And to think that 2008 started out so good…
I made decisions to better my life early last year. I made changes in my personal life, quitting some bad habits and taking on good new ones. Things were looking very good in many ways, but other aspects of my life continued to deteriorate. My marriage, already rocky, got worse and worse and finally in November of 2008, it exploded and my wife left, taking the children with her.
Those first couple of weeks were bad. I was more than a little bit insane and I went back to some bad habits and I let the good ones slide. For at least a week I couldn’t sleep or work. I didn’t want to even continue on.
But pain eases with time. I kicked those bad habits back to the curb and picked back up on the good ones. Still, my life felt empty and I had no energy or ambition to do anything. I hadn’t been reading or reviewing. I sort-of watched movies, but it was more like having them in the background than serious viewing.
And money, always an issue to a humble guy like me, became more of an problem. Handling the house payment and other bills is a lot more challenging.
Then came the holidays. I often think that the species would be a lot better off if we had none of them. They put poor people in serious financial binds and the unhappiness of lonely people is compounded. Add to that some health difficulties I had been going through and I was feeling despair about a lot of things.
And it was time to pay up for another year of hosting for Horror Drive-In. Already sweating bills and other essentials to survival, I didn’t see a way to keep this site alive. I made the announcement that I was closing the Drive-In.
I should have known. The good people here would not allow that to happen. They came through with support and now the future of Horror Drive-In is certain. For at least another year.
I want to prove that the faith and generosity of the HD-I users is not in vain. Improvements are coming to this site. More reviews, for one thing. And also some new features. I don’t want to talk about them too much, at least until things are definite. But I think you’ll like what we’re planning.
As for me, those that have known me for a long time are aware that I’m essentially a forum rat. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last decade. I guess I’m good at it. My main focus will be keeping the forum active. I’m taking on some help with some other areas and I’m grateful for the backup.
I feel better today. The health issues are fading and things seem a lot brighter. I always say that in troubled times, despair is the enemy. It’s not always easy to take my own advice. Who knows that 2009 will bring? Hopefully we’ll all remain employed, or those that have no jobs will find gainful employment. I’m sure good books and movies will be coming out, just as I’m sure that poor ones will. I mainly hope that all of us, and our loved ones, will be here to enjoy it and discuss it with the common decency that we’ve all come to expect from the community here at Horror Drive-In.
Thank you all so very much and let’s make 2009 a good one. We all need it.
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