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
I was beginning to think I had broke the camera .....haha ! Nah ! I told ya it was a good pic! And it was! :^D
Oh, my goodness. I think I forgot to ping you to our thread. Thanks SOOoooo much for helping me get started on the Freeper.org site. :^DSerpentDove did a great job writing up the report and the pics came out good, too.
SD will post more pics tonight. These were from my digital camera.
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 .....
No problem. It is a little confusing at first since we "redecorated" the inside, but hosting FR pictures is a nice feature we offer.
Feel free to use it as you need it. This goes for everybody.
I just had to share this with all of you. These are from Tuesday night when we met with Jim and his family for dinner. I wish you all could have been there. This was quite an honor.
Thanks. :^DSnow ? Next week ? Whoa ! :^O
LOL ! :^DSeems I'm often the last on the ZOT threads. I could swear they watch to
see my "In Forum" page go quiet before they strike up a thread. haha !
ping
Hey, Mud !!
Excellent report, Serpent Dove.
Mine too!
:-)
I think a record should be made of this and future trips. Maybe we can talk SW into doinng just that. :)
Aren't you supposed to be working at your new job? :)
Sniff. Guess I'll go have a pity party by myself in my Florida bedroom. It ain't fair.
I do too (((((((Texagirl4W)))))))))))
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I know these are memories that you will treasure!
It all started the night before The March For Justice. It was at the Premier (HoJo's) Hotel in D.C. I will never forget partying with that group that night.
Outstanding post.
I just looked over some of the pictures and I am *so* jealous! It looks like y'all had a *wonderful* time!
So - when do we Georgians get a shot at a great meeting of minds?
:-)
I think JimRob's trip and photos have been outstanding!
I'll start with their Arkansas visit on the 3rd.
I'm working. Doesn't it look like I'm working? ;-)
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