Gum

[SeattleUte]

I am on board with the no gum rule. If you volunteer to clean up the cultural hall once, you will also convert. It sometimes gets in the carpet or on the wood floor and then it is gross to clean up. It isn't like running a vacuum over some cheerios. also, in SoCal, discarded gum can often lead to ant invasions in the summertime. You get these killer trails of ants that go from the trashcan all the way down the hall, through the entire parking lot, and then off into the hills somewhere. I think the ants take stuff way out there and then do some sort of voodoo bonfire sacrifice. Ants are crazy. Why don't they just eat the food right there? If I were an ant, I would probably say, "screw this crap. I'm going to eat right now. I'm not carrying any more of this crap for miles and miles. Why should I?"

I'm totally on board with the no gum rule.

Just watching someone chewing gum is not edifying, not to mention hearing it.

[Moliere]

On a serious note, the abhorrence of chewing gum is a generational thing, at least in my opinion. Many older people find it offensive and irreverent. Your bishop is either quite old, you some of the older people in your ward are complaining about it and he just wants them to stop bugging him.

I think the bishop is being reasonable. Gum is a disgusting thing. People should refrain from chewing gum in church of all places. Yikes.

I rest my case.

[Indy Coug]

Our bishop asked everyone to be in their seats at 12:54 for our one o'clock start time. I think he wants a reverence warm up before the real thing. I'm only good for a three hour block so I've been leaving at 3:54.

I guess I'm showing up 2:54 too early for church.

[LiveCoug]

I cannot stand gum for longer than about 10 seconds. It just gets so freaking boring to chew. Usually I will just put the gum in my mouth, get my breath fresh and spit it out.

[beefytee]

As an offender of bad breath. I come around to my wife's point of view that chewing gum makes you look like a cow chewing his cud.

We don't usually like our kids chewing gum but they got a bunch from the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. The stuff absolutely makes a mess. Yuck

Mints are the way to go...even on Fast Sunday.

[Uncle Ted]

Reminds me of this thread over at FMH.

Interesting... If this mandate is made our stake I would just stay at home and watch that BYUTV sacrament meeting broadcast. My four year son wouldn't make it without food for that long and it wouldn't be worth the fight.

On the other hand, this can get excessive. For example, yesterday (Sunday) the ward that meets earlier in our building had a potluck picnic social in the Pavilion out back during our block. I normally wouldn't have a problem with this except they were warming all kinds of stuff in crock pots, etc. in the kitchen. This, of course, filled the church with the smells of all this wonderful food. I couldn't take it so I skipped out of Sunday School to make a run to the local fast food establishment. I found I wasn't alone and ran into many of my fellow ward members there with the same idea. Next time they do this I may just crash their picnic instead.

[falafel]

I cannot stand gum for longer than about 10 seconds. It just gets so freaking boring to chew. Usually I will just put the gum in my mouth, get my breath fresh and spit it out.

That's what blowing bubbles is for!

[SeattleUte]

I rest my case.

lol no, it's a class thing; and related to that, a maturity thing. Chewing gum has been popular for a long time, the Wrigleys became hideously rich on gum. The bottom line is chewing gum is declasse! There's a reason you'll never see Obama doing it.

If you search CG you'll see that back in the day when creekster would go nuts at his perception of my elitism, he vigorously defended gum chewing in response to one of my assaults on the crude and nasty habit.

[TripletDaddy]

Gum chewing is fine if it is once in awhile. It stops you from smoking and brightens your smile.

But it is repulsive, revolting, and wrong chewing and chewing all day long - the way that a cow does.

[ERCougar]

lol no, it's a class thing; and related to that, a maturity thing. Chewing gum has been popular for a long time, the Wrigley's became hideously rich on gum. The bottom line is chewing gum is declasse! There's a reason you'll never see Obama doing it.

Instead, he smokes cigarettes.

[Moliere]

Instead, he smokes cigarettes.

Because that is classy!!

[Surfah]

Instead, he smokes cigarettes.

And he has long chewed Nicorette gum.

[SeattleUte]

Gum chewing is fine if it is once in awhile. It stops you from smoking and brightens your smile.

But it is repulsive, revolting, and wrong chewing and chewing all day long - the way that a cow does.

Not sure where you get brightens your smile from.

Chewing gum is like other dirty little habits that bring relief; it should be done in private, certainly not in church.

[Moliere]

Gum chewing is fine if it is once in awhile. It stops you from smoking and brightens your smile.

But it is repulsive, revolting, and wrong chewing and chewing all day long - the way that a cow does.

I honestly only chew gum at two different times: Driving or playing sports. I agree that chewing gum at work or in church or anywhere else where you interact with people in a semi-formal setting is just not classy.

I can't play basketball or football without chewing gum. For baseball I usually eat sunflower seeds.

I get bored when driving so I keep a pack of "5" gum in my car and usually chew a piece during my long commute home after work.

I say that it's a generational thing because the only people that I know of that have scolded me for chewing gum are my grandpa and some old guy in my ward growing up. My sample size is limited but it's all I know.

[SloanHater]

Interesting... If this mandate is made our stake I would just stay at home and watch that BYUTV sacrament meeting broadcast. My four year son wouldn't make it without food for that long and it wouldn't be worth the fight.

On the other hand, this can get excessive. For example, yesterday (Sunday) the ward that meets earlier in our building had a potluck picnic social in the Pavilion out back during our block. I normally wouldn't have a problem with this except they were warming all kinds of stuff in crock pots, etc. in the kitchen. This, of course, filled the church with the smells of all this wonderful food. I couldn't take it so I skipped out of Sunday School to make a run to the local fast food establishment. I found I wasn't alone and ran into many of my fellow ward members there with the same idea. Next time they do this I may just crash their picnic instead.

I am sans children and therefore find this statement hard to believe. You're telling me that you feed your kid breakfast/lunch and they can't go 1 hour 10 min without food?