Someone seems to have gifted me a lifetime subscription to Daily Kos.
It took me a few minutes to comprehend this. I had noticed there was a subscription drive going on here and a rally around giving lifetime gift memberships before the lifetime option goes away. I was aware of this, but not paying close attention. I knew I wasn't going to purchase a lifetime subscription for myself or anyone else, simply because I'll be lucky if I make $500 per month this winter, much of which will be going to the rent payments that just kicked in for me to stay on the incredible farm I've been working on all season. I don't really have a spare $40 for an annual subscription, either. Besides, I'm cool with ads. They're not my favorite, but I can deal with them.
Not to mention, while I've been stopping by Daily Kos for closing in on eight years now (that's right, I've got some pride in that 4-digit UID) I hadn't been active since 2007 and hadn't really been active since late 2005. Not a model Kos citizen, to be sure.
But then, the other day, I posted my first diary in about four years.
That diary was a cross-post from my blog and I apparently chose well. It managed to find its way onto the Community Spotlight (a huge thank you to mommyof3) and generated a modest share of comments and recommendations. And before this paragraph turns into too much of a humblebrag (wait, actually, I guess just brag--unless this aside transforms it into a humble . . . no, I'm just screwing up the reference. Damn it!) I want to note that the comments generated by that diary reminded me of what an incredible community this place is.
Alabamaliberal recounted a bit of her friendship with former Dkos member "The Ghost of Karla Faye Tucker," told about her own life of scraping by and doing odd jobs, recommended a book to me, then came over to my blog and proceeded to comment some more and chat with my mom. Radical simplicity gave me some much-needed and wise advice on how to avoid killing myself on icy roads. Nulwee and Damnit Janet recounted their own dangerous driving events on local highways. Susie dow complemented my writing (the quickest way to my heart, despite what my stomach has to say) and on the cusp provided a wonderful story about her childhood on a ranch. Akmk provided titling advice and the fan man kindly overcomplimented me, sharing his thoughts on the future in the process. Most everyone, including some I didn't name, expressed their concern and happiness that I had survived unscathed the slight ordeal I wrote about in that diary. Many more recommended the diary, which is a significant kindness and compliment, as well.
Then--as if all those comments and shared stories and tips and recommendations weren't enough--I came home this evening from a hike on the coast only to encounter the dumbfounding moment alluded to in this diary. I loaded up my profile page and noted a gold medal beneath my mojo graph. I thought for a moment maybe I had been bumped up to some kind of lower-rung status due to my diary's tip jar (full of many more kindnesses) and I hovered my pointer over it to get the story.
"Subscriber," the little hover box said.
Wait, what?
I kind of knew at that moment. Someone had gifted me a subscription. But I also didn't know, because how could that be? Had could one diary earn me a $100 gift from someone?
I checked my email and, sure enough, there was the notification. Some kind and generous soul had anonymously gifted me a lifetime subscription. I didn't know what to say, other than to tell my living mate and be a bit amazed.
So here's the deal. I came here on January 1, 2004. I arrived with an obsession with Howard Dean, a newfound enthusiasm for politics, and the recent discovery of the political blogosphere. From Daily Kos, I found other blogs I ended up loving: Open Left, Steve Gilliard, MyDD. They're all defunct now, but I spent a lot of good time at those blogs and others. And, of course, I spent a lot of good time here. I lurked, I commented, I diaried. I even was promoted to the front page once, deconstructing a nonsensical press release from the Bush campaign. (Thanks, Markos!) That was a pretty proud moment.
But I eventually slipped away from here. It was me, of course, not all of you. I got out of retail and into AmeriCorps. From there, back to school and then eventually on to farming, which I've been doing for the last three years. I spent less time on the internet and I, admittedly, mostly got out of the politics game. I came to the conclusion that politics was not where my time was best spent, as it was a system that depressed and deflated me. Farming, on the other hand, brought a new meaning to my life and enthused me, rather than beating me down. I decided my energies were better spent helping to rebuild local food systems, rather than doing political cold calling.
Yet I would still check in with Daily Kos. I got sucked back in a bit during the Obama campaign, though I mostly just lurked. After Obama was elected (much to my then-delight) I eventually grew disillusioned as he disappointed me time and time again. Yet I still would stop by Dkos and I noted and appreciated the diversity of opinions. When 4.0 launched, I poked around the new interface and it indeed seemed as powerful a platform as advertised.
Here's the reality, which you're no doubt aware of: this is an amazing community. Hell, I've largely lost my interest in politics (though I'm still probably more up-to-date than a good percentage of the population) and there's still plenty here for me to read. There are those writing about sustainable farming, about alternative energy, climate change, the Occupy movement, the environment, peak oil, simple living. These are more the subjects I focus on these days, and there's still a wealth of information here, even if this site is billed more for politics. (And granted, all those issues I listed are political to some degree.)
But, as an amazing community, it's also filled with incredible people. I posted a simple diary at 1am Sunday morning, devoid of hot-button issues, and I still had a group of great people comment on it, offer me insights, give me good advice and wish me well. You all care. You give a damn. You're smart and engaged and you have interesting lives and good stories to tell and you're welcoming--even to someone who hasn't been visible in four years or so. One little diary and I get comments and recommendations and a spotlight and a lifetime subscription. I think it was a decent diary, but that's far more about this community's generosity than it is about whatever writing skill I may have.
So, to wrap up, I want to say thank you to everyone here who makes this place so great. And I want to give a particularly HUGE thank you to the amazing person who gifted me a lifetime subscription. It means a huge amount to me. Not so much for the money, though I'm happy that $100 is going to support such a great community and I certainly realize that's a significant chunk of change. But, more important to me, it means that someone felt so moved by something I wrote, that (s)he was willing to drop $100 to show that appreciation. Knowing that my writing impacted someone so much is the greatest gift here.
Thank you.