A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....01-20-03....Puddleglum: The Exclusive Interview

dansangel; Billie

[dansangel]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete
MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet
MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga
BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette
MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid
BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP
MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian
BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 5A: TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68. MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797. BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack.

GROUP 6A: TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett. MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick, Leroy S Mort, Mark17. BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

GROUP 7A: TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam, dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony.BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang.

GROUP 8A: TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx. MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law. BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

Puddleglum at Chichen Itza

Puddleglum Freeper since November 8, 2001

My readers have been clamoring to know more about the mysterious Puddleglum. Where is he from? What does he do? Why does he appear to be so morose, when in fact he has such a keen sense of humor? Deciding that there is nothing too good for my National Inquisition readership, I donned one of my finest Italian silk suits, climbed into the Navigator (along with my hairdresser, publicist, make-up artist and personal trainer, of course) and braved the long trek to the wilds of Dallas (TEXAS, I tell you!) to get the exclusive scoop you've all been waiting for:

Puddleglum - The Exclusive National Inquisition Interview

Puddleglum and his son

dansangel: So, just how old are you?

Puddleglum: I was born in 1963.

dansangel: Who most influenced you while you were growing up?

Puddleglum: My dad who was a vet of WWII, Korea and Vietnam - the last two with the Air Force. He was a skeptic who distrusted big government, Democrats, our wigged-out music directors at church, and lots of other stuff. But he taught me how to have an educated opinion and how to question others about theirs without just spewing emotion. And he taught me how to laugh at a lot of things that might break a person down if he were inclined to take everything seriously. Oh and my mom, who is still alive, taught me how to laugh too, not in a subversive way but in an enjoy-life-in-all-its-absurdities way, the pure comedy to my dad's satire. I was one of six kids in a family without a lot of $$$ so it was worthwhile to learn to laugh stuff off.

dansangel: I'm beginning to get the feeling you're another one of those - [shudder] con…con...conservatives. There I said it! Now, is that true?

Puddleglum: One memory of my early conservative education stands out. I remember the first and last time in the 1970's when our church music director had the children's choir sing some tunes from "Jesus Christ Superstar" during mass in our conservative Catholic church. You could see the crew cuts heads of the dads begin to pivot in church then begin bouncing unspoken signals and radar beams to one another with little nods, scowls, knuckles tightening on the pew in front of them. Apparently they all got together sometime during the following week and met with the pastor - there were more traditional songs in church from then on and we never rehearsed Jesus Christ Superstar tunes in music class again.

The Singing Nun

dansangel: I never knew there was anything wrong with that….

Puddleglum: I also remember when Carter got elected and I told my English teacher "Well, that's that - we might as well just all pack it up and move to Cuba!" She did not laugh, and it was then that I discovered that most teachers are of a more liberal bent than most military-culture kids.

dansangel: And thank goodness for that! Could you possibly imagine conservative public schools? The horror! Anything else you'd care to share?

Puddleglum: Flash forward through 12 years of parochial school in a pretty conservative Catholic environment, without one single traumatizing story to tell for it (no insane nuns whacking me with rulers or too-friendly priests). Well, one time there was this nun who made us take a bite off a bar of soap when we talked in class. One kid, to be a smart ass, ate the whole bar. He was in the sick room all the rest of the day and of course his fame spread across the blacktop playground like wildfire.

Puddleglum's dog Gretchen

dansangel: How awful! He could have died! Where was the ACLU?

Puddleglum: Speaking of blacktop playgrounds, there must not have been as many lawsuits back then because we all crawled on those steel monkey-bars ten feet off the ground with only blacktop beneath us and I'm sure we all fell off a million times but I never remember even the whisper of lawsuits coming up once.

dansangel: That's because people today are much more educated in making money from their misfortunes. It's the American way! So, were you any good at anything in school?

Puddleglum: I was always good at English and crappy at math. I graduated from high school, went to an almost remedial local college and due to sheer boredom managed to squeeze my first four years of college into six. But then in my MA I found I had to work to learn and got all A's on my transcript for my Lit Degree. I almost got a PhD in English but as I watched graduate after graduate disappear into the vortex it occurred to me: "If graduates from Yale and Harvard end up teaching here (at Rural U.), where do graduates from here end up teaching?" I abruptly swerved into a second MA in Technical Communication and have been happily situated in the business world ever since. I still like reading lit for fun though and my favorite authors are John Dos Passos, Flannery O'Connor and Faulkner.

dansangel: Sounds to me like you missed out on all of the solid liberal values learned along with a good liberal arts degree in college. How unfortunate for you.

Puddleglum: In grad school I survived all the "opinion-of-the-month"/"buy black clothes with checks from home" liberals because I knew how to argue and they did not. And I even had some very good professors who had finally, I guess, gotten tired of babysitting spoiled kids who tried on other people's opinions like fashions but never formed any themselves. A lot of professors actually gave me good guidance and feedback, and to them I'm grateful.

dansangel: Sounds like you aligned yourself intentionally with all of the campus misfits. What do you do now?

Puddleglum: Today I live and work in the Dallas area. I have a wonderful wife and a little boy who are glad to see me when I return home at the end of the day. At work itself, when I'm not designing text or graphics or "messaging" for our software products I am taking non-policy-violating micro-breaks browsing Free Republic. It helps me stoke up a good load of righteous indignation that I then sublimate into useful capital-producing energy - kind of like throwing logs into the belly of a steam-engine!

Puddleglum's son at Christmas

dansangel: Another one caught by the mind-numbing tactics of the vast right-wing conspiracy! How did you manage to become imprisoned by that Free Republic place?

Puddleglum: I guess I found Free Republic through Drudge's links back during the Clinton scandal (which one, you ask? - I forget). I lurked forever but finally felt the need to sign up and chip in my two cents but not John Huang's - unlike some politicians I don't relish spending other folks' money!

Puddleglum: Anyway, there you have it. I'm glad to be in such fine company. I want to thank JimRob in particular for creating this forum where we can all meet and hash out issues important to us. All the best!


dansangel: So there you have it, my Inquisitional brothers and sisters. The inside and exclusive scoop on the mysterious Puddleglum.

Please join me in welcoming another of FR's Finest...

Puddleglum!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 01/18, 01/19-03 Week In Review

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[dansangel]

[Support Free Republic]

Tom Daschle, This One's For You!
	Donate Here By Secure Server Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody !! Happy Monday !

Have a cup while you FReep !

For those who prefer hot chocolate.....

[dansangel]

Happy Monday One and All! Please help me to Welcome our featured guest....Puddleglum!

[dansangel]

Wow, Meekie....you are Johnny-on-the-spot this morning!!! Make mine a double hot chocolate to go!

{{{{{{{{{{{{Meekie}}}}}}}}}}}}} <---- share with Ming!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Angel.

[dansangel]

Good Morning Aeronaut! I was hoping I'd see you before I had to go get ready for w-o-r-k...ugh! The only thing worse than a cold Monday morning is having to go to w-o-r-k instead of sleeping in, too! :-)

Have a wonderful day, {{{{{{{{{{{{Aeronaut}}}}}}}}}}}}

[.45MAN]

Good morning to all. Hope that everyone has a great day. It's another Monday......

[SheLion]

Good morning everyone! Couldn't sleep!!!! Hope it's a great Monday for everyone!

[sweetliberty]

Mornin' Meekie. You sure were fast with that coffee this morning. Good thing too. I HATE it when I have to get up this early!

Dansy, another failed attempt to subdue a bonafide right wing nut I see. LOL!

Puddleglum, nice to get to know you better. What a handsome son, but then I expect you already knew that. And great job not getting ruffled by the fiendish interogator.

Anyhow, hope you have a great day and congratulations on being one of FR's finest.

[dansangel]

Thank-you for coming to visit, SheLion. You have been in my prayers and I'm so glad to "see" you again.

Extra-warm {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} and prayers for your strength and healing.

[dansangel]

Hey there! It's either very late or very early for you!

Thanks for coming to visit and your well-wishes to Puddleglum. Actually ALL of my interogees (?) have done exceptionally well under the gun! LOL!!!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{sweetliberty}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[dansangel]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{smoochies!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[firewalk]

Good morning everyone

Thanks for the ping Dansangel (-:

[dansangel]

Good Morning, BeforeISleep!

Hope you enjoyed the "Exclusive Interview." Puddleglum was a most gracious "victim"....LOL!!

{{{{{{{{{{BeforeISleep}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[firewalk]

Hope you enjoyed the "Exclusive Interview."

Yes I did, I snuck in earlier & lurked/read (couldn't sleep).... good interview by the way....

hope you have a nice day (-:

[dansangel]

hope you have a nice day (-:

Thank-you! Likewise to you!

[Molly Pitcher]

Good morning, and thanks, dansangel.

And Puddleglum, delighted to meet you! You have a darling little boy:-))

[dansangel]

Good Morning, MP!

Hopefully we can spotlight Puddleglum's little FReeper in a few years! He would make a handsome addition to our "little family."

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Molly Pitcher}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Temple Owl]

Good Morning dansangel; Billie; daisyscarlett; Mama_Bear; dutchess; and all. Have a wonderful day!

[GailA]

Good Morning ALL. Congrats Puddleglum. Handsome young man you have for a son.

[GailA]

[dansangel]

Hello {{{{{{{{{{{Temple Owl}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}!

So glad you could stop by on this "frigid" Monday morning!

[dansangel]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{GailA}}}}}}}}}}}}

Thank-you for the coffee and bisquits! How are things up in your neck of the woods? Isn't Puddleglum's son just the cutest thing? From the responses so far, I think he's going to end up being the highlight of today's thread!! LOL!

(Give Rocky some scratches behind the ears from me!)

[MeekOneGOP]

This Super Bowl should be first-rate
	Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber (left) and Oakland coach Bill Callahan celebrate Sunday's wins. (AP)

DMN pro football columnist Rick Gosselin writes that for the first time, the NFL's No. 1 offense will play the No. 1 defense for the NFL title when the Oakland Raiders face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.
•
• Gosselin's Super Bowl keys | More coverage

---

How 'bout them Raiders?!?!
How 'bout them Bucs?!?!

[dansangel]

Extra-cute graphic....I just love that!!

May I "borrow" it for a pledge graphic?

[dansangel]

Hey Meekie,

I don't follow organized sports anymore (my own personal protest....long story!), but since I'm from FL I've got to go with Tampa Bay! :-)

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning Everybody.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics J

Coffee & Donuts J

[dansangel]

Breakfast just keeps getting better and better! :-)

Thank-you for stopping by, Fiddlstix! And, you offerings of caffeine and sugar are always welcome!

{{{{{{{{{{{Fiddlstix}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Puddleglum]

What a nice inquisitional interview! Thanks dansangel for making this all so fun! I feel honored to be with such esteemed compnay here at FR - you all make me think and of course remind me how fun it is to be on the 'right' side of things.

My son took the best genes from his mom and me, I think. Plus he might have dug way back for some "giant" genes - he looks like he is going to tower over both of us! My wife and I look forward to huddling under a blanket in the bleachers and watching him score touchdown after touchdown.

One can hope!

[GailA]

Rocky will appreciate the extra pets...he starts the day with them, wakes me up with doggie kisses, and I try to pet him back to sleep for a few more minutes.

I borrowed the graphic off www.collectablestoday.com (choose the Patriotic shop) and you will find LOTS of cute dolls, figurines etc to buy. BUT they make great graphics. Like this one. I wish I had tons of money so I could buy a few.

[Budge]

Good morning everyone! (Note to self: Can a Monday morning really be all that good? ;) )

Congratulations Puddleglum, very nice to "meet" you! Wish I could stick around, but I have much to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

Enjoy your special day!

[Budge]

Good morning everyone! (Note to self: Can a Monday morning really be all that good? ;) )

Congratulations Puddleglum, very nice to "meet" you! Wish I could stick around, but I have much to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

Enjoy your special day!

[dansangel]

I feel honored to be with such esteemed compnay here at FR - you all make me think and of course remind me how fun it is to be on the 'right' side of things.

Good Morning, Puddleglum! The honor is all ours, believe me. We're glad you're a part of FR....we need more like you!

As to your son being tall - take that under advisement, Dad! He may decide to make YOU do "time-out" in the corner one of these days! LOL!!!

Enjoy your day - there will be more FReepers to show up as the day goes on (and the temperatures rise, LOL!) so keep coming back and have fun!

{{{{{{{{{{{Puddleglum}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Budge]

Sorry for the double post.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get. :)

[dansangel]

Thanks so much on the lead for some patriotic graphics! However, something tells me that my pocketbook is going to suffer if I visit there! Or, if the stuff is priced way high, then I won't have to worry! :-) Guess I'll have to check it out and see.

You're lucky if you can get Rocky to go back to sleep. When my cats are ready to get up, they are READY! NOTHING will convince them otherwise! LOL!

[dansangel]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{BUDGE}}}}}}}}}}}}}

! Wish I could stick around, but I have much to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

Boy, do I know THAT feeling! In fact, I NEED to get back to work RIGHT NOW!

Thanks for stopping by....have a wonderful day! (Yes, Mondays CAN be good, too!) :-)

[LadyX]

Sigh - - my hero, Carlsbad Carl!

So faithful, always there with his pencil-stirred brew,
giving it his 'personal touch.'

[daisyscarlett]

Congratulations puddlegum....Good to meet you. Your son and Gretchen are way too cute!!

Dansy, good interview....You and puddlegum have good "chemistry".

[daisyscarlett]

Hi Meekie-thanks to Ming for suggestions on gifts to request from China-I like the one about pearls and silk but will be polite and ask for some green tea....

[daisyscarlett]

[dansangel]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{daisy}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}!!

She's Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-c-k!!!!!!!!! Hooray! :-)

I'm sorry I missed you over the weekend, but things are way hectic in my little corner of the world! You were definitely MISSED last week!

Yep, today's not gonna be a bad Monday after all!! :-)

[SheLion]

daisyscarlett! Thank you SO very much!!!!!!

[dansangel]

Excellent gif for astronomy fans....thanks for bringing it to the Finest to share! :-)

[daisyscarlett]

You beat me to it, dansy....That little boy GailA posted would make an excellent pledge graphic....Now I will have to use this one instead...(Just kidding Billie, hee hee)

[dansangel]

OK, I am REALLY going to go awol for a bit. (It's the W-O-R-K thing!!) See y'all at lunchtime!

[Fiddlstix]

You're welcome J

[dansangel]

That one's got my vote! Oops, did I say that???? Sorry .45MAN!!! LOL!

[daisyscarlett]

Sorry your team lost yesterday. But look on the bright side, you would not want them to get mangled by those big bad Raiders would you? Plus, now you can sit back and enjoy the commercials on Sunday and all that good Super Bowl food!!