This is kinda OT but it will lead back to the hobby....eventually.  I have a Facebook page that has no connection to this life.  I use it only to keep in contact with friends and family.  I recently got an IM from someone I grew up with who noticed that I had taken a 6 year chip and asked if it were for sobriety.  It was and I gladly told him so.  He then shared that he was also sober and asked for my email address.  I assumed he was going to hit on me because I look COMPLETELY different than I did in high school,  can we say UGLY DUCKLING!!  I gave him my email address and woke up this morning to find a letter making amends for bullying me in Jr. High.  He even made living amends by going to a Boy's and Girl's club to talk to children about bullying and admitted that he used to be one!!  I have forgiven all of the bullys in my life long ago but it was so heartwarming to see an actual apology in black and white!  

and that he apologized and you could find it in you to accept and forgive.
When I was a skinny kid and nothing to brag about and I think 15 years old there was a tall skinny girl a few years younger who lived in my neighborhood. I think she had a  crush on me but I ignored her and I wasn't all that polite about it. She moved out of the neighborhood but still in the same town. When I was a senior in high school I saw her again. She was gorgeous! she had filled out in all the right places. She attracted a pack horny teenage boys. She made it a point to totally ignore me. All I can say is that I deserved it!! I also learned not to make snap judgments.

I wasn't bullied for too long though, we moved a lot when I was in school and I learned early to fight back against the first kid who picked a fight with me, didn't matter if I got an ass whoopin or gave it, if they know that you'll fight back then they leave you alone.  

is the sweetest revenge.........congratulations on your success.

-- Modified on 1/21/2016 2:46:20 PM

I dig the comparison because it still does happen but it's nice to have the tools to deal with it!  I STILL consider myself a nerd but I LOVE BEING A NERD.  NERDS RULE!!

Thanks babe!

Yes,  life teaches us not to judge in many different ways!!

If you were an ugly duckling in HS, you sure blossomed into a beautiful black swan.....what a beautiful smile!
Yummy!

The thing I learned is never stop enjoy life.
Some people learn from their mistakes and others never learn.
If person cannot accept your skin color etc.
It's their issue or problem and never take it on yourself.
I wish you continue success and happiness in the future.

I got in a lot of fights when I was young, which is strange since I was never a tough guy. I never started a fight,  but I never ran away. Sometimes I won, sometimes not.

Fancy is correct, hate and anger bring no peace.  

AWWW thank you!

Thanks for the encouraging words of wisdom babe!!

Good for you...

Thank you sweetie!  I love the quote, so timeless and true and sounds like a very apropos quote for the program and life in general.

Hmmmm, I used to think that way about the guy who bullied me the most and even challenged me physically but now I just feel sorry for him because I've heard he's not doing well in life because he never changed.

Congratulations on the 6!  I feel like I'm finally on solid foods and not a newbie anymore at 6 years!

I had a couple of guys fight me regularly, so this wasn't unusual. The aftermath was.

While I do tend to think that many reap what they sow... In some cases I also tend to believe it's this thing called... KARMA..

But do you think about punching him while you "spank the monkey?" 🐵🙈🙉🙊

The Black Swan (movie) had one of the hottest lesbian scenes ever in a main-stream movie. Thanks for the reminder.  

Don, your experience reminds me of my own.  I didn't usually get my ass kicked, but I was picked on for my hearing problem, and because of the hearing problem, I've always been socially awkward.  Here's how it went down:  I never started shit, but I always finished it.  Then I would get blamed for the whole thing and I was the one who wound up in the principal's office, detention, etc.  The main difference with me was that my parents were on my side.  However, they had their own brand of (christian) looniness; they would tell me that it didn't matter what the other kids thought, Jesus got picked on, too...and so on and so forth.  Then they wondered why I went down the 1%er path later in life.  I've done OK as an adult, I work and pay my bills, but there's a side of me that rears its ugly head from time to time, and several people have learned the consequences of fucking with me.  On the flip side, I do forgive quite a bit, too...it takes a lot to bring out the "bad" side of me.

but sometimes Karma needs a little help. lol

Always forgive, always give a second chance. It's really beautiful that he realized what he did was wrong and the makes the world a slightly better place.  
Peace