State of the Wallaby.

[Shorty82]

Big Wallaby asked me to tell everyone here "Hi" and to say that he is doing fine. With all that's gone on and all he's not had the time or will to post lately. He'll be back on sometime soon.

[Purpura]

Have someone give Wallaby a hug for me.

[Main Streeter]

Thank you Shorty. Your post has helped. I have been thinking abt BW & keeping him in my prayers. When possible tell him Hello for me, & please give him a pat on the back. Tell him it's a hug from MS. I'd appreciate this. Have also thought & prayed often for you too Shorty.

[February]

Thanks Shorty, appreciate the note on Wallaby very much. We've been worried.

Please, when you speak to him just let him know we're all thinkin of him, and thank you again.

hugs
bru

[February]

Sorry to post here again twice in a row- but I was just reading something Wallaby said to me last year and I have to quote it here so when he does come back, he can see it.

I just reread all 20 pages of the thread that you guys all wrote in, so many of you, Shorty you included, last year during my ordeal with my dad's cancer.

Wallaby was in that thread all the time and along with some of our most shining regulars (and I do want to do a separate thank you thread on that later- I never properly thanked everyone) and reading back over it now, again I am struck by how amazing a source of support you've all been to me and my family- and again after my eye surgeries and the recovery. Incredible people, to me you are.

Okay, that said.

Wallaby said this to me during the midst of my own personal nightmare:

I've been fairly silent in this thread, but I want to give my support. I, for one, can only imagine what you've talked about that you've seen...

...My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, and I pray strength for you to get through these times. We are and will continue to be here for you.

I really can't say much more right now, or I will never stop. You've seen my posts as they normally are, imagine me getting long-winded. And this is the type of thing to do it.

More than that strength, I pray for peace for you. a peace that very, very few experience on a daily basis, one that... really can't be described, even by those like myself who have received and experienced it. It is not a peace that you feel so much as realize. But if you should experience it, you will know it and it is the greatest comfort there is.

Please continue to keep us updated.

Wallaby, that is the very same peace I wish for you and all of those at WDW right now.

I want you all to have that peace that you don't feel so much as realize. I know that it's going to be long in coming. But I still hope with all my heart that you find it.

Remember, we're here for you...all of you who are suffering through this. I know I could never repay you all for the kindnesses you've shown to me.

hugs,
Bru

[Big Wallaby]

Hello, everyone.

After I talked to Shorty tonight, I decided to pop in. I will probably not be back for a little while as my fellow Pilots and I work our way through this. I am sort of cutting myself off from anyone that is not direct family or a Monorail Pilot until I am ready to come back. Other pilots, I suggest you do the same. I wanted to come in and let you know why.

As Monorail Pilots, we have just experienced a shock that is completely unique. I am not impugning your character or making any comment about you when I say you cannot understand what we are going through. It is different because it is so unthinkable. If you are not a past or present Pilot, you don't understand. If you are, you are thinking all the same things that I am and processing them in a similar way.

I may pop in and tell you about Stupid Guests I encounter, but this time it will not be in gest. Sadly, I have found a group of guests that I can loathe. I never thought that day would come. I have done things so far out of character for me, that I immediately call managers, tell them the story, and apologize for what they are about to experience with a guest. Thankfully, as they understand, they have been so good to us, and allow us to deal as we must.

I ask for your prayers for all of us, but I also ask that you do not try to console, comfort or talk to us about the incident. Again, you cannot understand, and you don't know when you might strike a very sore nerve... or bundle of nerves. Because of the reality barrier of what has happened, you cannot understand how we are grieving. We are grieving the loss of our friend, but that is not all. We grieve the loss of a reality, and we grieve the transition into a new reality. I am sorry that I cannot discuss this further, but I just can't handle it right now, and I do not want to subject any Pilots who may find their way here to seeing that. I would ask that you please not speculate or discuss the facts of this on the public boards, or that if there is such discussion we make a warning prominent on the first post, so that we can spare Pilots seeing words that will wound, until they are ready. I know I am not right now.

I know I will get through all this in time, and at some time I will be ready to let those of you who want to help. I know that this is painful to some of the more nurturing types here, but it must be.

Pray for us. Keep us in your thoughts. Positive energy, to help us deal with this birth pang of the new age of Disney Monorails, to deal with the media that has been hounding us, and to deal with those guests who are so callous that they cannot be kind in what they say about the incident to someone who is grieving it. What I wouldn't give to go back to worrying about the guest who is simply mean to us and uncaring of other guests' experiences. Amazing the difference a few seconds makes. And then your life changes drastically.

Thank you all for your support. Thank you for your friendship. I look forward to the day when I am ready to rejoin you in the final stages of overcoming this painful event, sometime in the coming days and weeks.

To those who have been an integral part of helping us when we were still numb from the shock, thank you is just not enough. To watch all of Walt Disney World's Cast of 60,000 come together to support a couple hundred of us is humbling. After this, I don't see how I could ever leave for another company.

To our friends supporting us from Disneyland, the Original: Word gets around quickly of all the things you do to show your solidarity, and it could not mean more to us. Thank you is such a small thing to say, but it's all I have power to do. I look forward now more than ever to meeting you in September.

But for now, I must turn inward to my MonoFamily, be there for them, and let them be there for me, as we heal from this most difficult situation. I look forward to returning to you soon.

Big Wallaby
Monorail Pilot
One Rail. One Family. Disney Monorails.

[Notatourist]

Can I at least send you a hug?

[Big Wallaby]

Hugs are always welcome.

[Switchbeam 9]

Because of the reality barrier of what has happened, you cannot understand how we are grieving. We are grieving the loss of our friend, but that is not all. We grieve the loss of a reality, and we grieve the transition into a new reality.

Such a complex emotional roller coaster these past few days summed up well in that passage. Gone from confused, to horrified, angry, empty cheerfulness, and sleepless nights. I didn't know Austin but I didn't have to.

Was never happier than with the Monofamily. Such a wide and unique group of people from college freshmen to retired fire fighters. From 18 years old to 80 years old, we were all like kids with the most amazing toys ever. Age, race, life experiences, ethnicity, and political views are all transcended by a bond.

Then...

Life and innocence loss. It took a while to grasp the scope of the situation. But it will never leave my head now. Even the slight intermittent whine of the beacon light will conjure up images from a certain video. Today and years from now.

You're right. We will never perceive Monorails the same way ever again. That magical highway in the sky has come down to Earth.

[glendalais]

Hugs are always welcome.

*hugs Wallaby*

Take all the time you need. We'll still be around when you're ready.