Maybe you guys could help me out on this one.

You see, I have this buddy named Tteve Torbes. He is a HUGE fan of the Winter Olympics, and started a Winter Olympics forum, much like this one. Unfortunately, things didn't work out like he had hoped.

You see, Tteve's forum used to be AWESOME! People would sign in and talk about the Winter Olympics all day long. You could find helpful information, take part in various polls, and even get results from other parts of the globe. Sometimes Tteve got a little out of hand with his moderating, but overall it was a great forum for all the participants.

Unfortunately, Tteve's forum isn't so great anymore. Ever since the Winter Olympics were over in 2002, there has been a great dropoff in the topics dedicated to the Winter Olympics. I can't understand for the life of me why people won't post about the Winter Olympics as much as they did when the Winter Olympics were going on.* It seems like people have moved on and there just aren't as many newsy events related to the Winter Olympics. Sure, there is a dedicated group of Winter Olympics fans who like to joke around, and they post about the Winter Olympics whenever they can, but for some reason the forum isn't about the Winter Olympics 100% of the time anymore.

If someone (preferably Cody Bell, Lent Brane, or Mr. Furches) could please tell me why there isn't as much posting about the Winter Olympics on my buddy Tteve's Winter Olympics forum, I would really appreciate it.

*sorry to dangle a preposition here, but I didn't want to confuse anyone.


Wrestling related news: **Lee Woodford has won KWCA Coach of the Year Honors at least twice, with his latest award coming in 2004. Congrats, Coach.**

Prant, you seem to make an assumption that because I ask a question I am opposed to witty banter, or maybe not, you obviously need to read some of my replies to some of the posts earlier on other threads. Frankly, according to the one question on the poll I asked, I am a little surprised that the, run some off attitudes are winning the poll as strongly as they are, especially since many of those people probably don't have the alias names and multiple votes that I am aware that some do. (I am still trying to figure out how to do that on my computer, I guess I'm just not savvy enough.) A serious concern I have is when people become afraid of open discussions, for whatever reason, then we loose some aspects of integrity. On the flip side I am also concerned when people don't want to allow some to have some legitimate fun, during this time of year. I don't think it hurts as long as personal attacks and really bad language, whatever that is, is not abused.

The answer to your question though is that I doubt the forum you mention exists, but if it did maybe, there wouldn't be a lot of difference than what we see here. I would hope that next time before including me in on the assumptions that I am opposed to the banter and wit that you would at least make the effort to clarify that particular point. If asking a question is the opposition you alluded to you know what many say about making assumptions. If not give me a private email and I'll be glad to spell it out for you.

Speaking of allegories, I, Dante Alighieri, wrote the greatest one of all time: _The Divine Comedy_.

Sometimes Tteve would go to the pear tree to shake it a little. You see, when the pear would fall he would get a delicious fruit for which he could eat for up to 3-4 months. He didn't shake the tree all the time, only when he wanted the fruit. But when he wouldn't shake the tree, the fruit would rot and go to waste. Well this was alot of work for Tteve so instead of shaking the tree he left the rotten pears on the tree. One day a rotten pear hit Tteve on the head as he was walking by and he let out a curse that the little neighbor kids could hear. Now he knew better, heck, he went to church and the pastor told him cursing was bad, but in his moment of stupidity he let out that curse. But he cursed and it felt good. The only witnesses were little kids, so what would the harm be? He would shake the tree and curse. Probably let out a little anger because he wasn't talking about the Olympics. But Tteve had a problem. The cursing got worse and now he had to deal with the neighbor kids repeating his words. But then Tteve thought, heck that tree is my tree and I can do whatever I want. The kids and the rules be darned. In fact, I won't shake the tree; I will just leave the rotten fruit up there and curse all I want, because after all it is my tree. The wise older gentlemen who had a window across from the tree sat and observed Tteve and his pear tree. Every once in awhile, he would go and pluck some of those rotten pears and throw them away. He was not asked to do this by Tteve, but he did it anyway; "for the betterment of the neighborhood" he said. There were less rotten pears for Tteve to curse at and it made his world a little bit nicer. "Instead of cursing, Tteve could be a good role model for the kids playing in the street. All would be fine and dandy," thought the older gentleman. But one day the older gentleman witnessed something odd. Tteve had an ax and he was madly hacking at the tree and letting out more curses and insults than the older gentleman could bear. He even called the neighbor kid Nigel an idiot. What did Nigel do to him? Sure, Nigel poked fun at Tteve for wasting his time with that rotten pear tree, and he even disagreed with everything that TTeve said, but really what did he do? Tteve would even invite his friends over to curse at the tree and call it and the neighbors names. They all for some reason picked no Nigel too. Maybe Nigel had it coming, but those friends of Tteve were really viscous and mean to Nigel. Finally the older gentleman had to ask Tteve what the problem was. Tteve quaintly replied, "I am bored, that's all". Poor Tteve didn't realize how many neighbors enjoyed the beauty of that tree. He only cared about himself. The wise old gentleman told Tteve that he should leave the tree alone and it would grow fruit again, but again Tteve didn't care. The tree was dying and the people that enjoyed the tree hated to see it. Something had to be done. The wise old gentleman and the neighborhood decided that Tteve should not be allowed to see the tree again and maybe things would get better. He had plenty of warnings, he knew the rules, and he just didn't care. He would ruin it for everybody. Then one day the neighborhood woke up and found the tree alive again. Tteve had left the neighborhood and the petty cursing and name-calling stopped. It was a glorious day for the neighborhood. The neighborhood missed Tteve because of his humor that he would share with it, when he wasn't cursing. But they all agreed that the neighborhood would be better without Tteve than with his cursing and name-calling. And that my friend is the rest of the story. If banning cursing and outright insults is wrong, then the wise old gentleman doesn't want to be right.

Wow, allegories are fun! Well done, Loach.

Mr. Furches-I apologize for including you. I think the poll is so one-sided simply because most of the high schoolers have left by this time. And I'd give you my email so you could "spell everything out" for me, but your spelling was quite atrocious, and I don't think my 2nd place in the spelling bee eyes could take it.

And excuse me, Aante Dalighieri, but I don't think the Divine Comedy is an allegory. It is merely epic poetry. (And beeeeautiful epic poetry at that, I might add. Thanks, Hofstra!)

Finally, Loach, I have something to add to your wonderful little story:

Apparently the "wise" (that's a matter of interpretation) old man only looked out his window at select times. If insults were such a problem, as the old man stated, he must have turned a blind eye to the neighbor boy Nigel. In fact, Tteve even heard the old man call Nigel a name or two. In fact, Tteve even came to Nigel's defense when some of the neighbors started a "ban Nigel" petition. Sure some of the stuff Tteve said wasn't nice, but Tteve is only a high school student, and a lot of the adults in the neighborhood forget this and judge him. Plus, the adults in the neighborhood knew Tteve had a problem--they could easily dodge the pears he threw.

And so, Tteve was banned from the pear tree. The tree is very beautiful, no one argues this, but many of the neighbors believe all pears, even rotten ones, are delicious. We must look at all the neighbors' perspectives--true, these pears were rotten, but were they not delicious to those who had nothing to eat? Just because some of the neighbors had a taste for only the nicest pears doesn't mean the ugly ones weren't delicious in their own right.

Many of the neighbors were sad to see Tteve go. Even more unfortunate is the fact that many neighbors were out of town when Tteve was banned, and won't know where he is when they get back. In fact, some would argue that because the old man gave Tteve the boot, he acted as a "dictator," and was practicing "oppression."

There was once a small boy named Demetrius that loved his hometown. He loved it to the point of absurdity. His hometown was Abilene. Everyone hated him. He was a to the

THE END

"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy."

"Einstien"

A computer in Prant's case with a little controversy. Fight the fight oh fearless one.

Apparently, I needed more time to run a spell check, which I have done now to correct my 3 errors. By the way, I never even entered the spelling bee. I also know the reason you received 2nd in the spelling bee, you have one of those misspells in your own lot. I have corrected mine just to show that I can admit my mistakes. One more thing, this Mr. Furches stuff has to stop. I consider that a vicious insult and I might be forced to turn you in to the know all forum police. I know that you are trying to be respectful, at least I think that is the case, but just Mike, PLEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEEE? Now my attempt at the little allegory forum style with a Seuss style rhyme.

I am reminded of the time that smoking was banned from the club. Some got upset, they didn’t like the rub.

"I'll never be back, I’ve been unarmed. All of these rules it’s like we’ve been harmed"

Some complained with a “umph” and a “grumph.” “I’m going to leave I’ll remember the month.”

It wasn't long before some came back. Prant’s an example he gave some a whack.

Why mean, bad, Prant even went on the attack. He even gave smack with sharp wit and tack.

There was probably others looking in too, but being rebellious they didn’t know what to do.

Going to the house what do I do, Dad, Papa Juby he has this new rule.

You see some homes are just not the same, but instead of seeing that some want to throw blame.

While some homes are brass, and some homes are glass, smoking still stinks even worse than Furches gas.

That’s not to say that it’s wrong to pass gas, just do it outside where there’s wind and there grass.

You see there’s a place, and there is a time, just don’t break the rules or you’ve committed a crime.

Exactly what will everyone do? Some will sit back and go boo-hoo. Others may say, “Enough we are through.”

Some will say, lets promote our house. It is as worth it as a good, loving, spouse.

So many came back to the house they loved, and for most they weren’t even shoved.

Some gave up habits and smoking was one, and once the smoke cleared, there was the bright Kansas sun.

Only a high school student, I was only a high school student once. I did some things that people probably did not agree with. Once I was told to stop, I stopped. Just because one is only a high school student it doesn't give them a blank check to act the way that many have on this forum and have caused so many problems. That's like saying the drunk driver that killed the passengers in another car should be allowed to walk free because he was "drunk" and therefore should not be held accountable for his actions. Although this may seem an extreme comparison to you, it should hit the point home. At some point high school students (and all of us) are accountable for our behavior and following the rules that are previously established. Have fun, but don't whack at the tree as if there were no consequences. Language is not a big deal to some; we all know the words, what they mean and how they are to be used. Most people know that there is a time and a place for those words and I believe that this is neither the time nor the place. I am certain most will agree with me on this. Yes, it is spring time. The birds are flying, trees are getting green and not much wrestling is taking place. Does that mean the forum should just stop all together? No, but one can only take so much of Manhattan this, and Nigel that. Things were escalating to a point of delinquency and disregard for what the forum was intended to be. And quite frankly, it was becoming an embarrassment. Maybe my actions of moving some topics were a little drastic but the results were very well appreciated. And I did not ban Jhris. I didn't even call for his banning, although he went too far. I left that to someone else to do and many will agree that it was a necessary step. How about we all try to have some fun with keeping in mind that we in some way or another are brothers of a family? In the end we are all (mostly) wrestlers who should support each other and carry each others banners. The chest thumping is over. The state champions have been congratulated (congratulations). Move on get over it. Have fun but be responsible.

P.S. Words like **** and *** and a$$ need to stop. Most of the people that read the forum are not stupid and know what those words are. I said most people, there are a few who don't get it but we call them special.

Actually, I was speaking to the attacks on Jhris when I mentioned that he was only a high school student. Of course he has to be accountable, but for some people (many of them adults) to get on here and lambast a kid is wrong. Old people are supposed to be wise and forgiving, but some of them were even more childish than Jhris himself in their attacks. He's a freaking high schooler on a high school forum. Relax.

And I don't think you all are getting the Winter Olympics reference. (Loach, you got it. Congrats. Perhaps we should form an allegory writing business.)

Mr. Garker,

I must say that I am absolutely flabbergasted at the fact that you say _The Divine Comedy_ is not an allegory. The definition of an allegory is using symbolism in order to instruct. You cannot get more symbolic and this is certainly an instructional poem. I will have to claim ignorance as to whether or not this would be considered an epic, however, it seems odd to put it in the same category as _The Iliad_ or _The Odyssey_. You have obviously taken a class on it recently, so I will assume you are correct on that front.

Side note: I commend you for taking a class that reads _The Divine Comedy_. Do you know what you will end up majoring in?

Mr Alighieri--

I still do not believe the Divine Comedy is an allegory. There are much symbolism to be found, and it is a criticism of many things, but if you could give me examples of how it is an allegory, I would much appreciate it.

And to define epic poetry--we must look at the hexameter of Dante's writing. Combine the hexameter with one huge-A book (a whopping 100 cantos!), throw some Latin in there and boom. Epic poetry to the max.

Needless to say, I think we have established in this topic that allegories are fun. Sadly, my buddy Tteve's Winter Olympic forum problem has not been solved.

P.S. Mr Alighieri- you dangled a preposition, my friend. You should ask, "Do you know what subject in which you will major?"

P.P.S. Political science.

Mr. Garker,

I apologize for the dangling of a preposition. It was a ludicrous oversight on my part.

As pertains to our topic of whether or not _The Divine Comedy_ is an allegory, I will refer to someone who knows more than you or I do. His name is Mr. Archibald T. MacAllister, a professor at Princeton. This excerpt comes directly from the introduction of the John Ciardi translation of _The Inferno_.

“_The Divine Comedy_ is also an allegory. But it is fortunately that special type of allegory wherein every element must first correspond to a literal reality, every episode must exist coherently in itself. Allegorical interpretation does not detract from the story…Many readers have, indeed, been thrilled by _The Inferno’s_ power with hardly any awareness of further meanings…” (Page xiv)

Coach Lane:

Well done! I am humbled by your tale! That will take some time to match!

Dante, you commend Prant taking a class that reads the _Divine Comedy_ in college? Come on...our school reads it in sophmore English.

LancerM,

You are correct. However, we only read _Inferno_. There are still two other sections: _Purgatorio_ and _Paradiso_.

And to clear up all confusion, my name used to be Stephen Daedalus.

Yes, I know that it is but one part.

And I also figured that it was you, but the early member number made me wonder. I didn't know that you had ever made this name. Interesting...

Also, it turns out I tore my ACL and may have damaged the meniscus, we'll see when the MRI results get back. The doctor had no idea how I wrestled on it. Oh well though, I guess I get surgery soon. Bummer man.

Poor BKP can't say anything without it being edited, I think thats a strong indication that anything he has to say on this forum probably isn't appropriate, perhaps he needs his ban back so he can join his friend Jhris.

perhaps you're an idiot....maybe u need ur post editied or edited is how it should be spelt

Loach edited it only as much as necessary, any individual versed in forum lingo will know what was said anyway. Also, can you put extra cheese on my beef and cheddar please?