Posted by Skip Turpin (skipperf33@…>)
First let me apologize in advance to my UK friends. I am probably a
prim example of the, would be Yanks that high tailed out of England a
few hundred odd years ago. There is a reason that not everyone was
sorry to see us get out of Dodge! I think now as then, we are an
outspoken lot! But tact is not always our best suit!
I go back a few years on this board, the board before that and the
board before that. Yet I still consider myself low in the pecking
order. Some of you may have noticed that sometimes I just sit back
and kinda watch as things develop. That is because I have found that
sometimes my mouth is engaged before my brain is in gear! There are
others here that would do well to follow that lead! Some times I am
soooooo tempted to jump in and speak my piece right off the bat, but
I have found that if I just sit back and watch instead, I end up
learning something. Admittedly it is not as instantly gratifying
(“Letting the the hammer down!” for you fellow yanks) but I am always
amazed at the maturity of the group as a whole!
We are for the most part folks that love our boats. When we can’t be
sailing them, we like to work on them or just gab about them. That
is very fortunate for the new people that may have just bought a
Freedom or are seriously looking into the purchase of one. We were
ALL in that boat at one time! I remember well the first time I
walked up in front of a free standing mast. I looked that critter up
and down then exclaimed out loud mind you “THAT WILL NEVER
WORK!!!” Ya right!
You see I like all of us had some learning to do. Those that will
admit it will tell you that the learning never stops around boats and
the sea (or lakes and rivers)! None of us knows it all! That is the
glory of a site like this, we can all still learn, hopefully the easy
way, from the mistakes or the little strokes of genius of others that
have come before.
Folks it’s not difficult! We are all here to join in the comradery
of owning a very special boat and living a very special dream! We
are here to learn from one another and pat each other on the back
when little bits of genius show. We all have opinions, but there is
a difference between having an opinion and being an “opinionist”. We
will all have something to contribute at some time or other! I would
suggest that we all just sit down and THINK before posting!
Our grandfathers and their grandfathers before them, passed down a
very simple premise: If you don’t have something GOOD to say about
someone else, then just SHUT THE HELL UP (that’s “remain silent” for
you English types). It is not going to change anything and it just
goes to PISS the rest of us OFF…AT YOU!(in the UK that would
be “irritate the masses”) Stop and ask your self, is what I am about
to post being done to “help” or is it venomous. Opinions are
important but not if they put someone else down. We have more than
enough CRAP in the world do to people that think speaking their
opinions is more important than the harm that is done by that very
act! Keep it constructive. It’s called compassion for your fellow
man!
In closing, I would like to suggest that I AM RIGHT!!! There is
NO room for interpretation and YOU WILL LIKE
IT!!!..Comrade! (Tee Hee)
Here is an interesting quote: "If you are able to read this, thank
your teachers! If you are reading this in English, thank a soldier!
Wow, Very Heavy, Maaannn! (For my UK buddies “How poignant!”)
On the Flip Flop! Doooood! (In the UK “Time for a spot of tea!”)
“Any resemblance to any person alive or dead was strictly
coincidental” (In English, “I lie a lot!”)
Skip