Our beloved Meteor Blades, a true Daily Kos OG (UID: 6, and I’m 3), is retiring.
It’s one of those things you expect, but there’s no way you can prepare for it. Meteor Blades, aka “Tim,” has been such a constant presence from nearly the start of this site’s existence, that I’m almost lost at the thought of him riding off into the sunset. I went and looked up the actual timeline: May 26, 2002, I launch the site; Tim became a “guest poster” on September 19, 2003. The comment threads from that era no longer work, so I couldn’t find the exact date he first posted, but for at least 18 years, and probably longer, Tim has been a fellow traveler as this site grew and evolved. Honestly, I’m a little lost.
One of my greatest failings as a human is a genuine weakness in telling people how much I appreciate them, and I certainly never told Tim that enough in those 18+ years. I hate that it’s taking his retirement for me to fully express how much he means to me, his friendship, his writing, his companionship, his scholarship, his humanity. I love the depth of passion and knowledge he always brought to issues like his beloved American Indian rights (he is a proud Seminole), to climate change, to peace, to green technology. His love for this community is nearly unmatched. His counsel and advice has been invaluable.
Tim made me promise not to be too sentimental, and I’m doing my best to comply. He has promised to visit from time to time, and if we’re lucky, we may get him to take a Featured Writer slot so he can keep contributing his wealth of knowledge to the site.
This is a reminder that time marches relentlessly forward, right? Next year, Daily Kos will be 20 years old, and none of us are immune to time. On the plus side, we see the growth and maturation of the Millennials and Zoomers—two incredibly progressive generations that are already dramatically changing our politics for the better. On the other side, well, we’re getting old. That’s not a negative! There is poetry in passing the baton to those new, energized, motivated youngsters refusing to accept the status quo and fighting so hard for positive change. But it still hurts to lose that wealth of wisdom.
Daily Kos started as my soapbox, but it didn’t stay that way for long. Tim is one of the people who helped build Daily Kos into what it is today. This place would look a lot different without him, and it would do so for the worse. It’s a debt of gratitude that I can never hope to repay. But as much as it pains me to see him go, I’m also excited for him, to be able to slow down after decade after decade after decade of fighting the good fight.
Tim, I love you. Thanks for everything you’ve done for a better world, better country, and for Daily Kos itself.