Before I start I have a confession. I have spent more time talking to people in the reptile community in the past 2 weeks via every resource available than I would like to admit. We would talk about everything from legislation to the latest morphs. Each call seemed to hold the same theme and that was “What is going on? What do we do?” Among ten thousand similar questions. Answers for which I don’t believe exist other than the first one “What is going on?” the answer to that is we are losing and losing fast. It’s the 9th inning, the bases are loaded but we have no one left to bat “I dislike Baseball but it seemed fitting”
I have been away for a while, about 4 months give or take, my extended leave was in part do to the aforementioned questions. Which leads to another common one asked during these calls “Did you give up?” The answer to which is no, I did not give up I simply decided it was not my fight. I am not talking about the fight to save our hobby from the HSUS, that is all of our fight. I am talking about saving our hobby from it’s self. It is not my fight to tell everyone what is good or bad, right or wrong. That is something everyone should know. I did however enjoy the fight but decided it was time to back off and regroup. That being said I have to take into account how content I have been since doing so and weigh that option when the time comes to decide if I want to rejoin said fight.
Another common theme seems to keep rearing it’s beautiful head and that is the people are tired, they are tired of what we have. They are tired of people with power not using it to help us, they are tired of supporting business and non profit alike who flex very little muscle to ensure this community has a future. The wheels are turning and to me that is light at the end of the tunnel. I have been asked several times to be a part of several ideas, them in themselves not a 100% fix but together could just bring the change that so many are begging for. There are some great people in our community planning some great things. I am not talking about the Brian Barczyk’s or Andrew Wyatt’s that we have followed all this time, I am talking about people you have probably never heard of but I will personally endorse and trust with my life if it came down to it. Things are going to begin to unfold very soon and I would hope everyone gives them the chance and respect that they deserve. I know not everyone out there likes me or my ideas, some down right hate me, most for no reason but should I choose to be a part of anything that is going to happen I for sure will proudly write about it some day in my book “Not that I am planning to write one ;)”
I feel a changing of the guard. Be ready, give it a chance and stick together. Divided we WILL fall but together we WILL move mountains.