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Life among the Yetis

Yes, the Sorceror has returned! … well, sort of. Since “real life” – the demands of increased work and home responsibilities and kids getting involved in sports and other activities gnawed my free time down to little or nothing, I’ve done little coin or banknote collecting in the intervening years. I have certainly missed these forums – especially the Darkside – and occasionally I’ve sneaked a peak, longing to return, but knowing I really didn’t have the time. An unexpected dose of free time today provided me with an opportunity to go through a recent flurry emails from “old” threads that recently appeared in my in box. Bailathacl’s witticism about me in the “Meet the Darksiders” thread really jerked my heartstrings and I knew I had to pop on and say hello.

I’m glad I did, or I would have missed the sad news about Marci, the wife of the “Dead King” Aethelred – one of my oldest compatriots and co-conspirators in originally establishing the Darkside. I am not surprised by the expressions of sympathy and the founding of a memorial fund for Marci; I remember the same generous response when my father died. To be honest, such compassion is not exclusive to this forum, but it seems to ring exceptionally brightly in our Dark community. Not many from the “days of lore” back in 2001-02 remain, but I am delighted to learn from the continuing comments of the newly enDarkened, that the qualities of camaraderie and helpfulness still shine Darkly! image

Since I’ve been gone, my collecting has mostly been restricted to my two primary collections, German East African coinage (in BU) and Philippine Guerrilla Notes (in CU or as nice as I can find them). Both are slow movers as I’ve pretty much only rarities left in both. Still, it’s a special delight when I can add another “missing” piece.

I’m afraid my participation will still remain limited, and the most reliable way to contact me will still be by email. For one thing, most of my references are in storage and my catalogs quite out of date, but I will help out when and where I can. For another thing, real life still makes heavy demands on me and not least is that my own wife has been fighting breast cancer since the beginning of this year. She came through surgery well and is doing fine, having just completed her third course of eight in her chemo regimen. She’s as mean to me as ever she was, which is how I know she is doing well. image Her progress, if anything, is a tribute to how well prayers work!

In any case, I just wanted to drop in after all this time to say hello to friends olde and new, and to let you know that while yetis may not live well, we do still live large! image
Askari



Come on over ... to The Dark Side! image

Comments

  • 1960NYGiants1960NYGiants Posts: 3,442 ✭✭✭✭
    Hi Mark, nice to hear from one of the originals!

    My thoughts go out to you and your wife. Fight the good fight and stay strong.
    Gene

    Life member #369 of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association
    Member of Canadian Association of Token Collectors

    Collector of:
    Canadian coins and pre-confederation tokens
    Darkside proof/mint sets dated 1960
    My Ebay
  • MacCrimmonMacCrimmon Posts: 7,051 ✭✭✭
    Well, I'll be....!!!

    I checked the date first to see if this was a re-post from eons ago.....nope, 4/23/today.

    Best to your wife's recovery, and let her know that my wife is 13 years past her breast cancer "episode", and she too is 'mean' as ever, too. imageimageimage
  • TwoKopeikiTwoKopeiki Posts: 9,528 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow, one of the originals is out of hiding image Speedy recovery to your wife and I hope to see you post more in the days to come.
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,307 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm glad you checked in. It's great to know you're doing OK.
    Tempus fugit.
  • holy cow Askari and Cacheman too!! This is awesome!! Missed both of you guys a bunch! image
    Terry

    eBay Store

    DPOTD Jan 2005, Meet the Darksiders
  • StorkStork Posts: 5,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi Mark!!! I was astonished to see your name up again--I had trolled through the 'meet the darksiders' thread when it resurfaced and peeked at last log-ins and yours was ancient! I'm glad to hear you have done a little collecting even though you've been busy.

    Please pass my best wishes on to your wife as well and I hope your kiddos are thriving. I don't recall thinking your wife was particularly mean however image.

    Take care and keep dropping in.


    Cathy


  • BillyKingsleyBillyKingsley Posts: 2,661 ✭✭✭✭
    I never got to meet you before, but welcome back! Best wishes for your wife as well!
    Billy Kingsley ANA R-3146356 Cardboard History // Numismatic History
  • SYRACUSIANSYRACUSIAN Posts: 6,445 ✭✭✭✭
    Fantastic. That's a great uplifting post. Hi. image

    Holy cow Askari and Cacheman too!! This is awesome!! Missed both of you guys a bunch!


    Spinaker should count himself in. So should mongoose, satootoko ,1jester, and many more. Unfortunately, not only the majority of the early 2000s bunch are yeti or nearly so, but you'd be surprised at how many passed away. I dread to post a name or two, although a few come to mind, for fear of forgetting another. Others are MIA. All the best to your wife and to your new endeavours. image

    image
    Dimitri



    myEbay



    DPOTD 3
  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,721 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great to hear from you

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • Glad to see the forum's still up and running. And that some of the oldtimers are still around. I have to start collecting again, I think.

    //Auto
    A grade is an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgement by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a coin corresponds to an undefinable level of an unattainable state of preservation. - Never tell me that grading is science.
  • theboz11theboz11 Posts: 6,576 ✭✭✭
    This must be Easter, with all this rising from the deadimage
  • HussuloHussulo Posts: 2,953 ✭✭✭

    I never got to meet you before either, but welcome back! and wishing your wife a speedy recovery.
  • 1jester1jester Posts: 8,638 ✭✭✭


    << <i>This must be Easter, with all this rising from the deadimage >>



    LOL, good point! image

    "I don't recall thinking your wife was particularly mean however"

    Well, Cathy, the best wives keep their ultimate meanness for their sweet hubbies...ask me how I know. And as Mark alluded to, that's how we know we're held in such esteem. image

    Brilliant and timely idea for a thread. Welcome back, Sorcerer of the Dark, and my prayers go out to your wife. Happy Easter, all!!

    imageimageimage
    .....GOD
    image

    "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9

    "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5

    "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
  • AskariAskari Posts: 3,713
    Thank you all for the warm "welcome backs"! I am glad to see you all again and make a new friend or two. image And Jester is right, Cathy ... wives have a special "meanness" they reserve only for those men they love most. No other man could be half as deserving as the one who is their very own. image

    One thing I will say about breast cancer, folks: have every woman you love do her self exam regularly. Mammograms (otherwise known as "boob smashing") has its value, but it also has a 20% false negative rate. Gayle found her own, went in for testing and the mammogram picked up nothing. The sonogram, however, confirmed something was there -- as if it couldn't be felt -- but her docs felt sure it was a cyst. A biopsy revealed it wasn't, and so we set out on this current journey of togetherness. As a man, and especially an engineer, I cannot understand why women can't have problems we can fix, but that's the way it is -- we're worthless when we're most needed, and have to settle for just "being there". Fortunately, 20 years of wedded bliss has well prepared me to take being useless in stride. image Fortunately, she has the kind that is most treatable. Even more fortuitous, an inherited medical condition, hemocromatosis, which causes her to produce too much iron in her blood is just the right thing to keep her hemoglobin levels from dropping. This means she has both suffered less of the possible symptoms and is at much reduced risk of infection as well. I don't know how she managed to work it all out, but she is indeed one smart lady! image
    Askari



    Come on over ... to The Dark Side! image
  • welcome back oh great Sorcerer! Best wishes for your wife's speedy recovery!
    Cecil
    Total Copper Nutcase - African, British Ships, Channel Islands!!!
    'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    Askari:

    I hope your wife pulls through this bout with despicable cancer and comes out better than ever. I lost my father to cancer and any time the word is brought up I shudder. My girlfriend was just called back by her doctor today to come in for further tests for cervical cancer. I am hoping we had a false positive and that she has nothing to worry about. She is 27.

    I worry about the members we haven't heard from recently. It is so sad to not know if someone is Yeti or permanently Yeti'd.
  • mongoosemongoose Posts: 589 ✭✭
    Wow, just wow...a Sorcerer sighting. You and Big Alan played a large part in my conversion and I have since converted many myself. hehe

    I sincerely wish all of you and wives, husbands, girlfriends, partners, etc. the best. I also wish I had more time to participate here, but life's demands = a jealous mistress. I hope to be more active here later this year, and also hope to see old friends and make new ones at every FUN show from here on out. I'll be residing in FL as of July. My coins have remained boxed up for almost 3 years now, and I really look forward to a simpler life where I can enjoy them again.

    Take care everyone!imageimage
    Joe
  • AskariAskari Posts: 3,713
    Hi Joe! Good to see you back here too. I wonder which of us old "Greybeards" of this forum has the less hair to prove their ancientness by? image I've long missed BigAlan. If it wasn't the fun I had bantering about with him and a few others in the "pioneer" days of these message boards, this forum wouldn't be called the Dark Side -- and we'd still be trying to spot "our" posts before they'd rolled off page 10 of the US Coins board!

    Thanks for the well wishes, Nicholas! You and your girlfriend will definitely be in my prayers for a negative on her tests!
    Askari



    Come on over ... to The Dark Side! image
  • mongoosemongoose Posts: 589 ✭✭
    Dmitri, that is a wonderful coin in your signature. Mike, it's been ages, hope you and your family are well. We all used to send coins across ponds before there were any issues. LMAOimageimage
    Joe
  • mongoosemongoose Posts: 589 ✭✭
    Mark, my friend, ... I still have a full head of hair.image I saw spinaker last week and he might vouch for me, probably have to kick him back something something.
    All of my facial is hair is grey however. so I don't wear any. I might look younger than ajaan, dpoole, LM or Aethel remember me.
    Joe
  • It is really great to hear from you once again. I haven't been as active on the forums as I once was.... some real great people have been on this forum and have disappeared, I'm glad when one resurfaces - stick around.

    Shep
    image
  • AskariAskari Posts: 3,713
    Just answered my first "hard" question -- just like olde times! image Sadly, though, it used to be an easy one ... but I could just feel the accumulated dust of ages shifting from those long disused corridors of memory. image
    Askari



    Come on over ... to The Dark Side! image
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