emmett
06-05-2009, 01:38 PM
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everybody on here for the experience i have had on DP. This is my 2000th post which a few years ago while we were on USMB would have seemed very unlikely to me that I would ever be this involved in a message board.
Not being much of a computer guy, which is apparent by the fact that I have trouble even posting links as you know, a message board would not have seemed like much of a candidate for a way to spend my time during the first 45 years of my life. I discovered USMB one night while in my truck in some remote area of the country. I had just started driving a truck I bought to haul cars as some know, after I had been sued and lost a company that I built. I was very withdrawn and suffering from depression and at the time was a basket case I would imagine.
For a couple of years I would post a few things here and there and liked to come and read the conversations. After a while I began to develop a few freindships with the people. Now some might think it unlikely that message board relationships are socially healthy and I agree to a point now however if anyone had any idea what a help it was to me at the time, I can tell you that they are in some instances.
Being an opinionated person at the core I found the discussions a wonderful vehicle for a release. I must admit that most of the people I know in common everyday life are not as interested or as passionate about the topics that we discuss and therefore that outlet was not satisfied for me. On here we can speak of the things that unify and divide us and I find it very refreshing myself to air out the things I believe in and hear the opinions of others. Especially since I seem to fall into a category that represents such a small segment of the population I would have trouble before getting ears to listen to my sometimes seemingly extreme beliefs about government and other issues.
I have taken a wee bit of criticism here at home since I came off the road and have become alot more active on the board. My son says it is depression. I say it is exactly the opposite. I absolutely enjoy the interaction. It has been a great common denominator when I was writing anyway and would be sitting infront of this thing for hours on end. When I get "blocked" I just log on and wa-lah.....conversation. This combined with the History Channel, Discovery or Fox News in the background on a Friday night is a pretty good form of entertainment to me. Beats the shit out of going to the neighborhood bar to find someone to argue with and besides Psycho is the town drunk on here and he is, "when not banned" always available on Friday nights and willing to provide plenty of dissention from my opinions.
My son also says I should get out more. "You're fifty years old dad! Your a bachelor and you're gonna stay one if you don't circulate and do some stuff." Boy is he in the dark. I get out plenty. I go riding my motorcycle almost every weekend and I have to say that when doing so I think about stuff that has been talked about on here at times.
Unlike most, this is the only message board I participate in. I guess I am one of those true blue ones. This was my first, well Jim's other board was and i will just remain on here even though I realize there are other tempting venues by which to orchestrate my extraciricular activity. There are bigger ones, ones with prettier backgrounds and other offerings but I'm perfectly content with this one. :laugh2:
It is interesting to see how some folks act on a message board. With many they are able to say and do the things they would not do or say in public because of the assurance of anoymity however it also allows a look into the beliefs that are really out there because in essence we are the things we don't necessarily talk about in the open air. Alot of the thoughts that would be kept to one self is aired out here because besides....who will ever see us? We aren't really going to be accountable for our statements in any way, our action or our beliefs. So technically what purpose does the board really have? To me it has plenty. It allows us the vehicle by which to be that expressive informative person we would not normally be in allot of cases and to learn about the extreme opinions of our fellow citizens. This is in itself a wonderful vehicle. And for those who think it unlikely that you will learn something on here, well, I can tell you that I have learned allot and it has had an effect on my life.
How would I have ever gotten to know people like Mr. P, whom I can tell you folks is an interesting character indeed. One night while we were talking on the phone he allowed me to conduct a little experiment with his personal information to demonstrate a topic of information we were dicussing. He and I agree totally on the misuse of personal information and I wanted to demonstrate to him how much worse it was than he imagined. He was like many others whom have become knowledgeable...fascinated that I could produce for him his personal information starting with......everything. Yes this is tee totally wrong and yet it is done everyday by hacks who utilize these methods to steal personal information. I as some of you know use these tools in my business every day to locate people for our clients and am charged with the responsibility of using it for the right reasons. It does not change the fact that I disagree wholeheartedly with it's availability. Never fear however...Mr. P's information is perfectly safe from any other invaders, I have seen to that as it would take one of the world's most talented hackers to ever acquire it again. My son is one of those hackers and I can tell you that if anyone ever was to try and use his information in a criminal way they will be most disappointed. I did have the opportunity to learn a little about this man and what a jewel he is. What you see on here is what you get, an extremely talented man with a strong foundation of what is real, decent and responsible. I never would have known this about this guy had it not been for this board. You military guys would especially impressed with Mr. P!
I've learned of a little school teacher from Chicago who has been through absolute hell to be the type of 1% er we would all pray would teach our children. I'm referring to Kathianne (Kathy) who is one precious commodity boy. I've had many a conversation with her, and even met her and she is national treasure. She teaches at a private school in Chicago. The standards she has for herself and the responsibility she feels is incumbant upon her is up there with nothing I have ever seen in the way of comittment. Her children are successful, intelligent and go on to acheive things. She does this while all the while knowing she swims in a pool of sharks and is but a small fish. Courage is what it is. The kind of courage not everyone has to be different, to speak out. Many do not know that Kathy has a hearing disorder and that for much of her life has had to struggle with the most simple of communication tasks. Could you just imagine for a moment how difficult it would be to be a teacher who had to depend on lip reading 99% of the time for most of her career? How about the fact that she didn't become a teacher until somewhat later in life. Didn;t know that one did you? Amazing. What an inspirational person.
Or how about the sometime cantankerous, ultra conservative RSR. Here is an interesting character. Most would immediately think of his rants and ravings about MD or his constant postings of pro-conservative agenda topics. Many know of his health struggles and his consistency here on this board. I know his soul! This guy really believes the things he promotes. He is an absolutely comitted individual who sits on here pounding away day after day unless he is completely incapacitated by some poisonous concauction he has been given by doctors which might help save him from the many health threats he deals with each and every day. I talk to him often and he is always pleasant and enjoyable, even when I can tell he is in pain and suffering greatly the trauma associated with health problems he experiences. Never once has he ever harped out a "feel sorry for me" chord but remains positive and upbeat in each of our conversations. I could only hope that I could be anything like this man should I face the obsticles that lie before him. RSR is my hero and he is a warrior in the truest sense. It is for this reason that I would think anyone who knows him personally must be a better person than if they did not.
There are many others who have influenced me on here as well. There is Crin. My pal Crin. We have a conflict he and I. He is a staunch Republican. He is the exact kind of Conservative I consider to be closed minded. I can't sway him. The man won't budge. He continues to tell me that he won't fill out a Libertarian membership card because we condone Abortion. The man has a heartfelt belief that he won't compromise on, despite the fact that he knows and has admitted that his party continues to move away from him ever further in the wrong (left) direction. The thing is though, about this man...he absolutely is not going to abandon his belief that all life is God given and refuses to align himself with anyone who would take on the appearance that it is OK to kill a little baby human life after the moment of conception. Personally I believe this man will never waiver. He stands for something and I think he will stand there and stand there and stand there until the cows come home boy. Oh it's not that I think he is incapable of compromise, he compromises every day to remain a republican and admits it, but he chooses if and when he is willing to do it and on Abortion he just won't do it. I would venture to think he is an awfully positive influence on the people he comes in contact with on a daily basis regarding this issue. The problem with our country now is there weren't enough Crins around when it mattered many years ago when we started this downhill sleigh ride to the ultimate compromise of the very things our forefathers founded our country on. If crin would have been driving the sleigh we wouldn't be where we are today. I have learned something very valuable from Crin. I have learned I must refuse the temptation to waiver on my beliefs as well and hope that I can recieve a portion of the respect for my opinions as I seem to have for his.
One of the most beautiful pieces, if not the most so, was written by one of our members, Immanual, during the earlier part of this year. Jim called it the best post ever. There was absolutely no dissention from anyone on it's content. It talked about many things from our conscious to our philosophies and of course our belief in God. After I read it I just sat staring at the computer thinking about what a treasure this man was and what it would be like to be his neighbor. Or what about seeing him preach. I almost wanted to go to Florida the next day just to see him. The man's temperance and tolerance for the things on here are unequaled. He never gets angry or says anything disrespectful to anyone. Now of course he has not been around much but I know why because I have talked to him. I suspect right now he is sitting down on the Bay in Tampa perhaps, writing a book that I believe will change society in America. I really do. I'm not sure exactly what the book will contain but I know it will be read and those who will read it will not be able to put it down. The words are going to contain a magically pursuavive ora that will not allow to reader to place it away from them. People are going to take days off of work to finish it. Mark my words. Someone with that ability to inspire good thoughts in his fellow man owes it to us to tell us the things we need to know. That is what I told him the last time we spoke and I tried to influence him to pen the things he thought. I believe he referred to how God uses people to accomplish certain things and I am honored to think he believed God had used me that day to influence him.
There are so many special people on here. Very special people. Without this silly little message board I would not have known any of them. What about Jim, whom surprisingly I have actually only talked to once but feel like i know the guy. He's just an average everyday NJ boy who decided to start a message board one day for whatever reason. How could he know at the time that what he was doing would be such an inspirational device for interaction. Maybe he did know. Maybe not. It doesn't matter. Maybe I'm reading far too much into this thing but I don't think so. I dare say if i would have spent this much time watching CNN or MSNBC instead of being here I might be one the clones who endorses this ludecris agenda presently sweeping through our country. Well maybe it is true that I would have stumbled across some other board and felt the same way about it or it's unique people. I wonder though because I think there is a unique reason these people are here. It is like Immanual said, God uses people for purposes not understood by us at the time. I mean it is just a message board...but then again...it is just a message board!
Not being much of a computer guy, which is apparent by the fact that I have trouble even posting links as you know, a message board would not have seemed like much of a candidate for a way to spend my time during the first 45 years of my life. I discovered USMB one night while in my truck in some remote area of the country. I had just started driving a truck I bought to haul cars as some know, after I had been sued and lost a company that I built. I was very withdrawn and suffering from depression and at the time was a basket case I would imagine.
For a couple of years I would post a few things here and there and liked to come and read the conversations. After a while I began to develop a few freindships with the people. Now some might think it unlikely that message board relationships are socially healthy and I agree to a point now however if anyone had any idea what a help it was to me at the time, I can tell you that they are in some instances.
Being an opinionated person at the core I found the discussions a wonderful vehicle for a release. I must admit that most of the people I know in common everyday life are not as interested or as passionate about the topics that we discuss and therefore that outlet was not satisfied for me. On here we can speak of the things that unify and divide us and I find it very refreshing myself to air out the things I believe in and hear the opinions of others. Especially since I seem to fall into a category that represents such a small segment of the population I would have trouble before getting ears to listen to my sometimes seemingly extreme beliefs about government and other issues.
I have taken a wee bit of criticism here at home since I came off the road and have become alot more active on the board. My son says it is depression. I say it is exactly the opposite. I absolutely enjoy the interaction. It has been a great common denominator when I was writing anyway and would be sitting infront of this thing for hours on end. When I get "blocked" I just log on and wa-lah.....conversation. This combined with the History Channel, Discovery or Fox News in the background on a Friday night is a pretty good form of entertainment to me. Beats the shit out of going to the neighborhood bar to find someone to argue with and besides Psycho is the town drunk on here and he is, "when not banned" always available on Friday nights and willing to provide plenty of dissention from my opinions.
My son also says I should get out more. "You're fifty years old dad! Your a bachelor and you're gonna stay one if you don't circulate and do some stuff." Boy is he in the dark. I get out plenty. I go riding my motorcycle almost every weekend and I have to say that when doing so I think about stuff that has been talked about on here at times.
Unlike most, this is the only message board I participate in. I guess I am one of those true blue ones. This was my first, well Jim's other board was and i will just remain on here even though I realize there are other tempting venues by which to orchestrate my extraciricular activity. There are bigger ones, ones with prettier backgrounds and other offerings but I'm perfectly content with this one. :laugh2:
It is interesting to see how some folks act on a message board. With many they are able to say and do the things they would not do or say in public because of the assurance of anoymity however it also allows a look into the beliefs that are really out there because in essence we are the things we don't necessarily talk about in the open air. Alot of the thoughts that would be kept to one self is aired out here because besides....who will ever see us? We aren't really going to be accountable for our statements in any way, our action or our beliefs. So technically what purpose does the board really have? To me it has plenty. It allows us the vehicle by which to be that expressive informative person we would not normally be in allot of cases and to learn about the extreme opinions of our fellow citizens. This is in itself a wonderful vehicle. And for those who think it unlikely that you will learn something on here, well, I can tell you that I have learned allot and it has had an effect on my life.
How would I have ever gotten to know people like Mr. P, whom I can tell you folks is an interesting character indeed. One night while we were talking on the phone he allowed me to conduct a little experiment with his personal information to demonstrate a topic of information we were dicussing. He and I agree totally on the misuse of personal information and I wanted to demonstrate to him how much worse it was than he imagined. He was like many others whom have become knowledgeable...fascinated that I could produce for him his personal information starting with......everything. Yes this is tee totally wrong and yet it is done everyday by hacks who utilize these methods to steal personal information. I as some of you know use these tools in my business every day to locate people for our clients and am charged with the responsibility of using it for the right reasons. It does not change the fact that I disagree wholeheartedly with it's availability. Never fear however...Mr. P's information is perfectly safe from any other invaders, I have seen to that as it would take one of the world's most talented hackers to ever acquire it again. My son is one of those hackers and I can tell you that if anyone ever was to try and use his information in a criminal way they will be most disappointed. I did have the opportunity to learn a little about this man and what a jewel he is. What you see on here is what you get, an extremely talented man with a strong foundation of what is real, decent and responsible. I never would have known this about this guy had it not been for this board. You military guys would especially impressed with Mr. P!
I've learned of a little school teacher from Chicago who has been through absolute hell to be the type of 1% er we would all pray would teach our children. I'm referring to Kathianne (Kathy) who is one precious commodity boy. I've had many a conversation with her, and even met her and she is national treasure. She teaches at a private school in Chicago. The standards she has for herself and the responsibility she feels is incumbant upon her is up there with nothing I have ever seen in the way of comittment. Her children are successful, intelligent and go on to acheive things. She does this while all the while knowing she swims in a pool of sharks and is but a small fish. Courage is what it is. The kind of courage not everyone has to be different, to speak out. Many do not know that Kathy has a hearing disorder and that for much of her life has had to struggle with the most simple of communication tasks. Could you just imagine for a moment how difficult it would be to be a teacher who had to depend on lip reading 99% of the time for most of her career? How about the fact that she didn't become a teacher until somewhat later in life. Didn;t know that one did you? Amazing. What an inspirational person.
Or how about the sometime cantankerous, ultra conservative RSR. Here is an interesting character. Most would immediately think of his rants and ravings about MD or his constant postings of pro-conservative agenda topics. Many know of his health struggles and his consistency here on this board. I know his soul! This guy really believes the things he promotes. He is an absolutely comitted individual who sits on here pounding away day after day unless he is completely incapacitated by some poisonous concauction he has been given by doctors which might help save him from the many health threats he deals with each and every day. I talk to him often and he is always pleasant and enjoyable, even when I can tell he is in pain and suffering greatly the trauma associated with health problems he experiences. Never once has he ever harped out a "feel sorry for me" chord but remains positive and upbeat in each of our conversations. I could only hope that I could be anything like this man should I face the obsticles that lie before him. RSR is my hero and he is a warrior in the truest sense. It is for this reason that I would think anyone who knows him personally must be a better person than if they did not.
There are many others who have influenced me on here as well. There is Crin. My pal Crin. We have a conflict he and I. He is a staunch Republican. He is the exact kind of Conservative I consider to be closed minded. I can't sway him. The man won't budge. He continues to tell me that he won't fill out a Libertarian membership card because we condone Abortion. The man has a heartfelt belief that he won't compromise on, despite the fact that he knows and has admitted that his party continues to move away from him ever further in the wrong (left) direction. The thing is though, about this man...he absolutely is not going to abandon his belief that all life is God given and refuses to align himself with anyone who would take on the appearance that it is OK to kill a little baby human life after the moment of conception. Personally I believe this man will never waiver. He stands for something and I think he will stand there and stand there and stand there until the cows come home boy. Oh it's not that I think he is incapable of compromise, he compromises every day to remain a republican and admits it, but he chooses if and when he is willing to do it and on Abortion he just won't do it. I would venture to think he is an awfully positive influence on the people he comes in contact with on a daily basis regarding this issue. The problem with our country now is there weren't enough Crins around when it mattered many years ago when we started this downhill sleigh ride to the ultimate compromise of the very things our forefathers founded our country on. If crin would have been driving the sleigh we wouldn't be where we are today. I have learned something very valuable from Crin. I have learned I must refuse the temptation to waiver on my beliefs as well and hope that I can recieve a portion of the respect for my opinions as I seem to have for his.
One of the most beautiful pieces, if not the most so, was written by one of our members, Immanual, during the earlier part of this year. Jim called it the best post ever. There was absolutely no dissention from anyone on it's content. It talked about many things from our conscious to our philosophies and of course our belief in God. After I read it I just sat staring at the computer thinking about what a treasure this man was and what it would be like to be his neighbor. Or what about seeing him preach. I almost wanted to go to Florida the next day just to see him. The man's temperance and tolerance for the things on here are unequaled. He never gets angry or says anything disrespectful to anyone. Now of course he has not been around much but I know why because I have talked to him. I suspect right now he is sitting down on the Bay in Tampa perhaps, writing a book that I believe will change society in America. I really do. I'm not sure exactly what the book will contain but I know it will be read and those who will read it will not be able to put it down. The words are going to contain a magically pursuavive ora that will not allow to reader to place it away from them. People are going to take days off of work to finish it. Mark my words. Someone with that ability to inspire good thoughts in his fellow man owes it to us to tell us the things we need to know. That is what I told him the last time we spoke and I tried to influence him to pen the things he thought. I believe he referred to how God uses people to accomplish certain things and I am honored to think he believed God had used me that day to influence him.
There are so many special people on here. Very special people. Without this silly little message board I would not have known any of them. What about Jim, whom surprisingly I have actually only talked to once but feel like i know the guy. He's just an average everyday NJ boy who decided to start a message board one day for whatever reason. How could he know at the time that what he was doing would be such an inspirational device for interaction. Maybe he did know. Maybe not. It doesn't matter. Maybe I'm reading far too much into this thing but I don't think so. I dare say if i would have spent this much time watching CNN or MSNBC instead of being here I might be one the clones who endorses this ludecris agenda presently sweeping through our country. Well maybe it is true that I would have stumbled across some other board and felt the same way about it or it's unique people. I wonder though because I think there is a unique reason these people are here. It is like Immanual said, God uses people for purposes not understood by us at the time. I mean it is just a message board...but then again...it is just a message board!