Goodbye My Friends

“I have made so many great friends here. I have hiked, camped, laughed, sweated, grunted up mountains, and pounded down hills with many of you and had the time of my life doing it. I will always cherish all of the moments that I have shared with so many here. I'll never forget the first time I hiked with Bearmagnet, and we barely survived the ice on old rag, or the time ENS nearly lit up all of Shenandoah with his pocketrocket. The first time I met Gemini, I hadn't known that she was German and had an accent, so I wasn't sure if she maybe had down syndrome :P I remember MarkO, how I'd clashed so much with him over politics but as soon as I'd met him felt that I was in the presence of a dear old friend. I can never forget Phantomsoul's laugh, or Roam Around's big smile, and fogged up glasses. I'll never forget the first time I saw another TTer at an overlook in Shenandoah, and swore there was an angel taking in the view. There are far too many people and moments to really list, the memories are all so fantastic.

But I am afraid that, unfortuneatly (I never could spell that damn word), in some lives there comes a point at which the revelation comes that things are never going to be right. As strong as you want to be there comes a point at which you can no longer fight, and you must accept that your ideals are not those of the world we live in, and this is no longer a place in which you can find happiness. You can only hike so far in expectation of a view before you accept that the promised view simply does not exist, and taking more steps will not lead to it. I am afraid that I have come to that point.

Many of you will not understand this, and because of that you will find it distressing. I am a member of a small minority and it would be nearly impossible to help you to understand but I wanted to try to explain my motivation. What I will say is that there are simply some things about the world that I will never understand. I have lived believing that if you loved enough, that that would be enough for things to work out. I have been proven wrong again and again and again. But it is a lesson that I cannot accept. I cannot believe that love is not enough, my soul won't let me believe it no matter how strong the evidence. So I come to a point where I simply do not have the energy left to fight on, I have nothing left to give, I have used it all trying to love enough to make something work. I hope that this can give those of you who I have become close to some understanding, and maybe there are a few of you who are like me and can truly understand, to those of you who do, fight on till the end, it is all you can do. To those of you who cannot understand I am sorry, I care deeply for you all, even those I have clashed with, and can only hope the best for you.

Goodbye, and God Bless.”

“Mmmmmm...could ya get straight to the point?

Is this a "Goodbye To TT Forever" thread???”

“Bison were still going to the Tetons and Wind Rivers right? Don't wack out on us buddy. Trail Talk is a great group of people. We haven't met yet but I'm sure a lot of those that have really love ya man. Stay with us for the long haul.”

“Bison? WTF? What's going on?
What do you mean "good bye"?

I forgive you the down syndrom comment!! Really!”

“Bison,

man if your still reading this, i hope you aren't really leaving us!”

“Bison,

its hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky”

“BISON!!!
Phone number please!!!”

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

“Bison......I truly understand your battle against the world of hate and the answer has always been within you and that answer is Love. You've known that all along. And Love is something which can never be defeated. Do not let the hate overcome your desire to Love. It is only a mirage. A mirage attempting to conceal the Love you want to express.

I only met you a couple of times but on that last occasion at Old Rag, I realized there is a genuine being within you. Not a person that was capable of conceding to hate. You are a strong soul and don't let whatever it is bring you down. I personally don't care what that is for It shall pass.

If you ever want someone to chat with, i'm there for ya dude....don't be a stranger....”

“BISON,I wish you would answer your damn phone!!! people are trying to call u.

hey...call me if need to talk, please!
i'll keep my cell phone on.

WTF is wrong with you? Damn Matt!
last edited: 5/03/05 12:18:47 AM”

“Good God, woman... will you ever learn to butt out?

Meddling as usual. Guess Bison sussed you up correctly... Down's Syndrome. Sad.

Once more (since I know you have trouble getting the hint)... Shut... The... F*&$... Up.

Moron!!!”

“Bison, dude, I don't know you but would sure like to meet you. Getchur butt back on here, K?”

“i don't know who you are u dumb as mf! shut the F*** up yourself #&%!$
#&%!$ing troll, to much of a #&%!$ing coward to post under your real #&%!$ing name.
last edited: 5/03/05 1:01:54 AM”

“Boy, Gemini, you really are pathetic.

Yeah, I'll go ahead and post under my real name here. That way you can fill my inbox up with your spiteful, moronic messages once again. I'd have to be a Down-Syndromed moroness like you to do that.

As if YOU don't regularly troll. Sheesh.

Read closely. Sound the words out slowly, so you'll get them this time.

"My... name... is... Gemini... and... I... need... to... shut... my... big... dumb... annoying... piehole."

Let me know if you need it explained further, dum-dum.

LOL. At you.”

“Bison...Thats not the way, you know that.

Light overcomes darkness
Love overcomes hate

We don't always see the results, or witness the effects, thats not why we do the right thing, but it's why we win in the end.”

“hehehe, ummm, after the initial tear and then the trolls, I had to laugh. I know only one of you but hoped to skim a bit of backpacking knowledge off of each of you.
I'd suggest to Bison~~~> uncheck fuego.
Damn, I need a drink.”

“A pathetic coward of a troll isn't telling me #&%!$, you got that #&%!$? DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF OR ARE YOU ABLE TO READ THIS?

I am gladly willing to send you the translation, if you are having problems.

Damn, I love cowards! Damn do I love them.
Now get the #&%!$ outa here.

Oh and retard: NOPE, I don't troll!
last edited: 5/03/05 1:30:59 AM”

“Coward? No, I'm sorry. YOU are the only coward around these parts. Think back to a few hikes ago. Got the picture? Yeah... I thought you would.

As for your meddling with Bison... shut your worthless mouth. You think "Gemini to the rescue" is some sort of godsend? Please. Bison's obviously in a very sensitive, delicate place. Your obnoxious, ignorant meddling will only do harm.

But that's what you're about: selfishness and ignorance. What a fool you are.

And you do indeed troll. I guess you're angry you've been outed. Deal with it.

You know, I guess I'm trying to communicate with you on an adult level. No wonder the message isn't getting through. I'll sum up in a sentence on your reading level, judging by your posts:

F*ck off, you dumb c*nt.

Now run along.”

“Damn dude! I see what you're saying but I don't understand why you have to leave TT? TT is great and you said yourself you have met a ton of great people, why not stay and meet some more? Sure you'll meet lots of jerks online as I have, but only a couple of them have ever shown up for a hike. See you at Dolly Sods again??”

“

I have no idea what the problem is, but they make this great little ignore fuction. Bison probably did not want to hear this kind of fight.

Be cool all..... Get a good laugh at my stupid bunny. He's cool

~BW”

“Hey Gem, this troll just joined today and is not worth the high blood pressure. Get your German temper in check...funny advice coming from an Irishman. ;p”

“Aye laddy, ats some good advice....”

“See ya Bison, sorry to see you leave.”

“Lagoona, you're out of line. Gemini knows him personally, so consider swallowing your pride and please butt out.

Bison, I never met you, but we have many mutual real-life friends in common. Keep your chin-up. If you need a place to "get away from it all" for a little while, my door is open to you up here in Maine.

Peace dude.”

“Sorry to see you go.

That's the least coherent goodbye post I can recall.

Are you trying to say that you're sick of arguing with people over your beliefs?”

“Writing this as a suicide note really isn't funny imo.”

“:)Not pissed anymore, maybe a little sad but not mad anymore. Got to leave ignorant or bitter people alone.

And if this is Lagoona troll is who I think it is...then I am more then disappointed. I can't believe I misjudged like that. Oh well, better luck next time.

I am out of this thread because it's ridiculous.

and yeah...what sarge said.
last edited: 5/03/05 5:54:33 AM”

“Now I'm curious who lagoona was.”

“Oh, and I almost forgot...I am outed. I DO TROLL! WHAAAA!! Please don't hate me now that you found out that ItsNotGem is really me, GEMINI.”

“Gee, I wonder if idiots like these trolls contributed to him leaving? The troll bit does get old.”

“I hope you're being ironic DH.”

“It's really weird, freakin' trolls showing up on such a thread... I don't follow "fuego" much, do they show up there a lot?

And my thoughts are with Sarge, too. Are we reading too much into it? I sure hope so.”

“Yes, I'm being a smart a. Someone is fed up, decides to leave, then the trolls come out to pester the guy. Some folks are just jerks.

liz - not too many trolls participate in those threads.”

“Is this a hoax ?

Hey lagoona - I bet Gem could kick your Arss
easy.”

“hey Bison, Keep in touch. You're good friend. I hope all is well.”

“Man, this better not be another hoax, because if it is, it's not very funny and there will be a lot of pissed-off people...”

“WTF Bison, I can't rag you anymore for hitch hiking ;)...damn,damn

Best of luck to you in whatever you do”

“I'm sick of hoax's too. Lets keep it real.”

“Remember "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"?

I hope Bison is crying wolf but it's absolutely not funny - and I don't even know the guy. This type of thing can hurt people who really are in trouble.

If you're really down Bison, contact somebody.”

“Gemini, who TF is your troll friend???
Inquiring morons want to know.

Bison, I hope to see you in Dolly Sods in June.”

“I'm totally clueless as to where this came from, but I am bummed to see you in pain Bison. Bison, I hope to keep seeing your posts here for a long time to come and I hope the friends you've made here get to enjoy your company on the trail for many years to come. I'd also recommend being a bit more direct and clear - or perhaps you are with the people here you know best.

As for whoever is trolling is Lagoona, I truly hope you clean up your act, if not please leave TT and take your trolls with you. The fact that people could play this kind of nasty game on TT is one of the few distasteful things about this place.”

“I agree 100% with what ped says. Take care bison.”

“How come Bison doesn't have an e mail addie? What's his addie?”

“good riddance!”

“Scorch, when do you and EarnestSky elope?”

“Even when your knuckles turn white from hanging on...keep hangin on!”

“I was getting the impression that this is hoax. But, like Sarge says, the alarmist tactic is not exactly how you would want to play this out. I hope you're all right, dude. Any friends of Embear out there that could give her a shout?”

“Bison - drop me an email - rdanner2377 @ msn. com”

“I am confused and dismayed. It's hard to understand what is truly going on here. My first reaction though to this was as the goat said, maybe turn off fuego. And my immediate next thought to Bison is, feel the love from the majority. Whatever or whoever it is that has gotten you disenfranchised is the minority. Don't let that ruin it for you.

Whatever you do from this point forward, Be Well.”

“(Goodbye cruel world)
(Goodbye cruel world)

Oh, goodbye cruel world, I`m off to join the circus
Gonna be a broken-hearted clown
Paint my face with a good-for-nothin` smile
`cause a mean, fickle woman turned my whole world upside down

(Goodbye cruel world)

Farewell to love, I`m off to join the circus
Gotta find a way to hide my tears
Bet I`ll have them rolling in the aisle
And I`ll forget that woman if it takes a hundred years

Oh oh oh, step right up and take a look at a fool
He`s got a heart as stubborn as a mule
C`mon everybody, he`s good for a laugh
And no one could tell his heart is broken in half

Well, the joke`s on me, I`m off to join the circus
Oh, Mr. Barnum, save a place for me
Shoot me out of a cannon, I don`t care
Let the people point at me and stare
I`ll tell the world that woman, wherever she may be
That mean, fickle woman made a cryin` clown outta me

(Goodbye cruel world)

Shoot me out of a cannon, I don`t care
Let the people point at me and stare
I`ll tell the world that woman, wherever she may be
That mean, fickle woman made a cryin` clown outta me

Goodbye cruel world

Goodbye cruel world
FADE

Goodbye cruel world

Goodbye cruel world
(Lyrics by James Darren )


Sounds like you've got a "Dear John" letter.

Hey Bison, without the low patches there would be nothing special about the highs!

All of life is ups and downs, if you are really down now there is nowhere to go but up. Go listen to a little brook, and the wind through the trees, watch the wings of a hovering hawk, get some peace. Tomorrow is a whole new day.
last edited: 5/03/05 8:53:19 AM”