There's a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run through in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn't realize and you were scared
It's a place where you will learn
To face your fears, retrace the years
And ride the whims of your mind1
I've explained - semi-vaguely - some of the background behind my internet avatar & moniker. I've cruised the interwebs & soared along, above, under & through the information superhighways, engaging in battles both verbal & intellectual and embarking on quests for knowledge - new, old, and sometimes very relevant to situations in the waking world. Over the years, I've had experiences in the real world that I've sometimes recounted online: some wonderful, some frightful, several whimsical and some indescribable. Just last week, I responded casually in two separate conversations and realized that I've accumulated more experiences than I'd realized which others find fascinating - and I'm by no account anything like the most interesting man in the world, nor am I a Meteor Blades, a Markos, a Shadan7...or Batman, James Bond or anyone else.2
I'm just an ordinary, average guy in many ways. And, yet, I share in a very special family - a community - that has provided me with a lifeline to intellectual, emotional and social interaction that has enabled me to navigate troubled times while doing what I could to comfort, succor or protect those I love. And those I love are more than those in the physical realm of my local experience - Agape and Philia overflow for those I have met & befriended here.
This place - this community - has provided such a lifeline to so many people, and become not only a powerful & potent community, but also an anchor point upon which the community has built the foundation to a strong & vibrant voice for the people. For democracy.
I've been able to share my stories of caregiving as well as rant about politics; I've cited song & verse, quoted others & shared stories both humorous and touching. It was because of this community that I was able to meet another who shared some similar experiences and together we wrote a book about caregiving. We've even started a group here to help encourage others to share their own tales, and to enable those in need of advice to come somewhere for comfort & suggestions.
I've winced - more than once, and quite a bit of late - when I've been unable to contribute anything but words to any of several worthy causes, events & people.
With the latest subscription drive, I've been trying to figure out if I could afford a subscription - and if I could justify spending the money on it, in light of all the other people & causes - when I got a surprise email this evening. The message arrived just over an hour ago.
It read as follows:
Dear GreyHawk,
Congratulations! An anonymous benefactor has purchased you a lifetime gift subscription to Daily Kos.
The Daily Kos Team
I am humbled. Honored. Touched.
Above all, I am thankful, and more grateful than I can express in words.
To whomever my anonymous benefactor is, thank you. You have given the gift of family, and I shall do my utmost to ensure that this gift is put to full use.
And in whatever method or manner I'm able, I will find a way to pay it forward, as so many before me have done.
Namaste.
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Footnotes & References
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- Silent Lucidity by Queensryche:
- The weirdest conversation was when someone pointed out a scar of his. A couple of incidental scars I had came up, so I gave him a brief rundown: "This was from a hockey stick, this was a knife wound, that was from a saw, that was from a wooden spear, that was an arrow shaft..." He stopped me with "Whoa, dude - don't you ever let my girlfriend hear that. She thinks ~mine~ are badass..."
I hadn't thought of it that way, but then realized wow, I've actually got a few interesting experiences to talk about... Someday, perhaps, I'll share a few of them. :)