797 On The Edge   Ducking down to avoid the rage meant for THEM but thrown at me I sit on the edge   Hiding behind fancy poems or unfinished prose to escape pointless conversation I sit on the edge   Watching you suffer my hand is refused my love cannot cure my words salt your wounds I sit on the edge   You think my smiles are a mockery of your tormented soul comfortable in the company of its demons you stay just out of reach I sit on the edge   You mistake me for a mindless fool because I choose not to step in bullshit You see my strength as denial You forget what connects us and go to bed without me I sit on the edge   I sit on the edge of who I am, wondering: should I jump into the stagnant pool of hopelessness just to keep you company?   Â© 2006 Rhonda Lee Richoux   Personal http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA/journal/1566797 Mon, 24 Jul 2006 02:00 EST Changed By Love: A Personal Manifesto http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA/journal/1566351 <h3 style="MARGIN: auto 0in; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">Changed By Love A Personal Manifesto I've had bad things happen to me in my life, but I will not use that as an excuse to act badly. I choose to get my energy from the goodness I've been exposed to. I choose not to feed on the negative forces that have surrounded me at different times in my life. I choose love over hate, not because I am naive and innocent, but because I've seen what hate does to a soul. I will not have that inside me! I will respect my elders, because they have tread the path before me and made it easier. I will respect my peers, because I know we each have our battles to fight, our obstacles to overcome, our heartaches. I will respect the children and young adults in my life, because they still have to travel the hard parts that are behind me now. I offer myself to them to lead when they need guidance, and to serve when they are broken. I will live my life as honestly as I can, reflecting daily on my actions and my motives to see if I could have done things differently and achieved a better result. I will always strive for better results, even in those small things that no one else will ever see. On the other hand.... I will not be so uptight about my life that I forget how to smile, how to laugh, how to forgive, how to apologize, how to rest, how to dance, how to have a water fight, how to love my cat even when I have to scoop up her shit. I am happy because I choose to be. I am beautiful because I choose to see myself that way. I am content to embrace my imperfections. In my youth, I always held myself up to an impossible standard, and set myself up for one failure after another. I refuse to do that to myself ever again. This life is not long, it is not easy, but it is the only life I have. As Jimi Hendrix once said, "I'm the one that's gotta die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to." (If 6 was 9) I choose to believe in God, to love my country, to look for the lesson in every trial, to look for the good in every person. I refuse to be changed by evil. I choose to be changed by love.</h3> Rhonda Lee Richoux 2004   Personal http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA/journal/1566351 Sun, 23 Jul 2006 02:13 EST Is "SexySuzy19" really a 55 yr old man? http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA/journal/1542807 Recent developments on MySpace have cast a shadow on my overall enjoyment of online communications.  I initially got on MySpace because I, and my entire family, lost our homes to hurricane Katrina, and were scattered all over the country. The kids in the family came up with the idea of keeping in touch and sharing photos through MySpace.  That's how it all got started.Being a writer, and unemployed special education aide (no schools to work at down here), I also found enjoyment in visiting the pages of writers and poets.  That's how I became acquainted with the MySpace profile of Silver-Jouie Goy.  A writer/music promoter friend I had been communicating with referred me to her page.  After reading her profile and blog, I came to believe, as everyone else did, that she was a young woman who had a life-threatening illness, was a virgin, and because of her failing health, wanted to lose her virginity before she died.  yeah, when it's all said in one sentence, it reeks of "hoax".  But this chick-or-dude was smart. You'll see what I mean in a minute.She started off shy and not giving out too much information.  She hinted at an illness.  She even had "friends" planted within her game who helped her to appear to be a real person.  Her "best mate" was a Dorota Dinte; her "brother" was Copper-Jacob Goy. Both Dorota and Copper also communicated with Silver's growing list of friends, visited their blogs, commented on them.Then, the sweet shy Silver announced to one of the real people on her friends list that she was very ill, and wanted to lose her virginity, but because she had had no experience of any kind, she didn't know how to go about meeting people and getting advice.  This real friend suggested she post her intentions in her blog, and talk about her journey into sexuality.  He assured her that most people would be willing to give her advice, keep her from hooking up with creeps, etc.  Thus started "The Virgin Diaries".When she began to blog her first experiments with intimacy, the blog caught on like a fire.  Thousands of people viewed and commented.  I observed, never commenting myself. I was uncomfortable with some of the details she shared, but impressed that a young woman would be so open about it.  I was even more impressed with the coments posted after each chapter.  Here were people from all over the world, encouraging her, consoling her, giving advice.  These real people built friendships with "Silver", sending messages, talking about many things other than sex, the every day things that friends chat about.  A few of them became very attached to this person.Then, just before she was supposed to meet an online male friend and lose her virginity, she "died".Her fake family announced the death on her blog, thanked the many people who helped her through her "final days", and announced that there would be no funeral, just a service at her home in Buckingham.  The young woman supposedly lived in the UK. They even sent a recorded "final message" to one of her most loyal online supporters.  In lieu of flowers, they said, "Silver" wanted money sent to one of her favorite charities...a name and address were given for the charity.MySpace filled up with sadness, memorial blogs, a great sense of loss among her admirers.  I felt so bad for my friend who had become so close to her.  Then, things got fishy.Her profile was shut down a couple of days later.  Then, so were Dorota's and Copper's. People who had attempted to find some news in the local papers of her death found nothing. None of the people involved in the scam were in any directories; Google only referred you to her shut down MySpace profile.Silver had referred a friend to Zorpia.  She has a profile on here, still up and running.  Apparently, she did not get the attention on Zorpia that she got on MySpace.  I've written to her, posted comments on her page, no response yet. I've written to some people on her 'friends' list.  One replied that he had added her as a friend, but had not corresponded with her.  None of the others responded to me.I posted the story on several forums. No one has repliedThis scam was intelligent, complex, intriguing and entertaining. But it was also morally corrupt, because, while they were playing a game, the people who opened their hearts to "Silver" are REAL PEOPLE, WITH REAL FEELINGS.  Some of them have had to experience grief twice: first, on the event of her "death", and then, on the event of the second death, the knowledge that "Silver" was never real. Now, her large list of friends are suspicious of each other: "Was it him? Did he put up this profile?" "Was it her? She seemed to have a lot of comments on Silver's blog".  It's a messed up circus now, with no one knowing who to trust.I have no problem with friends participating in role playing games online, pretending to be someone else to see what kind of people will respond, and to find amusement in the kind of responses they get.  What I object to are people like "Silver" and her buddies who use something as emotionally provocative as illness and death to draw good, kind, caring people in just to laugh at them. While I'm online just for a good read, a good conversation with someone, a good laugh (there are so many funny people on MySpace!), many, MANY people are online because they are lonely, isolated, need a friend.  I don't like to see people like that hurt.Now, I'm wondering who I'm chatting with.  Is "Tommy" from Ontario really a middle aged housewife from Iowa just having fun with people? Is "SexySuzy19" really a 55 year old slob named Bubba jerking the guys around while he and his buddies sit back with a beer and laugh their asses off?Since I have my own man (damn sexy, too), and am more interested in reading a person's writing and poetry than forging meaningful relationships with people I will never meet, I don't give a rat's ass if that poem by "Lola" is really a poem by "Larry", so long as it's a good poem and catches my attention.  But those of you who allow yourselves to become emotionally involved with the people you meet online, just remember to see it for what it is: a tool.  If it is your only means of meeting people and having any kind of intimacy, you need to get out more.  Or buy some more tools.Be careful, my friends.  We hide behind the anonymity of the internet.  Most of us are good people, and would make damn good friends/lovers/mates.  But then there are those who will play you for a fool, and destroy your faith in people.Enough said. Just wanted to share. ~ Rhonda Computer & Internet http://www.zorpia.com/3rdWorldUSA/journal/1542807 Wed, 07 Jun 2006 20:47 EST