Thank you. Very simply put. You know who you are, and I want you to know you make a difference.

I've gone through some rough times. Sigforum members have helped me in numerous ways. Every day, I see wisdom and mentoring taking place on this forum. You give knowledge and advice and so much more from the goodness of your heart. It is known. It is seen. It is appreciated.

Based on some things I've read here over this past year, I recently decided to try to call up some family members I haven't talked to for a good decade or more. It's been mostly rewarding. Then one of them, my Grandmother, decided to use it as emotional leverage to pound on my father. This got taken out on my mother. And at age 36, I decided that if nobody in that part of the family was going to try to steer the ship, then I would take the helm. I called up my grandmother and told her that I have my own decisions about life to make, and that one of them was that for my son's safety, my father is not ever welcome at my home and there's nothing she can do to change that. I wanted her to get to know her only great-grandchild, but that cannot come at the cost of my son's relationship with his grandmother. There was zero confrontation, just a straight adult appeal to logic. I told her every reason why I made the decision and she was shocked, but agreed. There was a lot more to it than that, but for quite a bit of it, I found myself thinking "what would JALLEN say? What would SigMonkey say? What would LBJ say? What would V-Tail say?" And you know what? Those questions gave way to decent answers that astounded and confounded my grandmother. We hung up after a lot of laughs.

So thank you. Not all of us Millenials are a complete waste, and if you think otherwise, then feel free to chime in for those of us who are listening and learning. Don't stop chiming in with your hard-bought wisdom.

I just heard a bell ring. Maybe Jim Allen finally got his wings.
We do miss him a lot, don't we?

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

I found myself thinking "what would JALLEN say? What would SigMonkey say? What would LBJ say? What would V-Tail say?"

I am honored to be included in that group.

The wisdom on SF is truly amazing...

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I just heard a bell ring. Maybe Jim Allen finally got his wings.
We do miss him a lot, don't we?

I know I do! Vast amounts of knowledge and experience about everything life on this board!

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

I found myself thinking "what would JALLEN say? What would SigMonkey say? What would LBJ say? What would V-Tail say?"

I am honored to be included in that group.

You found your way in that group all by yourself. I’m just telling you.

There’s many other forum members I pay close attention to, but maybe some of them would’ve told Grandma to pound sand, and that’s maybe not what I’m trying to do right now, lol.

Way to take the bull by the horns Smudge, it’s not an easy thing to do, I had a similar situation. You are doing the right thing not only for yourself, but teaching your kids the right way to go about things, tough as it may be. Damn, we are lucky to have the wealth of knowledge that we do.

Thanks, pwelch001. When my mother was relating how my grandmother was using my conversation with her to basically blow things up, it truly was a thought in my head that "no, I've learned better from folks that wouldn't allow this to go on this way. Things change today."

I also thought of our bearded beekeeper, 45cal, but I decided he might be a bit too blunt for me to draw inspiration from to use with Grandma.

I must agree that the folks on this forum are a refuge from the storm.
I have been on MANY forums, lurking and participating, and have not found many equal to SIGforum.
Sometimes feels more relaxed than with family. And always something to learn.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
The wisdom on SF is truly amazing...

It truly is..... I certainly appreciate all the knowledge, wit, and humor I get from here!

Hoo boy. The Earth is beginning to rumble. First time I can recall in decades that my mother was so mad she didn't want to talk to me.

I guess my Grandma has no interest in being Great-Grandma and just wants to watch the world burn. That's sad for her. I was just trying to rebuild bridges I thought were burnt. Oh well.

Giving up on people is so much easier than trying to do the right thing. I could've been done with this 10 years ago. I guess I needed to touch the stove again. Oh well, I did it knowing it was going to be hot and I guess I hoping it wouldn't burn too bad. Stupid.

This is how you get wise.

Cool post! Here here to that!

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:...

Giving up on people is so much easier than trying to do the right thing....

Sometimes, giving up on people, is doing the right thing...

And a guy I know, who is pretty wise, said; "This is how you get wise."

Listen to him.

The key point is that you didn't give up trying to do the right thing.

God bless you for that, especially for your son.

There is so much here to learn from so many kind souls.

It's truly a safe haven from the storm.

I am glad you made progress.

And cheers to anyone who helped.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Thanks, pwelch001. When my mother was relating how my grandmother was using my conversation with her to basically blow things up, it truly was a thought in my head that "no, I've learned better from folks that wouldn't allow this to go on this way. Things change today."

I also thought of our bearded beekeeper, 45cal, but I decided he might be a bit too blunt for me to draw inspiration from to use with Grandma.

Being blunt get attention the first time.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:...

Giving up on people is so much easier than trying to do the right thing....

Sometimes, giving up on people, is doing the right thing...

And a guy I know, who is pretty wise, said; "This is how you get wise."

Listen to him.

I simply have no words. Thank you, sir.

quote:

Originally posted by ersatzknarf:
The key point is that you didn't give up trying to do the right thing.

God bless you for that, especially for your son.

There is so much here to learn from so many kind souls.

It's truly a safe haven from the storm.

You're right, and thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I am glad you made progress.

And cheers to anyone who helped.

Thank you, jhe.

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:

Being blunt get attention the first time.

You know, there simply is no arguing with that.
Might have gone better if I had!

Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah to you fellas.