Emazing

Dear Erin,

Man it has been a long long time. The funny thing is I had so little personal interaction with you it seems weird that I would have such strong memories of you. I can remember almost our entire “interview” when I was applying to STAND, and I am fairly certain I have never been so nervous about anything. Seems strange to me now, knowing what I do about you and STAND in general, that I was nervous, but never the less I was sweaty palmed and chain smoking the whole time.

I remember going into it I thought it was just something for WMU, not a national thing, so I wasn’t that nervous going in, but once I found out the scope of what I was getting into…so began hand wringing.

You are responsible for me getting involved with STAND, and that had a huge impact on my life in so many ways. It might not seem like all that big a deal to you considering you probably have brought in dozens of people into the STAND world, but to me I see little ear marks of it all over my life. Aside from the purpose of STAND, which in its self was huge to me, there are the people. I look down this friend list of mine as I slowly whittle it away, and see the smiling faces of so many extraordinary people I have met there. I think of all the late late nights, and deadlines, and the general panic of “what if this gets fucked up”. What it all boils down to is, if it weren’t for you that 3 year period in my life would have been so very different, and I think where I am now would have been much further off in the distance.

I was pretty butt-hurt when I first started that you were already moving on in your role at STAND, I felt like you got me in, so I wanted to have a chance to prove myself to you. Not that Scott wasn’t a good leader, far from it, but I had something to prove to you. Just know that everytime I went batshit and worked for like 3 days straight on something I was hoping you were watching. I don’t seek approval from many, as just about anyone who knows me will verify, but for you I just felt so grateful and inspired that it made me push extra hard.

Ok, this is getting soggy. To sum up you were/are awesome and some day when you are running for office I would love to be on your team.

Today was a great day, but tomorrow our FBfriendship will end,

Curt

The Macon Bacon!

Dear Hampybags,

Seems like only yesterday you and I were begrudgingly discussing the shame that is “wrist-band activism” and the greater meaning this has for the world at large. You tend to look at the bright side of humanity for the most part. Far from idealistic however, always grounded in the real world we all live and breath in.

Me however, especially when it came to talking about STAND, would err on the side of apathy. It was my firmly held belief that we had to give people actual stuff to get them to do anything. One couldn’t just expect students to give a shit because it involved their fellow human beings. No, in my view we had to ply them with trinkets and baubles, or some form of reciprocal feel-good non-sense like wristbands (ala the livestrong/savedafur methodology). You however tended to tack in the other direction. That it was young people who still have it in them to do something based on empathy, rather than gain.

While I got the feeling that many folks thought you were the grumpy old man, once I came along it was pretty easy to demonstrate that this was not the case. Boy, finding out I was significantly older than you sure was good times. I enjoyed very much sleeping on your floor, and drinking on your under-porch with the rest of the folks. I did infact enjoy what little I heard of your music, which for me is not something common. The sad thing is since we both moved on, it has been nigh on impossible for me to come up with reasons (other than selfish ones like whattayadoins?) to contact you.

You were definitely the guy i went to at STAND when the myriads of ladies working there wore me down (no offense ladies, you were all wonderful, but sometimes my Midwestern-addled male brain needed a breather). I really wish I could have just lived in DC for those few years, and gotten to know you better. I won’t flatter myself thinking I would have been a great friend, but I bet I would have been a different one. The kind of guy you introduce to friends as a science experiment to see how they take it.

I WILL find a reason to get around to talking to you again, even if I have to start giving my design time away for free again. I hope you are doing well in the District, and just assume you are married to a wonderful lady as you full well deserve (that prolly broke a few hearts I imagine). If ever you need something, I still live on gchat, drop me a line and tell me where the body is and I will get to it. Jesus I really am getting sappy over this stuff...=)

Today was a great day, but tomorrow our FBfriendship will end,

Curt