Greetings
everyone:
Before
I get any further, I’d like to hit something to maybe offer a better
understanding as to why I’m even posting this damn story.
Despite
all appearances, I’m sick of this stuff. I have been living with this situation
for over six months – over a half year, every day. I have rare moments when I
can forget about it. I bet I’ve watched close to a hundred and fifty films
during this time – sometimes two or three at a time just because the cinematic
opiate is not quite doing the trick; and probably two dozen books – I’m reading
three now, including War and Peace
for the second time!
OK.
This last week I had a conversation with a volunteer passing through Elbasan.
This volunteer has talked me through a lot of this going back to when I first
got hit with the sexual harassment complaint in August. He wondered why, even
though I did not name people (other than Ms. Scott, that was a given), I would
quote people so much – “And why bring some of this stuff up anyway?”
I
completely understood his take. The conversations volunteers were having
regarding the general environment of sexual harassment in PC/Albania had
disturbed to the point of charging that PC/Albania was minimizing, ignoring,
covering up, etc. For quite some time before the August complaint against me,
volunteers had been up in arms against the Peace Corps in general and crying
out for “transparency.” My part in the whole thing just served to fuel the prevailing meanness
and distrust for PC/Albania – and if the volunteers serving here were honest
about it, many of them would have to admit their own complicity in energizing
this destructive environment. Americans are big on causes; and this was
considered a cause for rights, honesty, fair-play, and protection for victims,
real or assumed – but the way many of the volunteers acted, if they pause to
give considered reflection, it should cause embarrassment to a lot of them.
Well,
the fact is, Peace Corps has screwed up from time to time; sometimes tragically
– Google “Peace Corps Volunteer deaths,” etc. for some information on this –
yeah, even scandalous at times. Now, whether PC/Albania has been inattentive to
serious matters such sexual misbehavior, assault, violence, etc., I’m afraid I
have little idea, but I doubt it. I know the PC/Albania Security Director quite
well and as far as I could tell, the PC/Albania staff is quite attentive to the
safety of their volunteers and volunteer behavior with each other and with
Albanian nationals. But the clamor emanating from PC/Albania was hard to ignore
– and, in my opinion getting out of control.
So,
to the volunteer’s thoughts; by the time I put up my first “clubbing” post, a
little over a month ago, things had started to calm down: a new country director
and visits from regional people explaining positions – what had been done in
the past and what was being reviewed, and volunteers were getting back to work.
And now I’m bringing it all up again.
Yeah,
an explanation; maybe some of you guys are thinking the same thing. My story is
not simply recovering from a false accusation and just getting on with my life,
is it? Despite the Country Director’s thoughts, it wasn’t and it isn’t. As a
result of the continuing gossip about me, Ms. Scott’s Facebook post forced me
to disrupt my life, my comfort, in favor of people I really cared about – I
wanted to lessen their anxiety. Interestingly enough, due to this fresh
announcement of my supposed transgression on this more public forum, they
entirely disassociated from me – all the staff and my NGO friends and contacts
that I had developed since my first days in Albania – all these relationships
ceased, immediately. They knew these slanders were untrue, they knew me, but
they also knew the perils to their reputations (remember the university
professor from years before?). Continued friendship or support of a rumored
sexual harasser is problematic at best and to keep our friendship would require
some guts. It seems they could handle the malicious gossip of a few, but this
type of publicity along with Ms. Scott’s amplifications proved to be too much
for most. Still close to me in a significant way was one language/cultural
trainer, one member of the PC staff and one administrator at the university;
all the rest, save close volunteers and the Albanians (and they knew all about
this stuff, too, as you will see), have absented themselves from my life –
probably the most painful outcome in the whole thing.
You
might think that their absences are simply due to my separation from the Peace
Corps and making my way by other avenues. No, not the case; during the month
immediately after my separation in September there was a lot of activity, plans
others made on my behalf. But from the time of Ms. Scott’s post in October not
one word – emails unanswered, no call backs, silence. My letter to PC/Albania
elicited no response, save one – one courageous (I have to call her that) staff
member who simply reasoned when I asked why she didn’t abandon me with the rest,
“Well, Bill, I know right from wrong.” Yes, this person has proven this in word
and action over the months since. Gossip, prejudice and stereotype not only
affect the target of the animosity, but lead to ends that we cannot completely
fathom. Tragically and despicably, lower PC staff who remained my close friends
were pressured to disassociate and when one refused she was forced out of her
Peace Corps position (my next post will be devoted to this). For most, the
possibility of any public connection with “a sexual harasser” was too great to
contemplate.
What
has happened with me and my time with PC/Albania is so amazing that (if I’m
able to remove myself from the overwhelming emotional side) it’s a hell of a
case study on human nature. Not just the harm that comes from stereotype and
prejudice and the damage of ensuing gossip, but how people have handled the
events. Some just simply remove as much as they can, others energetically embrace
it for their emotional gain, for many it was a chance to participate in a
reality-TV experience and keep up with the latest dirt, and for others it
showed that they were simply happy to be a passive part of the unthinking herd.
For everyone, I think, if they paid any attention at all, it told them
something about their own character, their own level of integrity if you will.
Many did not show up well; but a few should look back with a high degree of
satisfaction that they kept their integrity intact and did not abandon the rigors of Critical Thinking. (I very much liked and appreciated the comment on the last post from Will B: “That these events transpired as such is truly disappointing to those of us who do make use of our critical thinking capabilities...” BAM!)
I
never wanted to address this story on a public forum. The “last PC post” was
good enough for me; for those I cared about or who cared for me, I’d have private
conversations and the rest could think what they wanted. I simply wanted to
regroup – any beef I had with PC/DC dealing with my termination would be dealt
with once I got the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) report (yeah, after six
months I’m still waiting!). But Ms. Scott’s hubris, her posts, and especially
her future actions changed all of that.
But
getting back to my volunteer friend: I tried the keep-the-story-simple approach
six months ago. But it got far more complicated – not simply a dismissed
complaint between them and me, followed by a laughable PC termination excuse –
too many players now, and for better or for worse they’re part of the story.
Relative to Ms. Scott’s agenda I’m just a side-show – though a pretty damned
good one for her purpose. Some of the supporting cast, like the volunteer at
the Shkodra ELTA conference, are there to bring into sharp relief the
knee-jerk, unthinking inhumanity in the whole affair; others, happily, to give
a nod that not all were afraid to show up; and finally how some innocents in
this whole damn thing got pulled into it, got their lives disrupted because of small-minded and selfish people.
There
were some public voices of reason (to a small degree) in all of this. On September 6, in the
week following my termination and the Country Director’s resignation, the
PC/Albania Volunteer Action Committee sent out an email (I hadn’t been taken
off the list yet). This is a small elected group of volunteers, kind of an
advocate body but acts more as a liaison to the PC/Albania staff.
Your VAC representatives are seeking an
emergency meeting with staff in order to discuss the implications and
repercussions of [the Director’s] sudden departure. Your need for transparency
has been heard and recognized…As VAC communicates with staff over the course of
the coming week, I am personally asking all of you to refrain from gossip.
Inaccurate information is not only damaging to the members of the Peace Corps
community, but also to entirely innocent parties.
Well,
everyone knew it was for “personal reasons.” When the director told me I didn’t
ask, he didn’t offer. As I said, it wasn’t any of my business; I didn’t see how
it was anybody else’s. But “Let’s get the whole story, it’s our right!” Really?
And “implications” and “repercussions”? Here’s a thought: no fear that
PC/Albania is shutting down, you signed up to do service, how about just
getting back to work? The last is also a bit remarkable – didn’t we learn this
in kindergarten? But, I guess a timely reminder for a group of
twenty-somethings and above. Many I think were paying attention, others were
not – Ms. Scott was still on the mailing list and it’s obvious she didn’t give
a damn.
Yes,
the call for transparency cuts in ways that can be embarrassing. I get it; transparency,
full-disclosure, whatever, can bring discomfort. I understood my volunteer
friend’s wonder why I would get into this now; most of the volunteers had gotten
back on track. However, I was still getting hammered and tired of explaining. I
finally decided that when I got hit with the notoriety I could simply say,
“Read my posts on this – any questions get back to me.” Nothing here is meant
to damage reputations; but if you see yourself in here perhaps you will have
cause to congratulate yourself for showing up, or perhaps you will reconsider
the question “Why do I think the way I do?” And some will have cause to ask,
“Why did I act the way I did?”
***
So
Ms. Scott’s Facebook post changed everything. The immediate response from the
HR Director at Aleksander Xhuvani University was that she would not rescind my
application. I had simply told her that I was afraid my presence would be
embarrassing to the school, PC/Albania, any professors on staff associated with
the Peace Corps, and other volunteers. She is a very abrupt and
straight-speaking person – I like her a lot. “Well, no. That’s not going to
work; I already forwarded your information to the Faculty Director, so plan on
it.” Now, I hadn’t talked to her about any of this stuff – crap, another
heart-to-heart. “OK. Listen. Let’s have dinner and I’ll explain what the hell
is going on.” After a lengthy dinner, questions, explanations, etc., she said,
“I understand, but it doesn’t make any difference. Students are wondering what
classes you are teaching, the department head is planning it, and the
professors all like you.” Nope. Moving to Tirana and finding another position.
She wasn’t happy with that, but told me if that was my decision I would need
help getting interviews. She, along with the PC/Albania staff member spent the
next weeks making up lists, and secured appointments with universities in
Tirana.
Things
were looking good. Some great opportunities: meetings with university rectors
and faculty, tours around the schools, salary discussions, course
possibilities, invitations to conferences, lecture addresses to students – it
was all coming together. I was even scoping out the locations for an apartment
– and I gave my landlord notice on my “Peace Corps apartment” in Elbasan. All
that was left was the final chorus and the finishing BAM! on the drums.
This
is an email that I received from one of the schools – a top choice:
From: [redacted]
Sent: Monday, November
23, 2015 11:08 AM
To: William Karl Martin;
[redacted]; [redacted]
Subject: Wednesday's visit
Dear Prof. Martin,
Thank you for your visit and the pleasant
conversation last week.
I discussed with [redacted], who is the Head
of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and with [redacted], who
is teaching the course American Government and Politics (cc to both in this
email), the possibility of inviting you for an open lecture with students
attending this course. They are both pleased to have you, if you wish to do so.
Given that your PhD thesis is quite
interesting and related to the content of this course, I would kindly ask you
to present on this topic. We are thinking to have your open lectures on
Wednesday, December 2nd, at 1 pm.
Kindly let us know if this is OK with you.
Kind regards,
[redacted]
Dean
Faculty of Law, Arts, and Sciences
I
had met many of the university’s faculty, students, and attended a conference
the school sponsored at the Tirana International Hotel in early November. At
the conference I made more contacts and received invitations to speak at other university
conferences inside and outside of the country. This lecture was basically a job
talk – the final exam. About fifty students, a half-dozen professors and the
dean attended. I nailed the presentation on the propaganda inherent in American
imperial maps – I know, riveting. Great interaction and the Q&A afterwards was
pointed and on the mark – well, except for the first one, “Do you like
strawberries?”! Wonderful visit with the students and the faculty after; all in
all it was a great success – which is shocking given how my day started.
***
I
had gotten word the day before that Ms. Scott had made headlines in the media with
interviews with her typical beat-up on PC/Albania – didn’t think too much about
it. That morning I held my weekly morning session at Nikola Koperniku, a
private high school in Elbasan. My former Peace Corps counterpart had made the
introduction for me immediately after my PC separation the first of September.
I taught a group of seniors, advanced English language students. The director
told me that the course of instruction was basically anything I wanted; the
primary goal was to get the students to beef up their conversation and writing.
At this point I had been teaching the class for almost three months; and after
the first of October at the time of Ms. Scott’s Facebook post, this was now the
only teaching I was doing. (Other than doing some informal language tutoring and
working with some university students on their papers and research when they
would stop by my Coffee House office.)
So,
it’s the morning of December 2, Wednesday, 9:30am – and I’m headed for another
life shift. I was handling some housekeeping matters, outlines due, reading
assignments, etc. All during this time one of the students kept raising her
hand and interrupting – fast becoming a pain in the neck. Also a lot more side
chatter that I usually got out the class. Finally I finished up, the student persisted.
“OK. I’ll take five minutes and then we have to get going; what’s up?”
“Dr.
Martin, I have a question about the stuff in the newspapers about the problems
in the Peace Corps here in Albania.” Well, I wasn’t ready for this – I’m
thinking, “Are you kidding me? How would these kids even know about this?” But,
as difficult as the conversation would be, surely they deserved a response. I
started and then got interrupted again, “But what about you? Why is your
picture in the story?” “Are you serious?” “Yeah. My parents were talking to me
about it last night and showed me the article, with your picture.” Great –
another BAM!
The
next day I sent this to the director of the high school:
From: William Karl Martin
Sent: Thursday, December
03, 2015 2:09 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Yesterday and my
name in the media
Hello [redacted]:
I really wanted to visit with you yesterday
after class but I had to be in Tirana. I suspect you are aware that I have hit
the Albanian media just this week in an especially distasteful regard. We
talked very little about my separation from the Peace Corps in our initial
visit when [redacted] introduced me to you and [redacted]. But I have attached
Peace Corps communication regarding my separation so you would be assured in
that regard. However, with this notoriety I do not want to cause the school,
students, or either you or [redacted] any embarrassment.
When I hit class yesterday the kids were more
animated than usual. After I settled them down they asked me about all the
Peace Corps news. They informed me that I was named in the Albania media as the
“sexual harasser” and they told me that the article says that I had a history
of this going back a few years in the states. Well, I tabled my lesson of
course and told them that we needed to talk about this.
So, a session with the kids: fortunately
we’ve spent a lot of time talking about critical thinking, stereotyping,
prejudice, why we think the way we do, etc.; so I laid my whole Peace Corps
experience out to them – outspoken, can rub people the wrong way, trying to be
sensitive to fellow volunteer feelings, instances of irritating the women in
our group, the initial complaint, the full investigation (the results which
determined any charges were without basis or merit), and then my termination
from the Peace Corps due to application omissions. In the end they were calm
(some of them voiced disgust with the whole situation). I told them that if any
of them or their parents had any concerns whatsoever, they needed, and were
certainly obligated, to talk to you or [redacted]. They responded that they
loved our class and didn’t care. Kids.
But regarding the current events. My
attorneys and I have been waiting on a full disclosure forthcoming from
Washington DC on these charges. As I said, I can irritate people with my manner
and blunt observations, and I certainly did with a few Peace Corps volunteers,
to my detriment. With these new events I have been advised that we need not
wait for the DC records and I will meet with a Tirana law firm to take
immediate action against the woman (who I have never met) pushing this negative
agenda against the Peace Corps (I just happened to be caught in the fall-out)
and the local media. Nonetheless, it is important, if the school is still happy
with my association, that I answer any of your questions or concerns.
I am leaving for Tirana immediately after my
session with [redacted]’s kids this afternoon and will be back in Elbasan late
Saturday afternoon. Please let me know if you would like to visit before next
week. Again, I am very concerned that I do not cause you or the school
embarrassment. Thanks.
Bill
William K. Martin, PhD
Nikola Koperniku School, Elbasan, Albania
http://wkmartin.blogspot.com/
By
the end of the day I got two emails from the school. The first one from the
director and the owners after a meeting with staff and parents: they wanted to
let me know that no one had any concerns with my continued teaching. The director
got back to me and her message was somewhat less formal:
I read your e-mail carefully. I recall the
day that you said that something happened to you which made you leave Peace
Corps. I also recall [redacted] and I remarked how much the kids love you, and
that's true. It was [redacted] who told us that they feel lucky having classes with
you and that every student here should at least have one class with you.
Now,
that was certainly nice to hear at the end of a couple of brutal days. I’ve
only shared this when a few people wondered about the media impact on my
position at the school. I only bring it up here to serve as a specific example
of an association that was really not more than a couple of hours a week over
three months, and the contrast to the reaction of others (on the PC/Albania
staff and PC/Albania partners) who determined to purposely estrange themselves
from me regardless of what they knew or believed to be true.
Also
note how communications can morph original content. The student thought the
article said I had problems like this back in the states – and maybe I came to
Albania to get away from that scandal. Well, the article (or other articles)
said nothing like that – nothing about past history, true or false. Amazing.
The
university relationships were another matter altogether.
***
As
soon as I left the high school I checked my text messages for a cancellation on
my university talk. Nothing. I got to the bus stop and pulled up the internet
at a local coffee shop. No emails. I checked my text messages every five
minutes until I showed up at the door of the university. Still nothing. I had cut the travel time close and the dean
hurried me into the auditorium with about ten minutes to spare. No discomfiture
with her but I told her that we needed to talk. She said she would have to
leave my talk a little early and would be tied up the rest of the day, “But
connect and we’ll set up a time.” When she walked out during the Q&A
session she gave me a big smile and thumbs up. I’m thinking, “We’ll see...”
Before
I could send the dean a request for a time she had already sent me a message on
when she would be available along with this comment: “I would like to thank you
for your interesting, lively and insightful lecture. I enjoyed it very much,
and I wish I were there for the questions part. I am sure that our students
also benefited substantially from attending your talk.” Well, great
possibilities that in the end came to naught. I immediately responded and
copied the links to the media reports – if she didn’t know by now, she and the
staff and probably many of the students would know soon enough and better they
heard it from me. A couple of days later I met with her and the university
Vice-Rector. It was a very pleasant meeting; they thanked me again for the
presentation; extended regrets for all the notoriety; said it must be tough;
the rector hoped I would take legal action – I told him I was meeting with an
attorney the next week; I told them I would be out of town for a couple of
weeks but I would connect after the first of the year, and then I left.
After
the first of the year I got back to them and a couple of other universities
that looked promising. Nothing. No response. One from another school answered
the phone and told me that he was in a meeting but would call me back. Nothing.
Zip. Which is unfortunate because I would have been able to tell them that I
understood their concerns with having a “sexual molester” on staff; and maybe I
could have – possibly but not likely – kept my chances open later when all the
dust had settled and I could at least show some legal resolution or some
communication from the Peace Corps regarding the initial harassment complaint.
As it was I was cut off; I had to start all over again.
My
chances of living and teaching in Albania were slowly and inexorably reducing
to nothing. You understand this, right? A very bleak moment. To make matters even
more painful, at the beginning of the year the faculty director at Aleksander
Xhuvani University connected with me to wish me a good year, hoped I had found
a place to teach, would be missed in their department, etc. So damned ironic! I
had evidently destroyed my one sure opportunity to pull it together. This out
of concern for PC/Albania and in the absence of any decent word from that
quarter following Ms. Scott’s initial Facebook announcement in October, I
realized too late that I shouldn’t have given a damn; the university HR
Director, my dear friend, has reminded me of this in our lighter moments. I
really am smiling now to think how stupid I was. Just like in the PC
pre-service training – should have just taken care of myself and said to hell
with everyone else.
***
So,
what was in the media? Well, the typical stuff from Ms. Scott’s posts. CBS News
had picked up on the news coming out of PC/Albania and published a story on
their website the week before, “Peace Corps Volunteers Blamed, Punished for Reporting
Sexual Assault?” – quoting Ms. Scott. My name was not mentioned; CBS had better
sense. The Albanian media got a hold of this and connected with Ms. Scott – or
Ms. Scott, as driven as she had proved to be, reached out herself. (An
unscientific poll on this leans to the latter.)
As
soon as I got to the bus stop for my trip to Tirana and the university, I hit
the café and pulled up the links. In bold headlines in the lead story (could it
be otherwise?), “Skandalet seksuale ne Korpusin e Paqes.” You don’t need to
know the language to figure out what that meant! And yep, my smiling face. The
photo was taken from my blog and shows me having lunch with four Mormon
missionaries and my Peace Corps language teacher! Amazing. I doubt that the
media reporter did any investigation on his own since I doubt he would have located
the blog on his own initiative – also evidence of this is that he didn’t even
bother to crop the photo! Plenty of other great blog photos were there to
choose from, including the one with me holding up a flayed goat with a knife
between my teeth! Now, that would have sent a message.
Yeah.
In consideration of lawsuits, my legal advisor had me do a search and I
numbered close to a dozen media sites – all pretty much cut-and-paste. My name
was mentioned but not one person from any of the outlets had made the effort to
contact me for comment. And why should they? Ms. Scott had already made news in
the states and certainly her bona fides were beyond question. This was big news
in Albania: sex, scandal, cover-up, retribution, Peace Corps, Americans running
amok, and Ms. Scott rising above it all at great professional risk, as the
Pilgrim proclaimed, “as an independent volunteer, honoring my commitment to the
Albanian people.” I’m sure the Albanian people appreciate it; the media certainly
did in discovering this great story.
***
Yeah.
A great story. A good friend of mine is a face on one of the Albanian
television stations. “Bill, you can’t let this go; your reputation is shot. My
producer wants you to come on one of our programs and tell your side of the
story.” Now, I love this guy; he’d introduced me to his colleagues and all of
us brainstormed ideas about starting up a web-based student newspaper for the
university. However, I couldn’t imagine how this could possibly be a good idea
– just another he-said-she-said instance, though certainly a well-publicized
one. What a nightmare.
Ms.
Scott on the other hand was more than happy to make herself available to
national television. This last month or so she appeared on very popular Albanian
show, again beating up on the Peace Corps and the former director in particular.
I didn’t see the program, a few volunteers told me about it. Again the typical
stuff with one surprising turn – on one of her posts, the Lone Pilgrim (yeah,
in caps, like the “Lone Ranger” or the “Masked Marvel”) had explained how
helpless the victims of the former director’s abuse, harassment, assault, etc.
had felt in their plight. The Pilgrim says, “I was the initial contact for the
victims. I was the whistleblower.” Perhaps the interviewer had read her post,
perhaps not. Nonetheless, when asked about her conversations with the alleged (my
word – neither Ms. Scott nor the interviewer used this term) victims she hesitated
and then admitted that she had never spoken “directly” to them. (What the hell
does this mean? Like “I spoke to them, but not directly”??) This brought home to
many of the volunteers the inherent malicious irony; in the words of one, “‘I heard it from someone who heard it from her husband who
heard it from the victims that I never met...’ I wish I could use that
line and have everyone eat it up as the truth...‘no I didn't witness it I just
heard it...’”
***
I’d
like to take a moment to address Ms. Scott’s admission – that is, despite her previous
assertion that the victims reached out to her, when confronted she admits that
her information is second and third-hand. Obviously it questions her
credibility in everything she had heretofore asserted – the validity of all of
her charges against the Peace Corps, PC/Albania, and the former director. I
took only some heart in this: I knew there were no women regarding the complaint
against me who under examination could make good any claim that they had
suffered harassment, groping, etc. at the hands of a molester – well, I mean if
they could it certainly wasn’t by me. And the fact that Ms. Scott is a liar
would come out plain enough in the civil action and criminal prosecution (Now, can you appreciate how that will make
for an interesting he-said-she-said moment?) The fact that she is a liar is a
given; and the damage she has done to me, my friends and to others with her
false assertions and half-truths is, well, also a given.
What
I want you to consider is the damage beyond this.
You
may recall my earlier post regarding victims: there are victims, they are real;
we all know victims – whether or not we even know them as such or have any idea
of their painful circumstances. And there are victim advocates; people who
selflessly defend those who have experienced these horrible things. Do you
recognize how a person with as little integrity as Ms. Scott diminishes the
positions of both the victims and their advocates? Don’t compromise your desire
for fairness by making friends with those less fair or honest; “the enemy of my
enemy is my friend” is not always true, and hardly ever palatable. If we desire
to live in a fair and honest world (which I understand is impossible), the ends
simply do not justify the means. Is Ms. Scott’s voice honestly one you would
opt for in the service of any reputable cause? As one volunteer commented on
the previous blog post, Ms. Scott has shown herself to be driven in promoting
her own “self-expression” and “self-enhancement” – both of which are hardly
compatible with any sense of service. Another commented on the same post sums
up her character pretty well, “Bonnie has always been about Bonnie.” Like I
have said, I have never met Ms. Scott and I didn’t know her. But I feel I have
gotten to know her through her writing and her actions. It will be interesting
to get to know her a little better – and I’m looking forward to getting her
response on any of these posts. And I promise, Bonnie, no deletions.
***
So,
the end of another post. Let me recap some of the foregoing just so you don’t
lose track: harassment complaint, regroup; termination from the Peace Corps,
regroup; Ms. Scott’s Facebook post, regroup; media headlines/Scott remarks,
regroup; university set-backs, regroup. Wow. I tell my kids that my favorite
part of the day is when I wake up in the morning – I can hardly wait to experience
another one. Don’t be surprised if I still feel that way, though I think living
in “interesting times” might be a little much after a while – I really could
use a break from all this.
Yeah,
damage and fallout and regroup – and not just for me: the next post will relate
the most painful experience in the all of this. Despicable is the immediate word
that comes to mind. Not a very promising note to end this post – but hang in
there, reader, as another volunteer commented, “Hopefully
your ‘story’ has a positive ending, even if it has not transpired yet.” Thanks,
buddy – stay tuned.
All my best.
XOXO
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