Mourning Joe
I wrote this last winter but didn’t post it then. Sadly, it still stands.
By Shannyn Moore
It’s hard to describe how surreal it was to meet the man who wrote a book I grew up with. I remember the cover. Joe McGinniss had written one of the best books about Alaska, though controversial in the late 70’s, but if Alaska is anything,
it’s controversial. I guess I thought he was just a guy who probably lived up the Anchor River from our cabin, why would anyone write about Alaska unless they didn’t have anything better to write about.
Then I read The Selling Of The President. Required reading at the time, and it rocked my world. When Joe McGinniss contacted me in November of 2008, I was star struck. After meeting him, spending more time talking about Bobby Kennedy than Palin, I’d fallen in love. He was a bridge to a time before my birth that seemed more curious than current times. The same day I met him, he sent me an email with a paragraph he’d written and asked me to keep it in confidence. I did. It wasn’t the last time he’d ask me to keep a secret.
Last February, a manuscript was leaked to the press. It was not breaking news that Frank Bailey, former Palin aid had written a book. The news was who collaborated with him; Jeanne Devon of Mudflats. I knew. I hadn’t known for long,
but I knew. She’d been offered (insisted by Ken Morris, a co-author) the chance to read over 60,000 emails from Palin, Bailey and company and she took it. I’d have punched her if she’d turned it down. I agreed to keep confidence before I
knew the secret. I kept it.
Driving home from filming my TV show, it occurred to me who leaked it. No one told me. I called a journalist who had received the leaked manuscript and asked. It was confirmed. Joe committed friendship suicide. I was asked to keep his secrets and a scourge for keeping someone else’s.
I talked to a friend of mine in the national press this week. He said, “Joe seduced a murderer, why did you think you were smarter?” I didn’t know. I didn’t vet Joe. It occurred to me, this is why Sarah Palin was elected. This is why I took Joe McGinniss in like family. Alaska has an open heart that doesn’t ask for a history. At one point, it was rude to ask people where they were from. Many people run away to Alaska, reinvent themselves, and carry on. When people out themselves as both Sarah and now, Joe, we get it.
I’m sure Joe’s book will show Sarah for who she is. I’m trying not to say “It takes one to know one” here. By releasing the draft manuscript of Frank Bailey, Ken Morris and Jeanne Devon, he’s shown himself to be more like his subject.
I don’t think they are that different.
Money. Loyalty tests. Vendettas.
Please realize how hard this is. Joe McGinniss has stayed in my home, helped my daughter with her homework and
made me laugh like no other. His phone number is stored as “Larry David” on my cell phone. We had one of the best weekends of my entire life in Alaska last summer. Driving the 220 miles to my hometown of Homer, I explained to him the detailed caution of porcupine copulation. Visiting my folks, his kindness towards my mother and a trip to Halibut Cove on my pop’s boat.
That night, we drank fantastic scotch, talked about life’s regrets which included missed opportunities for cannibalization, spent the night and in the morning, after fresh eggs, stood at the grave of a dear friend of mine he’d met in the 70’s while researching Going to Extremes. Watching soccer with him was religious. I introduced him to Oxford Fall’s “Wake Up Crabby” Bloody Mary Mix and shucked countless Kachemak Bay Oysters. These silly details seemed part of a sacred friendship.
I was played.
While I watch the investment of almost two years by three people evaporate because of his fear, I still find myself mourning Joe.
One of Aunty May’s favorite sayings “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” Life is like a game of poker, you have the cards and you hang on to the ones you want to keep and throw the rest away.
Shannyn, the one comment here that was spot-on was Elstun’s, who wrote, “Sometimes we base a relationship on the image of someone as we want them to be and do not see that person for who they really are.”
Elstun was right. He described a life-time of relationships of many types – friendships, classmates, co-workers, bosses, fiances, love-interests, parents… and marriages that last 25 years or more.
He also described the subject of many, many books – some famous, some not so famous – because we are all vulnerable to human foibles and failures. Consider the pantheon of writers in the 1920’s – Gertrude Stein vetted them all – the Fitzgeralds, Hemingway. They traded their angst for writing about their angst… and became famous for it.
So, my dear, remember – the best revenge is to live well – by writing the Great American Novel of the 2010’s. You already know the subject & theme quite well, having lived the angst. Ahhh… and Joe is such a ubiquitous name for a famous author & a groupy who lives her dream for two years then gets thrown away like so much tissue paper, but what goes around comes around. You can throw in as much innuendo as will do the story proud… it is fiction after all. Now, just do it!
I will buy it for sure. Hugs ~ Moms
Discovering your hero(ine) has feet of clay is one of those defining moments in life.
I’m sorry, Shannyn. But it’s sad moments like these that add depth to the tapestry of our life.
It’s less a pity-party than it is noting a moment of overwhelming hurt and loss. It was less than a year ago that the betrayal occurred and the death of innocence and a (one-sided) friendship.
Betrayal hurts. Sometimes, you think you’ve gotten over it but it sneaks up and you find yourself breathless with the pain of it.
It’s a moment of mourning.
I think every single person over the age of 40 (arbitrary choice) has endured a profound loss of some sort and can relate, if we permit ourselves to revisit our own past and past pain.
Wallowing would be posting something with the same theme on this date for the next five years or more.
http://memspoliticalscrapbook.blogspot.com/2011/09/crowd-cheered-yelling-yes-let-him-die.html
That is mourning.
It isn’t easy to explain my admiration for Shannyn’s openness and honesty. What she has done takes much more intestinal fortitude than I will ever possess. Because Shannyn has opened her life in such a private way makes some responses seem rather harsh.But that is only my humble opinion. I hope that Ms Moore finds this exercise to be therapeutic and can move on with her life and career. I hope everyone can learn and grow from this.
Shannyn shared her heart with people who care….that’s what’s nice….that people care.
Does that mean you slept with Joe? The cut just seems a little deeper than betrayed ‘friendship’.
Gee, does THAT question mean you are a jackass? The accusation just seems a little deeper than a simply stoopid question.
I’ve spent the night with many a visitor over the long time I’ve lived here! It’s what you do in the summer (which is really spring and summer). Lots of people who visit can’t sleep when they get here with all the light, and they end up getting their third and fourth wind before they finally crash from exhaustion. You can just go out and get your dinner if you live in the right place & have the equipment. It’s all very cool, and I try never to take it all for granted. When people visit, they get jazzed up, too and it’s fun to see, and to share their excitement. I’ve guided many folks in outdoor activities, and there were times it seemed like I just didn’t sleep at all for a week.
Comment above meant for aha, sorry!
Elsie – snort!
You’ve obviously never had a real friend who betrayed you.
That’s out- of- line…..!
I want to put together something thoughtful and well considered in response to this post but I don’t have the time right now, so let me just say this.
Everyone is entitled to their feelings and opinions. With that said, I hate to see people trying to make excuses or lessen or reason or explain someones behaviour in order to “make it better” or alternatively, make it stop.
What happened was and is a big deal – to the writers involved, and to anyone who feels a connection with the Mudflats.
I am an artist, and I have learned a long time ago to separate the person from the art work. I know someone who is a brilliant artist however in his personal life, he is filled with too much ego, and he cheated on his wife. That should not detract from the work. They are separate.
In the good old days, reporters competed to get a scoop. It was business, and there were dirty tricks involved in putting other reporters off the trail of a hot story. Sarah Palin was a good subject for many people to write about. It was always a competition, regardless of friendships.
I don’t live in Alaska, so I can only judge Frank Bailey from what I read. However, he enabled Palin. He was an accessory to any crimes that she may have committed in office. His need to purge himself should have come much earlier, say at the end of August 2008, when Palin could have been elected as the Vice President to a 72 year old man with a history of cancer. If his was a real Come-to-Jesus moment, then money and a published book should not have been his incentive. His need to set the record straight should not have had a profit motive.
Of course other reporters have come to Alaska looking for information. It is nice that Joe provided friendship. Other reporters just come in flashing a wad of money. Life is too short to hold grudges. In the end, Sarah is still showing how easily she can turn one person against another. Let it go.
I enjoyed Going To Extremes quite a bit, but one thing I and others I know have had to learn over and over again in the past 6+ years (and, some would argue, for even longer than that) in New Orleans is to be wary of those who purport to have our best interests in their heads when sitting down to try to tell our stories. It’s why so many I know started blogging in the first place. I’m sorry about whar McGinniss pulled, but from having read The Mudflats and your blog over the past few years, I know that the best thing you can do to get past this schmuck’s sorry actions is to keep doing what you’re doing: tell your stories like only you can. What will ultimately be revelatory about The Rogue, anyhow? Most of us around the country already know what a hot mess Palin is. Be well and recover quickly from this one’s actions. Okay?
For those who may not have noticed,
the actual spelling of her name is:
S-H-A-N-N-Y-N,
with a “Y”, as in
“Shannyn”…. Like, “Shannyn Moore”.
It’s not too difficult to figure it out.
I caught on pretty quickly myself,
and I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Being a Scotsman and far from the fray, albeit with a healthy interest in Palintology (she was a heartbeat from the Presidency at one point), I can only offer my best wishes for a speedy recovery from your disillusionment. Sometimes the old justification ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ just doesn’t bear close scrutiny (as we’ve seen time and again in the Middle East).
Best of luck for the future to all at The Mudflats.
.Itchybiscuit. gotta love a pup with that name.
I should never be allowed to drink and limerick at the same time 🙂
“There once was a man called McSnotty
Who dished up the dirt on McHotty
But they both speak in curses
So which one is worses?
(seems to me)
Both the Snot and the Hot are McDotty.”
[exit stage right]
i should never be allowed to drink and read limericks. dear me no.(one hand clapping) ROTF.
sigh..me too…
Bubbles can you do that stuff with Skype on?
Other than through her thoughtful and often thought-provoking articles, and through comments folks make of/about her on this site, I’ve never ‘met’ Shannyn.
That being the case, I make the following observation: When a person does their absolute level-best to give the world only openness, honesty, and genuineness, it’s always a tremendous shock to run into folks who do not ‘return the favor.’ And it’s always a punch-in-the-gut disappointment. When a person is truthful by nature, the last thing on their mind is that the person they are dealing with is anything less than on the up-and-up in All aspects of their interaction(s). This I know for a certainty; my DSs are constantly on my case for making myself so vulnerable to the unscrupulous. imho, Shannyn has every reason and right to mourn Joe.
…which brings me to a couple of points that’ve been wandering around my mind the past couple of days about JMcG. According to Andrew Sullivan, JMcG sent advance copies to 3 people: to Andrew, himself; Garry Trudeau; and Rosanne Cash.
Garry, of course, has made a whole story line about the book in his strip — question is (for me, at least): will it resolve glowingly as a great journalist uncovering truth about $P (AKA, in JMcG’s favor) OR will Garry end the line by lambasting the hell out of him for his underhanded and unfathomably mean-spirited screwing of Frank, Jeanne, and Ken by his release of their manuscript to everyone and their brother? I’m looking forward to seeing how the story line concludes: whether Garry will be part of the Kiss Joe’s Adz crowd or if he’ll be brutally honest with his readers and show Joe for what he is: a self-serving man without scruples.
The second thing I’ve been thinking about — from all the ‘reviews’ I’ve read of the book, none have been too favorable…or even at all favorable. Granted, the book has been Closely protected, so it’s not been available to the ‘usual’ reviewers [all magazines, newspapers, etc.] but excerpts have been released far and wide by JMcG and/or his publisher. Ummm, aren’t excerpts supposed to be the Best of the Best of the work? A hint at the most intriguing and titillating to be discovered in the book? If they are, Houston, we’ve got a problem.
Even the coke and sex [in the excerpt released] were second-fiddle in importance to JMcGs interjecting himself into the story, from what I read in the reviews…the reviewers were not amused. Or charmed. Or impressed. Nor were they thrilled by the great number of innuendos, rumors, and gossip reported as ‘fact’ about $P…all pretty much unsourced and un-checkable.
So, to my way of thinking, is it ANY wonder JMcG did his level best to do Everything in his power to derail and bamboozle Bailey’s book once he’d read the manuscript? After all, he saw what Frank had — personal observations and emails/correspondence to back up All of his assertions and statements. Joe…not so much. Whether one agrees with Frank’s motives for his actions (then and/or now) regarding $P and his conscience, is besides the point — he has the bonafide documentation to support his work. And that trumps, most handily, JMcGs grab-all from any source, piece of work, any day of the week. I think JMcG had the bejeezers scared out of him that he, Joe, basically, had ..and has.. Palin-shattering squat. What a shame. beth.
JMcG seems more like a Judas.. a dirty Judas.
She goes dancin’ with the darkness to the Tennessee Waltz
And I feel like I’m falling apart
And it’s stronger than drink and it’s deeper than sorrow
This darkness she left in my heart
awww Slip that’s beautiful.
awwww, slip
Bonnie Raitt & Norah Jones~Tennessee Waltz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzDUi_L6MzA
sisters in teh blues…
You should pray for him. He needs help. You may think you do too, but his problem is clearly much bigger than yours.
I’ve been waiting with baited breath for the Mudflats response to his book this week, and it’s disheartening to read the trauma behind these stories that I too well know had to be hiding in the background.
I am so glad to know that you haven’t gone all corporate speak informing us of the pain we all share when thinking that life is better outside.
Years ago in my youth I was told when trying to take on New York, that all they were there were whores. Today it might better be said there are too many vampires lurking about, feeding off the living.
So like Irish girl suggests, make it stop. Keep life for the living. And give prayers for the missing.
The most effective undercover cops are the best liars. Their inherent ability to take on a persona most equipped to garner the information they need from the person they are with is on a par with award-winning acting. Non-fiction writers share like qualities.
I’m betting on some level Mr. McGinniss believed he was being genuine with both you and Jeanne Devon but that the entire time he was in Alaska last year he was in full undercover mode, skewing the line between friend and unwitting informant.
I don’t have a lot of respect for McGinniss ‘the man’ at the moment but I do have great respect for his work and still hold hope that his book about the Palins will find it’s target. But I’ve also fished some and know it takes a lot of harpoons to bring down the big ones and sometimes fingers get broken in the process.
In the meantime you still have a state to protect. There’s still oil leeching through the soil at Prince William sound. Salmon are still under threat from the Pebble Mine developers. The crony government Sarah appointed is still in place, controlling your legislature, creating their laws and denying Alaskans their fair share of federal funds. You are a gifted narrator and as your problems are also our problems we in the lower 48 (and beyond) are all counting on you to use that gift to help promote a healthy change.
Jeanne still has a book to write. Hers. And next time she won’t have any trouble finding a publisher.
I don’t respect his work and have not for many years. Yes, he is talented with the use of language, but his pieces have always been skewed by his means of obtaining and filtering information. Means that do not necessarily lend themselves to factual accounts and certainly invite questions of ethics, honesty, and therefore accuracy. We may cheer his books for what they uncover – or is it for what they persuade us to believe? That’s the question.
Given his behavior in Alaska and his change of heart – shall we say – towards the people who once lovingly glommed on to his blog, I’m not surprised that reviews so far tend to find his latest book to be a lot of gossip with a vindictive streak.
Shannyn– Also, to add to my previous comment — I have said earlier Jeanne’s writing reminds me of Sarah Vowell’s. Good stuff and lots to build on. And sorry — my internet ID’s sometimes get X’d. Yikes. It’s that “which mailbox am I using” thing. Apologies all.
I’m not here to defend Joe, nor to attack Shannyn. But everyone involved in the story knew, or should’ve known, that any investigative journalist’s goal is to get the story. The more famous they are, the more they will use every trick in the book to get the biggest bang for their buck. Joe is known to be a ruthless journalist, and his alliance with Roger Ailes is no secret. I think that, in a rush to align themselves with someone – anyone – who appeared to have the same goals (exposing Sarah Palin), people made some fundamentally bad assumptions. Joe wanted to get a story on Palin. He wasn’t up here to be anyone’s friend. He wasn’t here to make anyone happy or prove his anti-Palin bonafides. Trying to point this out as kindly as I can, Shannyn had a choice in allowing Joe into her life. For Joe, “friendship” and “loyalty” didn’t come into the equation. Shannyn was the one who expected that. There are a lot of lessons to be learned here: that sometimes, “victimization” is a choice. That not everyone is as sincere or trustworthy as they seem. That because someone else’s goal seems to be aligned with ours, it doesn’t make us soulmates. The best possible outcome here isfor everyone to toughen up a bit, put this in perspective, and be a bit more critical and sceptical next time around.
Mag the Mick I agree with your post , it was more tactful than mine. I would like to add the reason I made my critique of Shannon, has to do with my admiration for her as a writer and speaker.I’ve read her blog, and articles and she has always impressed me with me her capacity to capture an issue with clarity and wit. However, in regards to my previous reference to her TSA article, which I was extremely disappointed , and the one in this post. It is the tone implied,when Shannon pens pieces with a personal slant implying her victimization, in my eyes it minimizes her overall capacity as a professional writer and leaves a bad after taste . Her melodrama does not read well. Perhaps, I am placing an unrealistic expectation , however felt her work was important , and as a reader wanted to clarify these comments, as they were meant as constructive critiques.
“However, in regards to my previous reference to her TSA article, which I was extremely disappointed , and the one in this post. It is the tone implied,when Shannon pens pieces with a personal slant implying her victimization… ”
Her TSA article was about the experience of a victim of criminal assault being forced again to relinquish the right to and control of her body and required to undergo the unwanted and unacceptable invasion of her body just to have transportation home. A substantial number of girls and women in this country ARE the victims of sexual assault, and being pawed all over – yes, the “enhanced” “pat downs” are that intrusive – against one’s will just to be able to have transportation is repeat victimizing of the victim.
exactly, lani
thanks for reporting the obvious.
That’s a ditto on the TSA article, Lani.
Mag the Mick, I agree. It is time to move on.
One can waste so much energy on the wrong that was done to them. I know it was wrong…but the only way to heal is to look forward and do what you do best.
And you both have talents in spades. So get to it girls.
I appreciate your baring your soul here Shannyn and sympathize with both you and Jeanne. However, one thing that struck me in your piece and the one Jeanne did a few days ago is the fact that you considered Joe a “friend.” When I first read about the contretemps, I was baffled about this “friendship.” I guess I expected you all to be sources and possibly collaborators, but not friends. I’m glad you explained the extent to which Joe inserted himself in your life, otherwise I’d still be thinking why are they so concerned with the behavior of a mere acquaintance? That’s the real slimy part of his behavior, in my opinion; you weren’t treated as professional colleagues, but truly used. It is sad, but I’m confident you’ll get over it; after all you have surmounted even greater betrayals in your past. Namaste.
The truth is many of us have all played into the drama created by the Palin effect these last several years. Everyone who has published ,talked to media,chatted at parties, whispered at meetings have fed into the energy. Unfortunately, our bloggers,new book and movie deal makers have all benefited in some capacity or other. Making a name for themselves, increasing their audiences, etc. In the aftermath, lay the victims of unsettled disputes, legal suits, lost and found friendships, allies and foes. There are lessons for all of us. I as well , in my train wreck addiction to the news/blogs. It isat this point becoming nauseating ( like sea sickness) to see a few of the bloggers, turn on each other,like wolves eating their own. It is moot, drivel and victim, played out like Palin herself.. Shannon sounds like the star struck player, who got stung..now is a victim ( like her story of abuse with TSA), Melodrama, Your sounding to much like your subject,Palin.What do you want from us readers? Sympathy?
Shannyn, thanks for sharing your disappointing experiences with us about that arrogant ass. My hope is that one of these days he will get what he so richly deserves. (!)
Meanwhile, please keep on keepin’ on. We love ya, Hon.
Who cares how the truth gets out about Palin as long as she’s stopped. Bailey’s book, Dunn’s or Joe’s. What I’ll make my decision on is who’s book has the most on Palin and that includes Levi’s. Did Joe really release the transcript or did the person he released it to release it.
Joe did it.
Shannyn, most of us here have been betrayed at one point or another in our lives. We certainly understand your pain. Keep your chin up as you continue on with your life. One day Mr. WhatsHisName will have to atone for his sins.
Shannyn, you’ve never given me reason to doubt you. So there’s that.
And if mudflats lets you post this, I’m 1000% cool with your views.
Shannyn, I’m so sorry this ruse was perpetrated on you and yours. But, don’t change how you are with people in your everyday life just because this man abused your open and trusting nature.
Shannyn–I have no dog in this fight, but I will suggest this. I have followed a number of blogs, including this one for the last three years. I was simply not interested in paying to read any story (not to mention own the book) as spilled by Bailey, Palin flunky, no matter who reported the events. And now that the McGinniss book has hit the headlines, every time a buyer goes to Amazon to purchase his book, “Blind Allegiance” shows up as “people who looked at this book, also bought…..”. So please. “Blind Allegiance” was never going to be a major seller because Bailey’s story was not going to compel people to pull out the credit card. Now, the new Amazon exposure should add to sales. It’s called piggybacking, so please stand down. The loyalty pity party is tiresome. And no, I didn’t download a word of “Blind Allegiance”. That’s how little I cared about what Bailey had to say.
And by the way, Jeanne’s prose is worthy of better subjects than Frank Bailey imho.
Cheers, from the lower 48.
Great Post and Ditto…Cheers back from the 49th State,
Mere, Jeanne’s prose are worthy of better subjects, but co-authoring a book that made it onto the NY Times bestseller list (however briefly) will make it easier to get her other work published. Personally, I find Frank Bailey so NOT the kind of person I want making money from me that I gave a donation to The Mudflats rather than purchasing the book, and will borrow it from the library when I’m ready to read it.
I, too, downloaded not one word of the leaked manuscript. I have too much respect for Ms. Devon.
I’m so sorry Shannyn.. Something about Joe McGuinness is rather pitiful ….he reminds me of Roger Ailes.. and that cannot bode well for him..
Well, McGinniss and Roger Ailes have been friends for over 40 years according to Joe.
But I haven’t seen anything in the reviews or tidbits released that show us anything we didn’t already know. Even if Joe researched everything and confirmed it times three, nothing is new.
IMO Joe got scooped by Bailey, Devon & Morris’ book Blind Allegiance, because Frank has the advantage of first-person witness along with email documentation – pretty hard to beat that with anecdotes and innuendo. No wonder Joe acted unethically to release the manuscript with such impunity.
I’m sorry, Shannyn, for this sad experience. I had higher expectations of McGinniss, too.
If…we were dragons of yore..these random skirmishes..simply burnish our scales..and make of our ..hides of learning..brilliant beacons..for those who cherish ..true bravery of spirit. Soldier on good woman..soldier on.
this one played into my dreams overnight, juneaudream…
I love me some dragon dreams
especially when I get my bird’s-eye view.
Many thanks, quayana, toda raba.
thatcrowwoman
dang! you are good. Juneau Dreams you are a wonderful poet.
In the time I’ve spent visiting the community that has been created here at the Mudflats, something that has always shone through everything that you and Jeanne have written and done, is your integrity.
McGinnis has demonstrated a distinct lack of that value, which you clearly hold dear. You are certainly justified in feeling a deep sense of betrayal, especially after you welcomed him into your home, your family and your life. In this case, the betrayal seems motivated by pure greed and jealousy, which makes it all the more disheartening.
The pain and the anger will eventually ease, and you and Jeanne will both emerge from this experience a little stronger for it.
As for Joe McGinnis…I wish him many sleepless nights of endless, nagging guilt!
x10
Amen.
leenie, I agree that I hope Joe is nagged by guilt, but that can only happen if he has a conscience – and I think he has shown that he doesn’t.
and if not the sleepless nights, then I predict his punishment will be this epitaph scorching the earth behind each of his footsteps–Betrayer of Friends
Sorry Shannyn and Jeanne about the number two comment I made earlier. That was a shitty comment. Please, let me rescind it. I have a much bigger heart than what that comment might lead someone to believe. So much Palin in the blogs again, it’s like a flashback. I’m just reading what I can and joining the frenzy, I crave that she gets exposed. Let’s hope this time the frenzy consumes her political career once and for all. Not likely of course.
I really am sorry………
I’ve been linked to Mudflats, and following since the lower 48 yelled, “Who the hell is Sarah Palin?”
Oh, good gravy…
This sounds like a jilted lover.
Are we supposed to be jealous of Moore’s intimate times with Joe, drinking the ‘excellent Scotch’ most of us can’t afford? What’s the point of this exposition, exactly?
I can’t tell you what Shannyn’s reason or reasons are for this post. What was your point about scotch? If that was all you received from what to this humble person is clearly a teachable moment,maybe more education would not be out of line. Or not.
Ms Lidia, this essay is a classical ‘apologia’ or confessional form of prosody which is intended to be intimate. Such writing is all the more courageous because it opens the writer up to attack and misunderstanding. What’s the point? Sometimes things (and people) are not only NOT what they appear to be, but are the exact opposite. Sometimes we base a relationship on the image of someone as we want them to be and do not see that person for who they really are. And this contains a larger lesson: despite all of our experience, smarts and sophistication, we humans have the enduring capacity to be fooled.
It takes courage to admit that.
and it takes someone special to be able to explain it so beautifully. Thank you!
yes, yes, and amen, Mr Lauesen
To whom are you referring, here?
My comment was in reply to Elstun W Lauesen
Elstun Lauesen, you have summarized Shannyn’s cautionary tale perfectly. And Shannyn has told us her story in a way that show how vulnerable we can all be when we open our hearts to others. Some are worthy of that trust, and some are not – and it’s especially painful when we are fooled.
Elstun, you are eloquent and right on the mark as usual.
Indeed: made for some lovely reading.
You sound like sour grapes… Being betrayed is being betrayed….and it hurts no matter the source.
Mercy Maude. This is an essay from someone who has been hurt. And yet, you feel snark. Ick.
miss good ole Joe much? and btw what’s the point of you, exactly?
what?!! you can’t afford a bottle of “excellent” Scotch? most of us can. so speak for yourself.
Don’t feed the trolls.
Sue him already, and get off the pitty pot. You learned that victim routine from $P, right?
You got it wrong, Frosty…the point of her article wasn’t ‘pity’, the point was: ‘grow’. Sue? For what? some great stories, excellent companionship and good laughs under false pretenses? What’s the statute for that one? Jeanne et al are the materially damaged party. If Joe’s concordance of National Enquirer clippings actually sells well, then he will be able to pay the bill that I dearly hope the trial court presents to him.
Shannyn: If it were not for innocence & a willingness to love we would never care. If it weren’t for caring, we could never build the relationships that define us as part of a community. If it were not for community we would suffer alone. So…if suffering is an inevitable part of living (as the Buddha says), then the choice is simple: suffer as part of a community who loves you or suffer alone. You weren’t ‘had’, you opened your heart and suffered out of the duty to Love. There is no fault in that. As for Joe, here is an old homily by David W. Ray for his consideration:
“Beauty, Good and Knowledge
Are 3 Sisters, doting upon each others’ charms
and cannot be parted without tears.
He who shuts Love out shall, in turn, be shut out by Love…”
Thank you….a lovely prayer.
It’s never easy to lose a friend.
Raw pain.
Anger.
Doubting our own judgment.
The empty place they used to be.
You are strong and brave, Shannyn.
I wish you peace.
L’Shalom
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. As usual.
dear Shannon, in time you will overcome this hurt. you will go on and as Mike says a little wiser and a bit more guarded but never ever let what happened change the essential you. the friendly, fun loving, beautiful human that is our own Shannyn Moore. you have friends you have never yet met don’t let us find you changed out of all knowledge. we have all at one time or another been betrayed. it is a part of life and is meant to teach us the lesson of discernment. stay sweet Shannyn don’t let the bastards of this world get you down.
That’s sweet, Bubbles…
Aye, aye.
I seem to recall that a few years ago Ben Stevens got in some hot water over his use of the term “valley trash”. It seems that alas he may have spoken too soon for Joe McGinniss hadn’t yet moved to Wasilla.
he’s as much as a grifter as the person he wrote about, Missy Quittypants. Not the is makes it any better Shannyn, we’ve all been used before. The hurt will get less as time goes by. Hugs!!!
Dude, most of Palin’s haters are as bad as she is. They all twist things in the worst way possible. This is the only blog that is sane to me. THANK YOU JEANNE. We may not agree on politics but I respect your maturity. Ok, except for the couple of cheap shots in your cutting room floor posts. Those things are not needed in public discourse. The past is the past. People move on and mature.
Shannyn, love the title and the piece. Love ya.
Ken
I am sorry, Shannyn. Mike said it perfectly. Peace.
No real human with real human emotions ever likes to admit being had. It hurts to a deeper place than people realize exists and the pain may never fully disappear. That seems to be a singularly human trait,although I have read where some people claim other mammals may die because of a broken heart. Life goes on and so do our lives,sadder and hopefully wiser.Someone once wrote that if you have no expectations-you won’t suffer disappointments. I’m certain that you,Shannyn,will grow and learn from this. Maybe a less kinder view of others and a better protected heart. My immense gratitude for sharing this with your friends at Mudflats.
Well said, mikey.
Living and learning, day by day.
Open heart. Open mind.
Whoof!
That gets hard sometimes.
lock ’em up for some time away,
until the hurt is not so sharp and raw
if it helps
but don’t throw away the key.
(unless you know a good locksmith…)
Mama is a believer in water therapy:
a good cry in a hot shower,
followed by a soak in the tub
(bubbles and/or wine, optional)
followed by some sweet sleep.
DH Happy believes in the power of music, and plays teh blues.
Here’s one for all of us who are carrying some heavy load
(and that’s all of us, eh?)
BB King makes it more better with
How Blue Can You Get
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jCNXASjzMY
L’Shalom, all,
thatcrowwoman
Gee I think someone should put McGinness’s book online so that it is accessible to all interested parties. Seems only fair. Oh wait, that would be unethical. I forgot that Joe wasn’t troubled with ethics.
Exactly! How would mighty Joe feel (or react) if his manuscript were leaked before even finding a publisher. While no one can say for sure as it never happened, I am confident that his reaction would have been something fierce. And I am sure he would never buy the defense he himself used to defend his forwarding of the Blind Allegiance manuscript.
The more I think about it the more I feel he is just like the subject of his book. Brash, arrogant, self serving and likes to use others to further his own agenda and then toss them aside when he is through with them. His book is a tarnished good to me.
He announced his book would not be pre-released as is the norm, because some of it might actually >gasp< be leaked
Wherever did he get that idea, I wonder…
🙂
None of you deserved to get played by this user. He’s apparently as self-involved and exploitive as his current subject. What a creep he turned out to be. Hugs, Shannyn.
As someone who has been taken in and wound up with the losing hand, I can understand the mixed emotions you’ve had to wade through by this whole deal. I deeply respect you, AKM and Ken a great deal. This mess has sickened me to the core. I wish I had some words of wisdom I could offer up, but I’m still working on my own feelings of being betrayed by a former coworker, who started my whole unemployment mess, so I can’t give you any. May we all find peace.
You were played. And for that I am sorrowful.
yes and me too.
Count me three.
Joe is a user.
What Joe did to Chuck (purposefully dig up nasty dirt) and twist it in a nasty way is reprehensible.
As Julie O’Malley said at one time…Make.It. Stop.
I imagine there isn’t a person in the world who has not felt the raw hurt of betrayal and sympathizes with everyone in the midst of such a pain.
Palin is the center around which a great deal of pain, anger and anguish roils. My dear friend Irishgirl is right. We all want to make it stop on multiple levels; political, professional, personal, whichever level is most painful at the moment. Each of us has to find their own way out of the vortex and not allow all that is good in our lives to be adversely affected.
For you, Shannyn right now it’s deeply personal. I’m sorry. Yet within that sorrow there are some wonderful memories. Maybe they can be salvaged, excised out of the experience that has tarnished them – perhaps not now, but sometime.
If I may use what I have decided is a privilege of old age (there should be some perks!) to ask you, have you dialed Larry David and told him in your own voice how you feel? If not, think about it. I’m not suggesting it will restore your trust in him or make the friendship all better, but if you talk to him then maybe you can find away to hang up the phone and stop rerunning in your mind the story of what he did. If you have talked to him, well no one can change what happened, nor forget what happened. I know you will find a way to make it stop, because we hate that you are hurting.
Shannon — I hope you will review McG’s book as you might review any other book. Your personal story could be attached. That will give depth to it, just like knowing for sure the actual truth behind the MacDonald story would certainly influence my reading of it. As knowing about McG’s recent actions will color anything further I read by him forevermore, no matter how good a writer he might (or might not) be.
I’m guessing Larry David is too too busy busy busy just now to take calls from former helpers who he can now forget about. Now if his ole pal Ailes should phone, . . . .
Don’t call him Shannyn. He’s a sociopath.
Oh yes please.
That is so sad & yet beautiful Shannyn.
You and others got used by Joe
– I hope Karma comes around
If Frank Bailey had told all he knew maybe the wind would’ve have been taken out of Joe’s sails. Instead Frank offered truths, half-truths and omissions. I get the impression that he’d slink back to SP in an instant if offered. In interviews on TV he resembled someone, and sounded like someone, on the way into the confessional, not on the way out.
I guess we’ve all had dealings with friends or people we thought were friends that really suck. I know I have. I bought your book and I’ll sure as hell buy his.
what’s this – a repeat???? lol
Congrats Joe for getting MSM to talk once again about the skant.