Thank You All For The Well Wishes! Â I seriously meant to leave this time until my talk with my doctor and Bruce Vilanch. Â Of course the lovely sentiments from all you BetteHeads was heartwrenching enough!
This has been the worst month of my life, no exaggeration, and I’ve had to make some hard decisions. Â My site may never be the same, but it’s mine, and will always be my number one hobby through thick and thin.
Maybe one day I can tell ya’ll what happened, but first I’ll have to regain my memory and be able to live through the trauma again….no exaggeration. Â Just understand how much you all have pulled me through and given me hope again!
Much love,
Mister D
PS: Love all the new sites!
And Long Live Bette Midler, Bruce Vilanch, and the BetteHeads
Hope
by Kim Cowgar
“Is it possible to find hope again?” I asked.
He simply said, “Yes.”
“And I will hold hope for you
Until you are able to find it again yourself.”
I was in the midst of the days
Of bone-weary, aching darkness
Almost certain I would never see
The colors or feel the lightness.
There were days of stubborn solitude
And nights spent on the ward
Where the chemical gods
Tried to make me whole.
If only it was that easy…
Quiet in the safe room with him
Gave way to tenuous moments
Of finding the emotions within
And letting them be felt on the outside.
Trust was built and tears flowed
As fears and secrets were unbound.
With chemicals and spoken words
We began to forge a path towards wholeness
With my guide still holding onto the hope
That my heart and mind were slowly taking back.
It started with a little understanding
Then came a little compassion.
Protecting and nurturing the child within
To find love for the man I was becoming.
No more labels, no more self-deprecation.
No more seeing myself
Through the eyes of others
Or walking a path not of my choosing.
Am I completely whole yet? No
But, as I always hope to be,
I am a beautiful original work in progress
And in this authenticity
I find that I am good enough
xxoo
Dear Don. Youre right! Don’t need to tell y’recovery takes time, its hard work, too often they forget to mension it. wish y stamina and patience and people / things you love most’.
With love Linda (DD)
Thank you Linda!
My brother….you know I always carry you in my heart. Lately you have been in my thoughts and prayers. Do what you need to do because Miss V. and I really want you to hang around. When I retire in a couple of years I may be heading to your part of the world so you have to be around to great me. (Barry and the cats insist)….
Hang in there good buddy. You know all the stuff to fill in here….
Jane
Thank you Miss Jane….you know you mean a lot to me. xxoo
You sir, are an inspiration and a dear, dear friend! we love you to pieces and there is not a thing you will go through that I [we] will not be there for you. Do NOT ever forget that YOU mean so much to so many peoples lives. Not just as a person who puts up one of the BEST sites on the web , but as a caring friend and touch stone. Love love love ya Mister!! 🙂
xoxo
Andy you never fail to make me cry! Thank you for being such a great friend to me….xxoo
Mr. D.
Not a day goes by that I don’t stop at BootlegBetty and smile, laugh and reminisce. Your site has picked me up on some really ‘down’ days and I hope we all can pick you up. Stay with us brother, the world needs more people like you!
Peace & Love, Martin
Thank you so much Martin….that makes me feel good. Lately I’ve been a drag and I apologize….hopefully one day I can explain it all….thanks for helping me hold on….
Don: “Thanks to your doc & Bruce V.!” No explaining necessary, sir! We just hope you will emerge from this and rejoin the ranks of active-Bettedom! 🙂 Keep on holding on, Don. We’re fighting for you….your ‘inner circle’ as well as those on the periphery!! Because…”that’s what friends are for!”
Susan
All I can say to you Miss Susan is that I have a crush on you and love you! Barry has competition….lol xxoo
Mister D,
Welcome back! However you wish to pace yourself, we are here for you.
You are more than all things Bette–you are truly a wonderful human being, and deserve the very best!
My heart is with you, on a super speedy recovery.
Thank you for being a part of our lives! I can’t imagine life without bootlegbetty, and Mister D! So glad to hear from you, every single day!
–Ron
Thank you Ron! Glad you’re here for support…I need it right now….having to almost relearn everything….so frustrating! xxoo
Thank you for sticking with us Don you mean the world to us. I hope with all my heart you come through whatever it is that’s happened to you. You are a wonderful human being who deserves the happiness and love you have shown to us all.
Forever in my thoughts Emma XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Thank you so much Emma….there’s such a stigma surrounding what happened to me it’s just hard to talk about, especially since the outcome was so ugly….you know there are mean people out there just waiting to take a pounce, but i’ll talk about it one day when the wounds aren’t so fresh…..much love, Don xxoo
heeeeeyyyy… I thought I was Barry’s competition!! lol 😉
Susan’s the female competition and you’re the male! Fair enough? lol
right-O.. says I! 😉 lol
well Don, my dear one,
I see you “ROSE” to the occation.
to think that a little talk with the doc and bruce V. helped …
bruce really could teach ya’ how to take it on the chin,pardon the pun….
Oh he’d sooooo bitch slap me for that one..
-u-k ’em if ya can’t take a joke!!!!!! lol
I believe someone we all know said that one!
After reading HOPE I don’t believe you need to worry about telling any of us anything!!
remember,, it is that darkest part of the night that you can first see mornings light….and if that one doesn’t help you I’ll share my aunt elizabeth’s mantra —-THE MORE YOU STIR A STINKY SCRUB RAG–THE MORE IT STINKS!!
it’s my hope YOU”VE LAUGHED a bit reading this cuz’ it’s all the little laughs and friendships that hold any of us all together!!!
until we type again we will all hold you in our prayers.
You do know you will come through all of this because you are loved…It doesn’t get any better than that!!!!!
joey
Joey….you made me laugh and there are parts of my story that I would not hesitate to talk about….you are correct….but not everybody is as open-minded, kind of heart as you. They have an agenda! But since it didn’t bother Miss M or Bruce….well I say fuck it a little. I am angry about some things that happened that should not have and I’ve talked to them about it as well. I have struggled with major depression all my life, but this time it got the better of me and so did the “professionals”,,,,I’m still debating whether to sue or not, the creep factor was that high. But I really do understand what you are saying. If I didn’t laugh some, well, I would be institutionalized! I’m glad I’m still here, too! 🙂
Dear Don-
I am glad to see you are back. I am disheartened over your experience and will keep you in my thoughts. No one deserves to be treated in a disgusting manner, especially someone who is as caring and giving as you are. I do not know you personally, but do know that you give all of yourself to this site and therefore to us who visit it. Not one person can look at this site and think of this as a hobby. It is a man who truly devotes all of his love into everything he does. Life is hard and no one when you’re younger ever tells you that. But with each hardship there is so much joy in life and you provide alot of joy to alot of people. Which brings me to my last point, you are more than this site. When reading all these messages, every single person cared about you and not this site. This site is fantastic, quite possibly the best thing on the entire internet, but you sir, are magical. Hang in there, stay strong and this too shall pass.
God Speed!!!
Thank you so much Jill for the kind and encouraging words…..ya’ll are helping me black out this horrible nightmare! xxoo
Dear Don, No matter what you’ve gone through or how badly you’ve been treated, I wanted to let you know that you’ve got another person in your corner, thinking of you and wishing you well.
Thank you Randy….I just didn’t know I had so many wonderful people in my corner….xx
I love you! Thank you for everything, Mister D.!
I love you so much, too! Thank you for always being there for me!
Dear Mr. D:Â
I have tried to write you several times since you said you were closing the site but I could never finish the note.Â
You have been in my thoughts & I have been praying for you & hoping that you will be okay. Â
I’m so happy you decided to keep working on the site. It & you would have been missed greatly. I hope you know how much what you have done for us Bette fans means to me. I really appreciate you! You are always so kind in your on-line notes and e-mails.Â
Whatever is going on, remember It Will Get Better and You Will Get Through It.Â
Again, I wish you all the best & will keep you in mind and hope that you are better and moving forward………………Â
Wishing You Peace!Â
Ron
Actually Ron I’m glad I didn’t leave….it would have been rash….and I need it. Dr,’s orders, too….can you believe it? But I’m glad I did it…..thank you for always being so supportive!