First, all best wishes to Paul, dogss, Coop, Richy...am I missing anyone who's elected to go missing?
Also, I've pared down the Star Chamber membership further, based upon attendance. A handful of our most valued M.O.Ms don't have the time or inclination to participate. This is, of course, perfectly fine. Whitenow, MAD, Sputnik, you are still every bit the beloved M.O.Ms you've always been. And you're smarter than those of us who've slogged it out in the SC trying to make sense of Bopes' recruitment spreadsheet thingies. I assure you, it's not the spreadsheet thingies' fault.
A general thanks to any and all members who've expressed the desire and/or intention to shelve the melodrama and get back to the fun. As I've said before, relationships have ups and downs. Sometimes you don't see a favorite person for months. Sometimes you only wish that were the case. Re-aim your expectations of M.O.M to allow for the fact that we're all just people with real-world lives and real-life flaws and everything else should take care of itself. This is the best group of people and the most intimidating collection of players in Dogfightdom, bar friggin' none. Indulge in a moment of pride over that, consider the great friends you have here, focus on all that's been a blast about this experience...then watch it all fall effortlessly into a nice, melodrama-free perspective. Then go shoot something down.
One final observation on in-squad conflict; if you find yourself typing a "retort", no matter what it was that got your goat, type it...then get up and walk away. If you still want to hit "send" when you come back...don't. The moment has passed. In M.O.M we've seen the best that Dogfight players/friends can be, and we've seen the worst. On the whole I prefer the best. Let's strive for that from now on.
Attention Chocks! T Man! Whiskey! Your amazing custom personal banners!...er...aren't quite ready yet. Banners often take a while but you three have waited longer than usual. Thanks for your patience. I promise to get you bannered up asap. You, along with the following new M.O.Ms for June '13:
Zecke
Brian257
Harkness
GHOSTRIDER1
MBello
This is a wicked good squad unto itself!
If you don't know how fearsome Zecke is you haven't been playing Dogfight long enough. He's been flying some aliases lately but believe me he is the real deal.
With Brian and Harkness I've only had the pleasure a few times each. It was only a pleasure when they were blue. Both great additions to the roster.
Brad aka GHOSTRIDER1 submitted the most schizoid application in M.O.M's comparatively brief but disproportionately schizoid history. Engage him in chat, by all means. Avoid him in alleys at all costs.
Last but far from least, MBello was among the very first of the original M.O.M recruits, then left to try his hand at running his own squad. I don't need to tell you how good he is, he's also a great guy and a long lost M.O.M returned to the roost. I couldn't be more pleased to have him back.
Welcome to your new home in M.O.M, kids!
disclaimer: A maximum of three new M.O.M members are announced on the first of each month.
disclaimer to the disclaimer: Close enough.