Wilko wrote in message ...
Tinkerntom wrote:

Hi, my Dutch friend Wilko, and I mean that sincerely.

Tinkerntom, to call someone my friend, I need to like someone a lot,
feel that I want to respect them, and I require them to respect me. I
don't take friendship lightly. I don't feel the need to make many
friends, IMO quality means a lot more than quantity in that respect,
although I tend to be in touch with a decent amount of people.

I have made a couple of friends on RBP, some of which I couldn't differ
more from in my views, but I respect them and I'd go paddle with them at
the blink of an eye at every opportunity that presents itself.

For you to come barging into this newsgroup like you did, attacking
people that you felt disagreed with your political opinion, and then
pull the "nice boater" out of the hat is not exactly helping me to take
a friendly stance towards you. Maybe that will change over time, but for
the time being I'm skeptical about being called your "friend".


.................

Does this qualify as paddling in your book, you tell me, maybe when
you're 55! And personally I do prefer this kind of a post!

I guess it does qualify, and I bet you would have gathered a lot more
goodwill if you had first entered this forum with a post with a similar
tone and subject... :-)

Wilko

I apologize my friend, for jumping on a provocative thread, and
blasting away without realizing that there were so many tender souls
in the way. The fact that everyone was firing this way and that, I
misunderstood, and took sort of personal myself. However, I had been
lurking on this board, for a while watching the various paddling post,
and usually finding them very informative and fun, and the posters
most civil. And so was caught off guard by the Donnebruk going on, on
this thread. I watched this thread even then, from the 3rd to the
13th, before just jumping in, and only then when it seemed that some
of my CR compatriots were being ganged up on, and attacked by some
with Automatic weapons, and RPGs.

My only point when I jumped in was, that the Dems were going to have
to adjust their game plan following the election, and that any concern
and plan for the environment would be reflected in that new game plan.
I found myself then being attacked, so excuse me for defending myself
and fighting back. However I would point out, as you all now know me
better, I love a good Donnebruk!

I again apolgize though, for overall, I find you all however
disparate, a noble band of brothers, and worthy of friendship. Do I
know you well, no, but I am sure we will get to know each other
better, given time, so I extend the hand of friendship. We all need as
many friends as we can get. There needs to be fewer, lower walls
between us. That is true Internationalism, we are all on that all to
small life boat, called Earth. That is also true environmentalism, for
if we don't know how to get along together, what difference will it
make if we save all the trees and rivers and wildplaces, if I could
only experience them alone.

There are times when it is great to be alone, but there are other
times to have all our friends around. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Tinkerntom