According to the site records, James Long created his account at
on February 14, 2018. By his own admission he'd lurked for many hours before choosing to join the community, and then he waited another six days before jumping into conversations.On February 20, 2018 Bonsaiweed left a trail of posts across five threads, getting a feel for the interplay of personalities. We, as a community, felt comfortable and trustworthy, even with the frustrations of learning a new platform, joining at the time the forums experienced an upgrade.
Bonsaiweed was a man with a mission. He'd secured his beloved's cautious blessing to set up a remote grow space and begin to supply himself with the only medicine that's ever helped control the symptoms of PTSD, a hangover from his proud days as a United States Marine.
The children were grown and James and Shelle were planning a move to Colorado where he'd be free to grow, so why not let him get started learning the art now?
It'd been many moons since James last attempted to grow cannabis, a short-lived adventure that ended when flowering released fragrance and Mrs. Bonsaiweed couldn't handle the risk of that delicious but dangerous smell upending the happy home she was raising their children in. This would be a different ending. Bonsaiweed engaged the members in helping him choose lighting and gardening equipment, started a grow journal, Bonsaiweed’s-Crop Kings-Dwarf Low Flyer-Indoor Tent-Soil-LED-First Grow-2018 , and set to work making his dream come true.
As time passed Bonsaiweed found he was becoming more and more fond of the members he was laughing with at every turn. It felt good to be helpful, to guide others with knowledge he'd picked up along the way.
Bonsaiweed’s steady presence and low-key way of sharing his understanding led to a speedy nomination for the honor of Member of the Month (MOTM), a title he humbly accepted in May of 2018, mere months after joining, and not without a certain amount of personal angst over being honored ahead of others he considered more dedicated, more worthy.
As luck had it Bonsaiweed's grow had a security breach that required him to tear down, the deepest cut for an obsessive cannabis cultivator. Determined to get back to it he began planning for the replacement. Before he could restart, life got in the way with work he couldn't turn down, and Bonsaiweed fell to support crew on the threads as he rearranged his real world life, with a small Off-Topic garage of sorts to entertain friends who shared his hobby interests. On the digital pages of Bonsaiweed’s musings they talked a lot about cars. Lol!
Bonsaiweed also started a thread on canna cookery, Edible recipes and infusion recipes, intending it to be a repository of links to the included recipes, hoping in time to build a central bank for cannabis edible recipes now scattered across the site. It's hoped that another interested member will step in and take over this project. It'd be nice to have it continue in his honor.
During this time James dedicated himself to finally bringing another dream to life, starting the YouTube channel he’d been developing in his spare time. He was proud of his final offering, which you can find here.
Shelle and James had a dream to move to the legal fields of Colorado, but Shelle will have to live that dream without James. After celebrating 25 years of devotion, raising their two daughters and their son to adulthood, James passed suddenly while Shelle was celebrating Thanksgiving with her family in another state. Her plan remains focused on getting to the beauty and wonder of Colorado, so I'd expect to hear someday that she's settled there. Not a cannabis consumer herself, Shelle backed her husband's passion for legalization. She'd seen first-hand the way cannabis soothed the anger and frustration that PTSD brought to his life. She quietly supports from the sidelines, waiting with the rest of us for that moment of freedom when we don't have to be quiet any longer.
Shelle asked me to share a little story about James that we're certain those closest to him on the forum will appreciate.
James was fond of boobs. Shelle tells me that throughout their marriage he'd walk into the room, spot her, smile and say "Boobs!" His fondest wish was to reside in Happy Valley, his affectionate moniker for the cleavage between Shelle's ample breasts. When the cremated remains were returned to the family Shelle discovered a small butterfly pendant included in the package with a small amount of James' ashes enclosed. Attached to a better-quality chain and dropped over her neck that butterfly nestles snugly right down in the depths of Happy Valley.
The very spot James had always claimed as his own territory. Shelle thought that worked out right nice for James.
The star flashed across our skies much too quickly for those of us who came to love Bonsaiweed and think of him as
family. His brief time with us left a smaller digital footprint than the one he planned coming through the gate. You'll find those footprints lovingly tended by the members who will forevermore miss his calming presence.
...h00k...
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