Posted on 06/09/2004 8:09:07 PM PDT by SerpentDove
Greetings, FReepers!
SerpentDove here. I will intersperse photos along with my report.
Last night, June 8, 2004, Dallas FReepers had the distinct honor of meeting and dining with the Big Enchilada, Jim Robinson! We met at Cozymel’s Mexican Restaurant in Plano.
�
For those of you who have never met Jim in person, he is everything you would expect and more. Lightning shoots from his eyes and fingertips, and he went around all night telling everyone to “knock it off.” :-)))
No, in actuality, Jim is a kind-faced man with smiling eyes, a gentle demeanor, and a sincere laugh.
It was an honor to meet the man whose internet site helped shake one Presidency to its foundation, and helped keep another from being hijacked.
It was heady stuff discussing with Jim the days of Whitewater and Lewinsky, when each day brought a new scandal that unfolded on our monitors. Stroke of a the keyboard, end of a legacy. Kinda cool.
The fajitas were swell, but at one point I decided to set down the fork and go meet “The Man.”
While I felt ill-prepared to strike up a political conversation with JimRob (I mean, this is JIM ROBINSON, and by this time he must have absorbed billions more bytes of information than even the most die-hard FReeper!)...I still was compelled to engage him.
So I sat down at the table with him, SUSSA and Moiraine.
I asked about the early days when Drudge linked to his site, and he and SUSSA told me of the days when Rep. Bob Barr called to meet with the FR “staff” during the impeachment inquiry, of clues dropped by Lucianne Goldberg, of the drumbeat joined by Alan Keyes, et al.
�
I fumbled for relevant questions. “Jim, when did you first know that FreeRepublic was a big deal?”
“When we were getting hits from the Executive Office of the President.” I wonder how many times Lanny Davis and James Carville have hit FR? Or Hillary and Slick, for that matter. Plenty, I’ll bet. We all know Rush and Sean Hannity lurk.
If I remember correctly, he said FR has 150,000 members.
�
My next volley. “Jim, I’ve gotta ask you...how do you see the unfolding of America in the next twenty years?” About 1/1000th of a second elapsed when his eyes sparkled and he said, “It will get more conservative.”
I reflexively smiled and said, “I think so, too.” He shares Reagan’s optimism.
I intimated that the eight years of Clinton probably took years off of my life. But I also had to share, "You know, it was kind of fun, though." He let go a genuine belly laugh, the kind like when someone really identifies with what you're saying. Then he added sarcastically, "Come on, Kerry!"
For my next question, I bore down, not for emphasis, but because I just had to know. “How does it feel to know that you are a channel through which history and the world is being changed?” I knew this was no exaggeration or flattery.
Again, the answer was firm and instant. He leaned forward and looked at me intently. “YOU know...because you’re part of it too!”
He knocked it out of the park with that answer. Power to the FReeple. I, like many, have witnessed firsthand the power of the internet to shake the world. It is an unbridled torrent that is about to destroy the mainstream media. It belongs to ordinary citizens, not the elites in Washington.
For a tiny while I sat in a little restaurant in Texas, amid empty glasses and tortilla chip crumbs, across the table from one of the primary architects of the media revolution.
Ronald Reagan said he wanted to be remembered for giving the people back their government.
I believe Jim Robinson’s legacy is in giving the people back their press.
Thanks, Jim, and God bless you.
SerpentDove
just kidding, it was 70 today, 72 tommorrow, 80's sat.
hehe ! :^)
What an honor to meet the Big FR-ahuna!
I had the honor of being in DC for final goodbyes to The Gipper. FReepers everywhere!!!
Thanks for all the information Meek. You really did a great job on them and I'll check back and look when SerpentDove posts his too.
SerpentDove
See ya! SD
More photos (see post #166)
Great report ,great pics,great job.Love you JR :very most beautiful wife,wherever you are.
Oh, those are GREAT ! Good job, SerpentDove !More pics on #166, folks ! :^D
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas or General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.
It's so great to see you all. Thanks, Meekie.
Thanks! Looks like it was really nice!
Thanks MAF for setting up the event again. I had lots of fun. It was good to put faces to screen names.
"Thanks for all your work setting this up. You did a great job."
Yes indeed...Thanks much MAF.
Suss.........you did behave right? LOL
Thank you. It was great meeting "The Man". :^DI had the honor of being in DC for final goodbyes to The Gipper. FReepers
everywhere!!!I am SOoo glad you and other Freepers got to do that. I wish I could have
done the same. Being in Texas, it was just such a long way to Ca. or D.C.
At least we got to see it all on FOX News. The Funeral/Memorial is in 30
minutes.SerpentDove has posted HIS pics on #166 now, if you'd like to see them also.
> KAFF! <
"Meekie, there are these new things today called 'Listerine Breath Strips...'"
<|:)~
Wooo hooo! Thanks for the great pictures and the wonderful time.
Great pictures, I just wish I wasn't it them! I have a fear/hatred of cameras.
Everybody else's photos are wonderful though! Especially Wolfie's -- "Go ahead and take my picture, I've got a martini!" ^_^
Great photos! :)
Everyone is asking where am I. I tell you, Meek tried to leave me out. I'm in post #93. (just kidding MOG)
I didn't know someone got one of us. I'm so far behind in reading my post. Still without my laptop at home and busy, busy at work.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
