Hey all. Many of you asked me to please say goodbye if I ever left S.O. again, and that's what this post is all about. It's just not fun anymore, it really isn't. I always said that I came here to get away from real life problems, but over these last few months Iv'e actually preferred being a part of the real world to the online world. Alot has changed in me, and this has upset many people. I'm not going to change, I am happy for the first time in my life, and I refuse to let this place bring me down. I love ya'll very much, and I will miss you ALL!! Please stay in touch guys, I love you all to death. Here's my email address. bradley.russ@yahoo.com. I just ask one favor of all of you, PLEASE don't send me any negative messages. Please have some compassion, it would be appreciated. Can't say I'll never be back, because I might, but it won't be for a long time, that's for sure. Love you all very much, and I hope you all keep in touch. Thank you all so much for literally saving my life a few months ago. Had ya'll not spoken up, I guarantee you all, I would have ended it. I will always have nothing but love for everyone who reached out to me. What you all did for me is more than I could ever describe. THANK YOU ALL, SO VERY MUCH!!! Much love everyone!!! I have nothing against any of you, and to those who don't like me right now, it's all good.Please look me up on Facebook, under the name Brad Russ. I don't have any animosity towards any of you, and I NEVER will. Over and out my friends! ;) :heart:

:bighug:

You're a wonderful man, and I hope you keep in touch. Take care, friend.

Hey all. Many of you asked me to please say goodbye if I ever left S.O. again, and that's what this post is all about. It's just not fun anymore, it really isn't. I always said that I came here to get away from real life problems, but over these last few months Iv'e actually preferred being a part of the real world to the online world. Alot has changed in me, and this has upset many people. I'm not going to change, I am happy for the first time in my life, and I refuse to let this place bring me down. I love ya'll very much, and I will miss you ALL!! Please stay in touch guys, I love you all to death. Here's my email address. bradley.russ@yahoo.com. I just ask one favor of all of you, PLEASE don't send me any negative messages. Please have some compassion, it would be appreciated. Can't say I'll never be back, because I might, but it won't be for a long time, that's for sure. Love you all very much, and I hope you all keep in touch. Thank you all so much for literally saving my life a few months ago. Had ya'll not spoken up, I guarantee you all, I would have ended it. I will always have nothing but love for everyone who reached out to me. What you all did for me is more than I could ever describe. THANK YOU ALL, SO VERY MUCH!!! Much love everyone!!! I have nothing against any of you, and to those who don't like me right now, it's all good.Please look me up on Facebook, under the name Brad Russ. I don't have any animosity towards any of you, and I NEVER will. Over and out my friends! ;) :heart:

:bighug:

I do not blame you! I wish you the best of luck in your life! It was great meeting you!

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Brad, you have always had kind words for me, and they have been much appreciated. I hope that you don't feel that anything on my part's gone unnoticed. You are a good person with a good heart. I wish you the best in every endeavor.:)
Your friend,
Gene (Yooch)

I'm very sorry to hear about your leaving. Brad. I've personally not noticed any problems going on here. All seems peaceful. Dead, but peaceful. I'm glad that you are staying on Facebook. :)

I guess I've missed something? Sorry that you feel you have to leave! You are a nice guy. We can always use good people here! Yes it has been dead lately. I don't post much anymore either. Good luck Brad! And visit us from time to time!:wave:

Brad...

You are a great person, you didn't offend me nor I have put you down! I hope that you come back again because I agree with the stuff you say.

I have blogged at many places, but I feel that I feel right at home here because this place id down-to-earth.

But...Good Luck and Godspeed

MrC

Be good, my friend. Hope to see you again one day! :cheers:

Wow, just when I think that you guys can't be anymore awesome, you prove me wrong. I went two days without looking at this thread, because I was scared that it might be negative. Fortunately thanks to Allison and others, I did what I needed to do, I'm rehydrated, and I'm feeling healthy again. Thanks Allison, and everyone else for that. After reading this thread, along with the President Obama one over on the politics board, I am re-energized, and I feel good, I really do. The best thing about all of this in my view, is the fact that every kind of person, with every kind of belief has responded to this thread, and coming back within these last few months, that was my goal, to show people through my actions that I have changed. The fact that liberals, conservatives, middle of the road people have responded to this, that's honestly the best gift you all could have given me. My wish was that through my actions, I would be at peace with everyone. Not their yet, but this is a good start. I just want to be real, accept people for who they are, and love them all with all of my heart. I don't think I would change much of anything, other then the fact that over on the politics board, I wouyldn't have been so nasty, particularly to liberals. I admit, I try egging many of you on, and in doing so, I stooped to a level that was below. I don't want to live my life trying to embarrass people, I did get lost in that though, and I truly apologize for the hurtful things Iv'e said, I truly do. Anyway, I'm going to end this message now, and I will try to get back to everyone in this thread as soon as possibly. It'll probably be one email sent out to everyone, because there's so many people here who I care about. Anyway, I know that many are upset with me right now, and my hope is that one day you will see that I wasn't trying to attack anybody, I was simply trying to bring people from all walks of life together. And you know what, I will stop in often to say hi, and to respond to posts. The fact that many of you want me to stay is heartwarming, and I will never again leave my friends with no expaination of where Iv'e gone. I have alot to think about, but I will ALWAYS be here for all of you. Reverend Jim, I'm definitely going to stay in touch with you, you are a great guy. Iv'e told you this before, but I'll say it again, you are just straight up awesome in my book. You have the most creative posts Iv'e ever seen, and you put alot into them to show people that you care. Your thoughts are always very intelligent, and your words are ALWAYS genuine, and true. I respect that greatly! Brad, you were one of the people who were so concerned about me when I had my little, well actually my big breakdown a few months ago, and as I told you, I will never forget that, and I will always be here for you. So glad you and your wife have a new addition to your family. As I said before, I TRULY hope that this beautiful child brings you the peace that you soooo deserve!! :) Dork, (I still feel like a jerk calling you that, lol, but you are a really cool guy, and I will stay in touch for sure. Mr Cleveland, Iv'e really grown to like you alot. You're a really good guy, and I'm happy to know you. And I really enjoyed many of our exchanges on the politics board. PLEASE keep speaking your mind. Mike, you are a GREAT friend, and you have stood by me, even when I had some not so nice things to say about a couple of your friends. The fact that you didn't dump me as a friend, and stayed out of the middle of things, is something that I can respect, especially considering the fact that it was something I was unable to do. Penny Lane, Marlene, I just want you to know that in the nearly 10 years that I have been here, Iv'e always admired you from afar, and honestly, I just thought you were too cool for me. :lol: Don't get me wrong, it wasn't from your attitude, you have always been so kind and humble. It was mainly intimidation of your realness, and intelligence. And that's the truth. The fact that we've had quite a few positive exchanges between us since I have been back here, has meant ALOT to me, and I hope that we can be friends. You are awesome. To Gene, you're another guy who I respect ALOT, and honestly, thought that you were too cool, and smart for me as well. I feel like I have alot in common with you, and so it's been really great getting to know you better. Lastly, but not leastly, I want to think Tweety. I have had SO MUCH respect for you for awhile. Your intelligence always intimidated me, but your knowledge pretty much for everything, including sports and politics is incredible to me. Like I said, sometimes people write long threads with not many points to it, but yours are always long, and extremely informative, and interesting from beginning to end. As I said before, NOBODY can accuse you of not supplying facts. lol. Thank you for all of the awesomre responses you made to my memorable sports thread. I thought it would be a dead thread, but you made it interesting, and made it very active because of your insight. I'm still kind of intimidated by your knowledge, lol, but I hope that we can be friends. :cheers: I'm not going to try to end this in a fancy way, I'm just going to leave by saying goodbye, I will stay in touch, and will drop in often. I promise!!! Once again, I thank you ALL for everything. Ya''ll are beyond awesome. Much love to everyone here. I'll be around!!! Bradley Russ :D

I'll try to post here once every week or two, to see how everything is going with you all, my friends. Talk to ya'll again in a week or so!! Much love to you! :wave:

Its a honor being your friend, Brad. :) And you've always been there for me as well. Its no secret that I said some pretty stupid and uncalled for things in a thread almost two years ago and you haven't held it against me like so many others have.

Its a honor being your friend, Brad. :) And you've always been there for me as well. Its no secret that I said some pretty stupid and uncalled for things in a thread almost two years ago and you haven't held it against me like so many others have.

Thanks so much Mike. Absolutely no way to describe what your words mean to me. I have much love for you my friend, and will never hold anything against you. We all make mistakes. The amount of them that I have made in the last few months, is actually embarrassing. lol Unfortunately, there are some people who don't like me too much at the moment, and I understand. I don't hold it against them, and if there was something that needed to be forgiven, I'd forgive them before they even asked. Anyway, it's an honor to be your friend too, and I mean that!!! You are a great guy, with a huge heart, and I really like how our friendship has grown. You'll ALWAYS be my friend! :)

Brad, thank you so much for your very kind words. I wish there were more people in the world like you these days; they are hard to find. And, you have my deep respect as well, buddy. :)

[QUOTE]Penny Lane, Marlene, I just want you to know that in the nearly 10 years that I have been here, Iv'e always admired you from afar, and honestly, I just thought you were too cool for me. :lol: Don't get me wrong, it wasn't from your attitude, you have always been so kind and humble. It was mainly intimidation of your realness, and intelligence. And that's the truth. The fact that we've had quite a few positive exchanges between us since I have been back here, has meant ALOT to me, and I hope that we can be friends. You are awesome.


Oh my gosh! Thanks Brad! That is the nicest compliment! I have never been too cool for anybody! :lol: And I am old enough to be your.................older sister?(aunt, cousin):lol: I sure will miss you! By the way, I never knew you were "Little Mel". These name changes confuse me!:confused: :wave:

Brad I'm glad to read that you're not abandoning S.O. altogether. I look forward to you dropping by and keeping in touch with all of us. I also look forward to keeping in touch with you at Facebook where I added you as a friend a few weeks ago. (I'm known as Marv Koop at facebook). I hope and pray that you will continue to find happiness in your life. I admire the genuine and truthful way you communicate and share your heart with your friends.

Brad, I'm sorry I didn't see this till now and am sorry you're going through a rough patch here. I do hope you pop in from time to time :wave:

What a pathetic sap.
Brad has very openly and honestly shared his emotions and struggles with us and that makes him far more of a man than I fear you will ever be drunkenbum. If you want to know who the real sap is here take a look in the mirror.

Brad has very openly and honestly shared his emotions and struggles with us and that makes him far more of a man than I fear you will ever be drunkenbum. If you want to know who the real sap is here take a look in the mirror.

Thanks so much Marvo. You are an awesome man!!! Have a great week!! :cheers:

[QUOTE]Penny Lane, Marlene, I just want you to know that in the nearly 10 years that I have been here, Iv'e always admired you from afar, and honestly, I just thought you were too cool for me. :lol: Don't get me wrong, it wasn't from your attitude, you have always been so kind and humble. It was mainly intimidation of your realness, and intelligence. And that's the truth. The fact that we've had quite a few positive exchanges between us since I have been back here, has meant ALOT to me, and I hope that we can be friends. You are awesome.


Oh my gosh! Thanks Brad! That is the nicest compliment! I have never been too cool for anybody! :lol: And I am old enough to be your.................older sister?(aunt, cousin):lol: I sure will miss you! By the way, I never knew you were "Little Mel". These name changes confuse me!:confused: :wave:

Ha ha, yeah I learned recentely that many people had no idea that I use to be Little Mel. Captain Ablairica (Greg) didn't know it was me until he saw my Archie Bunker avatar. Wonder how many other people don't know? HEY YA'LL, I'M LITTLE MEL!!! lol ;) Just want you to know, that TRULY EVERYTHING I said was heartfelt, and I meant it 100%. As far as the drunk dude goes, Iv'e probably been through more in thirty years, than he'll probably go through in his entire life. I don't sweat you bro. I'm pathetic because I know how to be grateful to people who may very well have saved my life? If that's what a loser is, then I want to be the biggest loser on the planet. lol I literally laughed when I read what he said, and I'm tempted to say something rude that may make some people laugh, but I'm going to just hold back and be the better man. Dude tries to hurt people, sorry bro, it didn't work. I hope you're not having a hangover. lol Love ya'll, and thanks again everyone!! :hug:

Brad, I'm sorry I didn't see this till now and am sorry you're going through a rough patch here. I do hope you pop in from time to time :wave:

Thanks so much Kristel. I'm glad that you and I have become friends, and am looking very forward to getting to know you even better. Have a wonderful week

Brad- I am glad to see you have posted here again. I have gone through some struggles in recent years myself, and I just wanted to let you know that God will see you through regardless. I look forward to seeing you here and on facebook as well.

One last thing before I go away for the next five days. I posted this on Facebook yesterday, and thought you guys might want to hear this news, since ya'll are such a big part of it. Here it is.

For the first time in nearly three months, I was offered free drugs. Oxycodone actually. I almost did it, I really did, but then I just thought about how great Iv'e felt in the past three months, and that was enough to make me say no thank you. I would be a fool to mess this up, and go back to my old ways. Sucks waking up in so much pain that you can barely move. That would be the result if I started up again. I know I will be tested many more times, but now I know that I'll be able to not give in to temptation. Thanks for the prayers everyone. They're working! :)

No self depricating humor this time. I'm proud of myself. :D

Proud of you, bro. That's a big deal.

Brad has very openly and honestly shared his emotions and struggles with us and that makes him far more of a man than I fear you will ever be drunkenbum. If you want to know who the real sap is here take a look in the mirror.
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:tiphat: :) One last thing before I go away for the next five days. I posted this on Facebook yesterday, and thought you guys might want to hear this news, since ya'll are such a big part of it. Here it is.

For the first time in nearly three months, I was offered free drugs. Oxycodone actually. I almost did it, I really did, but then I just thought about how great Iv'e felt in the past three months, and that was enough to make me say no thank you. I would be a fool to mess this up, and go back to my old ways. Sucks waking up in so much pain that you can barely move. That would be the result if I started up again. I know I will be tested many more times, but now I know that I'll be able to not give in to temptation. Thanks for the prayers everyone. They're working! :)

No self depricating humor this time. I'm proud of myself. :D

I am too. :)