Good evening! Thank you for stopping by this evening's edition of the 'Cheers and Jeers' blogathon. Bill in Portland Maine graces us with his wit and snark in his C&J column Mondays through Fridays. He's been writing for almost 10 years now and we, the community, have been funding him for the past 6 years... We've bought his soul, basically. He's still going strong and we'd like to rehire him for another year.
What makes 'Cheers and Jeers' so special? For starters, Bill's snarky commentary makes us laugh out loud, quite a lot, actually. He is a wordsmith and a Master Snarker. He brings us the news of the day, the good and the bad, for what it is. Be it forward-thinking legislation, matter-of-fact stories, or eye-rolling idiocies. He brings us tales of the times we live in and more. Bill has created and continues to create a wonderful community full of kind, intelligent and sarcastic folks. A bunch of wisenheimers, really, (no, not Heisenbergs - different diary), but the best wisenheimers one could hope for. And it's this community that has helped make my life what it is today. I mean that quite literally...
Follow me below the thingamabob to see what happened when I splashed into the kiddie pool.
I found Daily Kos during the insanity of the previous administration and eventually found my way to 'Cheers and Jeers' in 2005. There was this man writing intelligent snarky commentary on the news of the day. His wit and biting humor made me laugh... and laugh some more. I jumped into the kiddie pool of comments and discovered that the people there were kind, supportive, smart and sarcastic. Perfect! We typed and jabbed about politics (of course), but also about life, love, loss, dogs, cats, gardens, work... you name it. We shared such things that tie us together as fellow human beings. We made connections. We made friends.
One summer day, there was an opportunity for a meet-up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I could actually go meet these fantastic people, as it was barely a couple of hours away. That sounded like so much fun, scary as hell, but the fun-sounding part won out. So, I did just that.
I met a small group of C & J'ers, including Bill and Michael, and I'm so glad I did. Bill and Michael are two amazing people, as was the entire group. Here were people who shared similar political viewpoints, some similar hobbies, some new ideas and most importantly, laughter and hugs and smiles. It was just so wonderful to finally meet some of my friends. We even took a pic of everyone's shoes, way back then...
Very shortly after that, maybe only a week or two later, I was slated to go to Boston to meet-up with another group of C & J'ers, another group of friends. Apparently, I was in super-ultra social butterfly mode or something. Whatever it was, I'm so happy that I found them. In the kiddie pool, we shared lives, goings-on, jokes, laughter, tears, rants, raves, cheers, jeers, and yes, politics, too. We made those connections and moved forward with actually meeting each other and taking it from there. A diving board to outside of the kiddie pool, in a way. It was in Boston, however, where I first finally met one of those friends, the one who would become my best friend and a few years later, who would become my husband.
Because of Bill in Portland Maine, because of Michael, because of these wonderful people from the kiddie pool who became dear friends, because of 'Cheers and Jeers' and the community that Bill nurtures there... Because of all of it, I also managed to find and fall in love with my best friend. This is the four of us at Netroots Nation in 2009:
These days, I am not able to play in the kiddie pool so much, due to that darned thing called work that gets in the way. I try to visit 'Cheers and Jeers' on Friday evenings, which will be more frequent now that summer is headed out over. (Consider yourselves warned.) I miss the daily camaraderie and banter and sharing, but I smile just knowing that Bill and C & J and the kiddie pool are there... We just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary last month. Simply put, that would not have happened without 'Cheers and Jeers', without Bill and Michael. Thank you. We love you both.
If you can, please consider supporting Bill for his efforts. His efforts bring laughter and smiles, information and news, grins and fun to us in this crazy world. And, most importantly, his efforts bring people together. And what are we if not a community, with a place to come together and share, to create friendships, connections and more...
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To send a donation via snail mail, the address is: Bill Harnsberger, 16 Pitt Street, Portland, ME, 04103.
Postscript: I have to end with a pic of our critters, for if there's one thing I've learned around here, everyone loves a good woozle and pootie pic. Plus, these kids just love the attention. ;)