September Chit/Chat

[stillstANNding]

Thank you, Mike and thank you for your time and money.

What happened here recently had nothing to do with the way BT, as a platform, works or the political thread. It was just messy personal interactions.

ANN

[Virginia]

Yes, thank you Mike. I do wish there was a way that based on what a person's ability is that we could help monetarily. I feel sure that there are a few of us who could and would do that.

Ann, is one hundred percent right in saying that what happened recently had nothing to with BT and the way it works, nor the political thread. I haven't heard anyone discuss politics anywhere other than that one thread and anyone not wishing to participate could so easily ignore that thread.

It's good to know the lights will be on.

[Sunshine]

What a sad state of affairs. This board has become a lifeline for several of us. We endure each other’s quirks because we basically believe in the goodness of others here, even if we disagree with them on what seems like minor issues usually.

I am not really sure what happened here. Perhaps more is going on between the scenes. I do know that Rose lost a child and her husband is very sick. Laz’s John has been in peril. Ann’s mom is in peril. Jeanie is emerging for peril as is Cat . Howie is not around people much and this board is his neighborhood. Virginia is alone and in pain.

And I am in peril every moment of the day.

So, do we leave them?

We make a difference by remaining here. People remain in families to help each other with far worse goings on than the recent flare up here.

I don’t know why the politics threads and accusations flying around about it has allowed a former member to come here and throw a bomb onto the people who need this board for help and support. Why did that blow the board apart? Why didn’t we just weather it?

You can block people who are sources of agitation.

I will miss those who leave or lurk.

Even when I was too sick to post, I tried to “Thank” at least a post here or there to be a presence of support. Because by being here for so long, I have a responsibility to be a member, even if a barely active one....


All of us are very ill and impaired in many ways.

[Lazarus]

What a sad state of affairs. This board has become a lifeline for several of us. We endure each other’s quirks because we basically believe in the goodness of others here, even if we disagree with them on what seems like minor issues usually.

I am not really sure what happened here. Perhaps more is going on between the scenes. I do know that Rose lost a child and her husband is very sick. Laz’s John has been in peril. Ann’s mom is in peril. Jeanie is emerging for peril as is Cat . Howie is not around people much and this board is his neighborhood. Virginia is alone and in pain.

And I am in peril every moment of the day.

So, do we leave them?

We make a difference by remaining here. People remain in families to help each other with far worse goings on than the recent flare up here.

I don’t know why the politics threads and accusations flying around about it has allowed a former member to come here and throw a bomb onto the people who need this board for help and support. Why did that blow the board apart? Why didn’t we just weather it?

You can block people who are sources of agitation.

I will miss those who leave or lurk.

Even when I was too sick to post, I tried to “Thank” at least a post here or there to be a presence of support. Because by being here for so long, I have a responsibility to be a member, even if a barely active one....


All of us are very ill and impaired in many ways.

Thank you sweetheart!

[agate]

What a sad state of affairs. This board has become a lifeline for several of us. We endure each other’s quirks because we basically believe in the goodness of others here, even if we disagree with them on what seems like minor issues usually.

I am not really sure what happened here. Perhaps more is going on between the scenes. I do know that Rose lost a child and her husband is very sick. Laz’s John has been in peril. Ann’s mom is in peril. Jeanie is emerging for peril as is Cat . Howie is not around people much and this board is his neighborhood. Virginia is alone and in pain.

And I am in peril every moment of the day.

So, do we leave them?

We make a difference by remaining here. People remain in families to help each other with far worse goings on than the recent flare up here.

I don’t know why the politics threads and accusations flying around about it has allowed a former member to come here and throw a bomb onto the people who need this board for help and support. Why did that blow the board apart? Why didn’t we just weather it?

You can block people who are sources of agitation.

I will miss those who leave or lurk.

Even when I was too sick to post, I tried to “Thank” at least a post here or there to be a presence of support. Because by being here for so long, I have a responsibility to be a member, even if a barely active one....


All of us are very ill and impaired in many ways.

I'm entirely in agreement with you. Unfortunately, as I probably posted a while back, I've had an odd change in my reaction to stress, and it's been going on for a year or two now. I can't take much stress at all any more. Not getting any younger of course.

It's too much stress when I try to be helpful, try to do what I can to resolve a very serious issue here, and at least 3 people get badly upset because I've read over a person's previous posts.

I don't understand this reaction at all. Why are those archived posts there if not for us to look at them? It's time-consuming and most people wouldn't bother, to be sure. I don't usually bother. But when there's a question in a person's mind about someone--and more information is needed--it's very common for people here to look back over a person's previous posts, even in the archives. I've seen it done many many times.

I was trying to be helpful to someone who was, for all intents and purposes, new here. Some of the older posts gave information that showed he/she was "one of us" and had been for a long time. I was trying to help him/her be comfortable here in case some clouds of suspicion or mistrust were hanging over him/her, and I had good reason to think they might be.



I don't know what I'm guilty of, exactly-- being interested enough in a newcomer to try to learn more without wanting to ask him/her directly?

And why not ask him/her directly? For one thing, we're not supposed to do that. We're supposed to let people share only the information they want to share. But this was information he/she had already shared. Here. I felt it was all right, under the circumstances, to find it and even re-post a few details. Also, maybe other people's memories are better than mine but I couldn't remember much about the person at all and wanted to refresh my memory.

I don't understand. I'd be flattered if anyone took the time and had the interest to look back over my old posts, particularly if I was reappearing on a board I didn't post often on.

Perhaps what people want here is a board where there is no access to previous posts. You could ask to have the links to archived posts removed. You might even be able to arrange things so that only fairly recent posts show up--I don't know.

I think that would make the board far less useful but that's just my opinion.

It's extremely useful, when someone new or less familiar to us shows up, to be able to look back and refresh our memories. I've found it very very useful to be able to look back at older posts, on this board that is open to everyone and has had so very many people on it over time.

I've always found it hard to be disabled and unemployable. I like to be useful. That's why I signed on here in the first place. That's why I stayed here. But when I can see that I'm not just disliked but intensely disliked by two or three people here, and the group isn't so very large, that's more stress than I feel up to.

I'm really sorry to be letting people down in this way. But I do try to stay within my limits.

Special thanks to the moderators for allowing this post to remain if there are complaints about it. I appreciate this one chance to explain and I have no intention of prolonging the discussion.

[Sunshine]

All I can say is that I am very sorry Agate.
LIke you said, stress is harder as we age and our disabilities mount.
If you decide that its too stressful, I hope you do lurk, and occasionally chime in?

The whole issue just seems so sudden and so powerful...and two powerful things at the same time: the politics issue spurred by Robert and then the aggressive move against Cherie .

There are good well intentioned souls here. Focus on those agate when you come back.

[Virginia]

Agate, read the first line of Mike's post #151. I think that is very fitting.

Another thing is that there are far more people who like you on this forum than who don't. Obviously, I can't take a poll, but I am sure this is true. You are respected. I think of all the times you post people's birthdays and make us feel good by doing so. Also, I think of all the times when someone has a question regarding something medical and you come up with something you have read and post it for us, and the new stuff that comes out that you post for us to read. I really appreciate those things and admire people who can do all that. In addition, you have tried to take a lot of responsibility in posting to keep the forum going.

Just think about it and if you feel you can without causing additional stress for yourself, post just at times when you feel you can. Maybe you can limit yourself if you need to without leaving us completely.

I don't want you to do anything to harm your health and I know this has been very stressful, but if you can stay even on a more limited basis I sure hope you will.

[nuthatch]

Words of wisdom, Sunshine.

I believe Agate has always had good intentions and is a very valued member here.

[nuthatch]

Where oh where did my "Thanks" button disappear to?
Ditto what Virginia said too.
This mother hen is wondering where Howie and Sam are hiding?

[Virginia]

Me too Nuthatch, Sam may be under the bed by now or maybe it is the other way around and she has Howie under there.


As for me, even after not sleeping the night before, I went out to dinner with family last night. I went because it had been a month and nephew and niece were going to be there. They usually are not. So anyway, older brother from S.C., just happened to call youngest brother. When he found out I was there he wanted to talk to me. For some reason he was wound up and just having a good time talking. One SIL and my Niece and I had all ordered the same thing and they were through eating while we were still talking. I was glad to hear him doing so well, but wish we could have talked from home. I told everyone that I had to figure out how to get home since I couldn't make any left hand turns unless there was a stop light at the place I was going to turn. Youngest brother who made this decision for me told me exactly how to go. He worked it out. Wish your brothers were near you, but then again they might run you crazy like mine do me.

[nuthatch]

Awwww, they may drive you crazy or more like around and around in circles but you know you love them anyway! Glad you got to go out to dinner with family and even had a good phone chat with your older brother. It sounds like he would have liked to have been there with all of you and in a way he was! Hope your dinner didn't get too cold.

[nuthatch]

Hi Ann! So good to see you here and to see everyone did not leave.
I was in tears yesterday when I finally came on and read all the drama. I usually read the forum later because of the time difference plus I tend to stay up way too late (thanks to the addictive puzzles!) and as a result I sleep too late in the morning. Someday I'm gonna reverse that!
I could probably be coaxed away from a puzzle with chocolate!

How's your Mom doing?

[stillstANNding]

Mom is doing well. She’s finished w the PT and the nurse only comes to do the INR (for her Coumadin dosing) every two weeks or so. And she has a visiting nurse practitioner that comes once a month or so. This is all paid by insurance and Medicare.

She’s also back to reading and is watching the history of country music (Ken Burns) on PBS this week and loving it.

I am grateful that she’s back to enjoying life. Thank you for asking. (blows kiss)
ANN

[Virginia]

Ann, great sign that your Mom is back to reading and getting interested in some things like the program on PBS. I hope this upturn continues on for a long time.

[Virginia]

I hated to read that Cokie Roberts, Journalist has died. She was only 75 which is not that old.

I saw Meredith Viera on TV. She said her husband Richard Cohen, Journalist, who has MS is doing very well. He walked with a cane every since I can remember and now he is using a walker. She says that with the walker that he no longer falls. He had a lot of falls when using the cane. He use to do an MS blog, but I haven't heard anything about it in a long time.