keepin’ it goin’

[mitchmaine]

Lost a good friend the other day. Nov. 26, the electronic eye went out and dap went dead on the screen in front of me. Through the magic of technical cpr and money(checks in the mail, carl), dap was brought back to life and life is good. Draft animal power is the collective subconscious and accumulated knowledge and experience of 2000 people sharing their knowledge and the knowledge of thousands of other folk, living and dead, who passed it down orally over the courses of their lives. That’s a huge thing. I’ve learned a lot of valuable imformation on this site and really appreciate it.
It gave me a little bit of a chill to think about it. Peppered in among the jokes and banter, are some real pearls of wisdom. I can see that carl is doing the right thing involving his kids in his life and passing on the traditions to them, and I think others here are doing the same thing. That is the real way to keep this going.
We all are led to believe that the stores will always be full of food, but we grow most of our own food anyway. Why? Yes, the food is better, but I think it’s bigger than that. Just like we keep the animal power and old ways alive. Why? It ain’t about the horse.
Thanks to all for being there, keep talking, carry on. Your friend, mitch

[Carl Russell]

Mitch and all, the shut-down was the result of a breakdown in communication with the Domain Name host. I really appreciate what Mitch says about the importance of this forum. It seems like such an oxymoron, that we animal-powerists have such a relationship through the internet. Yet, as long as it lasts, I think DAP has made huge steps in enhancing the connections we all have to each other.

When I arrived at MOFGA LIF a few weeks ago, I was surrounded by friends, several whom I know personally, and several whom I had never seen before. Even the ones I am familiar with, I know better now because of DAP.

While I was there I received a call on my cell phone from Simon Lenihan, whom I met through DAP, calling to discuss details of the sale of harnesses that I had advertised here on DAP.

We are working our way through the process of forming a non-profit organization with significant help from a core group of people who have become attached to each other and the effort because of DAP. This forum will be a central component of the Draft Animal Power Network.

Rarely a week goes by that I don’t have some significant communication because of some connection I have made here.

I think about the communities that existed when my mentors were growing up. These were the men whom I learned from twenty-five years and more ago. These men grew up when horse-power was prevalent. They learned about horses as youngsters, dragging harness up into the mangers at 10 years old, and going to the woods, to make money with horses, cross-cut, and axes, as 13 year-olds.

That is a huge hurdle for us. Not only are many of us already adults when we dive into this, we are conditioned by a life experience that is mechanically automated, and we are few and far between. This site has significant value by allowing us the interaction, although mostly not hands-on, but certainly helping us to make connections around events like NEAPFD and LIF, that would have been part of those communities.

I/we intend to do everything we can to provide the security we need to keep DAP in a functional and vital role in this growing community.

Thanks for all of your support, it is exciting, and humbling, to be part of this movement, Carl

[Donn Hewes]

It would be interesting to see who had the record for most attempts to log on while it was out. I don’t know how many times I tried, but it was too many! I think it is rare that the internet actually brings people together, but that is how I see DAP. Thanks Carl, Lisa, and everyone here.

[near horse]

I guess I would rank low on the number of attempts to login while DAP was down because I attributed it to my crummy dial-up connection and overall service. In this case, ignorance was bliss (at least low stress).

I would also like to add in my thanks for this site – to me it is like Alice going through the looking glass into a huge new world. Through this site I have learned so much and met so many great people it’s hard to imagine where I’d be without this place. Thank you, everyone.

I also know through PMs that many across the pond also “suffer from the DAP addiction”, many even went through some temporary withdrawals when the site was down. So while we are separated by geography, there is a strong will to keep this alive and MANY are willing to contribute in whatever means they can. Just ask.

BTW – mitch, why was this in the memorium category? It made me think it was dead.

[mitchmaine]

sorry about that one,geoff. poor attempt at humor, i guess. please forgive me.

[jac]

I tried about 6 times.. paced the carpet.. tried to read SFJ.. made some tea.. paced the carpet.. nearly started smoking again:o.. all joking aside this site rocks !!! I was pretty much alone over here… or so I thought. Ixy, Clayfoot and Simon that I know of so far from Britain and all the friends I have found on your side of the puddle. This site will grow and change as time goes on and I am proud to be a tiny part of this….
John

[near horse]

@mitchmaine 22469 wrote:

sorry about that one,geoff. poor attempt at humor, i guess. please forgive me.

Aww Mitch – Please, you don’t need to apologize at all! I did see the “dark humor” by posting this here. Your sentiments regarding DAP are what’s important and I’m glad you started this thread so we could hear what you feel.

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