Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

The US Supreme Court is on the ballot in november.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Usually wrong but never in doubt

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

He really is that stupid.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Second rate reporter says what?

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The Supreme Court is corrupt. Democrats must win in November and force court reform.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Saturday Night Open Thread

Saturday Night Open Thread

by | 75 Comments

This post is in: 

Busy day- processed a bunch more summer apples into applesauce (got 4 quarts out them), rubbed down a brisket and got it in the fridge for tomorrow, processed a couple more gallon bags full of tomatoes and got them in the freezer (gonna make sauce all in one day when my basil is ready), got the fermenting crock cleaned so I can make sauerkraut tomorrow, planted beets, put in a last four tomato plants that I found just shriveling up and dying at a greenhouse (so I said what the hell, might as well give them a chance and maybe I will get some late, late fruit), got in a bunch of cucumber plants underneath the tomatoes that are currently fruiting that will be done in a week so I can start to trellis them, and got the beets planted.

Tomorrow I am smoking the brisket (I got it already marked down in a buy one get one free deal, so it was only 12 buck for ten pounds!!!), pickling the first run of okra, and making the sauerkraut. Really excited with how much I am able to get out of a few beds- next year I want to try to plan it a little better and maybe put in two more beds.

Also, I was able to reach Scotian, and we chatted via text for a bit, and will talk tomorrow about setting up a gofundme. Which means that you all can STOP EMAILING ME, FACEBOOK MESSAGING ME, TAGGING ME IN FACEBOOK POSTS, TEXTING ME, AND CALLING ME FER THE LOVE OF CHRIST YOU PEOPLE. You all are so good. Just decent people. Well, a couple of you suck. You know who you are

Baud/Cole 2020.

Reader Interactions

75Comments

  2. 2.

    chris

    Well done, John, and thanks for news about Scotian.

    Have you heard of “square foot gardening”? I know a couple of people who use the method in small spaces and and swear by it.

  3. 3.

    debbie

    Sounds like you will get through the winter without a single run to the food store!

  4. 4.

    TomatoQueen

    Aren’t you having a heat wave, like the rest of us? The kind of heat wave in which you go plop in front of the A.C. unit and don’t move til it’s over?
    Wishing it were otherwise don’t make it so, and so glad to help Scotian.

  5. 5.

    dww44

    Cole, you make me tired. I don’t think I’ve ever done that much in a day even when I was younger than you and you’re still a generation removed from me. I like that when it comes to home and gardening you just go for it. No hesitation. That’s a very good trait. I deliberate and vacillate way too much.

  7. 7.

    Patricia Kayden

    Man, where do you live again, John? You have mad cooking and gardening skills. You should add cooking tututorials to your YouTube channel. For real.

  8. 8.

    Miss Bianca

    Aww. I am multi-tasking, writing a review of a handbook on therapy dogs in the restorative justice movement (do I know anything about this? I do not), and trying to keep up with the news of the world and the jackaltariat here. Y’all are good folks. Scotian, sending good wishes your way.

  9. 9.

    geg6

    We have bags and bags of green beans and wax beans that all came in in one day. This weather! We’ll be blanching and freezing most of those, but had some green beans for dinner tonight. Our tomatoes aren’t quite ready yet. I would kill for some of your homemade sauerkraut!

  11. 11.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    ” Well, a couple of you suck. You know who you are”

    Thank you, I have a reputation to uphold.

  12. 12.

    Aleta

    Anyway … short invigorating vid.

    José Alonso Muñoz @munozjose
    Hundreds are chanting “Close the camps!” under the bridge that leads into Fort Sill (where Trump wants to detain 1400 migrant children). We are demanding that the government #CloseTheCamps.

  13. 13.

    Scotian

    Your kindness and generosity of spirit managed to break the ice shield over my emotions. They have been in place for 26 months now, and I have been getting desperate to crack it. For the first time in my nightmare I was able to cry, and that is of such value and need my wordsmith abilities cannot in my opinion express it as it truly deserves.

    I stayed here because the intellect of this community is only exceeded by the hearts of this community and you have fed both in my darkest hours.

  14. 14.

    debbie

    @NotMax:

    I didn’t know it at the time, but the neighbor living downstairs from me was making kimchi. I was convinced something had died inside the walls of my apartment.

  15. 15.

    seefleur

    After all the other crap that is happening out in the world, this post has made me very very happy. The jackals are angels with very warped wings and halos… perfect! Next week I should be getting retroactive pay for a promotion that was approved over 18 months ago – but as a lowly state employee, there was no funding to actually cover the promotion. I plan on using a portion of the retro pay to make some donations that have been out of the question until now. Scotian will definitely be one of those to whom I will donate and I will be so happy to do so! (Also donating to unseat Susan Collins – as a resident of Maine I wouldn’t spit on her if she was on fire… but that falls into a “donation against” rather than a “donation FOR” which is a much more positive thing…

  16. 16.

    debbie

    @Scotian:

    I hope the rest of your time with your loved ones is filled with love and peace. I really don’t even know what else to say.

  17. 17.

    MisterForkbeard

    Because it’s an OT, did anyone else catch the avalanche of Marvel new coming out of Comic-Con? Because Holy shit.

    Amongst other things, they’re doing the Lady Thor story, a black widow movie, more detail on the a number of previously announced shows like Loki, announced sequels to Guardians, Black Panther, and a few others.

    And also, they’re bringing back Blade.

  18. 18.

    Another Scott

    It sounds like you’ve found your passion. Excellent.

    In other news, Reuters:

    (Reuters) – Several U.S. Democratic presidential candidates and lawmakers on Friday demanded Puerto Rico’s governor step down over offensive chat messages, as thousands on the Caribbean island staged a seventh day of protests to seek his resignation.

    Banging pots and pans and chanting “Ricky Resign!,” Puerto Ricans streamed into San Juan’s old city on Friday night and called on Ricardo Rossello to quit over the misogynistic and homophobic messages.

    The chats, from a Telegram message group and referring mainly to politicians and officials, were published on Saturday.

    The leak, running to 889 pages, added to Rossello’s woes after two former officials were arrested by the FBI last week as part of a federal corruption probe in the U.S. territory.

    The protests have also tapped into simmering resentment over Rossello’s handling of devastating hurricanes in 2017 and alleged corruption as Puerto Rico’s fragile economy struggles to recover from the island’s bankruptcy.

    U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard joined the protests in San Juan, saying she wanted to “stand up to corruption,” as other Democratic presidential candidates including Julian Castro and Elizabeth Warren also called for Rossello to quit.

    [ photo ]

    “We must stand with la isla. Rossello must resign,” tweeted U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, whose mother was born in Puerto Rico.

    The island’s nonvoting representative in the U.S. Congress, Jenniffer Gonzalez, earlier called for his resignation, while Rossello’s press secretary Dennise Perez resigned, saying she could no longer hold the position after she was called corrupt in front of her son.

    “It’s your turn, Ricky,” protesters chanted on the street after word spread that Perez had stepped aside.

    Rossello, who is affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party, has refused to step down but said he would hold an emergency meeting with leaders of Puerto Rico’s New Progressive Party, which he leads.

    Puerto Rico House Speaker Carlos Mendez on Friday announced the creation of an independent committee to determine whether the center-right politician engaged in illegal activity in the chats. The group has ten days to deliver its findings.

    The island’s bar association published a report citing clear grounds to impeach the 40-year-old former scientist, based on the “depravity” of his messages.

    The chats, revealed by Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism, showed how Rossello and allies exchanged vulgar memes and comments as well as privileged information.

    While opposition legislators back impeachment, the process has yet to gain critical support from lawmakers in Rossello’s ruling party.

    But politicians like Gonzalez are increasingly concerned about Puerto Rico’s “anarchic” image after clashes in San Juan this week and allegations the two administration officials arrested by the FBI stole government funds.

    The violence and political turmoil comes at a critical stage in the U.S. territory’s bankruptcy process. It has also raised concerns with U.S. lawmakers who are weighing the island’s requests for billions of federal dollars for healthcare and hurricane recovery efforts.

    “The island cannot afford to lose already approved federal resources, nor the ones we are working to obtain,” Gonzalez said in her letter to Rossello urging him to step aside.

    I read somewhere else that there were 550,000 people demonstrating for him to go. He won the election with something like 600,000 votes…

    IIRC, there’s some sort of Trump connection too. After the Hurricane, Donnie was viciously attacking the Mayor of San Juan while the governor was almost singing Trump’s praises. C-Span:

    Donald J. Trump

    Governor, I just want to maybe ask you a question. Because for the spirit of these people that have worked so hard and so long, like Tom and like Brock, and like so many others, did the United States — did our government — when we came in, did we do a great job? Military, first responders, FEMA — did we do a great job?

    Ricardo “Ricky” Rossello

    You responded immediately, sir. And you did so — Tom and Brock, they have been on the phone with me essentially every day since the disaster. We recognize that there are some logistical limitations that we have in Puerto Rico. We didn’t have the ports open for a couple of days. We didn’t have the airports working at full capacity until about a day or two ago.So that was always a very limiting step. Buy if you consider that we’ve gotten — even with those obstacles — we’ve gotten about 15,000 DOD personnel in Puerto Rico, about 2,000 FEMA personnel, HHS and others — the response is there. Do we need to do a lot more? Of course, we do. And I think everybody over here recognizes there’s a lot of work to be done in Puerto Rico. But with your leadership, sir, and with everybody over here, we’re committed to achieving that in the long run.

    The next debates are in 10-11 days. I hope the candidates have decent answers prepared for the obvious questions about “Democratic corruption” and all the rest…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    schrodingers_cat

    JGC@top you are an Indian grandma with all your pickiing and jam making summer activities. That’s what many Indian grandmas did, made papad, and other stuff that could be dried in the sun to be eaten later. There must be elebenty and one ways to preserve and pickle the plethora of mango varietals you get.

  23. 23.

    satby

    @Scotian: if we can offer our support and love in a tangible way we really want to. Thank you for letting us help in a small way to take a bit of stress away. ?

  26. 26.

    Gemina13

    @Scotian: I wish you well, sir.

    JGC@top: I spent the day buying Rainier cherries to can and make pie filling, scrubbing my bathroom, vacuuming the house, doing dishes and laundry, and moving a huge-ass bookshelf. I’m exhausted, and still not done. You’re my age, and you make me tired just READING what you’re doing. I don’t know whether to be jealous of your stamina, or in awe.

    Now I’m going to read some H.H. Scullard and finish Robert Harris’s “Conspirata.”

  27. 27.

    TomatoQueen

    @Scotian: It’s good to have a jackal to care for. I haven’t had the chance to greet Siobhan yet, and while that mightn’t be possible at the moment, I’d still like to send love and good thoughts to her, and hope she comes here to visit us soon.

  28. 28.

    planetjanet

    I am feeling like an artiste tonight. I have prepped a photo I took of the cherry blossoms around the Jefferson Memorial for printing tomorrow. The office has asked for artwork for a conference room with a theme of Washington, DC. It had previously been filled with travel posters, but the person who owned them retired and left the group. This will be a big poster-sized print. It is so hard to work with the depth of field and get it right. I am more of a sports photographer. But I love the sunlight on the petals and the monument is just blurred in the background. I hope it goes over well at work.

  29. 29.

    suezboo

    Just a thought. I think Baud should skip this election so as not to split the Dem primary vote and instead start campaigning on Baud/Cole 2024. IIRC, the orange disaster started his re-election campaign almost immediately after the Inauguration, so one has precedent – kinda.US elections always take years to run – or is that just how it seems to us furriners? Get a head start – pack for Iowa now.

  30. 30.

    J R in WV

    @Scotian:

    Holding you in the light, as that’s all I can do until the fund raising happens.

    Best of luck to you, fellow Jackal. Keep in touch as much as you can…

    Jackal love from West Virginia!!

    JR

  32. 32.

    Suzanne

    @Scotian: Sending many good wishes your way.

    Cole’s productivity is making me feel inadequate. All I have done all day is sit down with Spawn the Youngest on my chest. I figure that this is the only time in her life that she will want to be so cuddly with me, so I will eat it up while I can.

  33. 33.

    Amir Khalid

    @suezboo:
    As a fellow furriner, I agree. It seems like over there in them Yew-Knighted States the next presidential campaign starts even before the new POTUS takes office.

  35. 35.

    SFAW

    @Mary G:

    Now I want to email you just to be annoying.

    You probably already know this, but in case you don’t: MAKE SURE YOU USE ALL UPPER-CASE WHEN WRITING TO cole.

  40. 40.

    laura

    @Scotian: sending you love and light, and soon, something tangible.@Suzanne: you grew a person and are introducing her to her world, you are exceedingly adequate and heroic.

  41. 41.

    Quinerly

    Ivanka got an all white dog with blue eyes. Announced it on Twitter. The Twitterati is not kind.
    “The dog will fit white in.”
    “Poor dog. His new family is going to prison.”
    “Keep it away from the Huckabees.”
    “And Mitt Ronmey.”
    “You gonna crate train her, or are cages just for kids?”
    “She is absolutely beautiful. Get her as far away from your family as possible.”
    https://mobile.twitter.com/ivankatrump/status/1152762580152307713?s=12

  44. 44.

    Ruckus

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:
    I was thinking we may have to have a contest to see exactly who JC is talking about. Of course that may kill the entire blog so maybe…….

    ETA Also glad to see you around, you seem to be scarcer than in times past. Also your name, for no reason I can fathom, reminds me of a guy I used to work with.

  46. 46.

    Ruckus

    @Scotian:

    I was able to cry, and that is of such value and need my wordsmith abilities cannot in my opinion express it as it truly deserves.

    I’ve been in the same position, not for the same reason but I find myself just some days, sitting here crying. It seems like I shouldn’t but then I find that it calms me, helps me see better. It may be that or it’s a symptom of what ails me.
    Whatever.
    It is cathartic isn’t it?

  47. 47.

    Ruckus

    @seefleur:
    Not to be all that crass…. Ok to be crass
    Wouldn’t spit on her. Would you piss on her? Before you answer remember that there is more moisture there and that might actually help put out the fire.

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly: Hilarious thread.

    Rehome it right away.

    Be careful or your brother will shoot it.

    Run Winter run!

    Jared won’t be the whitest thing in your house any more.

    ===

    Anyway, it’s a beautiful dog. Kind of looks like a fox. I wonder if Ivanka thinks she will ever go back to her previous life, where a lot of people kind of liked her because they did not know all the details.

  51. 51.

    SectionH

    @Scotian: You’re a brave person, even if you don’t think so. My admiration and gratitude to you for speaking out. And yeah, my best thoughts added to the rest of the jackals’.

  53. 53.

    Yarrow

    @Scotian: Much love to you and your family. Your kindness and thoughtfulness has always come through in your posts and I’ve always enjoyed your insights. Whatever Juicers can do to ease your worries we are glad we can help. Wishing you peace.

  55. 55.

    CatFacts

    @Scotian: Wishing you well on your journey. And your family, too. We will all be there one day–thank you for letting us share it with you in some small way.

  58. 58.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @raven: Sorry so late but I was interrupted by a wax job on our van. :) Luckily our son was around so I put him to work with myself, told him it was more education. ;)

    We’re doing well here, just nursing along on my lower back until after a trip to Montana that we have coming up. We’re going to see the last remaining two of my wife’s Mom & Dad’s brothers (one in Spokane, the other in Billings) plus my family in Spokane, then cruising back through Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and then meandering back home through southern Idaho and eastern Oregon to Brookings on the coast. Once the fun is done it’s off to the back doc in Medford to start whatever…lol

    I hope you and yours are doing well and surviving the heat wave. We’re lucky here on the south Oregon coast as it’s been moderate and sunny (60’s-70’s with a day or two of low 80’s. Today it hit 64 and it’s now 57, which is the expected low tonight. I know this is like hanging a juicy steak in front of a hungry man for those suffering through this heat wave but then I do have a reputation to uphold… ;)

  59. 59.

    Scotian

    For those that do not know the full extent of what has been my life the last couple of years now I will give a recap here.

    April 2017, mum has a stroke. While in hospital for that an old hernia surgery site covered by medical mesh blew out and nearly killed her. I spent every day except 2 days of 10 weeks with her.

    June 2017 mum is released from the hospital.

    Early July dad is discovered to have a tumour. Three weeks later he had emergency surgery where it is confirmed to be cancer.

    Aug to mid Oct my wife and I become live in caregivers for both of them.

    March 2018 dad is slated for what is a curative procedure we move back in for the next 11 weeks. Turns out the cancer was much further along and was terminal in nature.

    July 12 I have major car accident because I was so burnt out I pulled out into oncoming traffic and was T-boned. Walked away from a totalled car with minor bruising. Went back home for next few months until October 17.

    Oct 17 Dad calls to tell me I am taking mum to admitting to geriatric psychiatry because her vascular dementia from the stroke has gotten too severe, and I have to do it because his chemo caused his own body to infect him. From this point on we are de facto living permanently at his house, and formally moved out of our home of 18 years to live in his at the end of March this year.

    Now, Siobhan and I are on disability for well over a decade and change. This includes our only source of income and drug coverage. I found out June 1st it had been cancelled with no warning whatsoever. I found out I had pancreatic stage 4 cancer that had already gotten to my liver in the last week of May.

    2 weeks after I found out I had cancer dad died of his. All the estate planning was done assuming I was going to be alive for a while after his death. Problem of course being I’m not. He tied up the liquidity of his assets only leaving enough to cover for mum and the care of his dogs. Dad was a major figure in the dog show circuit of this region.

    Needless to say that has left Siobhan and I up the creek. Long term Siobhan is covered for, but that only happens after mum dies, and her body unlike her brain is still strong so that won’t be until well after the costs of my dying have to have been dealt with
    The family can cover things like basic groceries, and the local palliative care program is getting the drug coverage straightened out, but things like cremation costs and all the other crap that comes with death are not and I have been freaking out about how to leave her not holding that shit sandwich.

    So for this community to offer what it is is truly the first real good news we have had in this nightmare.

    I hope this helps those wondering exactly what happened to better understand the chain of events Siobhan and I have been facing. I also could not in good conscience accept your offers of help without this disclosure, my own ethical beliefs prevent this.

    David Macdonald

  60. 60.

    Skepticat

    Well, a couple of you suck. You know who you are

    Well, yes, but I was hoping to sneak in under the radar. The rest of them—what a fabulous community.

  61. 61.

    Another Scott

    @Scotian: Don’t worry – it doesn’t help. (No matter what my J – a lifelong RedSox fan – says. ;-)

    Thanks for confiding in all of us. We’ll do what we can to ease the worry and stress.

    Remember the good times and don’t let the bad parts of the last few years spoil these coming days. Life is still precious and to be treasured.

    Peace and comfort to you and Siobhan. Hang in there.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  62. 62.

    Scotian

    The above covers the basics for the most part. My wife has neurological issues as borderline personality problems, and I have been her interface with the modern society, so you all can imagine how that also drives my fears for her. She has watched a father in law she loved dearly die over 18 months, and just when that wraps up she has to watch her husband who is also her first love die of an even uglier cancer in fast forward from what she saw with dad.

    You can just imagine the level and nature of the stressors she is feeling. I would also expect her to be lost in grief for a while once I am gone, and with no safety net to bridge that gap gods only know what would happen to her. Which is why facing my death for myself is easy, but for what it will do to her has been tearing me up inside.

    I know many have said she can reach out here, and I know on your side she can, but she is not tech literate. I am also the writer/talker of the two of us, reaching out in general does not come easy to her, that borderline personality issue aspect I mentioned earlier. Still, I hope she is able to do so, she deserves all the support and love she can get, she is so wonderful a person, I may be her first love, she is not mine, for me though she is my greatest love of all. That is not based on how poor the others were, they were few but also deep, but rather a reflection of just how wonderful she is.

  63. 63.

    Scotian

    Well, I am calling it a night now, I just thought you all should have some idea of just how much the warmth, love, and light has been needed that you all have extended has brought and why. Thank you.

  65. 65.

    eclare

    @Scotian: Late as usual, I never doubted you. What a horrible past two years you have had. I hate that all I can do is donate, but hopefully that helps.

  66. 66.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    You’re in our thoughts here in our household, Scotian. We’ve lost two dear friends to cancer in the last two months, it’s fucking ruthless. For me, words are inadequate at times like this. Life is just cruising along and wham, you and your loved ones world is turned upside down. One friend had six weeks from the time he found out. He seemed fine and then he wasn’t.

    Our sincerest wishes and thoughts to you and yours.

  67. 67.

    Mel

    @geg6: It sounds like you have a magic touch with bean plants. I love them, but always end up losing to mildew, no matter where I plant them. My neighbor has some gorgeous lilac bushes that line his back fence, and I suspect that they are the progenitors of the mildew problem, as it always pops up on them in June, right about the time that the beans are starting to come in, The sight and smell of those lovely old lilacs in bloom in spring is probably worth the bean sacrifice, though,

    Wax beans are so good, and so pretty on the plate as well. But green beans and some cottage ham and new potatoes, slow cooked – wow, does that bring back good childhood memories.

  68. 68.

    Mel

    @Scotian: My heart aches for you and your family. Your courage and your compassion and your dignity and grace in the face of all of this speaks of the truly wonderful person that you are. You and your wife are heroes, as far as I’m concerned.

    It is always, always okay to cry in the midst of such mountainous obstacles. Sometimes there is nothing for it but to just let go and let it all out, when we’re powerless to change things despite our best efforts,

    It can feel so damnably lonely and unmoored to be disabled, much less to then face the battles that you have endured. But please, please know that you and your wife are not alone, and that you are loved, respected, and cherished by so many here, and I am sure by so many others in your daily life.

    Just by being yourself, you have inspired so many people here, myself included, to fight our battles harder, and to stop and really express to the people dear to us how much we love them, to remember the preciousness of NOW and to stop and appreciate it.

    Thank you for trusting us and believing in us enough to share your friendship and your brave journey with us. It would be an honor to lend a hand to a friend, especially one who has done so much for others even in the face of such challenges. No one person or family should ever, ever have to carry the weight of what you’ve been through on their own.

    Sending you and Siobhan hugs and wishes for a good night’s sleep and a peaceful Sunday.

  70. 70.

    Rileys Enabler

    @Scotian: I’m horribly sorry that it has come to this for you both. Reading your words about the love and worry you carry for your dear wife are heartbreaking. Through all the battles discussed endlessly here, it really comes down to this, doesn’t it? The love and worry for our dearest ones. And yours so sharp and immediate. I am so sorry. Keeping you both in my heart and hoping for peace and grace to fill your days. What a rare and tender love you have. Thank you for the reminder of that kind of beauty.

  71. 71.

    WaterGirl

    @Scotian: Even though I am crying as I write this, it makes me happy to think that we might have made you feel safe enough, for even for a minute, that you could cry. What a relief that must be, it can definitely have a calming influence. Hugs and love

  72. 72.

    trnc

    @Another Scott:

    The next debates are in 10-11 days. I hope the candidates have decent answers prepared for the obvious questions about “Democratic corruption” and all the rest…

    Which would truthfully be, “When we find a corrupt member of our party, we immediately withdraw support and work to get that person out of office. Contrast that with the republican party’s response to DT’s numerous corrupt actions,” followed by several examples of his corruption.

  73. 73.

    Scotian

    @Rileys Enabler:

    You are welcome. I mean my parents raised a demon child in me as I am severe ADHD, so severe I was being treated for it since 1975 when I was 8. I am one of the ritalin success stories. One of the reasons Siobhan and I mesh so well is that we are both high functional people within our respective neurological disorders. The love my family showed me throughout my life laid so much the love you see me practice.

    As much as my parents did though for my heart’s shaping it was my godmother/grand aunt who showed me I was worth love itself and that I had a big heart to share with others. So much of who I am is thanks to her. She was with me until I was 30, and it was still too short a time.

    Love matters, kindness matters, compassion and empathy matters, without these aspects of humanity we are monsters, with them we are capable of such beauty and grace. I know which side of that equation I belong to.

  74. 74.

    Gemina13

    @lamh36: Heh. I do the same, under my handle @NWMagpie. He doesn’t respond, which is okay – if we ever got into a conversation, most of it would be mutual preaching to the choir.

  75. 75.

    Gemina13

    @Scotian: My heart broke reading your story, and your love for your parents and Siobhan shone through every word. Please continue to keep in touch, as long as you can; many of us who can’t give now may be able to do so later, and even after you pass so that Siobhan may have a little more to help her through the next few months.

    I’m so sorry. Life is unfair, but sometimes, I’d like for it to be unfair in certain people’s favor. Like yours.

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