I hope you guys can bear with me just one more moment as I share some thoughts about last night's show. Once I'm done with this post, I swear, I'll let things get back to normal around here!

First off...I KNEW going into it that something would come up that I wouldn't be fully prepared to answer. And that by the next morning, I'd be kicking myself wondering why I didn't say what is really on my heart. That certainly came to pass. The question came up twice, actually. Both times, I felt that I gave an honest answer...but not a complete answer...because my brain just goes blank sometimes when under pressure. So please allow me to elaborate just a little bit:

How is it that I (we!) maintain objectivity when dealing with conflicts between or among the members? As I admitted, we ARE human and our own emotions can come into play sometimes. But we strive to always be aware of this and work together as a team to help mirror each other's intentions and motivations when resolving issues. But there's another element to that question that I didn't think to touch on. WHY do we work so hard to stay fair and objective? Because the health and vitality of Ball-Pythons.net means more to me than my own personal likes and dislikes. And allowing my personal feelings to color the judgement calls we must make on a daily basis would change the entire face of this site as we know it. So long as I ever have any amount of influence here, I won't let that happen.

And lastly...I was able to touch on something briefly at the end of my interview, but felt afterwards that I simply did not give justice to what I believe is KEY to the whole thing...

Without the dedication, hard work, and loyalty of the Staff of this site...it would not exist. Or if it did exist, it would be doing so in total chaos. These men and women give so much more of themselves than anyone ever sees. The visible presence and public actions of the Staff are like the top part of that iceberg in the ocean. While underneath it is an invisible but tremendous foundation of integrity, grit, friendship, hours of hard work, and generosity beyond measure.

And if the Staff is the iceberg....the Community is the ocean!! We'd be nowhere without the loyalty and commitment that our membership makes to sustain the site. Those people that stick around month after month and year after year and continue to answer every question and every need as best they can. These people that cry with us when a beloved pet dies...that pray with us when cancer is found...that rejoice with us when eggs hatch or a snake eats.....YOU ARE BALL-PYTHONS.NET!!!!

We've grown so much....so now I only really know just a fraction of you....but whether I know you well or not...please know I love you all!

In your service,
Judy Clothier
Ball-Pythons.net Administrator