I am stepping down as a moderator.

[John T 744]

Since there is I believe only 2 super mods here with myself and Scott Stone being the other one, I've been trying like heck to step away from that forever. There was a time I moderated almost every board on the net simultaneously and donated to a few as well. Some of those boards did not make it such as The PWNA bb, Guttersource and maybe another one or two others. The ones I did moderate at the same time were TGS,***,Guttersource(until it folded) then the ***** bb. A few of those I was offered the admin spot but only one I took a co admin slot which was the ***** board.

They were all fun but different which is why I didn't mind doing multiple ones at anytime.

There comes a time for all good things to end and like in law enforcement it was hard for me to leave any of them because I always do things that I enjoy including my military and Law enforcement careers which totaled 29 years. I'll never stop working because I enjoy staying busy but my time even though I retired from one job is getting less and less available because on the outside I'm getting more and more involved. I am debating on running for a board slot again in one of the orgs I belong to(glutten for punishment) because I always enjoyed staying involved and I find myself to be a rare breed where no matter how hot it gets in the kitchen I don't leave. I look for ways to make it better..

TGS was the hardest bulletin board for me to hang up and it's the very last I moderated. Like Scott Stone and a few others I was here from the very beginning. The other thing that made it so hard is that I have a tremendous amount of respect for Both Beth and Rod. Beth in particular. We served together in the PWNA and we worked together on some things. Amongst the men and females in this industry I hold her at the top as one of the people I always respected the most.

So as soon as she comes back from being out of town she has promised to remove my mod status. Some of you guys here should pm or email her and Rod to see if they can use another Super Mod to work with Scott Stone to help keep this bb runing smoothly.

As for Scott Stone he is easy to work with. Generally he stays away from the more political post where I would dive right in. The political post use to be fun for me because of the challenges they brought up. Somehow along the way because old timers eventually leave and the new blood would come in I started to get jaded by it all. That just meant my time was up for moderating and the way I do things I always give 110% and because of the political end of moderating I started to run out of time during my waking hours overloading on to many different things.

So today I stay very focused on my business and some jobs within the industry I volunteered for. I do want to apologize to some who I may have offended because I am passionate and I drive very hard. Last night I worked outside of my business at least 10 hrs bringing in more Powerwashers to help me hammer home a few things and to help keep this industry related to some of the things I do and non of that is negative.

So as usual I have a long post but I can't thank Beth and Rod enough from giving me the opportunity to be a part of TGS during there growing stages to where they are now which is at the top of the bulletin board world. The respect TGS has earned by the thousands that come here is well deserved because of the admin and mods that help out here. TGS runs like a Lamborghini where it drives like a rocket and feels like it has endless power.

It has been fun and thanks for the ride here.

John T.

[Rick2 42]

Thanks for your hard work of this site. If not for people TGS would not be what it is today.

On an unrelated note I was thinking about you when a friend and police officer was shot to death at the end of my street two weeks ago. He was answering a domestic call.

Kevin Ambrose rest in peace.

John, I think you made the right decision to leave that job.

[John T 744]

Hey Rick-- I truly had one of the best jobs in the country.. But with family disputes rising because of the economy downturn and everything else a Police officer deals with it's best that I left. Everyday an officer who approaches a car for a traffic infraction or deals with a family dispute there lives are on the line. Those two are the biggest reasons why cops are killed in the line of duty...because there doing the job there paid to do. I know there's problems with the pensions systems and know people in a downturn economy complain what an officer makes and I get it...but when times were good people weren't telling there kids to be cops. They wanted them on average to do anything else but that and everyone thinks the world of there kids and just to be limited with salary caps as a cop always and forever will be, most didn't want there kids to be restricted in there talents or putting there lives on the line to get involves because they have to....with a family dispute...or write that ticket.

Unless you are actually a cop who will eventually deal with loves one because you can't bring the ladies child back from Sids(I had to tell the mother outside of the emergency room when her child was officially pronounced dead) have to deal with numerous times a parent arriving at a scene where there teenager is dead at the scene and a blanket is covering her or him to keep the publics prying eyes away.... And on and on.. The money that's paid these guys for the emotional wear and tear they have to deal with.. Will never seemed to be worth it. They obviously have to be capped in salary like they always are but you can't put a price on the emotional scars that are left with you until u leave this planet.

The flip side is when you bring someone back by doing CPR, protect a child from a deranged parent, pull people out of fires or plane crashes and in the worst case(I never was here) the world trade center after it was hit and also after it crumbles... Is about as rewarding as it gets but the cop has to be tough enough when the shizz hits the fan or they will slowly mentally began to collapse a little everyday....

That's why I defend cops because I know first hand what they go thru because I did what they do....

My heart goes out to your friend Kevin Ambrose and his family because no matter how people look at cops... They are really your last line of defense to the true evil that's out there because there in the streets with it.

Thanks bro.