I was judged harshly and told to be ashamed

[ladyraj]

I'm unfamiliar with your situation but I'm touched by your story. Best wishes to you and yours!-Ruth Ann

 

[SharonLM]

Thank you Ruth Ann. Mike and I will be fine and I've met some wonderful people today. I'm becoming rich in blessings through others and their warm wishes, prayers and thoughts.

 

[Judge Mental]

<---- is the evil attacker. I think some of you might want to check the facts before making judgments. Things have a way of getting twisted.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/gg/26545-big-thank-you-personal-note.html

 

[BARENETTED]

Hi Sharon,

I am so sorry to hear about your misfortune.

I will pray that all works out for you. I can't even imagine what you are going through right now.

God works in mysterious ways - let's see what He has in mind.

 

[Iken]

Misconstrued
...

 

[HighTech]

I just received a private email from a member who has judged me harshly and from what this person has said, I was discussed among other members and they too have come to the same conclusion that I used my husband's lung cancer to garner sympathy and get out of purchasing a device when it was felt by this person that what I really had was buyer's remorse and what I did was disingenuous (which Wikipedia's definition is insincere, dishonest, untruthful, false, deceitful, duplicitous, lying, mendacious, and hypocritical) and in bad taste.

Sharon, this reminds me of once when when my character was questioned on Myspace and this is, in part, how I responded to the person:

~~~~~

Since you were so quick to attack my character and the fact that you don't even know me, I have a little story I would like to share with you;

A mother and her young son, that must have been four or five years of age, were seated in a quaint little restaurant that was not really that big at all. It probably seated twenty or so people at the most. It was kind of dark, with an Old English type nuance. The tables were rather close together in their arrangement, given the space. At the table next to them, was a preppy older lady sitting by herself.

The mother ordered for herself and the young boy. The boy ask his mother if he could say grace and the mother responded, "sure you can baby". They bowed their heads and the young boy started to pray, "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for this food, and I would thank you even more if mom gets us ice cream after dinner. And liberty and justice for all. Amen."

Most everyone in the place heard the boy and chuckled a bit. But the older lady next to them turned to the mother and said, "That's what's wrong with this country, kids don't even know how to pray anymore, asking God for ice cream, why I never!".

The little boy heard what the old lady said and burst into tears. He asked his mother, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?". The mother hugged her son and assured him it was a terrific prayer and that God was not mad at him. An elderly man who had heard the old lady, got up from his table, winked at the little boy, bent over and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer!" "Really?", the boy said. "Cross my heart." Then the man whispered to the boy as he glanced to the old lady, "Too bad she never asked God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Well, needless to say, the mother bought ice cream for herself and her son for dessert. The mother tasted her's and it was rich and creamy. The young boy just sat there and stared at his for several minutes. Then all of a sudden, he got up, cupped his ice cream bowl in his little hands and walked over and placed it down in front of the old lady and said, "This is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes, and my soul is good already."

---

So, the next time you are so quick to judge my character, you can have my bowl of ice cream, my friend. My soul is good already.

~~~~~

Much love and peace to you in your life Sharon and to those you love...

 

[need_2quit]

sharon I'm so sorry for what you are going through with your husbands cancer. I can't imagine how frightening that is for you both. My husband and I are up in years also, and EVERY decision we make has to be thought out/rethought. Fixed income means there are no raises, no bonuses. You live within your means however you are able.

Imeo sounds like a great guy. I can understand your fear in keeping the GG. It's not like you can order a part from a USA supplier if you have a problem.

We stock up too = you should see our food pantry. Like you guys, it's been a way of life for us for many years. Buy on sale and save in the long run.

I wish you and your husband the best. There are few forums online where I choose to be chumy with ppl. This is not one of them lol. Nicotine, or lack thereof can make ppl kind of nutty sometimes.

what I really feel bad for is that you had to come on here to explain yourself. NO ONE should have to divulge their private life in public to defend their actions.

Hang in there sweetie and don't let naysayers get to you

 

[mamu]

We all have heartfelt sympathy for your husband, but this is too weird what you do here Sharon.

The person who PM'd you posted what was said in another thread. You over-exaggerate what was said in the PM.

We all have buyer's remorse at times, but most of us are at least honest enough to say what the actual reason is. If I had bought the GG at the same time as the button recall, well then I would have probably asked for a refund too. But not in the manner in which you asked for a refund. I don't use those types of sympathy excuses for what is simply buyer's remorse.

Since you have an Iolite, two Prodigys, an Adaptever, two Screwdrivers, The Copper, and now a GG Transformer that Zof is buying for you because of your soon to be low-income situation, I'd say you're pretty well set for what the future holds for you.

Good luck to you and I wish you the best.

 

[SharonLM]

HighTech, that was absolutely beautiful, thank you. Need2quit, yes it sounds like you and your husband are a lot like us. He and I have gone through many, many tough times and we've learned over the years to stockpile for those times. We've also had good periods of times and have enjoyed them and been thankful for them.

We're proud of ourselves that we will sacrifice here and there in order to be prepared for what may come.

I look forward to his retirement, he deserves it. The doc, and all the research I've read, as well as some of the cancer forums I'm on say he has a 20% chance he'll live past the 5 years and it's already been 2 years. But I just tell him, "hun, someone has to be in that 20%, why not you!" So as most, if not all we live on that hope. Cancer is a strange beast and so many people either have it or their lives are touched by it, we are not alone in this.

Actually I think he and I are very fortunate. We have the internet with which we can do research, we have cancer forums where we can talk and relate to others, there's even a fantastic lung cancer site where there are now three oncologists who donate their time and answer questions and support us. It's great. Mike and I have definitely learned many lessons and continue to learn. Our love for each other continues to grow and the we continue to learn the lessons of life. We've got much to be thankful for. Now, I've discovered e-cigs and I can get off analogs, how great is that!

I've definitely learned some lessons from this experience as well. It's interesting, no matter how old you are you can still learn so much. I just hope I've become a little wiser.

There are great people on this forum. HighTech, again, that was beautiful and I hope to remember that example. Even though it's probably just a story, it wouldn't surprise me if it were true. Children, if we let them can teach us some beautiful lessons.

 

[Hef]

As I said, many of us felt bad for your circumstances and discussed pitching in to purchase a GG for you since you implied that you couldn't purchase it due to financial worries - until we discovered you already owned several 'high end' devices.

This was from the other thread which is closed. I decided to go back and take a look since Judge Mental insists that she's misunderstood. Anyway, I'm going to have to go ahead and side with Sharon on this one. She at no point stated she couldn't afford to to buy the device. She was pretty clear that she was planning ahead for their coming difficulties. Newsflash: Cancer is expensive you ....... So, to the three or four in particular that feel its ok to judge this woman you should mind your own business.

Next time you feel compelled to make an unsolicited personal judgement "IMO" you should just keep it to yourself. Your naivette and immaturity is really all I pulled away from your posts.

 

[SharonLM]

This was from the other thread which is closed. I decided to go back and take a look since Judge Mental insists that she's misunderstood. Anyway, I'm going to have to go ahead and side with Sharon on this one. She at no point stated she couldn't afford to to buy the device. She was pretty clear that she was planning ahead for their coming difficulties. Newsflash: Cancer is expensive you ....... So, to the three or four in particular that feel its ok to judge this woman you should mind your own business.

Next time you feel compelled to make an unsolicited personal judgement "IMO" you should just keep it to yourself. Your naivette and immaturity is really all I pulled away from your posts.

Thank you Hef. I've learned some valuable lessons through this entire ordeal, and for me it really was an ordeal.

I've learned how easy our words can hurt someone and I pray I never forget that and use that lesson for when I'm faced in the future with a situation that seems easy to judge. I hope I remember how easy it was for others to judge me, yet how wrong most of the suppositions were. I understood what these judgements were based on, half truths, seemingly damning evidence, yet that damning evidence was based on faulty reasoning that was gleemed on not knowing the whole situation.

I realized that many times I've found myself in the same situations and gave it little thought, I'd like many just plunge ahead and go with the half-truths. I'm guilty of that all too often. Once is all too often so it doesn't matter if we count the times. I pray I've learned that lesson.

I've learned that there are many in our world (and on this forum) who have much more wisdom than I and can see a situation for what it is. I hope I can wait before I ever judge another and remember how it feels to be judged unfairly, and I hope I can follow the lead of those wiser than I.

I've learned, I hope, that it's OK to bring up a topic that may burn oneself because sometimes we really do come out better once we've gone through the fire. Too many times I'll shy away from a confrontation thinking I'm doing the wisest thing, yet I rob myself of lessons I need to learn.

I've grown to know some of you and learned what strong people you are. Many of you have strong convictions and you stick by them. I'm impressed with those of you who are like that. I've had many PM's from people who held me up and I guess it's OK to admit I was weak enough to need that.

I've been priviledged to come to know and learn from people like Zo and Imeo, who have stood by their initial decisions from the beginning and never wavered, not even when they were given the opportunity, they are strong men with strong convictions. I offered privately to both Zo and Imeo to return the GG when I received it and both emphatically said no, their decision was made and they believe for the right reasons.

To those of you who judged me unfairly may I just say I've done the same thing and perhaps we've all learned something here. So I thank those who stood by me, giving me strength and teaching me the value of standing strong and I thank those of you who didn't stand by me and taught me the lesson of how much it hurts someone when we judge before we get the whole story. Please know I'm guilty of that as well so I understand how easy it is too do.

I've learned a lot through all of this and I hope others have too.

This really is a great forum and has many great, everyday people on here. I've gained a knowledge that it really is still a good world out there with many good people in here.

Thanks.

Sharon (who I guess isn't too old to learn, thank goodness!)

 

[seminolewind]

Did you contact a moderator about these vicious emails? Members are really not allowed to harrass other members. I would do it.

 

[SharonLM]

Did you contact a moderator about these vicious emails? Members are really not allowed to harrass other members. I would do it.

No, I didn't. And they weren't really vicious emails, just hurtful. I've seen some emails that some people get and they really are vicious and nasty, those I agree need to be reported.

 

[Lisaf01]

Big respect to you Sharon, and many hugs!

 

[firhill]

I'm really not sure that continually adding opinions and comments to this thread resolves anything, other than fuelling something that has agreed to be disagreed upon by all parties involved.

My suggestion to the OP is to, rather than keep giving exposure to the thread, stop responding to posts and just let it slide into the archives and let bygones be bygones.

Just my 02.

 

[Jim Davis]

Firhill - some people just need to talk sometimes. The thread will run its course & burn out in due time.

Sharon - I've sent you a PM. Feel free to contact me any time.

Second, If you update your profile, and add your city, state or other location, you may find you have some good friends close by who can help out if anything is needed in a hurry.

Third - Maybe I missed it, but what kind of e-cig are you using?

Cheers;
jd

 

[Superstargoddess]

I fully support you.

 

[SharonLM]

Firhill - some people just need to talk sometimes. The thread will run its course & burn out in due time.

Sharon - I've sent you a PM. Feel free to contact me any time.

Second, If you update your profile, and add your city, state or other location, you may find you have some good friends close by who can help out if anything is needed in a hurry.

Third - Maybe I missed it, but what kind of e-cig are you using?

Cheers;
jd

Thanks Superstar. Jim I just saw this, and OK, I'll go work on my profile.

The e-cig I'm stuck on right now (it's the only powerful 2 battery one I have at present) is the Prodigy. Steve and of course Casey are wonderful people and so is the Prodigy.

I do look forward, very much, to the GG. Hope that's OK to say and I don't invite more anger, but it is the truth. I am so, so impressed, after all that's happened with Imeo and his goodness and strength. He's helped me through this as has so many others.

To all who have PM'd me and asked openly for an explanation and for all who have PM'd me with support and all the support I've received from everyone on the board, thank you so much. I couldn't have gained the strength by myself, I was too confused and worried I might have somehow done something wrong, but everyone else lent me their strength and I have a wonderful sense of hope for human nature through all of this.

I think this forum has a LOT, and awful LOT of good people.

I'm so sorry this has happened.

 

[steven.rn]

As a hospice nurse I appreciate the fact that you are preparing in many ways, and facing issues straightforwardly. As an aside, whatever anyone said, forgive 'em all. We all say stupid things from time to time, sometimes by ourselves, sometimes as a group, sometimes we ourselves are wrong and don't know it, sometimes 'they' are wrong and don't know it, etc.

In the end, only kindness matters.

Steve

 

[Father Luke]

Once a Marine, always a Marine, from what I hear, and Mike is
one rough, tough sunuvabiscut.

Imeo rawks.

Prodigy kicks ...

Sharon is a survivor.
Peace out.