"A Farewell is necessary before we can meet again, and meeting again after moments or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends."-Unknown
I don't know. I didn't think I would be writing anymore entries about the exodus from AOL Journal Land. I also thought I had truly put it all behind me, and I thought I was able to keep my feelings and emotions in check, I found out different a little earlier tonight, after reading an open letter posted on Joe's journal over at "Magic Smoke." Sigh. You know, it was a pretty straight forward letter, and I am sure that the man who wrote it, Bill Schreiner, VP AOL Community Programming, meant every word of it. It was a very well articulated, "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out." And to be sure Mr. Schreiner understood that I saw it for what it was I told him so, among other observations. I don't usually cuss too much, it's just not my personal style, but jeepers I sure wanted to tonight. I got angry. It doesn't happen all that often, I know the difference between feeling angry and feeling mad...and yep...I was angry.
I closed the door on Ellipsis two weeks ago, so I wasn't angry about that issue anymore, I was angry because people I love dearly have been hurt for NO other reason but the pursuit of the corporate dollar. There was no need for this to have happened. There was plenty of time to have either fixed the situation or at least mitigated it by fixing the ridiculous bugs and flaws in the software for those who had decided to stay behind and hope for the best. Joe and John were required to take blow after blow because up until now they were the faces of AOL, but this past week some new faces of AOL were put in the place, I assume to absorb some of the ire, but I have to say I was not impressed with who they chose. The only one I will mention in this entry, Susan, comes off at best incompetent and more then a little condescending. Really...not good. The letter posted tonight, from Mr. Schreiner, was belittling, condescending and insulting. I am glad I didn't see that coming, because at least I haven't gotten so cynical as to have thought that is what AOL might do. Jeepers, he didn't even try to sound sincere.
There is nothing more to say. I will begin archiving Ellipsis over here on Blogspot. It will take a long time, but I worked for over 2 years on the journal. It is a part of my personal history. Someday, when I am gone from this earth, a piece of me will still exist...a joke, a funny story from my silly life, a heartbreak I felt, a passion that burned in me, a friend I made, a friend I lost, days when there wasn't anything in particular happening but the music I heard coming from the Ethereal Musician, days when the camera connected me to life, are all a part of what I put into Ellipsis, no matter what it's incarnation is. Too bad AOL never got that. Too bad for them that there is apparently so little passion in their lives that they don't know passion when they see it. It reminds me of when I had Anhedonia and I couldn't enjoy life in any form. I wouldn't wish that existence on my worst enemy. I pity AOL if that is their existence. I wonder if Julia Roberts would still be doing voice over ads for AOL if she realized they steal intellectual property in order to pay their bills, including her salary? It's all so very sad.
"Listen, late last night I heard the screen door slam, and a big yellow taxi took my love away. Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
-Big Yellow Taxi (Counting Crows Version)
PS If you are wondering how the picture above goes with my entry...hop over to Joe's "Magic Smoke," and read my comment.
