A 2fer-Long(gone)Richard and A new leader in the clubhouse
I haven't seen the Indianapolis threads for a couple of weeks, sounds like it was noisy and that LR has resigned/been removed from the board. I just want to say that when he started here I thought he was the biggest asshole I had ever seen.
Back to that in a minute, but just like MCBB, there is a new number one in the polls for 2010. I know it may seem like lately the next one is always the best one, rest assured that between the reports there have been a number of games and there were a couple that were obviously playing out of their division, but there were two that I could have easily made the argument deserved to be in the top spot, or at least tied, maybe 1a and 1b at least, but the cream has risen to the top now. The amazing thing is like so many things in life she was hiding in plain sight, always there for me to see but I was blind. My thanks to Mr popular for shining a light so that I could see, and by the way you were also obviously correct about something in your last PM too. My only regret is that I would have made the acquaintance of this special one a couple of years ago had not unfortunate circumstances derailed our appointment.
Back to LR, when he first showed it seemed his only purpose was to be the protagonist to TB, who on a couple of levels I considered to be my dawg. TB was a great hounddog of talent and bringing it to light. He unfortunately had a hobby-tragic flaw, he often, as many of us stupidly do, tried to be the savior of some providers, we actually shared a project like that and that is where I learned most about him. Seemed like a decent enough guy, extremely valuable to the board, although over time you find that most all of what he knew was known to someone else here too, he just appeared to have most of it instead of the isolated pieces and he shared them willingly. He didn't turn girls out, but ones that were leaning he often brought to the surface. A number of the more famous providers touted on this board today were at some point exposed by TB, hell he referred me into Blaire(miss you Baby) probably a year and a half and two names before"Blaire" even existed. Once again, she was around if you traveled in the right circle and was known to others not just him by any stretch of the imagination, and we all would have known eventually, but it would be an understatement to not say that he was extremely helpful. It seemed LR's only purpose was to try and run down TB or to chafe him in any way. As it turns out, TB left for lots of good reasons, one being such that, if you had traveled in the right circle, it would have made you jealous beyond belief. But that persona is gone. LR' s attacks at TB annoyed me, and I thought some of his statements about some providers I thought were a little demeaning. Some where along the line, something , and I can't for the life of me remember what, caused LR and I to communicate. Not positive, but pretty sure it was me who opened the lines of communication since I had made some less than complimentary remarks about him, and who would have known-but I came to like and respect LR. I came to see that some of what he said about providers was merely me personalizing it and in reality, it was merely a difference of opinion about certain providers, and over time I came around to his way of thinking about a few even. I found him to be honest and forthright and extremely giving of his knowledge and experiences to help other hobbiests, or at least me. I found that LR was who he was here, not who he is. We stayed in touch during his rather long absences from the board, and although at times he was moving in a different realm, he would always offer up anything he knew or had found if he thought I might be interested. He even offered to broaden my horizons to an area that was intriguing, a sandbox he liked to play in, that for a myriad of reasons I could not indulge in, although it was tempting because of the fun I had had dabbling in it in my youth, when I was invisible and had nothing to lose. LR became a valuable resource to the board, and to me personally, even though my original opinion of him was not very flattering. As he became again a presence here and in the hobby as of late I was glad he was back and gained very good intel from him on a goodly number of providers. I for one will miss LR here. Truth be told, even if I hadn't grown to like him, he and TB made for great entertainment didn't they?
A couple of weeks ago a "friend" found one of those motivational/inspirational refrigerator magnets that she thought I should have and could use, and I keep it on my bar fridge so that I can see it every time I go to pull another brew. I think that if I run into LR, I will give it to him, from what I hear he needs it more than I do. Am I the only one that feels like D'Arcy in a room full of Chuckie Collinses? Actually I love Tom Collins, wonder if they are related? I had written a post and before I submitted it I heard about all the brouhaha here and decided to erase it before I hit the button, in light of all the drama it didn't seem like the time or place, maybe I will redo it in the near future. The best part was a provider( ok maybe a provider in the truest sense of the word and not the professional sense) report about a Venezuelan stand-off( it is so much more fun than a Mexican one)-but I will have to be very careful to camouflage some parts to protect the innocent. That by the way, would not include me.
