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.
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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.
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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.
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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
SCOUTS OUT!
An awe inspiring site it was!
I'm glad you were able to get your "baby fix".
Enjoy your road trip Jim. It was nice to meet you at last.
Howdy, MAF. :)
We had a such great time with the other TX Freepers! Thanks for putting it all together.
Bad Meek, you weren't supposed to take my picture. :) No VK-catnip for you.
Contact info for Dallas Freepers is ..????
ROTFL! Oh you poor thing!
Texas FReepers ROCK...MUD
Msdrby and I enjoyed meeting you, ma'am.
Same here. You have a very lovely family.
Thanks. It was nice to meet you Tuesday night. :^D
ping!
SerpentDove will have his posted sometime (hopefully)
tonight. His will probably be even better, I bet ! :^D
SD, your story of missing the bar was a hoot! I had a great time, and my husband was sorry he couldn't make it. Let us know when the next NTX get together is, and we will try to make that one! By then, I should be able to fit into that inside corner seat! ;)
hehe! Yeah ! THAT'S what I meant! :^D
BWAHAAAAAA!!!
Yup.
No impersonator there.
...that was the real McCoy, alright. :o)
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