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USS i-bmw. A parable.

11K views 47 replies 36 participants last post by  mbohn 
#1 · (Edited)
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a sailor with a curiosity for what lay beyond. He would sit at his oars and wonder, are there others who would like to share adventures and boldly go where no man has gone before. To dream, as Leonardo did, of flying without wings. To be free of land and travel the world in this new vessel. He built the ship, and they came. He expected 6 at the first sailing. There were about 70. So he made the ship bigger. Stronger. Quicker. And yet, they came.



We joined this ship in 2002. What a magnificent vessel. We had often seen her from shore, the passengers and crew dancing and reveling in the salty air. Cries of “They are unkempt” could occasionally be heard, but the pull was strong. We were assimilated. There were no regrets. As time passed some of us became officers on the bridge. Others, content to just be a part of this magnificent journey.



Oh, the lands we have seen. The travels that have been shared among new friends. The tales of mastery of shipbuilding and sailing are legends to this day. There was not a finer vessel on the seven seas. We fk’ing ruled. It was a magic time to be alive. And then, the clouds formed on the horizon.



At first it looked like just a ripple or two. No big deal. We asked the Captain what we should do. He retired to his cabin. We knocked upon the door and asked again, “What can we do?” Crickets. Then the door opened and we expected a plan of action. All he would say was that they were stealing the ship. “Give us a plan,” we shouted. We would have conquered the Spanish Armada in a canoe if only we had orders. There were no orders. The Captain retired to his quarters.



As the clouds grew darker there were occasional breaks in the clouds. We approached the Captain with a plan. He would pay the gods the treasures they asked and the clouds would part. Perhaps it was rum, perhaps just a strong will, perhaps a plan so brilliant that it could not be shared among us, the most loyal of his crew, but the Captain started arguing with the gods. We trembled with fear. “What will become of the ship?” we asked. “What is to become of the crew? What of the 8700 passengers?” So this became our battle cry, “We cannot abandon them, sir! We will do ANYTHING you ask of us, except abandon them, sir! We WILL NOT do that. We will not. We can not.” It became or battle cry. Any yet, we prayed for a plan.



We would have done anything. We would have sailed anywhere. We would have fought legions. Anything. Just one command. We pleaded. We begged. All we got was, “They’re stealing my ship. Fk ‘em.” But sir, “What is our plan?” we shouted.



Crickets.



The gods offered us a new vessel. It was modern and sleek. They had intended it for our Captain, but something had gone terribly wrong. Our captain did not accept this ship. Without it, we were all to be cast into the sea. The gods had turned wind from our sails once as a show of urgency for their request of a plan going forward. They gave us a date, join us and let us take this journey to it’s next phase, or be cast into the sea.



It was a fine vessel that we had, they told us, but it requires too much maintenance. We have tried to bring your Captain over to our new ship. We offer it to him for treasures. It was built for him. For you. He will not abandon his own ship. Even though it means the loss of 8700 souls. He is a strong willed Captain.



This was not a choice as much as a change of wind. How could we be disloyal to our captain? How could we cast 8700 people cast into the sea? These are our crewmates, our friends. We are their only hope of survival. We advised our Captain that we would not allow them to be sacrificed. We would, if need be, run the new ship in order to give them a chance. We were called traitors. We felt like traitors. But 8700 souls. There was no choice to make.



We would have done anything for you, sir! Anything but that. We can not, will not, allow you to sacrifice these fine people. We wish you well. You are our friend. We owe you everything that we have. Everything that we are. You, sir. You did that. We depart on Oct 21st.



On the evening of Oct 14th the Captain scuttled his ship. Many are still adrift. Some seek the Captain for his help. They cannot believe that he could have averted this disaster. He can have no blame. That is for them to decide in their hearts. They reject our offer to save them. We wish them well.



For those of you who came aboard, it is for you, our friends and crew, that we offer refuge on our new ship. It is our ship. It is your ship. She is magnificent. Long may she sail the seven seas.



And to our Captain: Sir, you are our friend. Battles won and lost will not change that. We may disagree with your actions, and you ours, but we will not disgrace you. We will not allow others to speculate on these decisions. It is done. We continue. Hopefully we will meet again one day. You will always be our friend. You will always be my friend.



May the wind always be in your sails!
 
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#10 ·
I came, I read, I understand...I think.

It is an unfortunate fact of humanity that people and their organizations grow and change, but often not in the same directions. Hurt feelings are not an uncommon result, and the best we can hope for is that time will heal all wounds.

Vic deserves great thanks for acting on a vision that resulted in this community, and although I have not been a particularly active participant in my 18 months of membership, I am thankful for all I have learned from the contributions of others. If my one paltry donation to support the now defunct bulletin board went for a beer (or three), so be it; what I learned was worth every cent. With luck, Vic will return to the family he created, and we will all be the better for it.

In the meantime, let me say that the new site looks to have terrific potential. Great new tools! Hats off to the Administrators who've led the charge into this brave new world. I for one am looking forward to the new adveture.
 
#11 ·
Vics The Man

CabnFvr, what a great thread, truly amazing writing, touched me and I hear you. Was a member since 03, visited every day I was home. If your out there Vic. I met you one time,I truly appreciate what you did for all of us, good luck and hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely Eddie Layton
 
#12 ·
The general conduct and "feel" of this community from the previous site will hopefully re-emerge on this site. While I have previously remained a non-posting member, this community has made a major impact on my intention to get back on a bike after a break from road bikes for approx 15yrs. "Do or not Do - there is no Try" (Yoda) This community has a strong spirit and may evolve a little but should continue regardless of the cyber landscape.

Be cool - Lenz - Brisbane Australia
 
#13 ·
Great job, Tim.

Excellent parable.

Thanks for not abandoning us, and thanks again for all the moderator's hard work. It reallly sux to be caught in the middle through no fault of you own. But in the end, I believe you all did the right thing: You didn't abandon the passengers.

FWIW, I really like the new format and features.

Thanks Vic for all you have done.

Thanks Randy, Jeff, and Andy for your making this possible now.

What sux the most is that I painstakingly hand-stitched those I-BMW patches on both my summer and winter jackets. I am not a seamstress, and it took serious effort, several pinpricks, and a couple beers each.
 
#14 ·
Parable

PARABLE! Gods! wow thats kind of lofty isn't it. What really gets me though is "they are unkempt" Look this is a new direction, nothing more, wasn't the original creators direction so he bailed. Don't know if he had other options than to capitulate. That was his call, I plan on sticking around for the wealth of knowledge by the membership. Nice look to the site and user friendly too. Keep up the good work and thanks I think.
 
#15 ·
Tim,

Nice way of putting things; Captains are strong willed and isn't it there fate to go down with their ship? As one who browsed the i-bmw site often, a lot of knowledge was extracted from all those posts - that will never be lost and for that - thanks to the Captain. Hopefully as you also mentioned, the door's open - it swings both ways and ill feelings should be checked at the threshold! Vic - as you stood strong on your reasoning, don't hold it against those that stood strong on theirs.

To all those that have taken the helm of this new ship, thank you - let the journey begin!
 
#18 ·
Ok....

...I'm dipping my toe in the water now....

Thanks for the parable, Tim.

Those from the old ship may remember Fast Eddie's 1-10 Scale of Personal Tragedy.

Loss of a favorite website barely makes the needle move, but...

...it would take a LONG time to chronicle all the friends I've made and "peak" experiences I've had due to Vic and the "crew" that inhabited the old ship.

I'm still hoping the old ship will be floated again someday.
 
#20 ·
silly me, I thought I had been set adrift...I should have known someone would have come to the rescue. I'm not sure I understand the mechanics of this but thank you to all of you who are making it happen for the rest of us.
 
#21 ·
This is all quite interesting. What did the Captain do with the $150 in donations that I have made over the last three years? I thought it was to help defray the costs of running the site. Is it true that only $50 was directed to the actual running of the site? Perhaps Pirate can lend his moniker to someone else? I caused a little stir last year when I referred to the non- contributing members as cheapskates. I guess I should have referred to them as the smart guys. It is beautiful out, so I am going to ride now and check out the flames I receive tonight when I get back.
 
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