The Sauna Part 49

It was just after one o’clock when I finished my shower and went to check on Jon and see about lunch. He was still at the computer and waiting for a reply from his Mom. He looked deep in thought, but stirred when I came in.

“Did you write your letter for your mom to put up on the Board?” I asked.

“Yeah, I re-wrote it a couple times as the first one I sent she returned to me to edit as the language needed some tweaking so I didn’t sound like a total prick. But I think the one I just sent will make the point without being outta line. Apparently I don’t hide it very well when I‘m pissed” he said with a smirk.

“Well, you do have somewhat of a reputation” I teased, just as the email came in. I waited while he read it.

“She’s going ahead with that one. Wanna read it, babe? See what you think” he offered. I was glad he asked as I was more than curious to see what he’d written. We exchanged places and I sat down. Jon stood behind me, his arms around my neck as he leaned over while I read.

Dear Fans:

I recently became aware of some activity here on the Board that concerns me. The Board was created as a way for fans to share their thoughts and feelings about the Band and to give us feedback too. My intent was to establish a way for people to communicate with each other and interact with us and I’d hoped it would be a bridge between us all. What I found instead was that a few people have taken it upon themselves, with no encouragement or sanction from me, to police the comments made here. These individuals will be dealt with privately, however I felt it necessary to try and set the record straight.
I invite people to share their opinions and feelings, whether popular or not, with no further fear of reprisal by a few people who think they have the right to speak for me. They don’t. An example was the Gutter Dweller “thread” that received a great deal of heat from certain individuals who felt it was inappropriate. I regret that the opinions of the few who were offended by it were perceived as representing the opinion of myself or the Board Administrators. Such was not the case. Disagreement is fine, but what I saw was people being attacked there.
I wrote the song “Have a Nice Day” because I was disturbed by the polarization occurring across the country. You can imagine how disturbed I was to see just that happening here, in my own backyard, so to speak. We all have a common bond and it ought to unite us rather than divide us. Fans can be fans for many reasons and it’s all good. We need to try and get along, and when we don’t, well, “Have a Nice Day” folks!
Jon

I was impressed. “Well said” I agreed and leaned back against him. Jon swept my hair to the side and kissed my neck. “So, what’s the plan to deal with the offensive ones individually?” I asked, hoping it was more than a warning.

“Oh, that? They’ve already had their membership revoked and are now banned from the Boards. Here’s the list. Did I get everyone?” he smiled.

I read through the names and while it wasn’t a long list, it was thorough. I nodded my approval. “Looks like a clean sweep. And thank you, really. You have no idea how long this has really bothered me. I figured you couldn’t possibly have known before or you wouldn’t have allowed it to continue this long. How did your Mom react to all of this?”

“At first she didn’t quite believe me. She considered one of them to be her friend, but when I directed her to read what I’d read, she was pretty upset. I suspect she hadn’t actually read much herself and relied on what she was being told. I promise you this, though. She’s pissed now too and there will be some shake ups in the personnel there now that she knows. I’m really glad you told me and we were able to stop this shit. Better late than never” he shared.

I kissed him then, feeling grateful and proud. He may have been slow to realize the problem, but once he became aware of it, his justice was swift and complete. I felt sad for him, though too, because this wasn’t something he’d ever seen coming. And I guessed that being stabbed in the back wasn’t altogether unfamiliar and I was sorry I was the one to have to make him aware of it.

“My mom is anxious to meet you, you know. We’ll have to plan a trip to Florida on that long weekend” he added.

I smiled, but my stomach knotted thinking what a holiday that would be; my meeting his mom and him meeting my dad. Well, if we could survive that, we’d survive just about anything.

“Yes, we’ll have to plan that soon” I agreed, stalling, but recognizing there was no avoiding it forever.

“Let’s plan lunch though first, babe? What do you want to do?” he asked, turning his attention to the next thing on the agenda.

“I can make some spaghetti, but not much to go with it, just sauce in a jar” I said as Jon wrinkled his nose.

“What else did you have in mind?” I asked, not really wanting plain spaghetti myself and having figured sauce from a jar wasn’t going to satisfy Jon either. “I am actually in the mood for some ice cream, though.”

“Okay, let’s get dressed and we’ll go. I know the place. And I can think of better things for you to do than cook. But food first, I’m starving!” he replied, smacking my butt pointedly as we headed downstairs to get dressed.