What a nice way to rise and shine!
I feel like breaking out in dance as the midget on the Geico commercial, "It's my birthday. I got the bumper."
It was only several years ago that I was labeled a "newbie," a title with which came with all sorts of niceties from veteran posters.
I also remember being chastized for having the nerve to even post as a newbie. I mean, the nerve of a newbie entering into any debate with a veteran poster. I was told about a secret society of a "Gang of 10," which I just recently found out didn't even exist!
Since I have been an AzBilliards member, I have met MANY, MANY, MANY readers of this forum in my travels. Some of them are well known here, but believe it or not, I encountered quite a few who said they were only lurkers and would never post. I didn't quite understand it then, but I can appreciate it more today, after 5,000 posts!
I sometimes used to think how nice it would be to have a different handle and not reveal my true identity. I have taken a beating being JAM, and it ain't easy being me on a forum, with my 150-words-per-minute fingers all fired up and ready to go.
Sometimes because of my beloved other half, I have been the target for some computer-sniping sucker-punching trolls, but today, after 5,000 posts, I am better able to differentiate between the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Today on AzBilliards, the good far outweighs the bad and the ugly. As a member of the 5,000 Club, here is one "lessons learned" I would share with new members. NEVER post when you are angry. Rather, wait until the next day. Somehow things aren't quite as bad as they seem after a little time has gone by. This, more than anything else, is probably the best advice I can give to all as you make your way to the 5,000 Club!
In recent times, I'm taking a hiatus from the tournament trail. Without AzBilliards, which I will always consider the BEST pool website on the Internet, I'd be lost. I not only appreciate the contributions from everyone, but I have made some meaningful friendships here with some members whom I have actually never met in person. Somehow, though, we're all members of the Tribal Nation of Pool, and I'm proud to be a member of the AzBilliards Tribe!
Here's a happy picture of me and Keith taken by Diana Hoppe of Poolpics by Hoppe when I first began my pool journey and began posting on AzBilliards!
We've all come a long way as an AzBilliards family, and I look forward to many more years ahead.
JAM
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