Well Hi everyone, I have been participating a bit more lately and I have come to realize that there are many more folks on here everyday that I do not know, so I thought it time I did another Welcome to Booman and tell us about you diary.
Now I know a lot of you have done this before, but the new ones have not had the benefit of reading about you, so please do participate once again and tell us a bit or a lot about you.
It would also be nice if you told us how you found your way here in the first place, I know how we like to reminisce about old times. So, have you enjoyed your time here.
Anyway if your new or old, hop right over and fill us in on you.
BTW so all can see, Here is a picture of Manee and Dena(Iraqi) I posted earlier.
And my lovely hummingbird!
come on now ya’ll,… write.
So welcome to the site, all yee people.
I am Omir the Storyteller and I am up way too late. We put a turkey in the oven at 5:30 PM and it’s still cooking at 12:20 AM. That’s what we get for doing up a 32# turkey, I guess. Good thing it wasn’t frozen, huh?
But boy, are we gonna have good eatin’ tomorrow.
I live in Seattle but work in Redmond. (“OMIR” stands for “Our Man In Redmond.” Long story.) I play the banjo, tell stories and generally have a good time.
Like (probably) most of the people here, I am cautiously optimistic about the Democrats regaining the Senate but feel there’s lots more work to be done.
Oh, and make sure you visit the Froggy Bottom Cafe. Look in the “Recent Diaries” list for the most recent Cafe, stop in, and say hello there. We’re friendly folks and mostly only bite when invited.
Hey, you are almost a neighbor of mine, Omir. I know this is off the topic, but do you have a link to Robo-Rater? My recent computer crash disappeared mine and I miss it.
Hugs and loves,
Shirl
Yup,I’d like it too.
Does it work with Firefox?
Here is the link
Thanks!
And it worked!
That link doesn’t work for me. Just takes me back to the same RR home page. Anyone else have a link?
Thanks Diane. It worked this time. Not sure what I did before that didn’t work, but it is running fine now.
Hugs
Shirl
One of my better inventions, to be sure. 🙂
Thanks to Diane for beating me to posting the link.
I love living in this neck of the woods. Interesting weather today, though. Our grandkids are coming over and I hope we don’t have to worry about them being snowed in. Not that we mind them staying overnight, but they like being home with Daddy of course.
I didn’t know you were from Redmond! Too bad I didn’t know you when I lived and worked up there for MS.
You get to drink my favorite beer in the world. It’s a crime that Mac and Jack’s refuses to bottle and sells locally by keg only! Best African Amber on the planet!!!
I’m about so high (holds palm up next to top of head) and so wide (hold hands futher apart than a few years ago). I’ve got brown hair, hazel eyes, and olive skin – and I don’t look at all like the majority of Tasmanians who are predominantly of English/Irish/Scotish/Welsh ancestry.
I wear glasses for near-sightedness. Recently I have had to take then off to read anything small because I’ve gotten to that age where I’m starting to get a bit far-sighted.
I have a BFA in Fine Art Photography, and can generally work in most artistic mediums, both 2-D and 3-D.
As a kid I was known as a “walking encyclopedia.” I have an incredible ability to remember ‘stuff,’ which does not seem to include what I did yesterday or what’s on the shopping list that I forgot to take to the store. My mother called me “the absent-minded-professor.”
I’m dyslexic.
I have always had too many animals.
To tell you about me could be quick or could be a long book. LOL I will try and stay somewhere in between those two.
I live in Red Neck..oops Round Rock, Texas which is right outside Austin. I am a 48 year old gay male who has been active in politics and civil rights since I was 8 years old in North Carolina. I have a blog, a podcast, 3 design sites, and a full time job. The links for two of the design sites are in my signature line and I will post the links for the others.
The Ruby Slipper Cafe
http://www.therubyslippercafe.com
Refinish69 blog
http://refinish69.blogspot.com/
Doing My Part For The Left podcast
http://refinish69.podomatic.com/
I belong to over 35 political & civil rights groups and am active in all of them. I guess you could say I am an over achiever in some ways… just not financially. LOL
I am an avid reader, fantastic cook, love music and dogs. My on line personality is the real me. LOL I am a little crazy and love people. The screen name comes from two of my favorite past times. I love to refinish furniture and….
Gee, RF. I really think you need to be a little more active and quit sitting around wasting all of that free time. 😉
I grew up in Toledo, Ohio in the 1950s. I was raised very Catholic and very repressed.
Unable to express myself in my real life, I turned to performing. First I tried ballet – a conventional choice for the day – which worked well for me. It required great discipline but, as I later realized also required me to be voiceless, androgynous, and completely choreographed.
I later morphed into acting which gave me ample opportunity to explore and express the “unacceptable” sides of myself. It is my greatest talent, though the world has yet to recognize that fact!
An extremely abusive first marriage forced me into maturity and left me with the most amazing daughter that I could ever hope to have. In some sort incredible karmic rebound, my second and current husband is wonderful beyond belief.
I was determinedly apolitical until I experienced a six-month-long strike by the unions to which I belong, followed shortly by the lead up to the war in Iraq and Dean’s candidacy. I became immersed, obsessed, exhausted and finally quite disillusioned by my foray into electoral politics. Living in Chicago at the time, I got to see some of the best dirty politics ever perfected. I’m still peripherally involved, but am trying to be a bit protective of myself.
After my husband recovered from a near fatal heart-attack, we relocated to Santa Fe. I have learned to love the subtleties of the desert, and am unraveling the cultural complexities of the region. I have been working in a gallery that is about to close for the winter, so it will be back to job searching for me.: (
I came to Booman Trib, at the suggestion of a friend, after the pie debacle at Kos and the inability of posters at BFA to resist engaging a ubiquitous troll. I like the pond. People here have taught me to express my opinions in a respectful (usually) though passionate (often) way.
Kahli is the Hindu goddess of destruction – which makes creation possible. It was a theme with which I was wrestling when I first registered here, and so Kahli became my user name.
It is my favorite West vacation spot! It has an amazing energy surrounding it. I hope good health continues to find your spouse. I became familiar with the goddess Kahli while just doing some investigative reading about violence against women and rape. One site used the goddess Kahli as it’s symbol of what many women experience and then how often they are reborn with new knowledge farther down the path.
Thanks, Tracy. Let me know if you are ever vacationing here again. I’d love to meet face to face.
ask is a Norwegian, but has lived the better part of the last two decades in the US. I work in a large, multi-lateral organization – primarily with development and humanitarian projects.
Found the blogs in the run-up to the 2004-elections and registered at kos, but have mainly been a pond-dweller since Booman opened up here in March ’05.
Why the interest in (American) political blogs; well, American politics have a global reach and influence like that of no other nation. When things get as messed up as under the current crime syndicate in the WH, we all have a responsibility to speak out. Also, the asklets (16 and 12) have dual citizenship and may be subject to a future draft if the mad, expansionist policies continue. The new Congress will hopefully put the brakes on.
I’m Family Man. After living around the U.S. and Europe I retired and moved back home to Alabama. I call myself Family Man because where I live, family surrounds me. The house is like Grand Central sometimes with relatives coming and going.
I came here to learn, but in the process have met many wonderful and caring people. I stay pretty much in the café and I’m known for slacking and naps. Although I can’t understand how that image of me ever got started.
To all the newcomers and lurkers. Come by the café and say hello or just jump into any conversation. There’s no such thing as a private conversation and we welcome anyone who drops by.
Diane thanks for the Welcome Wagon and for the café.
I’m known for slacking and naps. Although I can’t understand how that image of me ever got started.
Uh huh. Pull the other one, it’s got bells on.
Ah Omir, I trying to present a good image. 🙂
Hey, thanks everyone for posting, so far, but there are a lot more out there, especially you lurkers, delurk and tell us about you and then maybe you will feel like participating.
Just last week a member said these diaries helped to get them active so come on give it a try.,
About me, if you don’t know, I live in Orange Co, Ca,, in my perfect tiny little abode surrounded by my plants,flowers,trees, vines and now my hummingbird. I have approximately 175 containers of plants, from small plants to large trees in 48″ boxes. I love gardening and only want more and more plants, never seem to have enough. About half of my plants I have propagated myself.
I have a trusty dog named Lady who keeps me company and guards the place faithfully, not even allowing people to walk down our street without hearing loud and clear from her, “You better stay away from this area.”
I am an on and off blogger, mostly on Booman and my own site linked below, which you might drop into some day and visit….it’s not political, although we do veer into that area at time, mostly due to BL Angert who is front paged there….well actually everyone who writes a diary is front paged cause it’s a slow, lazy site. But we do talk a lot about things other than politics.
I spent 10 years full time writing, several books, mountains of poems, short stories and even one play, never even tried to publish and then a total house fire took away all of my work except for one file drawer that was stored away from the house. I couldn’t write for a long time after, really until I started to rewrite a gardening book I had written in 1975 and then of course blogging. Having a site and being able to publish anything I chose was a dream I couldn’t have imagined in 1975, but now I have become jaded and lazy about the whole thing of writing.
Before that I was an antique dealer and refinisher for 15 years and an artist tole painting a lot of my antiques and anything else that stayed still long enough to paint.
During the best times of my antique life we would change all the furniture in the house once a week, when I would take all the antiques to mall shows and sell it all, Monday morn. go and buy another housefull, plus garage and refinish and sell that week…I did about 35- 5 day shows a year, this with a toddler, then another and then another till finally I said I can’t do this with three little ones and stopped the shows but kept on with selling from my home for about 5 more years.
All the years of being exposed, to stripping chemicals and all the others necessary for the work that I became very ill and could barely walk or function. At that point for whatever reason, “All that is”, only knows I got pregnant with my 5th and final child at the age of 39 and had my second home birth. That child seemed to save my life, since I was trying to survive for her birth, I just got better and better…
Anyway, one day I ended up here and just loved it and saw the opportunity to help build community and so that is what I did. I’ve been slacking a lot for months but now I’ve decided to get more active and so it is.
Love you all.
Gee it’s so easy to go on and on when talking about oneself. lol, so try it, it’s fun.
One of my favorite poets, David Whyte, wrote a poem called “Self Portrait” after looking at the self portrait’s of several famous painters.
Given that I spent over half my life trying to extricate myself from my fundamentalist christian roots and find a spirituality that fed my soul, reading Whyte’s poem rocked me to the core. Given that I could never improve on its beauty, here’s my “Self Portrait” via David Whyte:
It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you can know despair or see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.
Thank you for sharing some beautiful verse, NL.
I’m Kidspeak. I signed up at BooTrib soon after it was opened, but lurked for a long time before posting a word. Lurking is good, but de-lurking is better!
I’m a Southerner by birth and culture. I’ve have moved around quite a bit, having lived in Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Iowa, New Hampshire, and for the past several years, in Michigan. I’m absent-minded, (Keres, what you said about your memory sounds very familiar) and I am carrying out one of the family curses: teaching. I’m also a scientist, doing research in psychology, and an advocate for children, especially those troubled with poverty or psychological difficulties. Gardening, fixing up old houses, and most anything related to music are three of many favorite things, besides cat wrangling, reading, and being in the woods.
I come from a long line of mostly Scots-Irish people who were Republicans dating from their anti-secession politics running up to the Civil War. Vietnam, plus the transformation of the parties with respect to race and Civil Rights took me into the Democratic party and progressive politics about as soon as I could vote. Volunteering with Howard Dean’s campaign got me back into progressive activism. At the local level, I’d like to be on a school board (not going to happen where I live, however.) Nationally, I want to see prevention and mental health services coordinated and made equitable everywhere so the future of our kids and our kids’ kids will not be completely at the mercy of their parents’ resources. It can be done.
Please allow me to introduce myself: I’m a rather grizzled, nature-lovin’, thoroughly bisexual celebate monk nearing the half-century mark, with a propensity for striding over frozen earth barefoot & a strong taste for both solitude & community.
First dove into this blessed pond into Shirl’s warm embrace & have only left under duress ever since.
Abandoned dKos concurrently, with bits of rancid pie still stuck to my stubbled topography.
I extend as warm a welcome to all as I received here myself.
I am boran2 and I am a BTer. I have been here from fairly early on, having come to blogs and activism during the Bush administration. I come from a liberal family and have always been a liberal/progressive. I am in my late 40s, married and the father of one active young boy who provides me much in the way of diary material. We live in NY’s Hudson valley region. I am an assistant county attorney in a nearby county. My screen name is a popular culture reference (to a certain reality show) of which I am starting to tire. (Choose your screen name carefully.) I am involved with local government, specifically the open space committee. We were recently able to put together a group of entities to rescue a 600+ acre parcel, amongst the largest remaining of its kind. We are now involved in putting together a management plan for passive (hiking) useage. I like to paint in acrylics, amongst other things. Someday I hope to do it for a living.
Diane, this has become an ever increasing challenge. . .for those of you who have read through my numerous “about me” comments in these Tell Us diaries, you have my sympathies.
I wrote the ultimate Tell Us diary before I ever met Diane, it is posted at Village Blue in all its exhausting wordiness. . .more than any of you would ever want to know about me.
I came to the Frog Pond through the orange place not long after Booman started BMT. Diane convinced me that I would find the atmosphere and congeniality here much more to my liking. She was right.
I have always been quite possibly the ultimate radical socialist liberal. Just born that way, apparently. I was raised in a quite conservative home and by the time I was 16 we couldn’t have a political or social issue discussion in our household without me making my parents spitting angry. It wasn’t an attempt at rebellion on my part, just very deep convictions.
I have always lived outside the expectations of others, so it has often been a rocky road to travel at times. My fields of study at university were, Psychology, Religions and finally Metaphysics. Is that 3 degrees closer to the 6 degrees of separation? ;o) Although the degrees express my focus of study, I really was and am interested in an extremely wide variety of topics and study. Something that was viewed as a flaw by most others as I was growing up, but something I find to be a defining aspect of who I am. I am very curious and interested in everything.
I am retired now, which means I have started a new career. . .that’s what retirement is, after all. . .just the next page in the story.
My main job these days is to encourage everyone I meet to do and become whatever makes their heart sing.
The people I have met on the blogs are amazing, bright, thoughtful, interesting, fun, and I consider you all a part of my family. Having had the great good fortune to meet some of you in person, I will say with certainty, you are the cream of the crop. I only hope I will have the opportunity to meet more of you personally as time goes on. I’m looking forward to it.
We love it when you lurkers delurk, and when you newbies let us know who you are. . .so how ’bout it?
Hugs,
Shirl
(this pic is 3 years old. . .so don’t count on me looking this good now. Apparently the years between 63 and 66 are pretty rough on appearances, eh Diane? Or, everything you see is just illusion. LOL)
How about:
I was here once upon a time, and then, work and time took me away.
Since I was here, I’ve been to Miami, Naples, Fort Meyers, and Jacksonville Fl, and then to the mountains of Virginia, Kentucky, Tenn, and now in West Virginia.
Soon to head back to Florida, and then I’ll be back online much more, and able to harass the mass’ here at the frog pond ; )
So until then my ol’ friends, keep up the good work, as it was a great pleasure to see the begining of change that happened this fall, but a long way to go yet. So let’s keep the momentum on a roll, and go all the way to the change we all know must come.
Peace to all,
Wado
Sneaking in are ya … 😉
Good to see ya {{{IP}}}
yeppers, I’m neaky like that ; )
good to hear from ya
So wow, good to read you here again Mr. Infi..sounds like you have had quite the traveling experience and you survived to tell the tale.
Yes we are pleased with the results of election, but sometimes you wouldn’t know it with the hand wringing that goes on.
Well do keep in touch and maybe join the bus trip that’s being proposed, oh of course you would not be able to go over the mason dixon line, but the southern tour would be nice.:)
I’ve managed not to cross it yet, but it’s only 200 ft away right now…..dayumed scurry….LOL
peace
Good to hear from you, infidelpig, even if you are just the white wolf passing by. Hope you are back to Florida soon – someone has to live there to balance out my most conservative relative!
pleasure to hear from you, and yes, the wolf is always watchful ; )
I’ll keep an eye on those in Florida…LOL
peace
glad to know you’re still kickin’ and convertin’ the Rats…be well my friend.
Looking forward to your return.
Peace bro
Hey Bro…
likewise, great to hear from you, I’ll get you a new email addy when I settle down in Dec.
Keep up the fight bro….peace be with you and yours always.
wado
Hi infidel,
Good to see you come by!
But how come you get a pass? We’re all busy. We’d like to see more of you around here.
and it’s about darn time. I have been missing your wolf hugs an awful lot. Good to see you. Sounds like you have been busy and on the move. We will all be glad to see you when you can spend more time with us. We be missing you.
Big Shirl Hugs,
S
Most people here know me as an active duty Army wife, but as time wears on I’m not so much of a single issue blogger these days. My father suffered a severe head injury when I was five. He wasn’t supposed to live but did, was in a coma for 26 days. He was emotionally affected. When I was seven I lost my mother, two brothers, one sister in an auto accident. I was raised by a mix of my father and my whole family. When we lived in Colorado Springs I summered out at my family’s ranch east of the city and went to school in town. My family did not want me to go to Wyoming alone with my father, but my father wanted to move there during a housing boom in the area. I flew to Sheridan to see it and immediately fell in love. Spent most of my adult life someplace in Wyoming. My mother was considered out spoken and socially involved for a woman. Being raised by my father (who was always pointing out the glass ceilings over my head) and the offspring of my mom, I ended up reading books on feminism when I was around seventeen. I’ve challenged the status quo so often now where knowing my place is concerned that I feel it is a smaller issue for me than it once was, but it won’t stay that way if I and other women can’t use our voice freely! Growing up I always said that I would never marry and never have children. The scariest thing I ever did was become a mother at 24 and that’s because I now risked losing someone again that I loved deeply and dearly. I had episodes of panic attacks…..it was some pretty vicious fear! For some people going to school, taking career risks, or investing themselves or money into different things is scary…..these things are not frightening to me at all because there was a time in my life that I truly lost almost everything that really mattered and nobody ever was able to replace the love of my mother that I lost on this plane. I don’t know how it fits into my religious beliefs which are basically Buddhist, but my mother has reached in between where she is and here a couple of times in my life and aided me in the darkest hours of life imaginable. You may not believe it but I know it and felt her there and I can’t explain it just know it is so. I didn’t meet a man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life until I was 31 years old. I had been engaged 5 different times and backed out all five times before I met my husband. I was jokingly called runaway bride by some of my friends that I had gone to school with and it did bother me some but I never could make that real commitment to anyone that I had dated until I met this soldier dude. My husband adopted my daughter (an agreement between the two of them) and then we had a son who is six now. Our son was born with a gene mutation called Freeman Sheldon Syndrome, and that is its own story. At least two surgeries a year right now, and one really tough insurance battle that meant the life or death of our son while my husband was fighting in Iraq. It’s hard to believe that my husband and I have been together for ten years now. It really just seems like yesterday….it was just the other day that I met this fabulous man. He managed to be in the Sunni Triangle for a year and still call me everyday that the phones weren’t shut down to feed my soul and spirit while the insurance company told me NO, NO, NO, NO, and then finally UNCLE, WE GIVE, OKAY…..YES! He continues to teach flight students right now. He was offered a liaison position recently with the National Guard but said No. Being this politically involved was never a goal that I had, but with conviction I believe that the Democracy is in deep danger right now. My paternal grandmother was always very involved in the Democratic Party, she was a FDR Democrat. My father was always active in the Carpenters Union and the Building Unions and all that that entailed which was sometimes scary. I ended up blogging believing that the 2004 election had been stolen and my husband had just returned home from Iraq and was “acting funny”. I first found Brad Blog and that led to DailyKos. Pie War brought me here. I still participate now at DK. I have learned long ago that if I want anything to change it usually requires that I get involved. My Uncle who was a Vietnam vet committed suicide in June of 2006 when the Iraq War also caused his PTSD to flare up.
Oh my gosh, Tracy – lost your mother, two brothers, and a sister at age 7???? Talk about traumatic. Ohhh, my heart goes out to you. Growing up with a father similarly traumatized must have been so hard, although I’m glad you had each other.
Thanks for stating one of life’s hardest and most important lessons so clearly:
There is no other way. Thanks again.
I’m Maryb. I hang out here at the Pond off and on. I usually try to at least poke my head into the café on weekends and if I’m lucky I get to spend more time here. I don’t remember exactly how I found BT but I’m pretty sure I followed a link from DailyKos, where I still post.
Diane, as I was thinking about what to say here, I went looking for the first time you lured me in from my comfortable lurker status. It was almost exactly one year ago.
Yes, I’m pretty sure one of my first comments here at BT was in that Welcome Wagon diary. So … my first birthday in BT years is Tuesday! I’ll be celebrating the occasion that night at the FROGGY BOTTOM CAFÉ (where else?). The Froggy Bottom can handle any size crowd so everyone is invited. We’ll see if George the dog can help out Man Eegee – who is the world’s BEST virtual bartender and is on duty on Tuesdays. Any time after 7:30 CST.
No Presents Pleeeeeeeze. Your presence is enough – especially you lurkers!
My treat of course.
Dogs welcome (especially the Totos since they were present at my original comment.)
Hi Mary.
Guess what? Your first B’day at BT is also mine. If I remember right, we delurked the same night.
George and I will be there for sure!
I wasn’t sure if it was your “first time” though. Let’s have a double party!
Sounds good to me.
Will there be cake???
would be more appropriate 🙂
Ok I’ll be there for the party and I followed the link and discovered that I actually had neglected to welcome you that day….funny to see you say then you were about to take a step into the cafe. Now look at you…lol….well I’ll save my special welcome for tue.
You two were sharing duties 🙂
I know, I laughed when I read my comment about the cafe. My BT career — from lurker to commenter to cafe host back to commenter.
Anybody out there lurking shouldn’t be shy, I’m proof that nothing bad happens to you when you de-lurk.
See you at the party, Diane. Bring Dena.
Yeah, you delurked and you got to meet me. How lucky can you get? …. nevermind, don’t answer that.
I wish I was a morning person and could bring myself to visit your morning breakfast bars at the cafe.
the conversations are much better in the evenings. In the mornings, we’re pleased if we actually manage to construct simple declarative sentences.
It sure was fun going back through that welcome thread and reading all of the comments from people now that I know you all better.
Maryb sounded sort of, kind of, almost shy and polite – I guess this was before the man in the basement and all that followed.
Family Man was very polite and tentative – no mention whatsoever of mud wrestling. My, my…a year.
I hoping one day to come out of my shell. 🙂
Dear One, you left your shell so far behind that another hermit crab has moved into it.
But I’m still polite…..sometimes. 🙂
You can’t hold a candle to my politeness. My northern manners and charm.
No that’s just Southern manners and charm that’s rubbed off on you since you been down here.
Go ahead and admit it, you know it’s true. 🙂
Yeah it was funny to read it now.
supersoling here,
I still don’t see any newcomers chiming in yet :o/
I stumbled in here in June of last year. I followed the same 04 election theft, Bradblog, dKos road that Military Tracy did. The first thing i noticed about BT was the way everyone uprated comments as a friendly gesture. Between you and me, that practice is dropping off a lot lately. Just an observation. I got here a few days before Diane started the welcome wagon and I think I finally posted in the second or third one. I was instantly welcomed and felt right at home with the people here. Back then there was more of a left bent. At least that’s how I percieved it. And also a lot of energy directed at changing the mess we found ourselves in.. That’s how I ended up in Crawford with Cindy Sheehan where i enjoyed the Austin hospitality of Adastra, talked to Janet Strange on the phone and just missed Military Tracy and Brinnainne. Bummer. Brinn’s no longer here unfortunately. Another bummer. After that trip a bunch of us met for the big DC March in September. That’s when I finally met Tracy and so many other frogs. Booman, BostonJoe, StevenD and his son, MLR, Brother Feldspar, Damnit Janet, Damnit Ryan, CabinGirl, Tampopo,Cedwyn,sheesh…a bunch. And a bunch of dKos denizens. Let’s see…had a little meetup this year at the Blues Festival here on Long Island and got to meet Arthur Gilroy, Ask, Curly and the asklets, Spiderleaf, and Cookting. Great times for sure. Oh, forgot about the short trip to DC to meetup with Tampopo and do a little passive ;o) protesting around the Capitol and the Supreme Court. The Buffalo barbeque at the Museum of the American Indian was awesome :o)
Since then I’ve layed low, with lots of family issues taking the forefront. But George is still squatting in the WH and until he’s gone we have much to do. I intend to reengage the fucker real soon.
This place has a lot of passionate and dedicated people. I’ve never found another bunch like them anywhere. I think I’ll stick around awhile :o)
ps
Don’t tell Arthur Gilroy that I’m stowed away in the luggage compartment of the Boo Bus :oP
Peace
Smooches, giggles, hugs and more hugs.
Yikes, more lovin than one guy deserves :o) But I’ll take it :o)
What a trip down memory lane. . .has it only been a year and 4 or 5 months for most of us posting on this diary? Oh my gosh! It seems like I have known each of you forever and then some.
Thanks maryb for the link. . .I just had to go back and read through it all again. Holy cow, or blessed bovine, those were the days when we did our best to comment to and welcome everyone who posted on the diary. It was sure fun to see some of our first encounters with each other. Great memories, only enhanced by the days, weeks and months of our further interactions with each other.
So wonderful to see the usual rabble post here today. I keep hoping some of the lurkers and newbies will get brave and say Hi. Even if you don’t, you lurkers, you newbies, know that we welcome you here and hope that you will feel like participating and sharing your thoughts and opinions with us.
Great idea (as usual, Diane).
Hugs and smiles all around,
Shirl
Like many here, I came to BT from dKos. I never wrote much over there, but valued the information and energy that marked that site in 2003, when I discovered it. Kidspeak, my wife, had become very active in the Dean campaign and she told me about dKos. After the 2004 Kerry disaster, I had stopped reading and writing at all at dKos because the size of the community had grown too large. The tone changed, pies were thrown, womens studies, … well, you know the tune. I also have an stubborn aversion to in-groups.
Kidspeak had followed BooMan over here because she liked his writing. Many nights she’d tell me what was going on in the cafes. It sounded interesting, but I only lurked. I had some health problems (better now) and just didn’t feel like getting involved. I did drop in periodically and generally liked the way people got along.
I’ve written a number of diaries since I began writing seriously this past August. The response has been very encouraging. The diaries have revived my interest in writing that has been dormant for many years. I dropped out of college in 1979 and got my BA in 1993. In the meantime, I drifted and read voraciously. I wrote some at that time, but was too scattered to carry it off.
I am an autodictat of many things and master of few, if any. (An autodictat is a person who learns words like “autodictat.”) My love is words, humor, and pathos. When they are combined just so, magical things can happen. This site and this community has given me a chance to share some of those things.
I am concerned that some of my writing is outside the scope of this political blog. I respect BooMan’s creation and do not wish to warp it to suit my interests. I suspect the answer is to create my own blog for those writings that are outside the political sphere. I have seen many good examples from users here. Once again, I never would have ever considered that without the opportunity to post here and the reception I received.
I seem to have wandered a bit. On a more descriptive note, I teach 3rd grade in a Detroit Public School. I particularly enjoy teaching Math. It is an amazing thing when young children first see something clearly that has been driving them crazy. I don’t know how much longer I will teach. The outside issues around public education in areas of urban poverty are so intractable that they wear you down. The pettiness and incompetence of the administration is stunning.
KidSpeak and I have eight cats, including the semi-famous Gang of Four that she often mentions. We often visit the cafes and lounges of BT together. It’s an oddly amusing dynamic – talking to each other while leaping from thread to thread.
I seem to rambled on. I’ll stop here. See you at the lounge.
“Autodidact”, not the stupid way I misspelled it above. Ugh!
It’s good to read this Teach … thanks for sharing. Did you know that I once lived in Windsor … for about 2 years we were neighbours. 🙂
does she ever come back to Windsor for a visit?
Years since we visited last … Many of the people I knew there have moved (I met them while they were at the university). I think there might be one guy left from the house we lived in that stayed, but his family was from Leamington.
Hi Teach, like I told you the other day, feel free to post you other material on Village Blue, and it has some additional features most sites do not, like connecting diaries to make books, which you might like, so check it out, we’d love to have you there as well and you can always give links to any postings here.
Good to know more about you and I’ve enjoyed our encounters in the cafe.
OK – you convinced me. Time to delurk. But lurking is so safe. I came here from DKOS. Around the 2004 election I started reading the blogs. I followed the link here after the pie wars also. I finally registered at the site this summer because i loved the sense of community.
Wisconsin is considered a blue state but it is actually a mixed bag. Madison and Milwaukee are blue islands in a sea of red. The good news is that Steve Kagen is kicking MArk Green out of Washington. The bad news is that MArk may be spending more time here in Brown County.
I am a 53 year old divorced woman living in Green Bay WI. I am a football (its required in this city)and hockey fan.
I love to read. I have several stacks of books next to my chair and have at least 5 books started at one time. Its always an occasion when i actually finish one.
Welcome Blue Redhead, out of lurkdom!
I’m olivia — from Ottawa Ontario Canada … and I just love hockey. We have the multiple book reading in common as well, I see … 😉
It’s very nice to meet you!
A football fan in Green Bay? No way! :o)
Good to see you delurk Blue Redhead…
welcome
Well finally we have delurked someone, thank you so much, I was about to resort to some tough tactics to bring out the lurkers. Yeah lurking is safe, but joining in in so fun.
So welcome officially to the site, and now we shall expect to see and hear more from you…
Hi Blue Redhead, I’m so glad you delurked. I have a close friend who is originally from Green Bay and, of course, he’s a HUGE football fan. If you haven’t already, stop by the cafe. And be sure to come by my 1 year party Tuesday night 🙂
Hi Blue Redhead.
Glad you delurked and I’m glad to see you. I hope you’ll join us in the cafe sometimes.
thank you all for the welcome. by the way my name is Karen.
I am observer393. I have a had a long journey around the world as my life has progressed. Originally from Missouri, I now live in Thailand. I have also lived n the UK, Portugal and France and have spent much time in countries as divers as Malaysia, Syria, Venezuala and Mexico to name a few. These days a I just do voluntary work and try to live as a reasonable human being paying repect to those around me.
Earlier in my life I was a military officer and unfortunately experienced active service.
Thanks for introducing yourself . You really HAVE been all around the world. What part of Missouri were you from originally? I’m in St. Louis.
Springfield originally but that was a long time ago and my family also moved aroud. It seems that bug got me too.
I use the screen name Denim Blue, because I live in blue jeans and when I found the Pond a while back I was rather blue over the state of our country. Things are looking up a bit but I’m almost afraid to be hopeful after the last six years. I mostly tend to lurk and occasionally post a comment, but I’m usually here several times a day to read the diaries.
I was a printed circuit board designer for 25 years (after a stint at teaching and a second one as a stay at home mom). My job, which I loved, was sent to China in 2002 where someone is doing it for 1/12th of what the company was paying me. When you’re laid off at age 59, there aren’t many opportunities open other than fast food or Walmart greeter, especially here in Michigan where the job climate really really stinks. I sent out resume after resume and was called in for exactly two interviews in three years. The people I used to work with are now “gypsies” moving as contractors from one job to another without benefits – something I can’t do because my widowed mother lives two blocks away and depends on us. I qualified for early Social Security last year and Mr. D.B. did this year (yes, I robbed the cradle {g}) so now I’m officially “retired” instead of “unemployed”.
I have two daughters. The eldest made me a grandmother in early 1999 and again in late 2000. It depressing to hear her say that if she could have looked into the future at what this country has become in the last six years that she’d never have had children.
I’m not sure what else to tell. I’m of mostly English extraction spiced with a bit of German and my people have been farmers since the colonial period. I love doing genealogy research (my college major was history) and have a website that’s coming up on 2 million visitors. I do a lot of needlework – knit, crochet, quilt & cross-stitch – and make a lot of knit & crocheted items for charity as part of a group at the local Sr. Center. I read a lot, web-surf, work cross-words and cuddle our three cats.
I enjoy being here and appreciate the friendly atmosphere.
Hi, DB. I’ve noticed your comments from time to time here, and I think you’ve mentioned Michigan before, also.I’m here in Detroit – my sympathies on the job history, which is terrible here. Sounds like you have been active in making a very hard adjustment – it’s one that worries me a lot.
Thanks for letting us know more about you. We wouldn’t mind knowing about your website if you would tell us, too.
I am Stephen Herron and I live in New Milford, Connecticut. I am 40 years old and I have a wife and 3 kids. I was going to Capital Community College in Hartford on the Montgomery GI Bill (I have taken the last year off) and I served in the US Army Infantry in upstate NY before moving to Connecticut when I got out of the service about 5 years ago.
I lived in Greenwich for a couple of years before buying a house in New Milford. I have been active in “internet politics” since before the 2004 elections. I am unaffilliated and Ned Lamont was the only candidate I actively supported, BUT I am against everything faaaar right, hence my hatred for everything GOP.
My home Blog is Drinking Liberally in New Milford. I started off just commenting on dKos around the 2004 elections (when I discovered the Blogosphere! lol) and started Blogging when AOL began censoring the AOL message Boards since I was one of their early casualties of their censorship purge. But that is a story all on it’s own… lol
I prefer the pond, and also places like MLW and MLN, since they certainly are more rooted in the grassroots LEFT within the community membership. Nothing against the dKos community, but their mandate is decidedly biased towards electing Democratic politicians and less towards fixing the problems in the Ameircan political system. Problems that include many of the Democratic politicians.
Born in Manhattan, grew up in Fairfield, then went away to school in the sticks of Virginia. Advertising copywriter in NYC and Chicago. In Chicago, converted to Judaism by the rabbi for the synagogue for the deaf. I started to learn sign language, helping the deaf people at a workshop for the mentally retarded.
Moved to San Francisco in 1973. Caught up in the disabled movement, including a 3 week sit-in in the HEW building, and later advocacy with City Hall and Sacramento on legislation and funding, especially on developmentally disabled and mental health issues. I have epilepsy (no seizure for decades, thanks be).
Returned to school, law degree from Santa Clara University, focused on employment and labor law. Live in the Silicon Valley area. Ceased practicing law when skin cancer reappeared, but no sign of it now for over ten years.
We’re still hippies at heart, genealogy-addicts. It’s the fourth marriage for both of us, 16 years, now. The dachshund and the Jack?terrier mix hog the bed.
My son is a lost soul, a whining con artist rowing with one oar from place to place. My (now ex-) daughter-in-law, Martha, who lives with us and will be acquiring U.S. citizenship next month, is the wonderful daughter we never had. Her parents came from the Peruvian Andes, their first language Quechua. Latanawi is a Quechua word for imploring eyes. Think child or dog begging for treat.
Martha’s brother was hired by an American contractor to guard the embassy in Iraq. In sleuthing around about the company I found an article on the Booman Trib; hooked ever since. I like the attitude, the breadth, the generosity of spirit.
Thanks, Diane101.
Thanks to everyone who has participated on this thread, my it’s so nice to read more about you all and refresh my memories if I have met you before.
I am going to do these regularily, so If you haven’t delurked or written about yourself yet, get ready for the next one.
Meanwhile we still have this diary and we only delurked one person so far, so there is still time to come on in and join the group and the fun to be had.
Also I would like to hear from some of the newbies that are participating but have never told us about themselves, so come on now, we really do like to know your story. Don’t make me come and find you one by one and lead you to this diary….lol.
If your number is over say 3500, you are a newbie, so you are on notice. 🙂 I shall get my track shoes on and search you out…
Diane, I too noticed there were lots of ppl out there that have not introduced themselves to us. They give comment but they never introduce themselves…I want to tell them a big and hardy welcome aboard.
As you can see what my name is, I came here from the orange and I will never comment there again. I do read there from time to time but this is my home now.
I am x-military and am a rn. [two branches] I find politics is a new game for me. I have been active in the political thinking since 04. I have not liked our government since 2000 when dubya stole our house out from under us. I started reading constantly online about things and finally ended up here. I love this place and hope it stays around for a very long time.
I work a lot, even at my age. I am probably your grandmother for many here. I love nursing and will always be in nursing till I am either made to retire or am unable to work any longer..:o)
I have been very active on veterans issues until recently when I had to slow down some or have a stroke. Hi b/p and all have made me feel very much my age…which I think I may have to admit someday…:o) I do hemodialysis for a living. I did the acute thing for a small hospital for 15 years, but went back to the clinic so I could get more time off. I was always on call. I am a divorced mother of three with one child expired. I have 2 and 1/2 grandchildren. We are expecting the new arrival next spring. I am still the coordinator for the Vietnam Women’s Foundation for the great state of TN. I am originally from Illinois. I am in the process of remodeling my home here, which takes up much of my time…I have had to do it in stages so I can pay cash as I go along. [ I hate debt of any kind] I love animals. I love the photo fair that is done here annually. I would love to do more growing flowers in my yard, but have become allergic to something out side in the environment here. I have had to have all my flowers taken out of my yard so I do not have to do work with them. This spring, I tried the planting in pots. This has helped some, but still some cellulitis has affected me. I suppose it is something in the dirt. I cry every spring because of this. :o( Just this summer I notice a little tremor in my hands…so I suspect some parkinson creeping up on me. This will eventually take me away from my job, I am very sure. As a nurse, my hands are my trademark in the work I do. The skills of a nurse are many so maybe I will resort to doing some teaching later on. I don’t know. We will see just how this progresses and hopefully it will be a slow thing, if that.
I am not a democrat, I am an independent that leans democratic.
Again, I want to welcome the new comers and say hi to the old ones here that have made me feel very welcome.
Lots of hugs and glad you are doing this Diane.