Dogtown Wire News - Dogtown Hibernation

Dogtown Hibernation

Written by Scott Miller

Monday, 18 August 2008

This is one of the toughest things I have written. You probably noticed Clay has not been writing articles for well over a week. It seems his personal demons have resurfaced and he has walked away from this opportunity. He was doing a wonderful job and taking Dogtown Wire exactly where I thought it should go. That being a neighborhood resource and local news outlet.

I have invested thousands of dollars and countless hours in Dogtown Wire and I still believe in this type of local media outlet. Our neighborhoods are the soul of our City and the print, radio and TV outlets do not have the time, space or resources to cover what is really happening in our neighborhoods. There is just so much going on, we would all be surprised and sharing these experiences would bring us all together.

However, I will not put out a half done or partial web site only covering limited parts or areas of the City. I have become extremely busy with work at my engineering business, work on a wireless network for the neighborhood and my bed and breakfast. Oh yea, then there is the Ward 2 alderman election (I filed today). Bottom line I will have to put Dogtown Wire in hibernation until after the election and restart it then. I apologize to all you regular readers and supporters of Dogtown Wire. You have been great and you have given me strength and confidence that I am doing the right thing with this site. I will e-mail you when we come back. WE WILL BE BACK!!!!

I have been aware of Clay's personal demons for several years and I knew this opportunity was a risk. But even though I knew better in my head, my heart could not keep from throwing him this lifeline one more time. After all, would any of us do any less for our own child?. I may have lost Dogtown Wire for a few months, but I fear I may have lost Clay to his demons for a lot longer. This may be the personal demon that I have to live with, knowingly putting Clay in a position where his demons could resurface and possibly losing him.

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7 Comments



Yates August 18, 2008	Doesn't seem to be necessary. One of Joomla's great features is having people signin through the front end. You can elevate my user status to author and I'll be able to write to your page without accessing vulnerable areas. Just spend some minimal time editing and you've got a functional site. It doesn't need your constant attention. Interaction with viewership is difficult to come by. While you have it, you shouldn't lose it.


Levy Lover August 19, 2008	I am very sorry to hear about your son. I wish him the best. But, I'm afraid when you "hibernate" you will be effectively killing the DTW. It's been a very rocky road so far and most will abandon it altogether. You must figure an alternative...


Big Dog Daddy August 19, 2008	Scott I read the Wire this morning, I have to admit I have wondered where Clay was the past few days. What I read first shocked me. Then elevated my respect for you into the stratosphere. I can't express how much I respect you. To publicly admit you are overwhelmed by circumstances has to be the hardest thing in the world to do. To back off of something you have worked so hard to build up ranks up there too. I don't know what Demons haunt Clay but i want you to know my prayers are with him and your family. I have had demons of my own as a young man and the one constant in my life was my Mom and Dad. I could always count on my Dad to be there for me. He never bailed me out or provided money to enable me to persue my demons, but the love and family was what I could always count on to be there. Although I knew Dad was disappointed everytime I "relapsed" He was always there to help me up and to get me back on track. It was only a few years ago that I heard for the first time my Dad tell me He was proud of the man I had become. Though I'm not proud of things I had done, to myself or my family. I 'm sure I wouldn't be the guy I am today if I hadn't had those experiences. I'll tell you something else. I just this year got in contact again after several years, with a daughter from a previous marraige. She has always been "my little girl" . She and I have finally been able to get past both our demons and make contact and become friends. She lives in San Francisco CA, and is somewhat successful there. I'll never give up on her. I know she will eventually "come home", She is always welcome here. I think what I'm trying to say Scott is this: Don't ever give up. You can hibernate the Wire or do away with it all together, take a break from work, and even stop all your community work if needed, BUT, Don't ever give up on Clay. He's your boy, and no matter if you NEVER see eye to eye, that will never change. Be there for him, eventually he will see it.


travking August 19, 2008	I'm so sorry to hear about Clay. I have enjoyed reading and contributing to Dogtown and will miss it. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I hope that Dogtown comes back after hibernation, but I hope even stronger that Clay can find his way back home.


britbratty August 19, 2008	I'm so sorry Scott. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family also.


Spiderman August 19, 2008	Scott, our prayers are for you, Clay and family. I, too, have experienced a child with demons and it is a nightmare. You've heard it before but I must also now say: "Hang in there!" Now to be purely selfish I also must say that we need the "Dogtown Wire" up and running on all eight cylinders and we need it now! The race is not finished by a long shot and we understand the immediate need for you to come in off the track and make a pit stop for tires and gas. All we can hope for is that while in the pit you somehow can keep the engine running while you work through this for we don't want to see the ether spray can used to start you off and running again! That will only delay your return to the track and boy, we need to have you up and running fast once again, very soon! So until the green flag drops again for you, please take care of yourself and yours!


John August 30, 2008	We all are hoping to see you and your son work through this time of life together. It will be accounted to you to be strong as a man, wise as a father, and loving as a daddy. May God help you, by hedging your boy in, protecting him from those that could lead him in the wrong direction. Take as long as you need to rebuild what has been broken, I wait to read your articles again.