Flame On

From: Robyn and Todd Pollman [mailto:wholly.matrimony@verizon.net]
Sent: November 15, 2002 7:19 PM
To: jonasparker@diaryland.com
Subject: I have a comment or five

For the record...learn to read...

Statia isn't getting a first-class ticket. We want to raise the price of a first-class ticket for charity. Her round-trip ticket from Philadelphia to Tampa was purchased last Sunday on TravelersAdvantage.com for $359. To date, we have raised an additional $960.10. (In case math is hard for you, that's $100 shy of three times the ticket price to charity as of this very moment.)

Here are some URLs you might want to check out before spouting off in the future since your crack-journalistic skills seem to be a bit lacking:

The official donations page: http://www.tobynopoly.com/statia_campaign.html

When the ticket was purchased:http://www.tampatantrum.com/archives/002354.html

A personalized reply to you today (note comments, too):http://www.tampatantrum.com/archives/002407.html

And a couple of general notes to whiny asses like you, that would rather sit around bitching and moaning about how things have become rather getting off their asses and raising money for charities themselves. You see, I was raised that if you ask people for something, you'd damn well better give something back when they show their generousity: http://www.tampatantrum.com/archives/002374.html, http://www.tampatantrum.com/archives/002389.html.

Have a nice weekend. I will sleep quite well knowing not only did I help a friend, but countless people, by not folding when we hit our original plane ticket goal (and might I add THAT cost was donated by FRIENDS before the link got passed around to FARK, Metafilter, and beyond -- not the 'net in general). I kept going and did something even better than I'd originally intended by allowing it to stay public and keep the donations open for 10 full days. Just what exactly have YOU done with YOUR blog lately? Oh yeah, that's right. Whine. Carry on now...you do it so well. -Robyn

Last week I came across the Boobies to Florida campaign organized by Robyn. I made a couple of comments about that. I emailed Statia, the owner of those boobies, as well. It was just a banal cool-website-nice-tits kind of email.

Turns out that I was off when I said that she was getting a first-class ticket to Florida, I was very wrong there. It was a coach ticket. My bad. But the excess is being given to charity. I got that right. The Susan B. Komen Foundation, to be exact. What confused me is the graphic at the beginning of the campaign page, clearly implying a goal of $1500 for a first-class ticket.

Also, had I remembered this entry, I may have been more accurate and circumspect in my entry. It was a pretty lazy entry, I do admit, and I didn't do the required research. But then again, if I wanted to do research, I would be back in university.

Robyn explains the difference between Karyn Bosnak's campaign and the boobie campaign. I did read this, too last week, but had forgotten the message there and was too lazy to go back and read. My bad, again. Thursday wasn't a great day.

I should point out that I am not writing anything here to save whales, Karyns, boobies or friendships. I am doing this for kicks. I post opinions here sometimes, I find information and comment on it, but this isn't a news agency. This is just me, shooting the shit on various topics, usually from my own life. This space is not designed to change the world. This space is for me.

Robyn asked me what my blog has done lately. It has done plenty for me. I enjoy writing. As for the world, or any identifiable groups, nothing, as far as I know. I am not going around telling everyone how great I am. What has my blog done lately? Does that mean that I have to dedicate this space to a cause that people can donate to? Do I have to be an activist or something? On the other hand, good work needs to be done, and the breast campaign seems to have done some good, although I don't think that was Robyn's intent.

Last Thursday, I never attacked Robyn for having her campaign. I just questioned why anyone should care if Statia spends the holidays alone. I made a comparison between Amazon wish lists and this campaign. I still think that both are comparable because even if Statia is in this situation due to things beyond her control, going to Florida and partying it up, sorry, spending time with loved ones that happen to be in Florida, probably isn't a life-or-death, mission-critical thing that needs to be done. Breast-cancer research needs to be done. I think it could be argued that Robyn used breasts to finance Statia's trip and exploited a bunch of suckers. The breast cancer donation was a bonus whose side benefit was to divert attention from the bilking of money from suckers. Don't get me wrong, though: a fool and his money are soon parted, as the expression goes, and this is no exception. I'd rather donate to, well, a cancer research fund rather than a trip fund that has a cancer research angle. People are wary of giving to some charities because of the fear that people will skim off the top. People do not want to be taken for a ride. The difference between the later campaign and the corrupt charity is that Robyn was honest about it. "Yes, we are taking some of this money so that Statia can party it up. That happens first, then we can start focusing on cancer research." More power to them, but I'm not playing. Robyn herself said that I could focus energies elsewhere, anyway. I'm glad I have her permission.

I have this to say for Robyn, though. It is obvious that she loves her friend. It's great that Statia has someone that will go to extraordinary lengths to make sure that she is happy and gets what she deserves. I hope we all have friends as dedicated as Robyn is. Robyn made a difference in one life, and possibly (although accidentally) in many others, so good for her. To summarize:

• I'm sorry I posted inaccurate information.
• I'm sorry I neglected to reread and recall what I did learn.
• I'm sorry about whatever Statia went through this year, or whenever this happened. I am certain that a divorce would fucking kill me, even if I remain friends with the bitch who ruined my life my ex-wife. That last bit was a joke.
• I am sorry that I offended anyone, particularly Robyn, Todd and Statia. Really, I am. I could have done a much better job on Thursday.
• I'm not sorry in thinking that the campaign and similar campaigns are sketchy and comparable to the gimme sites that are so popular right now.
• It's just an opinion. I will continue to whine, pontificate or do good works as I see fit.
• Statia owned two cars, and leased two others in the past 4 years, I believe.