Marsha - where do I begin? Your kindness and humor and generosity over the past years made my life better. I hope next month finds you in crafting nirvana, moderating nothing! One of my favorite memories is the time you busted me for creating another profile (which I believed would be totally anonymous since I was stoopid), and receiving a PM from you saying "El Guapo?????" Oh, the shame, and the laughter! My face still turns red with embarrassment thinking about it.
When I joined this board in 2005/2006, I was in a bad place. It was after Hurricane Katrina, and I spent my days hauling fallen trees, eating MREs, and sleeping without air-conditioning. One afternoon I was standing in my driveway, covered with scratches and scabs, sweating like a mofo, and there were helicopters overhead and a military tank passing in the street. There was nobody else on my street, and in a sudden flash I pictured myself as Frannie Goldsmith. When we finally had power restored, I wanted to find a way to tell Stephen King that dammit, he got it right in the "The Stand," so I did some searching and found the board. And it changed my life. This board, the members, the moderators, have seen me through a difficult marriage, the sickness of a partner, a divorce. Oh, and happy times, too!
Thank you, Marsha, for everything. And to the dear friends I've made here (and you know who you are), I hope the chain won't be broken once the board ends.
FlakeNoir - sorry, not sorry, but little Stevie is mine. I had a dream that he took me for a ride on his motorcycle, and we went to the French Quarter and smoked cigarettes (did I mention he was wearing a fur dog suit?). This surely was prophetic, so bugger off.
And Steve, if you're listening... what a gift it was to find you at the age of 15. I learned so much, related so much, and grew in so many ways from reading your books. And what a gift this board has been. Thank you. (Call me.)