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Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 9:19amSanction this postReply
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Wow.

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Post 1

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 11:07amSanction this postReply
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Agreed, John. Michael, you're astonishing. Thank you for making my first venture onto SOLO in a long while worth it.

~Nicki


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Post 2

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 11:49amSanction this postReply
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Michael,

Having gone through my own decade in a Hell very different from yours, I am not yet ready to do what you did with this article. All I can say now is that I admire you for what you learned from Madalena.

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Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 12:01pmSanction this postReply
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Michael there is so much here in this article. It is really ten articles in one, as I've told you before. Reading it now, I find I have to stop every so often to let what you've written soak in.

The fact that you swam through an ocean of hurt and pain, and *survived* is what blows my mind.

Thank you for writing about this. Beautiful.


regards

John

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Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 12:17pmSanction this postReply
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    Madalena was clearly 'something else.' A kind of mother I wish I had had.
    You're 'something else,' as well, Michael.
    Thanx...to both of you.

LLAP
J-D


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Post 5

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 12:40pmSanction this postReply
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Mind-blowingly good article Michael.

Not just content, but also style.

You should submit this to a literary magazine or something.

You'll probably win first prize.


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Post 6

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 2:49pmSanction this postReply
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Thank you Michael, that is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.


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Post 7

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 3:26pmSanction this postReply
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I feel now as though I witnessed someone hit on the head with a sledgehammer get up and remove it, then walk away.

Flummoxed, flabbergasted, amazed. Poleaxed myself. Congrats.

)(*)(


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Post 8

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 3:50pmSanction this postReply
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Bravo, Michael. Bravo. You are truly a spellbinding writer and wonderful individual. May your future writings be plentiful and your troubles sparse.

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Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 6:26pmSanction this postReply
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Michael,

What you've been through just amazes me.  And the fact that though you were touched by it you came out stronger and still had some wonderful moments with wonderful people along the way.

It's impressive and it was great being able to read something as deep and personal as this.

---Landon


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Post 10

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 8:03pmSanction this postReply
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Well done, Michael. You have an uncanny ability to make me get locked into your stories as if I'm living inside of your head. Thank you very much.

Mike E.

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Post 11

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 9:32pmSanction this postReply
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"We cannot learn without pain." 

 Michael, enjoy your new friend Kat now !
May the God of Madalena Bless you both!
Ciro.
 
 




(Edited by Ciro D'Agostino on 8/16, 9:58pm)


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Post 12

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 5:33amSanction this postReply
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Just checking in for a quick thank-you for all the nice comments and e-mails. They mean a lot to me.

More later.

Michael


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Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 10:01amSanction this postReply
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Michael,

I was moved. Thank you.


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Post 14

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 8:29pmSanction this postReply
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Michael, you truly are an exceptional writer and brilliant storyteller.  I'm so very proud of you and know you will find much success as a writer.  You dug really deep with this one and I'll admit (being selfish as I am) that I had my reservations about you sharing this with the world. It is so personal and so touchingly beautiful. I was afraid that many would want to use the facts of your life and your sincerity to harm you. I'm glad to see that this did not happen (yet). I am now looking forward to many more stories of the triumphs of my great adventurer and adventuring with you as well.  You are awesome and I love you.  I miss you so much already.   purrrrrrrrrrrr

Kat



(edit - purr alert this post    )


(Edited by katdaddy on 8/17, 8:37pm)


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Post 15

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 8:38pmSanction this postReply
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Bonks all around, folks. Maybe I shouldn't, but there it is.

Michael


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Post 16

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 10:38pmSanction this postReply
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Michael,

What words can praise something that amazing?  I don't know.  I can say this though: This article makes me proud to consider you my friend.

Sarah


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Post 17

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 10:59pmSanction this postReply
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Michael—I believe you have been apprised of the meaning of the term "bonk" in New Zealand? In which case you'll know what I mean when I say that "bonks all round" is the best offer I've had all day. In fact, it's the onlyoffer I've had all day.

I confess this marathon of an article took me right to the edge of what I was comfortable with in terms of airing private matters—and one's soul—in public. (As you know, there was a grotesque invasion of privacy on SOLOHQ recently called Drooling Beast, which has left me more sensitive than before to what is and is not proper fare for public display.) But I reminded myself that this was something you chose to do. And the loyalty to a value that was the point of the article was truly as inspiring as it was misguided. As I noted in my article on the former Pope and Objectivism, if only such loyalty and idealism could be garnered in the cause of reason!!

But most of all I wanted to say this—the quality of writing you display here is world-class. When I heard about the length of it, I suggested to Andrew he break it into three parts. Having now read it, I'm embarrassed to confess to such crass gauchness. It had to run in its entirety, and I'm reassured to know Andrew made that decision on his own. Captivated by the irresistible narrative, one forgets its length. You have a singular talent, my friend, and I couldn't be more pleased than to see it blossoming right here on SOLO.

I say "singular," but there's another one here with a comparable talent: John Newnham. Unfortunately, he hides his light under a bushel. John, if you're reading this, come out!! Let's be seeing more of you!!

As for you, Michael, keep 'em coming!

Oh, & I'll respectfully decline the offer of a bonk. Not my type. And I'm sure I'm not yours!! We simply wouldn't work. Might I suggest a certain feline phenomenon? :-)

Linz

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Post 18

Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 8:17amSanction this postReply
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Linz,

Fuck it. I bonked you anyway. (ahem... USA style, not NZ... besides, Kitten has suggested in a VERY LOUD VOICE that bonking is for her and sanctioning is for others.)

That is quite an endorsement you just gave me and I appreciate it more than you might realize. Probably the highest compliment I have received on my work in a long time was this phrase of yours:
Captivated by the irresistible narrative, one forgets its length.
No author could ever ask for more.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Andrew for making that call on his own. I even had to make it myself when I submitted the article. I tried and tried and tried to break it up and reduce it, but I could not.

This reminds me of an old adage, that when a window closes a door opens. I have no doubt at all that Solo is in the extremely capable hands of a first-class editor. You were very fortunate with this choice. Do whatever you must to keep him. They don't grow this kind a dime a dozen. (Also, frankly, I was antsy about submitting this article to Andrew's predecessor for fear of it being chopped up to adhere to the general guidelines, regardless of content.)

About the article, everything in it is true, even the names. This is a real tribute in life (not just a story) and by getting it out, I feel that I have somehow paid a debt - or a portion of it.

I agree in spades with you about John Newnham - he is a budding author of the first rank and order. I submitted this article to him for an opinion a couple of months ago in rough draft. That was based on my high regard for his literary talent. His comments were extremely valuable to me then and influenced both the final form of the article and the one I wrote later (my previous one on Solo - "Lamb").

John, do what you can to find your way, but get what is inside you out. As I said in an e-mail to you, if anybody is in your way, shoot them. Shoot them dead. Really. Get rid of the problem. You can write from jail.

Back to Linz. I want to make one thing crystal clear, just in case anybody wants to connect some dots that are not there. This article is about Madalena and myself. No one else except the minor characters in it. My writing it and submitting it were done for my own selfish reasons. There is no meaning to the timing of submittal other than this was when it was ready to go.

I will write to each person who commented - both on and off line - a little later. Your reactions - the reaction of each and every one of you - are very important to me and are greatly appreciated.

Michael

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Post 19

Saturday, August 20, 2005 - 10:01pmSanction this postReply
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Finally I have time for proper gratitude.

Jon - Thank you. Receiving a "wow" as a first comment is a very, very pleasant experience.

Nicole - I am very pleased your log on to Solo after an absence came in my backyard. You are missed when you are gone. I am so very glad you liked the article.

Adam - Thank you deeply. Whatever you have to do about your "decade in a Hell" will come in its own good time. It must be right for you, too, otherwise it will backfire (and I talk from experience). I would like to mention a very curious reaction that occurs when you bare your soul in public as I did here. Some people have indicated to me that they think that I was writing about the suffering and not about the triumph. They seem to have a blind spot to seeing the overcoming of suffering and the refusal to settle or compromise with it. Makes me wonder... At another time when I was more fragile, this would have hurt a great deal. But now I wonder... If you ever decide to do something public like I have done, be forewarned. There are those who cannot see any type of suffering but their own, so they miss the triumph completely and find little value in it.

John N - You already know how grateful I am for your opinion of the rough draft. Thanks for the e-mail also. I will write you one back. btw - Need a gun?

John D - Thank you so much. Yes, Madalena was quite a woman. I am very fortunate to have known her and it is a great privilege to be able to tell you (and the world) about her.

Marcus - Thank you for such kind words. I am not interested in prizes, however. I will probably take John N's advice and turn this into a screenplay and see about getting it produced. Meanwhile, Solo is a great place to accumulate a good solid body of work.

Michael D - Wow. I am especially touched by your choice of the word "experienced" and not just "read." Writers live for that kind of reaction. Thank you greatly.

I. N. Rand - Thank you very much. I feel wonderful that it is the triumph that you reacted to and not the suffering.

Bob - You are quite a wonderful person yourself. You have a wonderful sense of life from where I constantly take inspiration. Thank you for your appreciation and well wishes.

Landon - Thank you so much. Once again, I am so very pleased that it was the triumph that you reacted to - and how can there ever be triumph without struggle? I don't mind being personal at all if yours is the kind of response I provoke.

Mike E - What on earth are you doing in my head?  //;-)  Thank you, thank you and thank you. You already know that I think we think alike on so many issues. I am tremendously pleased you like this article.

Ciro - That is true about needing pain for learning. But we also need more - we need a commitment of spirit to rise above it. Thus we might suffer, but we also vanquish the suffering. Thank you so much for your kind words.

Fraser - The thank you is from me, my friend. I am glad I was able to touch your soul.

Kitten!!!! - My muse. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Sarah - Your pride in our friendship is mutual. I am very proud to consider you my friend. You have one of the best minds on Solo. Thank you for your evaluation of my article.

Linz - Once again, thanks in spades for everything - especially your friendship and Solo. About being taken to the edge, I once saw a tee-shirt in Brazil that had the following quote on it, but I don't know who wrote it. It has sort of been my motto, for better or worse.

"If you are not living on the edge, you are using up too much space."

You people are beautiful.

Michael


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