Chemig,

As I said, I just can't recall ever seeing the introduction of in-game content into a Ponderosa piece before now. It was as though the producers were intent upon verifying and validating Jon's version (and view) of that aspect of his relationship with Missy. And, to me, they did an excellent job of it. I don't think that the interchange was very flattering to the Texan.

However, I admit that that is a matter of my opinion:

I'm a life-long congregant of what is often referred to as a 'Mainline' (Protestant) Christian Church. So, I'm certainly not offended by spontaneous expressions of religious faith (no matter their doctrinal pedigree) during a television show. It is my understanding that Survivor’s contestants have a great deal of time on their hands and it doesn’t surprise me that its prolonged conversations drift to the very personal.

However, just as I do whenever a Survivor swears to truth or lie on the life, health or happiness of a family member, I cringe all the way to my toes when profound beliefs are pretended or sincerely-held faiths are manipulated to bolster a gaming strategy. I can never believe that I heard what I heard. Because ultimately the quintessentially-cheap shot is always unnecessarily hurtful or offensive. To someone. Or to lots of someones.

As for Reed and Josh:

In my attempts to verify this Season’s birthdates, I spent no little time visiting Josh’s public Twitter account. And I learned a bit about him and his family in the process:

He is very active in his NYC church - at times, serving as its choir director during one of the several Sunday services. And his large family, it seems, is a Christian ministry unto itself. But, although there is really no indication of tension on their Twitter sites, Josh has said that he and Reed have experienced disapproval and misunderstanding of their relationship from some of their fellow parishioners and from members of Josh’s family.

So … to quote JP ... (B)oth Josh and Reed are Survivor super-fans … I was really impressed and proud that they wanted to come on our show, endure this adventure, and be honest about who they are in the hopes that it'll help wake people up.

And in that and John Rocker’s placement on the San Juan del Sur roster, I’m afraid that we’ve heard an announcement that the world according to Probst is in dire need of yet another 'Issues' platform.

Sigh …

G