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CFL is xxx TWENTY years old


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Nov 25th 2002 PJ started CFL. It was born out of frustration at what was then called the black hole. The oldest post I can find is this one. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7-call-to-dos/page__view__findpost__p__12 I started lurking here in Dec that year and officially joined the following April. Not many of the old gang around anymore. Mick is probably the oldest member still actively posting. Over the years CFL has been a good source of friends and understanding.

Thanks PJ for starting this site.

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I joined the board about one month after it started, I think it may have been the day after Christmas or therebouts. Li and I were living in China and her visa had been approved on August 20, 2002. Still, we could not pick up the visa because of some sort of "rule changes." We were told it would only be two weeks - a month tops. Har de har har har. Enter the Black Hole. We finally got the visa on March 10, 2003. I discovered Candle by accident really, while searching for any info I could find about these "rule changes." That was in November 2002 and like I said, I came on board in December.

 

Over the years this community has meant a great deal to us. I thank PJ so much for starting the board and certainly Donahso for his leadership for so many years. And of course, Carl for all he does and has done over the years. I have seen so many folks come and go over the years, and some I am still in touch with. Some of the real old timers are still around. Robert S. still posts from time to time and I see that AZ Wolfman is back in the visa pipeline again. Both of them were around from the early days. Tine and Ella as well and I have seen Stats pop up on occasion.

 

You can't imagine what this board meant to us back in those days of the Black Hole. For us, living in China, it was especially helpful because it was difficult to contact DOS and other stateside agencies. Of course, we were closer to Guangzhou but that didn't prove to be much help, until February, 2003 when myself and Owen Krout, another Candle member, got an audience with the head of the visa unit. That is a story in and of itself.

 

Thanks to all of you......

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I hate birthdays because it only reminds me of how old I am getting. :yay:

 

But in light of the fact that we are all getting older, CFL has been a becon in the dark helping many of those that needed the direction and service to make their dreams come true. :welcome:

 

I really never needed any help here since my wife was already here when I joined, I was always willing to help those in need or just help pass the time while they waited. We all exchange stories, jokes, pictures and made fun of each other. Don was always wacking our butts and putting us in the corner like little kids.

 

I will speak for a few of those who are no longer with us such as “Skibum” aka Ski and “Sleepless in Houston&CQ” aka Bobby. Those guys had the dream that many of us had and that was to marry a woman from China and live the “dream” Even though they made their dreams come true, their lives were cut short by reasons unknown to us.

 

With Carl’s permission I would like to dedicate this 10 year re-union to those who are no longer with us but had the dream that CFL carries on today!

 

May they rest in peace!

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I hate birthdays because it only reminds me of how old I am getting. :yay:

 

But in light of the fact that we are all getting older, CFL has been a becon in the dark helping many of those that needed the direction and service to make their dreams come true. :welcome:

 

I really never needed any help here since my wife was already here when I joined, I was always willing to help those in need or just help pass the time while they waited. We all exchange stories, jokes, pictures and made fun of each other. Don was always wacking our butts and putting us in the corner like little kids.

 

I will speak for a few of those who are no longer with us such as “Skibum” aka Ski and “Sleepless in Houston&CQ” aka Bobby. Those guys had the dream that many of us had and that was to marry a woman from China and live the “dream” Even though they made their dreams come true, their lives were cut short by reasons unknown to us.

 

With Carl’s permission I would like to dedicate this 10 year re-union to those who are no longer with us but had the dream that CFL carries on today!

 

May they rest in peace!

Consider it dedicated. Mick as the official CFL historian if the thread about you and Owen having a meeting with the head of the consulate isn't in notable posts or history of CFL it should be.

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Carl, I am sure it is way back there in the bowels of Candle somewhere but I am not sure of how to dig it out. There were several posts, actually. One deals with the events leading up to the meeting, including our flood of phone calls, emails, etc. - demanding a meeting. He finally relented, saying "Call off the dogs, call off the dogs." Then there is one that deals with Li and I being involved in a tragic bus accident on the way to Guangzhou. At least one person died, several were critically injured and I separated my shoulder. Then there are a few describing the meeting itself. All of them should be on or after February 8, 2003. I think our meeting was on February 10, but it may have been on the 8th. If they can't be located, I will try to write up a synopsis as time permits. Those were heady days, indeed. Owen Krout and his wife came back to Shantou with us after the meeting and visited for several days. Owen was a great guy. He went back to Kansas and kind of vanished.

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Wow, Carl, did that ever bring back some memories as I read that. For one thing, I had totally forgotten about the injury to my ribs. I had a separated shoulder that was pushed back into socket standing on the roadside in the rain and it hurt like hell. I also had severely bruised ribs from being sandwiched between the back of the seat in front of us and Li. I had slid into that space just prior to impact in order to protect her from hitting the seat. The shoulder hurt a lot, but the ribs were painful for weeks afterwards, especially when I coughed or sneezed.

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10 years old... quite a major milestone, yet still relatively young. Looking back, when I joined in 2005, I viewed many of those members as old timers who had been down the road a lot longer than I, they were so much wiser than my stupid, naive ass was.

 

CFL was a mere 3 years old then. And, those members weren't quite where many of us are today... many years down this SinoAmerican marriage road. Still, back then, I saw how those wise old members endured some long, dark times after 911 in uniting with their loved one. And, it was easy to see how that affinity carries through to this day even if many of those 'old timer' have now vanished into the cyber netherland.

 

10 years gone by and this site has matured like an old weathered, leather rocking chair. There aren't so many kinks of discomfort anymore and everything seems to just fold and wrap around us giving us comfort. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Happy Birthday CFL,

 

Sure does not seem like it has been 10 years. If not for CFL and everyones support during those "black hole days" we might have given up, but we kept moving forward. Since then Ella has gained her BS in accounting and is an accountant for a GMC-Buick dealership, Kellie is a Junior in college and Allison is now in 3rd grade. Again this has been the best 10 years of my life, sure there has been a few bumps in the road, just like in any relationships. I still stop by and read from time to time. I see the visitors visa post from Ella and I has been visited over 70,677 times, wow. My mother-in-law is here with us now and just applied for a 6mo extension. Mick, Carl, Dennis, Warpedbored miss you guys.

Every one have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!

Tine

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  • Randy W changed the title to CFL is xxx TWENTY years old

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