So, my friends, here we are

[The Straight Story]

I have nearly 17k posts on DU, and was reading it long before I joined up.

In the years I have spent here I have seen my life go through many changes - from getting my first house, to my mom dying along with many others, to my wife getting diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, etc. and so on.

And while I have had friends in real life and family as well I can say that I have been touched more by folks on Du than I have many in my offline life.

Thanks to the vision of Skinner and the work of his Admins we have a little corner of the net where people can come together and call 'home'. Not the traditional home of course, but an online one where can each be ourselves and talk about life and rant/rave about things.

You have all seen me through the worst years of my life. You were there for me when mom died, when things were tight, when it all seemed lost. I had somewhere to turn to, and some people to talk to when I felt at my loneliest.

And I have talked to others here on their worst nights.

When the shit hits the fan we drop all the BS about who we are voting for, the primaries, gun rights, etc, and we have each others' backs. It is like a family reunion every day where no matter what we might argue about in the end we are there for one another.

We argue, we disagree a lot, we fight about everything it seems. But in the end we come together for one another.

I can't donate right now, hopefully I will be able to by the weekend - but with starting a new job and trying to get on my feet it is not easy. If you can I hope you do - because it is an investment for so many here who need this place to sound off on.

We might kick each others' ass once in a while here, but I am damned thankful I have a place to go where I can voice my views. Even when I turn out to be wrong.

This simple little website has gotten me through many a dark night, as it has others.

So here we are, another fund drive to raise money to keep it going.

Not really for Skinner, but for us all.

Yeah, it's just a website to read for some.

But for others here it is so much more. It is an anchor that helps us weather the storms we are in.

It is an online home, filled with an online family we talk to on a regular basis.

It is the little site that could.

Thank you all for the years of great memories and kind words and help. You and this site have made a difference in my life.

-TSS

[Arctic Dave]

1. True

:thumbsup:

[Hekate]

2. What! You got a new job? Outstanding!

:toast:

All the best,

Hekate

[The Straight Story]

3. Finally! I am a computer nerd for an Ambulance company

And after I started there I got another call for another job making 12k more and better benefits.

But I turned them down, which was hard to do. I tend to be very loyal, and I liked it just being me and one other person in the IT dept. Their IT dept was a mess, and I have helped them a ton already. I feel useful and it feels really good to be able to help the many people I do.

I feel like I am helping others by keeping our EMT's and Paramedics running. I wanted to give something back to our community, and I can at this job versus working for a larger corporation that provides cable and internet.

My boss is an EMT by trade, not a techie. And he has adopted several Latino kids here in this red county that seems to hate Latinos. He hired me on the spot because he wanted to learn from me. I just could not let him and others down for more money.

Maybe some will see me as an idiot for not taking the higher pay and better benefits, but something told me to do the right thing and stick with them. Plus the other company had talked me months ago and never moved on things, too little too late for them (they wanted me to come on board and do data analysis, which I offered to do on the side when I turned them down).

Maybe I am just old fashioned or something. I just could not see me starting a new job and then leaving a few weeks later over money. In 12 years I have only quit 1 job - and the boss was an ass and the pay sucked.

Even if loyalty means nothing to a company, it means something to me.

[Hekate]

4. Good things are happening, and you deserve them all. Now go get some sleep....

...this is my last post of the night.... :boring: ....sleepy, I am getting very sleepy... :boring:

Cheers,

Hekate

[roguevalley]

12. you are a good soul, straight story. your post told my story too. I

still have the kind replies when I spoke of my mom and dad dying. they passed ten months apart. this place was of great solace to me. I am so glad you are working and I know about the loyalty thing. :) You are not an idiot. you are a good man. take care.

[The Straight Story]

15. Thank you my friend

for your kind words. I hope DU reaches it's goal soon. I have donated twice this year already, and will again as soon as I am able to.

Skinner, et al, work hard to keep this place running. And I am damned thankful for that.

[tom_paine]

5. K & R

[lligrd]

6. What A Wonderful Post

and so true! Good luck on the new job.

[Prophet 451]

7. K, R and bravo n/t

[barbtries]

8. thanks skinner

i feel the same way about DU. i ALWAYS give when the banner comes up, but this time around i won't have the money until thursday.

times are hard, but DU is the first place i click on every time i sit down at my computer. if it wasn't for DU i would be so uninformed. this is a great place.

[SeattleGirl]

9. I agree.

And I also want to say that I always look forward to your posts, TSS.

Congrats on the new job, too!

[The Straight Story]

14. My dear friend

I am glad someone looks forward to my many rants :)

DU has been a place for me to unload many a personal issues when no when else would listen and care.

I have been ripped for some of them, but mostly people have been kind and accepting. And that means a lot to me.

I have been able to talk to folks here about things that I haven't been able to talk to others in real life about, and have gotten a lot of feedback worth listening to. Even if folks felt I was wrong at least most said so in a constructive way.

[OwnedByFerrets]

10. Glad to K & R

[annabanana]

11. k&r, TSS, my dear...

This is where I discovered that I wasn't crazy. This is where "America" went when all the other voices had been smushed by the RW media consolidations...

[The Straight Story]

13. I dunno

I think I found out I WAS crazy after coming here :rofl:

Thank you my friend for your kind words. Much appreciated.