This is not my 40,000th post, but it's close.

Patsy Stone

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Fri Jun-04-10 07:05 PM
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This is not my 40,000th post, but it's close.

Edited on Fri Jun-04-10 07:31 PM by Patsy Stone

The post which holds that distinction is one wherein your humble author dotes on Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson for staging a concert for dogs, with music written specifically for the dogs, in sounds only they can hear. It may sound kind of anti-climactic, but it's totally me. Even though I knew I wanted to say something for my 40,000 post, and I kept track of my post count for days, when push came to shove, I just couldn't stop talking. I hope you will forgive me.

It's taken me almost five years to get to this point, and in that time, I feel like I've aged ten. I never thought I would survive the Bush Administration. I mean that literally. The first selection was bad enough, especially since I live in South Florida. But then came September 11th, and the horrors of the event, and the outrage at the transparency of the "response", and all that took up so much time well, before I knew it it was 2003 and election time again. How could the country not see that we couldn't afford another four years of these criminals and liars? How could John Kerry not win? So I, and everyone I knew, went and did our part to get Kerry elected. When they announced Bush "won" Ohio, I immediately ran to the bathroom and threw up. (In fact, I lost my appetite for about a year after that, dropped too much weight, and couldn't seem to put it back on.) When all of those weird Rovian occurrences started happening in Ohio, and the recount that never was, and the Green Recount that mostly was, and the fact that the media was so willing to just move on, well, lets just say that the people I knew, although involved and highly informed, didn't want to obsess over it all like I did.

I started at dKos, and after a couple of weeks, when we were abruptly told we were no longer allowed to discuss the stolen election, I luckily found DU and the Election Reform Group a few minutes later. Of course (to sound a bit like the Onion Belt story) it was called Election Results and Discussion at the time. Wow. I was finally among people who knew there was something wrong -- and they were all over it. That group is where I met the core of people I still continue to call friends today. Let's not forget the wonderful Andy, and the crazy insane Bev Harris part of our show, and the monumental feuds over statistics and analysis, and of course, the DUDQ meetings: "We’re Dooooooooomed!!!!" These people, and DU, saved my life and made me feel, well, sane. So thank you.

As for people, well, I've met some great ones here. I've also met some not so great ones. I've talked with brilliant people who are much, much, smarter and more level-headed than I am, and I've had fun taking the low road and batting around more than a few trolls in my time in both in "cat with some yarn on a lazy Sunday morning" and "Ninja Kitty" modes. I've loved and I've lost. I've laughed and I've cried. I've had my heart broken. I've had my eyes opened. I've seen the light, and I've learned to embrace the darkness, and sometimes, most importantly, I've learned at the very least, to find people to wander through it and laugh with until you can make sense of most of it.

But enough about me. This isn't "This is Your Life" and I'm not going to go through each of the five years in great detail. You're welcome. But I would like to thank the Admins for creating the Countdown/Keith Olbermann Group. It was born out of ERD, since Keith was the only one talking about Warren County, and the recounts, and he was the first to interview Ken Blackwell. We started there, and after a brief stay in GD, where we picked up some more regulars, we soon moved to our own comfy space. The KOEB as we are known (although we are co-ed) continues to this day, every evening Keith is on Countdown. Okay, it’s true: we’re usually there for the substitutes, too. But we’re at our best when Keith is at the helm. C'mon on by and say hello. Thanks, Skinner. You rock.

As for DU changing, forget the debate. Of course it's changed; it absolutely has to. We went from being underground, to being The Man. People have left, new ones have arrived, people have died, gotten married, had kids, divorced, fallen in love. The debates will always continue, no matter which party is in power, but one of the most important ingredients, if I may offer a small opinion here, is civility. We have to all come to terms with the fact that just because someone doesn't agree with you 100% percent, all of the time, they are not (I repeat, not), the devil's spawn. Okay, maybe they are the devil's spawn sometimes, but rarely. To paraphrase a great line from Annie Hall, a relationship has to continually move forward, like a shark. And what we don't want to have on our hands is a dead shark, now do we? Just, if you would, be a little bit nicer to your fellow DUer whenever possible. If you won't do it for me, do it for yourself. What could it hurt? This moment of Jewish guilt was brought to you by the spirit of my mother.

So, here's to you DU! I couldn't have done it without you. At least I'm at the point where now, some days, as any true DUer knows, I have to do it without you because you are totally out of control. But most of the time, I wouldn't be anywhere else. To all of the amazingly inspirational people who fill these pages with wise words and thoughtful deeds each and every day, and for those of you who keep me informed on Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, as well as everyone who makes me laugh on a daily basis, thank you and don't ever stop.