Ooh that sounds delicious, bonny. And healthy and filling, too!

I also love a tuna steak. Or sashimi.

You can get updates by googling her name and clicking 'news'.

If her family is posting updates to Facebook, unless they specifically stated they did not welcome comments, then people are going to comment as they react to the news. That's how Facebook works. Is her brother new to Facebook?

t edit And after reading bonny's post -- maybe I'm misunderstanding. Bonny, did *you* post stuff about the PanAm flight and get responses, or did people read about it elsewhere and then send you messages? Because I feel like the 2 are very different things in terms of creating a space for interaction. It sounded like Laga's friend's brother was posting first, and people were replying. Which is different, to me, than people reading about the news and then sending him messages. Perhaps I mis-read.

I feel like posting on Facebook creates a space for discussion, and one should choose one's topics carefully if one does not wish a discussion to take place.

I agree that the comment that she was pretty is kind of off-topic, but if the other people were just saying they hoped for good news, etc. -- those comments don't sound inappropriate to me. (Also, and this is purely my perspective, *if* I posted news of that sort on Facebook and absolutely no one responded, I would be fucking hurt. I would think that no one gave a shit about my family's tragedy.)

I know it's very personal to you, and seeing it as a topic of discussion must be jarring. But, as an outsider, it sounds to me like most people are just trying to post supportive things.

Yeah I get that they are trying to be supportive and I am probably too close to it. Most people are posting that their thoughts and/or prayers are with the family. Now that I think about it, my sister would be annoyed to see people say "I'm praying for you". Some people are too sensitive. Have you heard about the time she sneezed in Starbucks? A stranger said, "God bless you." M replied, "I'm an atheist." "All right then, go to hell."

Yeah I get that they are trying to be supportive and I am probably too close to it.

It would be very jarring to see things like that show up on my FB feed if I were you. But perhaps the family can use support at a time like this.

And now for something completely different.

Have you heard about the time she sneezed in Starbucks? A stranger said, "God bless you." M replied, "I'm an atheist." "All right then, go to hell."

Heh. She did kind of ask for it.

Laga, when they first came out with Lean Cuisines there was a comedy thing where a man is asked about them. And he says something about how they're pretty good and two or three of them make a good meal.

Barb, if it's tuna salad that's causing problems, you might change what you mix in with the tuna.

And, if someone sneezes, I usually say "gesundheit". (waits for it ....)

"gesundheit" is my brother's response as well. The rest of my family (and I note this occurs among the next generation as well) say "salud" which my dad picked up working in south america in the 80s.

Heh. She did kind of ask for it.

but yeah she was asking for it. M seems unable to separate out the earnest prayers of good will from the proselytizing.

I say "gesundheit" too, a legacy from my mother's very German family heritage. I also learned to say "danke schoen" very young, but when I went to Germany a few years ago my German friend made fun of my pronunciation, which I later chalked up to the fact that our roots are in Bavaria, and as I have subsequently learned, making fun of Bavaria is a favorite pastime for many Germans.

"Hogan's Heroes" was actually pretty popular when it aired in Germany. A lot of it was due to the voices they used to dub it. Sergeant Schultz was a stereotypical Bavarian, and Colonel Klink a stereotypical Prussian.