Gonna have to get up to Portland one of these days. That’s for sure.

I bet you guys have AWESOME sushi.

And yeah.. I remember that line well. And that situation.

7 years. Good lord. Here’s to more and here’s to our continued success, something I think we both have worked very hard for.

10/17/2003 gadkins74 “because survival is always worth something, possibly even everything.”

We’re going on 7 years, my friend.

So, allow me to share that I get what you’re after, here. To divest yourself of all the compounded, confounding bullshit, reach the core from which everything that is you radiates, and then build anew, hopefully having a clear sense of direction. Am I right?

It’s good to see that you still consider your writing as being part of that core passion. If you hadn’t already recognized it, you have made several attempts in recent years to use your writing as a tool to help others achieve their goals. Those experiences should serve you well moving forward.

I can appreciate the feeling of being overwhelmed. There is so much shit going on right now. How much of it is contributing to where I really want to go in life? How did I come to be spread so thin? Ack! The noise!

It’s like standing on a beach where the waves are crashing against the rocks. There are 747s taking off overhead constantly, and someone is setting off fireworks right next to you. The serenity of the ocean, the marvel of technology, the whimsy of pyrotechnics – all desirable and all demonstrating some form of power, but all at once, you’re unable to enjoy or apply them.

Silence. Calm.

Put the lighter in your pocket. Ground the flights. Focus on the steady rhythm of the waves, how they roll onto the shore with unstoppable purpose, smoothing the sand as they ebb. When you are ready, direct those flights to take off as needed to visit the places you want to go. The sound of the engines represent energy being applied in specific directions. And, use the fireworks to celebrate success.

Good luck on your continued journey, Greg.

Good luck, Greg.

BTW, I have an upcoming post about you, actually. Be on the lookout.

I will again point out that nowhere in my original response to your article on FARK did I make any disparaging jokes about actual retarded people. I do believe I even went so far as to make the point that they are focused thinkers. Of course, you keep skipping over that as well.

Please do post this on FARK. I don't care if 300 people call me out for possibly having Tourette's or not. In fact, I regularly joked about it with my wife, kids, friends, family, etc.

You see, Duff, you keep missing the point. You're attempting to turn this into an attack on mental retardation. The reality is, I continually point out that you didn't care at all about this until it personally affected you. Let me call that part out and make sure you see it…

You didn't care about this until it PERSONALLY AFFECTED you.

And now, suddenly, you're a crusader wanting to turn "retard" into hate speech. What I find most interesting is that, in both your email to me and this comment, you've never once addressed that point. Instead, you just keep trying to vilify me and think you're going to find some sort of statement that I'm going to go "oh no, please don't do that."

By the way, I'd like to congratulate you for moving on up from email to a more public forum. I eagerly await your next move… although I'm reasonably I can predict that it's more of you avoiding the two points I've been making all along:

1) you didn't care about this until it personally affected you
2) you've been guilty of using this word int he past and now "champion" this cause as a means to soothe your own inner guilt about the whole thing

Have a good Friday and a great weekend!