This isn’t really a pitting. Okay, so it’s not a pitting at all. I just wasn’t very sure if we could call out Dopers outside the Pit.
This is! The official! Shagnasty appreciation thread! Appreciate away 
My reason for appreciation is: He is always clear, coherent and persuasive in his posts. And his collection of anecdotes is the kind I aspire to have when I’m 60.
You can, but if it’s a feel-good thread calling positive attention to a poster, it belongs in MPSIMS.
Now, I’ll move this to MPSIMS for you so that the Pit mods don’t point and laugh at you for your error. 
Well, if this gets moved back to the pit, I might have something to add. Till then, I’ll refrain.
Shagnasty has been through some very hard times and has come through the other side presumably not a bitter, angry man (at least he doesn’t seem so online). I don’t think I could say the same if I’d been through what he has, in a ridiculously short time like he has. You gotta respect that.
I have some appreciation for the man.
He’s from Taxachusetts (currently). It’s enough for me.
Hey, anyone that agrees with me that the lights on Memorial Dr. are fucked…
Recently, I found a site that had pictures of record labels throughout the years (for some reason, this sort of thing fascinates me). While perusing the site, I found this record.
I swear I just opened this up and I have tears in my eyes. This has been one of the best few days ever out of a long string of ridiculously bad times. Perfect timing!
Want to hear a good antedote?
As many of you know, we lost our daughter Sophie last summer when she was born with one of the rarest genetic diseases is the world (Sulfite Oxidase Deficiency). She was born normal but went into seizures during my birthday party with is the start of the disease. From there is was 5 weeks of hell living in a special apartment of Children’s Hospital Boston until she started death throes that lasted for 16 hours and she died in our arms.
My wife found out she was pregant 3 months ago which was by choice but we knew we were playing with Russian Roulette. There is a 1 in 4 chance that any future child will have the disease and the chance of death is basically 100%. Genetic scientists and doctors from Harvard Medical School teamed up with the only lab in the world (in France) that could design a test for us that could detect the disease in utereo. The reshed to design the test, got it working a month ago, started growing cell lines from Sophie in France and extracted cells from the new baby in a somewhat risky procedure.
Th results were supposed to come back before 10 am on Friday morning., They didn’t and both my wife and I were sitting at work frantic. It finally came back.
“It is healthy and it is a girl!”. I feel like doing a victory lap around the entire city of Boston. Family did not even know and they found out tonight while shedding a sea of tears.
In other news, my consulting job said that they wanted to hire me full-time starting soon. It will be a pay-cut but I am thrilled because I need the security for my family and while I always made a good income, the steadiness of my employment has been a major source of problems in the past few years.
People always laugh at my antecdotes and some have even called me a liar to my face. Those are only a side-effect of growing up in a very unusual area (rural Louisiana) with an unusual family, living in New Orleans, going to an Ivy League graduate school, travelling the world, and marrying into a very unusual and successful family. I am a thrill-seeker so I seek out the unusual and it tends to find me. I notice that more somber people always try to slyly “verify” some of these stories when they meet my family and friends and the result always end up as “Why wouldn’t you believe that?”. It is an Adams family world I live in.
Thank you for the notice. It couldn’t come at a better time. I have truly been through hard times and almost lost my faith in the world in the process. My only protection was to wake up expecting something horrific to happen and for a while I wasn’t disappointed.
This really makes my day.
Congratulations, Shag. Glad to hear your good news.
I was going to add to my original post that another reason I appreciate you is that you know a lot of things, and you have good anecdotes.
But I didn’t want it to look like I was sucking up. 
A shout from Kendall! hehe.
I put a fruit basket on the commuter rail; you can pick it up as it passes through. Holliston and Hopkinton are my favorite places in the world.
I enjoy your posts and personality.
this thread-
a lullaby for the cradle.
I too have enjoyed your posts on here. You have had some interesting things to say. More than anything, though, I wanted to say that I’m very happy to hear that your baby is healthy. Congratulations! 
Good going, Shaggy!
Dear Shag,
I tend to read posts first without looking to see who posted them. You wouldn’t believe how many times yours have caught my eye. From time to time I think: Bingo! That’s it! {i]'Nuff said! At other times I marvel at your ability to tell a story. Now and then – and I can’t even think of an example – I want to punch you in the nose. What a paradox you are – and a consistent one at that!!!
I take great joy in your good news! You will make a wonderful father. What a lucky little girl!
I think I would have enjoyed having you as a friend in our day to day lives. (I’m a wolf person and maybe your comments about your dad and wolves put me over the edge.)
Anyway, should we ever disagree, I’m still your friend.
Love,
Zoe
Shag’s always struck me as a good person and I’m pleased to see things taking a decidedly brighter turn. He deserves that.
There was no need for you to come into this thread just to say this; if you don’t want to contribute, then all you need to do is simply refrain from posting.
Don’t do this again.
