Susie, you know I love you, and I love how you stick up for me. But we can't control what those people say about us. So yes, let's move onto something else. The bark chewers and the glass eaters can grind their teeth all they want. They can only hurt us if we turn our ear toward them. It's a siren's song we've been listening to here, and if we're not careful, we could head toward the rocks. So let's let it go.
I would totally agree with you, Gary.
Being a curious cat, I did have a look at the retreat and that thread. If people need it, then, probably, Jess is the best person to host it, and I have nothing but admiration for her.
That said, I was not amused to see my own name mentioned on her (public) forum, and associated with another, named, member of BM, and that cited as the original reason she set up alternative blogs; and perhaps being the catalyst for the resultant interest or ill feeling here. So, maybe I'm to blame?
I'm not a bad person, but I'm not a saint, or here to keep other people happy, either, as Milo would probably say.
Yes, I was close to that other member for one wonderful year, a few years ago, and we went our separate ways. Maybe she preferred someone else, or maybe I snored too loudly. Whatever the reason, that was over long ago, and should not be still mentioned.
Yes, a while after we parted, I heard that her horse won a championship, and searched him, because I felt proud for her and wanted to see what he had won. And purely by chance, that led me to a post about him in Jess's Feedstore.
Yes, I was tempted, I am cheeky, curious, and couldn't resist getting involved in the thread; incognito. But that felt dishonest, so I experimentally posted a photo to let slip who I was. There was absolutely no intention to be dishonest. Either I'd be trusted to be just a friend, or misunderstood and kicked out, and the latter was decided upon. Then followed not so nice PMs to others on BM, saying things about me that I won't mention here. Then something even nastier was publicly posted; so serious that my solicitors wanted the Australian Federal Police to become involved, but I could not allow that.
In a way, I wish that I had never heard of BetterMost, because it may have caused pain to those who could not understand, and I am sorry if it did. But I have made other friends here that I think the world of. A couple of them joined the retreat, and I can understand that. After all, Jess does, in her own way, have a lot to give to others.
I'm not a friend of Jess's, but, in relation to her, everyone would know what Shakespeare's Mark Antony said of Julius Ceasar .. 'The evil men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.' How true. We should let it be, and wish them all the best.
Now, having been perhaps too personal, and being possibly the only straight male on BetterMost, maybe I don't fit in very well. But I do appreciate the values of BetterMost, and the story behind it, and the friends I have made here, very much.
Rob.