I'm gonna second, third, or whatever it is hobiercr for setting up & hosting the video chats during the times of seclusion...I know I didn't contribute a lot and disappeared after the first few months, but I really enjoyed having the opportunity to participate.
And Stampie for inviting me to join his Challenge team last year. I backed out, but appreciate the kind offer.
Sorry I'm late as I was in a mini internet blackout over Thanksgiving.
The list is long but I'll give it a try and miss some so I'm sorry in advance.
Wally for not only giving me a smile with his sick humor but for picking up a motorcycle in pieces and GRM expressing it on it's first leg
914driver for all the cool for sale links and the motorcycle. He's almost gotten me to drive to NY several times to pick up another pile to put in the yard.
Dusterdb13 man you are great. Your life story is one thing but to see you polish turd after turd into works of art is amazing. I'm proud to call you a friend.
The Nelson's for being them. Just knowing that I can ask what I think is a simple question and get an hour long conversation out of their busy day is amazing.
Patrick for showing me that I need to be me and not what others think me should be. He leads by example so much and he'll never know how much he's helped me without saying a word.
The other one aka Angry for being a fellow E36 M3 talker with no feelings to get hurt. Plus he knows just enough about brakes that I consider him my phone a friend for brake questions.
Indy-Guy for showing that you can be 7x full time dad and still be a car guy. Seriously I don't know how he finds the time. I'd be curled up into a ball.
russde for making Lil_Stampie so happy. It's hard to make a born and bred car kid happy with a $500 car but you hit the mark dead on.
yepididit for being a good friend just to talk whenever we need to talk. Thanks for opening my eyes to so many things in our chats.
Pete cause man you're always happy. Every time I think of you I just see one big smile.
Gumby for not treating me like I'm the dumbass that I am when I ask questions. Plus we still tell the story about sleeping on an air mattress under his lift with the truck on it.
John Welsh for being such a good help to us on our first Challenge. I know we don't talk often but I love reading your post.
barefootskater for being the young man I wish I had been. I wasted those years but you show me how it should have been done.
Tom for putting us with me plus I don't even hate you for selling me the Buick.
Mr_Asa for being a great enabler. Who else would text on Thanksgiving about a truck for my mom that we posted months ago.
pimpm3 for always being there when I text him. I swear his answer is always "Sure!"
jgrewe for the free wheels and seat for the Challenge. Honestly it was those free wheels that made me say I need to buy the Buick from Tom. It was a fun Challenge.
Floatingdoc for being so enthusiastic about everything. I've never see him doubt any idea. He's just like yeah lets do it.
TVRScott for being my anti FL man Colorado friend. Just your engineering knowledge is amazing but it's cool to have gotten to know you in person this year.
Kirk for being Scott's cousin and not looking at us at the Challenge like we were a bunch of crazies. You did well to hide that on your face.
Every single one of you that helped my nephew so much in his wanting a micro brewing job thread. I talked to him this weekend and you guys have no idea what you did for him. Really really thankful for you guys and the fact that we have a place like this that would help a newbie so much.
I know I've missed so many more but this group has changed me so much in the last 7 years I've been here. I learn something new everyday and everyone of you are amazing for making this community what it is.
In reply to Stampie :
Right back at you, buddy. We had a blast at the challenge, and wrenching with you was even more fun than I thought it would be.
Floating Doc and Pete, it was a real pleasure getting to know you guys and share the challenge experience.
Duster/Michael and Stu, I truly enjoyed visiting with you this summer. Jana and I still talk about how that was a big highlight of our East-coast trip. You guys are great.
Joe TR6, I'm really happy to have you nearby, lending support, knowledge, and friendship.
And to the lots of others who I met and who converse with me here, I thank you for that. This forum proves that internet exchanges can be positive and kind. I hope more of this spirit can spread elsewhere.
I'm sorry I'm late to this. The past week has been a mess and I haven't had much free time to put thoughts into words. Since joining here so many of you have helped make my life better and easier in ways you'll probably never know. I joined here while I was in a rehab hospital recovering from a car crash and you have been with me for every event in my life since, and I couldn't have done as well as I have without the help and support of so many here. There isn't much that can't be learned here about every aspect of life, after a while any time I was flummoxed by an issue the first thing Jodi would ask is if I checked with my car nerds. This applied to all this car related, as well as home repair, insurance, medicine, and anything else that was going wrong. Without her here you've all played a bigger role than you probably realize in keeping me moving. While most of my real life family and friends quietly disappeared so many of you have reached out to make sure I was taking care of myself. I'm sure I will leave out many of you because I have the dumb sometimes but here goes in no particular order:
The Suddard Family and company, Tim, Margie, Tom, and Katie, as well as David and JG. Without all of you we wouldn't have this incredible community. in addition to turning out two magazines, and putting on events, you still have time to keep us civil here. On top of all that any time I've gotten to meet any of you you've treated us like family. Thank you for everything you do for all of us.
Hungary Bill, you are like the unofficial morale officer spreading cheer and connecting people, not only at New Year's with what had been dubbed here the Special Olympics Secret Santa (she could be harsh sometimes) but throughout the year. We always had a great time going out to the garage to fill our box then opening ours and seeing what cool stuff was sent our way.
Duke, who has a lot of similar interests and sends all sorts of fun things my way and thinks a bit to much like me for his own good probably. It's a bit reassuring to see that if I'm crazy at least I'm not alone.
Matthewmcl, you and your wife were so helpful when I lost Jodi. So much of what you've said has been spot on and I'm better for it and appreciate the help so much.
MTN, Curtis, Captdownshift, Patrick, Angry Patrick, RevRico, and so many others who hae checked in, made me laugh and get through the day.
Bob of Korea, the other ginger (there's a reason he never talks about a Soul) with some issues. Sometimes it really helps to commiserate with someone who's pretty much the same but different. Hopefully we keep having more good days than bad.
For everyone I've forgotten to mention, I apologize, my brain is like soup pretty often lately. Thank you all for everything you've done, not just in the past 16 months, but navigating illnesses and doctors, suggesting treatment options, advice on rebuilding our house, none of it would have gone as well as it did without the input from so many of you. Jodi and I were constantly glad to have you all around to help us along and now as I try to figure out where I'm going from here I'm especially glad to be a part of this family.
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