A few nice facts about animals images I found:
second life avatar
Image by freestone
I now have entered trying out SECOND LIFE and there I am, near the shelter area.
my new Avatar. me.
In my first life, I am 6' 2' and weigh about 135 lbs, and am tall and scrawny. A perfect "opposite" to me; In spite of the fact that this character looks like a currant living Indian Guru, who likes to wear an orange robe!!
I plan to explore worlds. All kinds of worlds and realms. I might not change too much my avatar, I read that prims and added attachments can slow down the fps!
Many of these worlds I can never ever visit, in my 1st life, I look forwards to experiencing these.
Second Life, this place might be a role model for what the afterlife is like! Will be like, as I hope that all of us will go there some day: the ultimate created worlds. In fact, I read that higher heavenly beings create the entry level heavens for us, each of us then adds the personal areas.
freestone
Intl Gay Rodeo Association
Image by dbking
Gay Rodeo History
It is a huge surprise to many that the gay community is involved in rodeo, but this being America and the fact that all of us are intrigued with our Western heritage, it only adds to the reality "We are everywhere!"
The gay community has found many creative ways to become involved with America in efforts to overcome the walls of prejudice. The "Imperial Court" system, which is active in many cities across America, asked their "Empress and Emperor" to raise money for charity. It was felt that raising money for the "Muscular Dystrophy Association" would make a statement for both our existence and our concern for our neighbors.
Reno Gay Rodeos
Emperor I of Reno, Phil Ragsdale, came up with one of the most creative ideas to raise funds. The year was 1975 and Ragsdale wanted to help out the local Senior Citizens Annual Thanksgiving Day feed. An amateur gay rodeo would be fun, raise money, and even erase a lot of gay stereotyping. Ragsdale did not find it easy to pull off this event. He did finally land the Washoe County Fairgrounds for October 2, 1976 and then could not get any local ranchers to allow gays the use of their animals. Finally, on October 1, 1976, he was able to locate five "wild" range cows, ten "wild" range calves, one pig, and a Shetland pony. The next day, "IT WAS RODEO TIME!" Over 125 people took part in this "first" event and the winners were crowned; first, "King of the Cowboys," second, "Queen of the Cowgirls," and third, "Miss Dusty Spurs" (the drag queen). It was great fun and a minor success.
Ragsdale added several new twists to the 1977 version of this rodeo/fundraiser. He founded the Comstock Gay Rodeo Association and his rodeo project became the National Reno Gay Rodeo. Following the Imperial Court's lead, Ragsdale added the "Mr., Ms., and Miss National Reno Gay Rodeo" contest to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The 1977 rodeo, although still small, with its new twists donated 4.00 to MDA under the name of "Reno Gay Liberation." The National Reno Gay Rodeo became a total new outlet for the gay community and created a dual party, "emerging Gay Liberation mixed into a Country/Western party" and "24-hour casinos." Dance troupes from the gay community found an arena to show off their stuff. Square dancing, clogging, formation line dancing, and the rebirth of the two-step made the nights into fabulous parties!
By 1980 a group out of California, the "Pacific Coast Gay Rodeo Association," had emerged with talented rodeo contestants. Fresno, California and Utah had presented some of the top contenders for the Mr., Ms., and Miss titles. Gay rodeo, and the parties surrounding the event, had gained a great foothold in America. Texas was the big state in 1981, bringing a host of fans in Texas T-shirts, a hot contender for All-Around Cowboy, and Mr., Ms., and Miss contestants, who by the way raised nearly ,000 for MDA. The Miss from Texas won the competition for Miss National Reno Gay Rodeo. With San Francisco only a short drive away, the underground gay network spread the word about this "party" and the audience in the grandstands grew to 10,000. Those who only came for the nightlife swelled the head count of gays in the city to over 40,000!
1982 was dominated by Colorado and brought another change to Ragsdale's rodeo: contestants who wanted standardized rodeo rules so they would feel that they were competing on an equal basis. Many contestants from the previous five years did not return for competition. The Mr., Ms., and Miss National Reno Gay Rodeo contestants were no longer comfortable raising large numbers of dollars just for MDA. Texas in particular was disappointed in this area and decided not to return in 1983.
So 1983's version of Mr., Ms., and Miss National Reno Gay Rodeo allowed contestants to designate 50% to MDA and 50% to a gay-related charity of their choice. Most chose the AIDS Foundation. 1983 also saw the largest number of dance groups ever assembled at a gay rodeo and the grandstands filled with over 12,000 people. The lack of consistent rules continued to create problems in the arena.
By 1984, the ninth and final National Reno Gay Rodeo still brought over 10,000 people to the rodeo grounds and thousands more to Reno for the gambling and nighttime parties. The IRS credits the demise of this rodeo to a dispute with Washoe County Fairgrounds and the Sands Hotel along with the purported seizure of the rodeo books. Nonetheless, Phil Ragsdale had made a major mark on gay history and introduced the renowned Rose Maddox and Joan Rivers to the emerging gay-Western lifestyle and kindled the flame in the hearts of many men and women scattered across the nation.
The Colorado Connection
Across the nation, the gay community began to set the tone for the "Urban Cowboy" phenomenon. Beginning in 1980, a popular disco called "The Broadway" in Denver introduced Country/Western nights with Ron Jesser teaching the two-step. It became so popular that the club dropped its disco format and catered strictly to this new country crowd and changed their name to "Broadway Country."
The city of Denver and the changing need for government buildings brought the "Broadway Country" to a roaring halt in January 1981 when the city gained control of the property for a new Justice Building. Denver's two-steppers were still hungry for a place to "do their thing" and one of the most ardent fans gambled his world to bring a country dance floor back to the gay community.
John King opened "Charlie's" in Denver in early June of 1981 and the urban cowboys were again happy. The underground gossip chain rumored that country bars were springing up all across the nation and believe it or not, a gay rodeo in Reno, Nevada. A handful of adventuresome cowboys from Denver decided to check it out and even if it wasn't true, Reno had great casinos. It proved true and a couple of the men even became contestants.
The boys from Denver saw an unbelievable mass of gay humanity coming together in Country/Western celebration. A couple of groups from San Francisco introduced Square Dancing (The Foggy City Squares), clogging (The Barbary Coast Cloggers) and a line dance called "Kaw-Liga." Rose Maddox belted out a theme that the gay community dearly loved, "Stand By Your Man." Everywhere you looked, the Pride of Texas was in front of you with great looking T-shirts and loads of enthusiasm. They had raised nearly ,000 for Muscular Dystrophy and their Miss candidate even won the title of Miss Reno National Gay Rodeo.
At the closing party in a jam-packed room at the Sands Hotel, the newly crowned Miss Reno National Gay Rodeo (Miss Texas) came face to face with Wayne Jakino. He couldn't move left or right and felt compelled to congratulate Miss Texas. She responded, "Thank you, and where are ya'll from?" Jakino said he was from Denver and Miss Texas chided, "Well, ya'll might as well of not shown up from all we have seen of you." Jakino let his mouth overload and snapped, "Yeah, but check us out next year!"
Excited about the Reno weekend, Jesser asked John King if Charlie's would allow a group to meet to talk rodeo. The first meeting saw Jesser, Jakino, and seven other men commit themselves to form the Colorado Gay Rodeo Association (CGRA) and return in force to Reno.
In just a little over a month, on September 13, 1981, the new association elected its first officers, with 42 people present, and make its first public appearance at a community fundraiser that evening. Jakino was elected Founding President and his memory burned with the taunting from Miss Texas. It was now "Reno or Bust!" time. It should be noted that the argument over placing the word "gay" in the name of the association had raged for a month before the election and for two months following at every bylaws ratification meeting.
Founding membership was held open on December 1, 1981 and hit 94 founding members. Thereafter, membership continued to climb. Surprisingly so, for historical purposes, this new rodeo group didn't even own a horse!
The next ten months were frantic and filled with enthusiasm. When August of 1982 rolled around, 270 CGRA members and over 150 supporters wearing shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Colorado Rides With Pride" arrived for the Reno National Gay Rodeo! This time they even had horses! The entourage included the first mounted gay drill team, the Mile High Square Dancers, the Denver Country Cloggers, candidates for the Mr., Ms., and Miss titles, and 43 rodeo contestants, which comprised two-thirds of the contestants for that rodeo.
Colorado contestants quickly learned that the rules of the rodeo arena changed from one minute to the next and learned from other returning contestants that this had been true in the past. The contestants voiced a wish for uniform rules in order to improve the quality of rodeo and more rodeos in which they could hone their skills.
Why not? A new challenge! Start another rodeo! Colorado returned home and talked rodeo. Practicality clearly indicated Colorado had not raised the amount of money that Texas had and additionally, Texas had a huge population base and an emerging political climate that Colorado could not match.
The Texas Connection
Colorado picked up the gossip from the underground network that there were great Country/Western bars with urban cowboys operating in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Having already made a few Texas friends in Reno, CGRA decided the road to another rodeo led through Texas. A Colorado delegation headed south in the fall of 1982 determined to talk Texas into forming an association and hosting a rodeo.
Wayne Jakino, Rich Rezac, John King, and Kenny Cunitz arrived in Houston and headed for "The Barn." Walter Strickler and Terry Clark operated the club. Both men had been very involved in the efforts to bring Texas to Reno. The "Brazos River Bottom" was the hot country-dance bar and the target for added support in the rodeo effort. Discussions were positive, but Houston leaders were very hesitant to go forward. The official answer was, "You stage a rodeo in Colorado and we will work hard to support you." If you ever bump into Rezac, Cunitz, or the security guard from the Allen Park Inn in Houston, be sure and ask about the "Ester Williams Midnight Synchronized Diving Exhibition!"
The Colorado delegation was not discouraged. San Antonio and the much-talked-about "Snuffy's Saloon" were just up the road. Ron Weaver and Swampy were great hosts and Snuffy's was hopping, but the official answer was, "You stage a rodeo in Colorado and we will work hard to support you."
The city of Austin was a short drive away, but the group hit this one cold turkey. The target was called "The Red River Crossing" and the people were really friendly. After a really good time, there was no official answer, but some really nice people said, "If Colorado does stage a rodeo, we will sure come to see it!"
Okay, so Fort Worth and Dallas were just up the road! A stop at "The 651 Club" in Fort Worth netted support from some really helpful cowboys and they escorted the group over to Dallas. It took all of two minutes in "The Roundup" to meet Tom Sweeney and Richard Montgomery. The Roundup was "The Mecca" for the "Urban Cowboy" and everybody was ready to rodeo, but not in Texas and not after Colorado had talked to Houston first. Colorado did get a very sincere official answer, "You stage a rodeo in Colorado and we will work hard to support you."
The delegation headed home to Colorado fully convinced. If the five largest cities in Texas were coming to the Colorado Rodeo, it was time to start organizing.
Back to the Colorado Connection
CGRA had little problem getting a vote of approval from its membership to stage a rodeo so the committee went to work. To be politically correct, the rodeo needed to be two months in front of the Reno rodeo, since that one was called the "National" Reno Gay Rodeo. As sort of preliminary competition and hoping to provide ownership of an event to a much larger area, the rodeo was established as the "Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo."
Everything was rosy, except that CGRA could not land rodeo grounds. The answer was a flat "NO" or more delicately phrased, the answer was, "and we would be delighted to book your rodeo. What date were you wanting?" or "Oh, that date isn't available!" Nor was any other date for the next ten years. Only days before the decision to postpone the rodeo, an attorney called with the cryptic message that Aurora, Colorado had a "non-discriminating" clause on the use of it's parks and that an unknown and run down little arena existed on the eastern edge of that city.
History records June 3, 1983 as the date that the Denver metropolitan area became the second location in the United States to stage a gay rodeo. As promised, Texas arrived with major support and additional contestants from California trekked across the country for the first Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo. Torrential rains hit the rodeo, but too much effort had been spent to let a little water stop the festivities. Colorado's membership topped 390 by rodeo time.
The Texas Gay Rodeo Association
Terry Clark and Walter Strickler asked the original Colorado delegates to return to Houston for the Gay Pride Celebration in late June 1983. If Colorado could provide the books from their rodeo validating that the rodeo had not lost money, they would invite all interested individuals in Texas to attend a meeting to form the Texas Gay Rodeo Association (TGRA). The Gay Pride Celebration was a success with a reported crowd of 54,000 lining the streets. The vote to proceed to form TGRA was also a success.
Within a few short months, Texas banded together a network inside their largest cities and forged the framework for a multi-city organization. A November 1984 date was targeted to stage the first TGRA rodeo and the search began for rodeo grounds, which were finally located in Simonton, 35 miles outside of Houston. Texas became the third state to stage a gay rodeo.
The California Connection
The "Urban Cowboy" phenomenon also appeared in California in the early eighties. While Fresno and the Bay Area were the most visible at the Reno rodeos, a loosely organized group called the "Pacific Coast Gay Rodeo Association" provided contestants for both the Reno and Colorado rodeos. Hundreds of men and women attended the Reno rodeos, but the man with the burning desire to organize California was in Long Beach.
Al Bell opened "Floyd's" in Long Beach, which became one of the best Country/Western bars in the Greater Los Angeles area. Bell and Pat McGrath traveled to Reno and Denver and became hooked. As we saw in Colorado and Texas, a mere handful of enthused people is all that is needed to put life into a new association. Bell invited folks from CGRA and TGRA to visit and McGrath leaped into organizing "Floyd's Cloggers," later to become one of the best-known dance troupes in the nation. The Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) officially organized in 1984 and set a rodeo date for the following March. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center, located in Burbank, became the site for the fourth state to host a gay rodeo. Dozens of dance teams from around the nation performed to huge crowds.
The Arizona Connection
Things were also shaking in Phoenix as early as 1982, when a small group traveled to the Reno rodeo and Tish Tanner won the title of Miss Reno National Gay Rodeo. Arizona would come to life in the fall of 1984 when King decided to open a second "Charlie's" in Phoenix. The bar opened in early November and since King and Kenny Cunitz lived and breathed rodeo, it was only a matter of weeks before the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association (AGRA) formed. In December 1984 the new group targeted January of 1986 for their first rodeo.
Arizona became the fifth state to host a gay rodeo and the event took place in the most unique arena facility on the south side of Phoenix: a Mexican Charro rodeo arena with an attached dance hall known as the Corona Ranch.
Would Gay Rodeo Have a Future?
With four rodeos now scheduled and more contestants joining each day, Jakino felt that an umbrella organization was needed to provide unity between the rodeos and fully standardized rules for the contestants, as well as guiding the growth of gay rodeo's future. Leaders from Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona were invited to Phoenix for a preliminary discussion. Jakino and Jesser from Colorado, Clark and Strickler from Texas, Bell and McGrath from California, and King and Cunitz from Arizona all agreed to proceed to organize the umbrella organization.
The Articles of Incorporation of the "International Gay Rodeo Association" were filed in Colorado and the four associations met again in March of 1985, in Denver, and elected a temporary board with Jakino presiding. A formal convention date was scheduled for September of 1985, again in Denver, to standardized rodeo rules and plan objectives for growth.
The Oklahoma Connection
The "Urban Cowboy" syndrome was alive in Oklahoma, too. Les Krambeal and Walt Rupprecht had been to Reno and owned a great bar in Oklahoma City called "The Bunkhouse." Krambeal made contact with CGRA members and asked for guidelines to help organize the Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association (OGRA) in the summer of 1985. When Krambeal learned that there was a scheduled convention to finalize a new organization in Denver that September, both Krambeal and Rupprecht lit every fire necessary to prepare the framework for OGRA and made plans to appear at this convention and ask for recognition of their state association.
OGRA was accepted at the IGRA convention in Denver and truly became the unabashed joyful child of the rodeo world. Friends from Colorado went to Oklahoma City often and OGRA's enthusiasm was contagious. By the fall of 1985, Oklahoma announced they had scheduled a rodeo for July 1986.
The International Gay Rodeo Association
With ten years of gay rodeo history already in the record books, a gathering of rodeo junkies gathered to formalize the future of gay rodeo in Denver in September of 1985. Nine months of preparation already had been invested in efforts to assure the continuity, growth, and heritage of the Country/Western lifestyle in the gay community. Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona were each represented by five delegates. The convention opened by recognizing the newly formed Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association and their four delegates.
The five founding states of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) elected Jakino as their Founding President and formally adopted the Articles of Incorporation in the state of Colorado. They ratified the bylaws, approved events, standardized rodeo rules, and committed the organization to the fostering of national and international amateur rodeo and other equestrian competition and related arts, crafts and activities which encourage the education on or preservation of "Country/Western" lifestyle heritage.
History has recorded 14 gay rodeos (nine Reno rodeos, three Colorado rodeos, one Texas rodeo and one California rodeo) prior to the formation of IGRA. The convention also scheduled the sanctioned rodeo season for 1986, running from November 1, 1985 to October 31, 1996:
Texas - November, 1985
Arizona - January, 1986
California - March, 1986
Colorado - June, 1986
Oklahoma - July, 1986
Convention - September, 1986 (in Denver)
During 1986, interest in gay rodeo continued to grow and Oklahoma passed their enthusiasm into surrounding states. The second IGRA Annual Convention in Denver welcomed and seated the Kansas Gay Rodeo Association (KGRA), the Missouri Gay Rodeo Association (MGRA), and the New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association (NMGRA). This convention also approved a new framework for the IGRA bylaws to allow future growth. They also accepted a bid from California to host the first IGRA Finals Rodeo in Hayward, California at the end of the 1986 rodeo year.
St Gerasimos (Gerasim)
Image by jimforest
(Here is a chapter about St Gerasimos from the new, revised edition (2008) of Praying With Icons.)
Among saints remembered for their peaceful relations with dangerous animals, not least is Gerasimos, shown in icons caring for an injured lion.
The story behind the image comes down to us from Saint John Moschos, a monk of Saint Theodosius Monastery near Bethlehem and author of The Spiritual Meadow, a book written in the course of journeys he made in the late sixth and early seventh centuries. It’s a collection of stories of monastic saints, mainly desert dwellers, and also an early example of travel writing.
In the fifth century, Gerasimos was abbot of a community of seventy monks who lived in the desert east of Jericho, not far from the River Jordan. They slept on reed mats, had cells without doors, and — apart from common prayer — normally observed silence. Their diet consisted chiefly of water, dates and bread. Gerasimos, in ongoing repentance for having been influenced by the teachings of a heretic in his youth, is said to have eaten even less than the norm.
One day while walking along the Jordan, Gerasimos came upon a lion roaring in agony because of a large splinter imbedded in one paw. Overcome with compassion for the suffering beast, Gerasimos removed the splinter, drained and cleaned the wound, then bound it up, expecting the lion would return to its cave. Instead the lion meekly followed him back to the monastery and became the abbot’s devoted companion.
The community was amazed at the lion’s apparent conversion to a peaceful life – like the monks, he lived now on bread and vegetables – and its devotion to the abbot.
The lion was given a special task: guarding the community’s donkey, which was pastured along the Jordan. But one day it happened, while the lion was napping, that the donkey strayed and was stolen by a passing trader. After searching without success, the lion returned to the monastery, its head hanging low. The brothers concluded the lion had been overcome by an appetite for meat. As a punishment, it was given the donkey’s job: to carry water each day from the river to the monastery in a saddlepack with four earthen jars.
Months later, it happened that the trader was coming along the Jordan with the stolen donkey and three camels. The lion recognized the donkey and roared so loudly that the trader ran away. Taking its rope in his jaws, the lion led the donkey back to the monastery with the camels following behind. The monks realized, to their shame, that they had misjudged the lion. The same day, Gerasimos gave the lion a name: Jordanes.
For five more years, until the abbot’s death, Jordanes was part of the monastic community. When the elder fell asleep in the Lord and was buried, Jordanes lay down on the grave, roaring its grief and beating its head against the ground. Finally Jordanes rolled over and died on the last resting place of Gerasimos.
It is a story that touches the reader intimately, inspiring the hope that the wild beast that still roars within us may yet be converted — while the story’s second half suggests that, when falsely accused of having returned to an unconverted life, vindication will finally happen.
The icon of Saint Gerasimos focuses on contact between a monk and a lion – an Eden-like moment before creatures were became a threat to each other. By the river of Christ’s baptism, an ancient harmony we associate with Adam and Eve before the Fall is renewed. At least for a moment, enmity is abandoned. A small island of divine peace has been achieved through a merciful action. The icon is an image of peace – man and beast no longer threatening each other’s life.
But is the story true?
Certainly the abbot Gerasimos is real. Many texts refer to him. Soon after his death he was recognized as a saint. The monastery he founded lasted for centuries, a center of spiritual life and a place of pilgrimage. He was one of the great elders of the Desert.
But what about Jordanes? Might the lion be a graphic metaphor for the saint’s ability to convert lion-like people who came to him?
Unlikely stories about saints are not rare. Some are so remarkable — for example Saint Nicholas bringing back to life three murdered children who had been hacked to pieces which were being boiled in a stew pot — that the resurrection of Christ seems a minor miracle in contrast. Yet even the most farfetched legend usually has a basis in the character of the saint: Nicholas was resourceful in his efforts to protect the lives of the defenseless.
Numerous accounts of the lives of saints show their readiness to offer hospitality to beasts.
In the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the most striking stories concerns a wolf. Francis was asked by the people from the town of Gubbio to help them with a wolf which had been killing livestock. Francis set out to meet the wolf, blessed it with the sign of the cross, communicated with it by gesture, finally leading the wolf into the town itself where Francis obliged the people of Gubbio to feed and care for their former enemy. It’s a remarkable but not impossible story. In the last century, during restoration work, the bones of a wolf were discovered within Gubbio’s ancient church.
There are reliable reports that both Saint Sergius of Radonezh and Saint Seraphim of Sarov each had friendly relations a local bear.
It is not unlikely that Jordanes was as real as Gerasimos. He seems to have been a man so Christ-like that fear was burned away.
In fact it has not been rare for saints to show such an example of living in peace with wild creatures, including those which normally make us afraid. The scholar and translator Helen Waddell once assembled a whole collection of such stories: Saints and Beasts. (Appropriately, the copy in our house is scarred with tooth marks in it left by a hyperactive puppy who was once part of our household.)
Apart from the probable reality of Jordanes, he happens to belong to a species long invested with symbolic meaning. In the Bible, the lion is mainly a symbol of soul-threatening passions and occasionally an emblem of the devil. David said he had been delivered “from the paw of the lion.” (1 Samuel 17:37) The author of Proverbs says a wicked ruler abuses the poor “like a roaring lion and a raging bear.” (Proverbs 28:15) Peter warns Christians: “Be sober and watchful, for you adversary the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Here the lion is seen as representing that part of the unredeemed self ruled by instinct, appetite and pride — thus the phrase “a pride of lions.”
In medieval Europe, lions were known only through stories, carvings and manuscript illuminations. A thirteenth century Bestiary now at the Bodleian Library in Oxford starts its catalogue of astonishing creatures with the lion. It is called a beast, says the monastic author, because “where instinct leads them, there they go.” The text adds that the lion “is proud by nature; he will not live with other kinds of beasts in the wild, but like a king disdains the company of the masses.” Yet the author invests the lion with a knightly qualities, claiming that lions would rather kill men than women and only attack children “if they are exceptionally hungry.”
Yet no one approaches even the most well-fed lion without caution. From the classical world to our own era, the lion has chiefly been regarded as danger incarnate — a primary example of wild nature “red in tooth and claw.” And yet at times the symbol is transfigured. The lion becomes an image of beauty, grace and courage. In The Narnia Chronicles, C.S. Lewis chose a lion to represent Christ. The huge stone lions on guard outside the main entrance of the New York Public Library seem to have been placed there as guardians of wisdom.
There is still one more wrinkle to the ancient story of Gerasimos and Jordanes. Saint Jerome, the great scholar responsible for the Latin rendering of the Bible, long honored in the west as patron saint of translators, lived for years in a cave near the place of Christ’s Nativity in Bethlehem. Only two day’s walk away was Gerasimos’ monastery. The name of Gerasimos is not very different from Geronimus – Latin for Jerome. Pilgrims from the west connected the story told of Gerasimos with Jerome. Given the fact that Jerome sometimes wrote letters with a lionish bite, perhaps it’s appropriate that Gerasimos’ gentle lion eventually wandered into images of Jerome. It’s rare to find a painting of Jerome in which Jordanes isn’t present.
-- Jim Forest
