CJ triggered some introspection. Mix that with the early death of Brian James, and some nagging ache I can't seem to sleep with, and it's time for a later night post.

I spent some time in archives today too. Googled some older things, and kind of just started to reset. A lot has happened! What a ride since about 2003, Huh? (and that marks my initial time here)

Listen guys. You all are friends to me. Damn near family for all the time we've spent. Thanks for that. If I have been ugly (and I absolutely have --we all have), know it was passion channeled into advocacy, and it was only that.

As important as advocacy is for clarifying our thoughts, channeling energies, and growing strength of mind and character, it tends to grow into something more than that and when it does, it's not always good.

Take some time this weekend and sort a few things out. Release some anger, go play, walk, do.

Perspective is important. As passion grows, we tend to focus it, feed it, use it and become somewhat myopic about things that surround it. If I were to tip over today, I would be disappointed and I would have regrets. There shouldn't be many regrets, as our time here is unknown. Just something to think about.

I have reached the realization that I am in need of perspective again. Good news (for me anyway) is I've been there before, and something triggers this, and the reset works!

So, I'm passing that along. Consider it a friendly KSKD PSA. Think about who you really are, what you wake up for, and make damn sure you are feeding that, as well as those other things passion tickles you to.

It will be a new day.

(goes to try sleep again)

Thanks Doug. Always good to reset.

Last month was Black History month. All month long the radio show my wife and I voice track we featured African-American's who are NOW making a difference. Familiar names and not so familiar. In the past years we focused on historical figures, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglas and the like.

Our final Black History month feature turned personal for me. I shared the story of two African-American women I had known, not so much for the lives they lived but for the two sons they birthed who would become close dear friends of mine.

Both Betty and Ella died last year some 4 months apart. They never knew each other personally but the gift they gave to their children reaches out into our community everyday.

Both Betty and Ella dealt with racism growing up. Both raised children during times of race tension. Yet both knew where the higher ground lay. Never bitter, but certainly vocal, they forged for the lives they were entrusted with a sense of making this world a better place, and you do that by first being a person of high ethical standards. Not trying to be perfect, but being honest and filled with integrity.

The two sons that became my friends, though vastly different, carry their mother’s sense of purpose and self-worth. My own mother was at the wedding of my friend Lee (Betty’s son). I was not able to attend the ceremony. During the reception my friend Lee was talking to my mom and Lee mentioned to her the he considered me his first soul brother. I hold that very close to me.

At the memorial service for Ella, her son Gerald and I embraced in a long heartfelt hug. Ella the second oldest of 14 children had been a mainstay at our church. She had a depth of character and infectious smile, she will always be remembered for. Her son was the leading Elder I chose to assist in the baptism of both of my children.

Upon reading KSKD’s post it motivated me to call Lee, whom I’ve not contacted since last August at his mother’s memorial service. I have no excuses. His business card has been sitting on my desk since Aug. Lee called me back and we are getting together tomorrow afternoon. Gerald and I continue to stay in touch. He will be dropping off Blazer tickets soon for tonight’s game.

So thank you KSKD.

Life is certainly a journey. A great adventure, as mother said of her relationship with my dad.

Reset complete.

I have not been on this board as a participant for very long. I have been a reader here for longer than I have been a participant. While the discussion has been heated at times, I appreciate that most folks remain colleagial in spirit -- as Missing reminded all of us.

Thank you for the reminder... and thank you Chris for your post. Now, hearing your description of some of the content in your February radio shows, I wish that I was in your listening audience! Reminds me of the great radio I heard as a youngster in Southern Ontario Canada when I could tune in WJR from Detroit.

I wish all of you the best on this weekend and I hope that someday I will be honored to be sharing a soft drink with many of you... even those who I probably differ with philosophically. I hope that you all feel the same!

Edust thank you for your comments.

Also you can now hear our show on line. www.lighthouseradio.com/kysj. Look for the speaker icon on the upper left side of the page.

Missing, we are a unique bunch in here, commonly bound for the most part by radio, but all very much unique, from all aspects and walks of life.

Even though we've had many disagreements with others in here, and questioned their sincerity and honesty, we indeed are tied together, like one big happy family. We're genuinely concerned with each other, we have each others backs, and it has shown time and again in here.

Life takes us in different directions, different places, some of us (myself included) move onward, upward, out of the area, and I really enjoy the connection here, getting the occasional email from someone in here ... you just don't get that on any ol' message board!

Missing is right, we should ALL reflect on what matters. Friends matter very much to me, and I consider all of you friends.

For that I thank you.

Life is just too short not to engage with it. Quick follow up to my previous post. I did meet with my childhood friend this afternoon. We had 38 yrs. to cover and did a pretty good job in about 3 hours time.

The last time I saw him was probably about year after we moved. We hard heard stories of our lives through others. What was really kind of sad was that we lived very close to each and never knew it. We probably walked by each at the mall, on the sidewalk at the gym, without knowing it.

We shared about losing our mothers and how that affected our immediate families and how coping with grief is a complex issue.

We parted hopeful for a new beginning in our relationship. I told my wife I've added another pearl to my personal friendships.

As for this board: It's certainly a unique dynamic which is now very common place in our techie society. Yes you get the good with the bad, but that's life.

Not to sound ungrateful, but here it's a different kind of "friendship." Same in some ways with my other friends but yet at arms length...which for me is by design. It's not that I don't trust people here and it's not as if I haven't shared some deeply personal feelings, but I do enjoy a bit of the anonymity that comes with this board.

What I do truly appreciate is when one of us comes in with a story of personal loss. We may have disagreed sharply on an issue and actually felt some bad blood, but every time one of us goes through moments of struggle or pain, the walls go down and the hands and words of encouragement go up. THAT is what makes this board truly unique.

You are right: I have never heard an unkind word on this forum when the subject has been a truly personal loss (such as serious health problems or a death in the family). I hope that it stays that way, even as the face of this community changes (as all online communities tend to do).

Having said that, and adding that I do value the online friendships created on this board and others, I sometimes worry that I am spending too much time online. I often think that some of that time spent online should have been devoted to reading books, taking care of the house, working on electronics, or pursuing some other creative outlet. Years ago, the balance between being online and the other activities I listed was different, and I think that I might have been happier then.

That's valid. I'm fighting with electronics time, and skill building.

One interesting artifact of that happens to be meeting people all over the place with shared interests! It's possible to do cool projects with few to no geographical worries. I really like this. If you are wanting to learn, or grow into a niche, Internet can't be beat.

I find that productive time usually. Politics and such is a distraction, and one to be managed for sure. ---or you pay the sleep penalty and get over it!

--->and yes, nobody wants to see anybody in harms way. I love that about our group here. That is not true everywhere, and is something to be appreciated.

....but I do enjoy a bit of the anonymity that comes with this board.....

That's right chris Taylor, or whoever you are, know one knows if you are live, or print-tracking.

(you know this post, right down to my reversing the capital letters in you screen name is all in fun, don't you?)

Roger you keep it light and fun. Or maybe I should say roGer.

> If you are wanting to learn, or grow into a niche, Internet can't be beat.

As far as having the capability to quickly retrieve information on potentially obscure topics is concerned, this it quite true. In the days before Wikipedia, for example, finding information about people who were currently alive could be challenging because encyclopedias generally refrained from publishing articles about people until those people had died. The 1960 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana, for instance, does not have an article about Edward R. Murrow. Likewise, encyclopedias avoided current events: In that 1960 edition, there is an article on tobacco that goes to great lengths about how tobacco is cultivated and processed, yet says nothing about the harmful physical effects of tobacco use, which were being discovered and publicly announced at the time.

Where addiction comes into play is when I trivially click through links or do Google searches "just to see what comes up." This often happens when I don't feel motivated enough to get to work on something that I know I should be doing.