Okay, being home two days in a row (I be sickly... lousy tummy bug...) I'm in a position where, guess what... yup, I'm watching The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Now, what's REALLY prompted this viewing choice is being accused of "listening" to Oprah and Al Gore (y'know, that fella who invented them Interwebs, that series of tubes...) instead of scientists.

For the record, I'm usually at work during Oprah... I first heard about pollution issues from Dr. David Suzuki... long before Mr. Gore made his film.

...anyway...

I mentioned on that post and some of the responding ones that, indeed, I was not an "Oprah Supporter"... to be fair, I'm just not an Oprah viewer... and to be more fair, I should note that I am mad at Oprah's staff that look after her online offerings.

Here's the story, as requested...

When I first started this quest, I was STILL unemployed and had set up the site to try and do... well... what we're trying to do now!

So, in essence, to hopefully draw people to the story, I did a "Google" search using the words making dreams come true.

At the time, the first hit looked GREAT! It was The Oprah site... and a "request" to go on their message board and type in their "wildest dreams" in hopes of having help to make them come true.

Seemed like a natural to me, so I did and posted about the bus.

...and in a VERY short time, it disappeared.

I thought it might be a glitch in the database of the message board, so I tried again.

Within a couple of hours, *POOF*! It was gone.

Now I knew something was up... so I wrote to the admin asking if I'd breached any rules... I hadn't used "strong language" or vented odd thoughts... or, in my opinion and probably most of yours, I wasn't advertising a commercial product or business.

I never got an answer, so the next day, I tried again...

THEN I got an e-mail telling me to cease and desist...

Why? Oh, let me tell you...

You see, according to the moderator, I was posting about a "Get Rich Quick Scheme" and my posts about my family, the bus, and the dream were, and I quote, "devaluing the other posts".

Then other posts... like the "Dream Date with Brad Pitt"... The "shopping trip with Jennifer Anniston"... the "Red Sports Car 'cuz They're Cool!"... the "Buy me a house because I hate my apartment"...

...but a poor family trying to save the rare, antique bus that they used to concentrate on to get through some VERY difficult times... well... that's a cheap, get-rich quick scheme! Delete it IMMEDIATELY!

To say I was beyond "hurt" (and yeah, that's an accurate term,) is not saying it strong enough.

To be honest, I take criticism not-so-great... most people don't... and I appreciate constructive criticism (and as some can tell, I do implement what I can...) but this was a slam. A bad slam. They really made me feel AWFUL about the whole thing.

...but, those who know me...

Yup, it just spurred me after all was said and done. It made me register the name, communicate with Kyle of the One Red Paperclip and Million Dollar Webpage to ask for ideas, I started this blog...

In other words, they DID knock me down... but I got right back up... and went harder than before.

Now, in honesty, I don't blame "Oprah"... or even the management of Harpo or their whole staff...

I do, however, question their message board admins... who obviously didn't bother to read and find out... they just judged and killed... and, something I won't share, but it's true... were really less than professional in their responses. They made me feel borderline "criminal" for my cause.

So, there you have it... my PERSONAL issue with Oprah... or rather, her message board mods.

...and now you know... and knowing is half the battle, or so said the voice-over on G.I. Joe way back when.

The standard last note on the old blog... PLEASE SUPPORT THE DREAM!

This blog is here to help promote a dream that an entire family shares... that dream is to rescue an old London Double-Decker bus.

Please, if you have a few minutes, take some time to find out more about this bus and the kooky dream by clicking here.

This bus is VERY special to myself and the whole family, and any help any person can lend us would be most gratefully accepted.

If you or someone you know might be interested, there's our tiny banner site, HelpCoverTheBus.Com and a PayPal donation button (see the upper-right hand side of the blog) and, of course, a Cafe Press shop for T-Shirts and shtuff!
(...and who doesn't need some shtuff!)

Please help us make this dream a reality and save a piece of history!

We thank you for your support!

Please Note: We are also hoping for help from a public relations/marketing standpoint... If you might be able to assist OR know someone who might be willing to, please click here and read this entry...