Redstone used to post this message at Christmas...

[Suich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=4484208

Happy Holidays to all!

suich

[Xipe Totec]

1. Gracias a la vida

[question everything]

2. Now I am having hard time reading this

Something wrong with my eyes.

Thank you for posting. What a kind, tolerable, wise man he was.

[panader0]

3. RIP Redstone

[Vashta Nerada]

4. That is a unifying post.

K&R

[Iris]

5. I needed tho read this this year.

Thanks for posting.

I didn't know Redstone was going. RIP, good man.

[freshwest]

6. Always an inspiration, and applies to many of us. A great thing to remember. Thanks for this, Suich.

[Kurovski]

7. K&R. Well done.

Redstone will forever remind me of the early days on DU. The happiness at finding an oasis.

[MissDeeds]

8. Thanks so much for posting this, Suich

This is one of the most beautiful posts ever on DU and makes me cry every time I read it. Redstone was a good and gentle soul, and gone far too soon. Although I never met him, I miss him.

[fizzgig]

9. i was wondering if someone posted this

thank you, suich, and happy holidays to you.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

10. Ah Redstone...

One of the reasons I joined DU. And reading the responses from people I remember well--or not so well Here's to Redstone.

[icymist]

11. I miss reading Redstone...

[nolabear]

12. To Redstone, and friends present and gone.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

40. .

[Octafish]

43. .

[HappyMe]

50. In The Embers

Lyrics




http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sleepingatlast/intheembers.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Redstone, one good person, we miss you pal

we do.

And happy holidays to all

[annabanana]

14. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I am in the midst of a tough Season, and this post has buoyed me some.

[demgrrrll]

15. Thanks so much

[hibbing]

16. I'm feeling lonely

Thanks for posting this. I recall reading it when he had posted it the past.

Peace

[hfojvt]

27. it is that kind of a night

kinda cold here too

[MuseRider]

17. :-) Redstone RIP

I smile because he left smiles along with the sorrow of a fellow passed on.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. to Redstone ...

[redstatebluegirl]

19. Love this, I do think about people who are alone or have troubles especially this time of year.

When everywhere you look you get the feeling you are the only one alone, or sad. Thank you Suich for posting this, Redstone sounds wonderful....

[mountain grammy]

20. Thank you for a wonderful post. I have no doubt Redstone is resting peacefully.

[libnnc]

21. Redstone, what a sweet, sweet soul.

I miss him.

This is exactly what I needed to read tonight.

Been a rough season this year...

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. omg I remember that post!

What a brilliant shining gem.

Greetings Redstone, wherever you are.

[abq e streeter]

23. Thank you, and I miss him too.

We used to joke about his seeming quest for the world record for concussions. So very sad that he left this world so soon. We could use about a billion more like him on this planet (minus the concussions). May his soul be resting in eternal peace and somehow know how very much he is still loved by so many people. Eyes welling up too much to write any more.

[LiberalAndProud]

24. Thank you for this, Suich.

For remembering. For reminding.

Thank you.

[hfojvt]

25. so many in that thread are now gone

I notice my own statement

"I have been dissatisfied with mine for a long time, and I am still not that happy about working in the janitorial field at my dysfunctional workplace."

Seems like 8 years later and nothing is any better for me.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. I miss Redstone so much...

We used to talk pretty regularly although not often...

He was an amazing man, full of wisdom and great stories.

I hope he is in a better place now...

Gone too soon.

[grantcart]

28. Beautiful post, thanks

[malaise]

29. I miss him

[coffeenap]

30. Missing you, Redstone....

An inspiration and friend. Thanks for posting this, Suich.

[badtoworse]

31. Thanks for posting. My hat's off to Redstone

[countryjake]

32. Peace, Redstone...

And thanks so much for posting this, Suich!

Beautiful message from wonderful man.

RIP

[Enthusiast]

33. That was very nice.

I've never read it before. Happy Holidays, Suich!

[libodem]

34. He was my friend

In the middle of the night when I was hurting . I miss him.

[onestepforward]

35. ...

[Lucinda]

36. ...

♥

[go west young man]

37. A great message of hope.....

from a great DU'er. Peace be with you brother.

[cinnabonbon]

38. Even on a reread, that post makes me weepy.

Redstone was a good person. And they'll be missed for a long time.

I just hope that I'll be able to follow some of his advice, because it's very good.

[chervilant]

39. Homage to Redstone:

during this holiday season, listen to me now:

Although you may feel that you have nothing, yet trust me that you do have something, and keep that thought in your heart to cheer you through these days and the days to come.

Whatever your situation, you still have faith. Faith not in the religious sense, rather in the confidence that the characteristics of the good that you possess, whether it be empathy for others, a commitment to better the world, or just the fact that you've made another person's life a little bit better by being there; this faith can sustain you.

And yet more important, you have hope, and hope will never abandon you if you allow it to live in your heart. Hope will sustain you through the dark days and years, and will reward you in the end for keeping it quietly within you. Have hope, and you will persevere. Have hope, and your perseverance will be its own reward. No matter the final outcome, you will be the better for having persevered; the struggle contains its own nobility and worth.

Charity, much like faith and hope, rewards and honors both the giver and the recipient. If you feel that your life is not as it should be, do please sacrifice just one day to volunteer in a soup kitchen. The gratitude expressed by those who are genuinely less fortunate than you, unless you are of granite heart, will provide an invaluable lesson in perspective.

And if you are so unfortunate that you find yourself in the necessity of being a client at a soup kitchen, note the generosity of the volunteers who do not go to work there for any profit to themselves, but rather have a genuine desire to make some small part of your life better, for only one simple reason: Because they care. Make a vow then if you will, that when your station in life rises above its current level, that you will pass their generosity along to others who may then be where you were today, there in that soup kitchen.

Faith and hope are all, and charity is its own reward.

If you wonder why I write this tonight, it's this: Whoever you are, I have been you.

I have known poverty. I remember the taste of Government Surplus food. I have known the shame of walking to school in the morning, knowing that my mended clothes would be noticed and remarked upon. I have known adult poverty as well, hoping that the fifty dollars I squirreled away for my son's Christmas presents would be enough that he'd be happy on Christmas morning.

I have worked the crappy, dead-end jobs; driven the taxi, endured the 100-degree temperature while nailing the shingles to the roof, sweated in the cardboard-box factory for little wages and less respect.

I have know pain and sickness, being at the very brink of death at the ages of fourteen, nineteen, and again at twenty-four; each time with the calm acceptance of the inevitable followed by the amazement of survival. To this day, my first awareness each morning upon awakening, and my last awareness each night upon going to sleep, is of pain. And that will never change. Ever.

I have known heartache, losing loved ones far too early, surviving an inadvisable marriage to a woman afflicted with mental illnesses which she would not even acknowledge, much less seek treatment for, and bore the brunt every day of her rage and incapacity for rational thought. I took the beating for over four years, for the sake of my son, and went through a hideous divorce that depleted every financial resource I had built, including every cent of my retirement account, to ensure that my son would not have to suffer his mother's madness.

I tell you this not to ask for sympathy, because I deserve none. I have a wonderful life now, and nothing to complain about. I am, truly, one of the fortunate ones, and not a single day passes that I do not remind myself of that. Rather, I tell you these true stories so you may understand that it's true when I say, I have been you.

But I had faith.

I never lost hope.

And on those Thanksgiving and Christmas days when I was alone and missing my son and my other family, I worked at the soup kitchen, and returned home more content than I would have been if I had spent the day in self-pity.

So listen to me, please because I've been where you are: Have faith. Do not give up hope.

Yell for help if you need to, because depression is not anything to be ashamed of; if your knee hurt, you'd go to the knee doctor, wouldn't you? So if your mind is in pain, visit someone who knows about helping people's minds feel better. Please.

And, in the end, no matter how lonely you may feel, remember this: Because you are a DUer, you are never alone.

You're one of us.

Your participation makes you a part of this wonderful community, and somebody will be here for you whenever you need someone. Trust me on this. I have not the slightest doubt that, were I in need, even the DUers with whom I have had the most bitter disagreements would rush to my aid. I believe this. I do.

If even one of you finds even a small comfort from this post, I will consider the words to have been well worth writing.

Do not lose faith. Have hope. Be happy.

That's my holiday wish for all.

REDSTONE

[Shankapotomus]

41. I think I came to DU

after Redstone so I don't recall them but the most touching aspect of all this is that his friends haven't forgotten him. You've all proven Redstone right about Hope by this. A very moving tribute.

RIP, Redstone.

[sheshe2]

42. Beautiful, Suich. Thank you for posting.

RIP, Redstone.

[xulamaude]

44. I remember reading that post

all that time ago. Was in a pretty bleak time in my life.

Thanks for reposting

[Flaxbee]

45. thanks so much for posting this, Suich. I had saved it a while back to post on this

holiday (as you have done) but I lost it due to computer catastrophe.

I miss Redstone. Anyone know how his family is doing these days?

[crim son]

46. I think of Redstone often

and miss him.

[Rhythm]

47. RIP Redstone... A beautiful soul much missed...

[sellitman]

48. I've not posted here in a while

Glad I stopped by to read this again.

RIP Redstone.

[Octafish]

49. .

[calimary]

51. Dayum. Miss you, Redstone!

This was great to re-read. Thanks for posting it, Suich!!!!