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
Hey, if you can get on FR at work ... LOL!
Excellent idea (((((Budge))))) - thank you for the Arkansas link.
Maybe someday we will add a GA or FL link????[hint]!
:-)
Yep! Pretty cool, huh? I just have to remember that they aren't paying me to FReep. Too bad.
Howdy and thanks a bunch. Nice to get the blow by blow of the shindig and nice to put a face to some of the names I've corresponded with over my past 3 years of active Freeperdom! Thanks again!
Excellent. Thanks. :^DWhen I tried to download one of the pics to that page, it kept corrupting, Red X.
I finished the other pics without problems and went back to that one. It turned out that when I shortened the pic name/URL it posted just fine. I assumed that there was a character length restriction. I didn't know how to remove the bad posts, so they are still there. Sorry 'bout that.
When I saw your posts that you were in Arkansas, I kind of expected just maybe you might sneak down here for the Mexican Food supper thang. Or maybe the clintoon LIEbrary Freep they did up in Little Rock.Sorry you missed it. It was enjoyable.
Thanks SL!
Meek, please ping me and sweetliberty when new pics are up .....You bet ! I just added ya'll to the list. Thanks. :^D
Twas fun. :^D
LOL!
That's one of the great things about the Viking Kitties -- we rotate out so that we're all even. We're like tires, donchaknow! 
Great dining experience I'm sure. FV
Great dining experience I'm sure. FV
Yay! you made it. I of course, will expect an AAR ASAP.
Thanks for all your work setting this up. You did a great job.
But where is our Texagirl4W? I see she was there, but not in any of the pictures. She must have managed to duck the camera. :-(
Looks like everyone had a great time. It is wonderful that Jim, Sheila and Chris have been able to travel around the country and meet so many FReepers.
haha ! That's right. :^D
It was an oversight. I got Texagirl4W's pic 'caught up' on the thread on #93 here! :^D
Ah.......there she is! Thanks, Meekie. :-)
Thanks! I love seeing FReeper photos. It's nice to be able to put faces to the so many of the people I have gotten to know on FR.
Looks like you all had a great time!
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