Saying Good-Bye

Ever since I first started blogging family and friends occasionally question me about the safety of talking about and posting photos of my family on the Internet. I've had a very callous attitude about it because.....well.....I don't know....just because. Maybe because I'm naive.



All of that has changed.....literally, over night.



Because of one person.



So, Dave...if you're reading this....I'm ratting you out.



You all know that several days ago I wrote a post that didn't go over very well with a couple folks. I had the comments turned off to avoid receiving hate mail but comments were left on the previous post anyway. Since it was a previous post I wasn't checking them from my computer on a regular basis like I ordinarily would. I did, however, notice a deleted comment from someone named Dave. I don't know a Dave. I've never received a comment from anyone named Dave. I have my blog set up to send all comments to my email.....bet you didn't know that Dave...did you? The problem with that is sometimes comments/emails get overlooked because I don't check my email on a regular basis either. So Dave's comment (that was sent to my email before he deleted it) went overlooked. I did not see it.



Please stay with me as I AM going somewhere with this.....



So, in response to Saturday's post, I received this lovely comment from David:



"I loved the post but of course did not comment as they were turned off.I did want you to know that I followed your marathon blog as my wife is battling Leukemia and did the Nike Womens marathon in San Fran with Team in Training, while briefly in remission in 2005.She still battles as it keeps coming back.Even after a full stem cell transplant, it came back full bore last week!With her this week in the hospital fighting for her life, I find it hard to get into a philosophical/political discussion with anyone.I like your point of view, and agree that we need to put family first. I also appreciate what you wrote in your Marathon blog.Keep up the good work!David"



I thought to myself......How nice. A lurker coming out of the closet. And Leukemia....UGH.... tough break. I wondered if this was the same Dave that deleted his comment from the previous post....hmmmm....whatever.



So I mosey on over to Dave's blog. And am completely mortified at the hardships that his family is facing. His wife has been battling leukemia since 2005....was thought to be in remission....but has recently relapsed. He, after a freakish illness, is now deaf and has recently received cochlear implants. And he has a 14 year old son. His posts were inspiring. And a little sad. And a little intriguing. I was engrossed in his story for close to an hour last night. I left him several supportive comments.



I then went back to my own comments and decided to check and see if the deleted comment from Dave was indeed the same Dave. I clicked the link and yep....sure is....hmmmm....that's odd. I wonder why he said he didn't leave a comment when he actually did but deleted it. Oh well.



So then I received another comment from Dave in response to the comments that I left him on HIS blog....



"thank you for your warm kind comments. It means much to me. I so enjoy your posts and look forward to them. I hope you continue to work with Team in training if you get the opportunity. We have raised a lot of money up here for them, and continue our efforts.Your blog is amazing!" David



What a nice guy.



So then I mosey on over to my email late last night and realize that my inbox is ridiculously full with blog comment emails so I start sifting through my emails to delete them from my inbox. And guess what I found Dave......your comment before you deleted it....



You see, Dave is the one that left the nasty comment but then deleted it and reposted it as an anonymous comment under a girl's name. Which in and of itself probably wouldn't bother me. I would have just seen him as a coward for doing something like that under a false name and not necessarily an unstable freak. I probably would have forgiven him for being so nasty and cowardly and moved on. That comment was not meant to show a constructive opposing view....it was meant to me malicious and condescending. Dave couldn't come up with a valid constructive argument and so chose to be mean instead. Whatever. But here's where I start thinking he's an unstable freak.....re-reading his most recent comments...."I loved the post but of course did not comment as they were turned off." Ummm.....liar.... & "Your blog is amazing!" I'm sorry....but I do believe you called me "hate-filled, greedy, and selfish" just two days ago. And now you've changed your tune??!! So now not only do I question your stability but I'm also questioning your legitimacy. I'm guessing your entire blog is a farce.



Then I decide to take a look at my stat counter....it's been awhile....and now I see that there is someone in a very close town to me that has been to my blog over 30 times in the last 4 days. I'm more than a little freaked out people....that's just creepy....and I was up half the night wondering if I now have my very own crazy stalker guy (Kori, you have ruined me forever....you've turned me into a basket case). Now, in Dave's defense, I have no idea if this is him....as I have no idea where Dave lives. But when I couple all these things together.....Yeah, I'm a little freaked out. And now questioning how smart it is to be throwing "my life" out there and talking so intimately about my family for the world to see.



Am I being irrational? Maybe. But I don't care. I'm leaving this bloggy world for awhile. I may come back in the future but if I do it'll be to a more secure blog....as in maybe an invitation only blog. I'll have to look into that. I'll still be reading all your posts....my bloggy friends.....you'll be seeing me around. Just not here for awhile.

Edited to add: As of right now, until I figure out what I'm going to do....I'm changing my comment settings. All comments will have to be approved by me before publishing. And Anonymous comments are no longer allowed. If you can't back up your comment with a name then you are not welcome here.