From our friend Jones

[BTExpress]

I just find it convenient he logged in during an incriminating text exchange.

A lot of his stories have amazing* conveniences.
(*that's the polite word)

 

[wicked]

The guy is a ****ing character and I don't see him Mike Barnicle-ing his way through his career. Of course I've been wrong many, many times before.

 

[Songbird]

Van Valkenburg’s Muema story, while not a book, is the gold standard.

 

[tapintoamerica]

My only criticism is that I thought he spent a little too much time on the specs of the soccer tournament. Didn’t get the need for that degree of attention. But maybe that’s just me.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Per usual, an excellent and brutally honest piece from Jones.

And it’s not that I can’t imagine what it would feel like to make that discovery, I absolutely CAN imagine it. Being reduced to an unflattering emoji is a particularly modern version of human cruelty, but not surprising in the wake of a relationship gone sour.

I don’t care how much you love your significant other, familiarity will eventually breed contempt. So reading that is a but the grace of God go I moment and I’m sure I’m not alone feeling that.

It’s funny. I think on an intellectual level, we can all understand that we slip in and out of our own bull****. I think on an intellectual level we understand others do the same. But we often only barely tolerate it from our partners. It’s a strange phenomenon.

As for Jones’ open his veins style of writing? I’ve always had a lot of respect for it. I’ve always felt that if you’re not brutally honest with what you write, what’s the point? Lay it all out there. I’ve done it here and elsewhere … though nowhere near as artfully as Jones typically does. My grammar alone is laughable in comparison.

For all of the nostalgia I have for the so-called glory days of SJ, one thing I hated about this place at its peak or otherwise, was how the dickhead trolls would take the very honest and vulnerable missives of Jones, Double Down and others and ridicule them with it.

It takes balls to cut open a vein and open yourself up and lay it out there. Those who ridiculed Jones and the like were cowards of the highest order. They could never be so honest, never be so self-aware. It’s cruel to pick at someone when baring their soul … and that happened a lot.

I’d love for Jones to show up, but I get it if he doesn’t. I spent a long time away and it was needed. I hope he’s found some peace. (Burnley getting relegated aside.)

I respect the hell out of him … as I do for so many others who bare their souls without any discernible reward.

He could be a thin-skinned prick and brought plenty of it on himself. I think in hindsight he would surely acknowledge that and in fact has written about his regrets about being an insecure angry bully.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Yeah, but it’s not about who was a better writer.

It’s about weaponizing someone’s vulnerability and honesty and turning it against them. That’s the cowardice.

Jones did the same thing to other people.

 

[Chet Lemon]

As far as the substance of the piece: I am on record (including to the wife, who disagrees!) that strict lifetime monogamy-or-else is a somewhat arbitrary imposition. But there’s a big difference between hooking up with someone at a conference and carrying on with the guy’s friend. I can’t even think about my friends’ wives that way, and it’s not because I’m a saint. They just seem more like cousins or something to me.

 

[MisterCreosote]

Whatever gets you off is fine. Just either don’t pick a “partner” or find one who wants the same thing.

I’ve found more than a few “monogamy sucks” people who are, in fact, in relationships their partners view as monogamous.

 

[WriteThinking]

While I still love this place, I loved it more when Jones and Pierce (and IJAG) were here.

There are a lot of people I miss, even if I never knew them beyond here.

And I've honestly never really understood the need/desire to leave, short of completely losing interest in the subject matters, which seems hard to do, given there are so many topics/threads.

 

[Slacker]

As far as the substance of the piece: I am on record (including to the wife, who disagrees!) that strict lifetime monogamy-or-else is a somewhat arbitrary imposition. But there’s a big difference between hooking up with someone at a conference and carrying on with the guy’s friend. I can’t even think about my friends’ wives that way, and it’s not because I’m a saint. They just seem more like cousins or something to me.

The technical term is "side poon."

Have you heard of this site? I imagine you could start there.
Did you have an Ashley Madison account?

 

[FileNotFound]

Whatever gets you off is fine. Just either don’t pick a “partner” or find one who wants the same thing.

I’ve found more than a few “monogamy sucks” people who are, in fact, in relationships their partners view as monogamous.

I once was at a charity event of some sort and I overheard an off-the-record conversation someone was having with a professional athlete. I don’t remember how the topic came up, but somebody asked him if he was considering marriage. “Hell no,” the athlete said. “Have you seen me? Do you know how much money I make? Why in the hell would I get married?”

 

[wicked]

Alimony math is one of the few undefeated maths, alongside billable hours.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Good podcast with Jones.

We Go Again (and Again and Again)

 

[Machine Head]

He could be a thin-skinned prick and brought plenty of it on himself. I think in hindsight he would surely acknowledge that and in fact has written about his regrets about being an insecure angry bully.

Looking in the mirror, are we?

You were the guy who sent me a DM telling me to stand down on a suicide thread Jones started because you had experience "volunteering" and whatnot. And I wasn't the only one.

When you came back, I thought maybe you've grown, changed gone to therapy.

And I mean that in a good way. I'm not ****ing with you.

Let all the **** go.

If you're still going after Jones, own the **** you did here.

And stop posting this ****.

Move the **** on with your life.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Looking in the mirror, are we?

You were the guy who sent me a DM telling me to stand down on a suicide thread Jones started because you had experience "volunteering" and whatnot. And I wasn't the only one.

When you came back, I thought maybe you've grown, changed gone to therapy.

And I mean that in a good way. I'm not ****ing with you.

Let all the **** go.

If you're still going after Jones, own the **** you did here.

And stop posting this ****.

Move the **** on with your life.

Looking in the mirror, are we?

You were the guy who sent me a DM telling me to stand down on a suicide thread Jones started because you had experience "volunteering" and whatnot. And I wasn't the only one.

When you came back, I thought maybe you've grown, changed gone to therapy.

And I mean that in a good way. I'm not ****ing with you.

Let all the **** go.

If you're still going after Jones, own the **** you did here.

And stop posting this ****.

Move the **** on with your life.

I’m not harboring a grudge against the guy. He seems to be doing well and I’m glad to see it.

But, again, I doubt he would even agree and would probably be a little embarrassed by the Saint Jones treatment going on here.

That’s all.

Believe me, there’s plenty I wish I could take back about this days, too.

 

[Machine Head]

I’m not harboring a grudge against the guy. He seems to be doing well and I’m glad to see it.

But, again, I doubt he would even agree and would probably be a little embarrassed by the Saint Jones treatment going on here.

That’s all.

Believe me, there’s plenty I wish I could take back about this days, too.

Then just move past things, which is what I should have done, rather than posting on this thread.

Learn from my mistake.

Move forward.

 

[Turtle Wexler]

Pretty convenient that he logged into her computer right when she was texting her side piece AND that he remembered what the texts said 10 years later.

I need to be vague on this, but I once caught a family member in the act of trolling a widow with a fake account. The date wasn't random, which is why I was on the page, but I saw comments start popping up in real time. As a trained journalist, I immediately started screenshotting and piecing together the troll. Sat on that account for a few hours, until the troll started deleting comments. Sent a very detailed email to others. All the proof is saved on my computer in a folder labeled "asshole." So yeah, I could recreate wording today if needed.

Was it improbable that I would catch those exchanges and get screenshots? Yes. Does it happen? Yes. Is it devastating in real time? Also yes.

I miss Jones' presence, and I look forward to reading this book when I'm in the right headspace.