.....and my four cents (inflation adjusted)
Hi all;
I'm not trying to "one-up" Joanie with the four cents thing, just a little joke! In fact, I think that Joanie hit the nail square on the head with a great post! I would like to give my personal viewpoint to the whole issue of lack of response to our posts:
One of the problems I have with this board, is that every time I come here, there are lots of posts to respond to. I would like to reply to all of them, but I cannot give a proper reply in a quick sentence. I guess that I'm long-winded, but since we are attempting to help and support one another with serious problems, I don't want to give a terse reply that may be taken the wrong way and end up causing more harm than good. I tend to think long and hard about my replies and don't want to slight anyone by not answering all of the posts. There are also problems which many of you are facing that I just don't know how to respond to. As a result, when I do respond, I end up spending two or three hours on this board!! At this stage, I don't have that kind of time, so I just end up reading the posts and moving on without replying.
I'm not proud of myself for this, and maybe I should learn to just say hi and I love you rather than say nothing. I would like you to know that I do come here regularly and I do care about how you all are doing.
I think that Joanie said it all when she mentioned that this board is important to lots of people who may not be posting. I'd like to direct your attention to the main page of the March 2004 board which lists the posts and the name of the poster. If you notice, there is a column listing the number of replies and a column listing the number of "views". Without fail, there are 10 or more "views" for every "reply"!!!! This tells me that there are lots of people looking in without posting!! I'm not saying that this is good and healthy for this board, but it does suggest that this board is an important lifeline for lots of folks!!
Bottom line is this.........To those of your who are posting........THANK YOU and PLEASE DON'T STOP.......and to those of us who are just lurking (me included) ........If you want this lifeline to survive.........PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!!!!!!!!!!
Please know, dear "Marchers", that I do care about all of you and wish only the best for all of you. I wish that I knew how to solve all of the problems I read here, but I can't. I do know that we are all better off working together than working alone.
BIG HUGS TO ALL......
Mike
I think you bring up a very good point. Sometimes, when I read some of the posts, I don't respond either and it could be for a variety of reasons---but it doesn't mean I'm not sympathetic or I'm not thinking about the situation.
I may not be able to solve problems, but I can 'listen' with my eyes and still care!
Joanie
Now, if we could only get Ken and Dina and JOY - my God, where's Joy??? - to stop in and say hello... we will have had ourselves a bonafide Family Reunion without having had to leave the comfort of our computer screens! YOU GUYS ROCK!!! 
I love it when you post. You are the most level headed and eloquent writer. I couldn't agree with you more about replying to so many posts. As crazy as it sounds, there are times when I know that I don't have the time or energy to reply to everyone so I won't reply to anyone rather than risk hurting someone's feelings by not replying to their post. There are also times when I start to reply and then just run out of steam and stop. Other times, I don't get around to everyone and it bugs me for days. Thanks for sharing my nueroses. lol
Hugs,
Connie
Wonderful post & yes we have missed you big time around here. I hope you find time
to visit more often. I know life gets crazy most of the time, but, know that we need you
around here. We have been through lots over the past 5 years & sure hope you plan to stick around.
Big Hugs back to you!!
Ladybug Marilyn
