Almost three years ago, I came out here to chase my dreams, just like everyone else. I had a good relationship, children, a house, and the promise of better work. Last year, that all came crumbling down, brick by brick, until I had nothing left but the ashes.
So I'm leaving on Wednesday.
I don't know where it all started coming apart last year, but within 60 days of thinking I'd found a great job that I loved, it was gone, and so began the cycle of working temporary jobs without any promise or being unemployed. It could've been the year before, when we had to leave the house for an apartment complex that turned out to have a major roach problem, a problem that hasn't been resolved despite numerous complaints to management or the health department. And also having the relationship fall apart, but that could fill a small book.
I was so close to getting something I REALLY wanted two years ago, but just missed. And that was the story of my professional life in L.A. I can't help but feel that I truly failed out here in some respects.
At the same time, I did have one big success out here, and that is thanks to this website. I have always cared about politics, but it was through here that I found my voice, that I found my fight, that I found my sense of civic duty that allowed me to go and do things such as supervise a precinct on Election Day 2006, a thoroughly exhilarating experience that I will never forget. It was here that I wrote some of my best work, better than most anything I wrote in five years in college as a newspaper editor.
And it was Los Angeles, one of the cradles of liberalism, where I learned to stop caring if somebody called me a liberal. I'm proud of that term. Liberals have been the force for change in this nation since the days of Lincoln. Yes, today's GOP loves to point to Abe, but he wouldn't recognize a single one of those hypocrites as being a Republican the way he saw it. If he issued the Emancipation Proclamation with the Republican Congress of 2000-2006, they would've impeached him.
It was in Los Angeles where I gained a much greater appreciation of the environmental issues we face. You damn right I believe in global warming and the need to cut down on emissions. I see it every day when I look at the giant smog cloud that covers this beautiful city and its valleys. This city and its surroundings is full of natural beauty, and you'd better believe that I'm going to miss stepping out onto my balcony and being able to see snow-capped mountains. You'd better believe that I'm going to miss bright, beautiful, clear days by the beaches. You'd better believe that I'm going to miss going to small ethnic restaurants and eating better food than any chain can make. I will miss Los Angeles deeply, but events have dictated my departure.
So, on Wednesday, I go back to where I started in Detroit, and with the help of my family and friends, I'm going to get back on my feet, and hopefully succeed where I failed before. I feel confident that I'll make it, though, because I have my voice, and it is because of my time in L.A., and all my time with DailyKos. Don't worry, I'll still be around, but as it has been for the past month, it's not going to be that much for a while. To all of you who read this, thank you, and forgive me for the personal nature, but most of my best friends are all of you who give me the hope and strength I need in life, and I truly appreciate it.