One sunny San Diego morning way back in 2005, I was sitting at breakfast with the man I hoped to marry. We were chatting about some Bush II-era debacle or another, and something in the conversation inspired him to grab his laptop and introduce me to a political humor column on a website that, in my opinion, had way too much orange on it. As I read tidbits of the inescapably aggravating news of the day wrapped in a delicious candy coating of snark, I knew for sure that I had found a love that would last.
Oh, I don't mean the dork with the laptop. I mean Bill in Portland Maine and the Cheers & Jeers community!
Before I 'splain, a word from our sponsor!
Please support Bill and C&J, because a day without snark is like a day without coffee, chocolate and sunshine!
One time contribution: click here.
$5 monthly contribution: click here
$10 monthly contribution: click here
$20 monthly contribution: click here
Or send your check via snail mail to: Bill Harnsberger, 16 Pitt Street, Portland, ME, 04103.
Join me over the squiggle, where the love story continues!
You see, it turns out that my breakfast companion was not, in fact, The One. Quite the opposite. He was Mr. Wrong. Mr. Likes Being With You But is Never Gonna Marry You -- No, Not in a Million Years. He knew it. All my friends knew it. But I was too stupid-in-love to see it, and it took two or three break-ups and reconciliations over two years and a swimming pool's worth of tears for me to finally get it through my thick head.
We finally broke up for good in March 2006. Even though I knew (finally!) that it was for the best, I felt like a walking bruise, and I needed something to keep me company over my morning coffee. So I turned again to that curiously orange page, where at least I could get a laugh. I hadn't even discovered the shenanigans going on in the comment section, but that soon followed.
Here's my very first comment:
First Post! (7+ / 0-)
Cheers to me for finally dippin' my toe in the kiddie pool after lurking for months!
Jeers to being late to the kiddie pool cuz 1) I'm on the Left Coast and b) I am SO not a morning person!
Cheers to not having to be at work early today!
Cheers to the ongoing implosion of the Republican party!
But most of all...
Jeers to involuntary celibacy. A month after asking me to move in with him and discussing marriage, my boyfriend of a year-and-a-half suffered an attack of commitmentphobia and headed for the hills. Applications are now being accepted for the position of Mr. Virgomusic.
Cheers to me for looking for a man next time, not an aging boy.
Cheers to my Pootie, Piccolo, who really is the love of my life. No commitmentphobe is he -- the only thing he fears is the vacuum cleaner!
by virgomusic on Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 02:38:00 PM EST
Thus began a morning ritual and many wonderful friendships, not to mention the enrichment of my vocabulary -- I learned the word "shart" from none other than Mrs Pastor. The waters of the kiddie pool were a balm to my broken heart.
The timing was perfect, too, because I learned about the very first proto-Netroots Nation (known as Yearly Kos that first year), and I jumped at the chance to meet all of you wonderful lunatics in person! I'll never forget that weekend in Vegas (though of course, I can't tell you about it!)
Oh, and speaking of perfect timing? One month to the day after that first comment above, I met my real Mr. Right, McDoc. We were engaged four months later, and we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in June of this year. The C&J gang was there to cheer me on through our whirlwind courtship and my subsequent adventures in wedding planning (the Bridezilla Countdown Clock became a daily feature in my comments!). For that, I will be forever grateful.
If you've been around Daily Kos for any length of time, you know that, trolls and flaming and pie wars notwithstanding, this place changes lives for the better. So please, won't you help keep our kiddie pool filled? Here are those links again!
One time contribution: click here.
$5 monthly contribution: click here
$10 monthly contribution: click here
$20 monthly contribution: click here
Or send your check via snail mail to: Bill Harnsberger, 16 Pitt Street, Portland, ME, 04103.
Cheers to all of us!