THE FREEDOM TRAIN 06/30/2018

[pir8fan]

It is with a heavy heart that I take my seat at this keyboard to compose this final run of The Freedom Train. However I do have it on good authority, that we will be joined today by a number of old friends that we have not seen in a while! Please help me make this a special day that we can all remember!!

Good morning fellow EXer's! The Freedom Train is on the tracks, and prepared to make it's daily run to Freedom from smoking! Everyone is invited to come aboard to celebrate their own personal Freedom, and that of their friends!!

Today's celebrations:

Noknowingwhereweregoing has 50 Days of Freedom!

Tomorrow's celebrations:

Turborose will have ONE YEAR of Freedom! 6% Club!

LexyLuna will have 300 Days of Freedom

**************************************************************************************************************

Now, we encourage you to come aboard today! Shout out your personal milestones, and those of your friends! Show your pride in your quit! 2 Days, 200 Days or 2000 Days! More, if you have them! Let us hear from you, and let us all celebrate our FREEDOM!! Post food and music! IT IS PARTY TIME!!!

Let us begin this magical run that today will include stops in Canada (Mothergoose and others) and the west coast (Maggie and Smokedout and others)

This Train is bound for FREEDOM from the Evils tobacco and smoking!!

"IF YOU ARE NOT RIDING WITH US, YOU ARE MISSING THE TRAIN"

ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL ABOARD!!!!!!!!! 

I would like to extend a very special, heartfelt THANK YOU to all the people who have help to make this Train the great icon of this site! I love you all! For many years The Freedom Train has left the station with the tag line,"IF YOU ARE NOT RIDING WITH US, YOU ARE MISSING THE TRAIN"! After this weekend, I can assure you that many of us will be missing the Train!           Tommy

[Rick_M]

Kinda sad reading all these posts, sure seems like something good is ending here. I remember when the train started running the rails and it really was a hit and I truly believe it helped many maintain their quit. Thanks to all who kept it running all these years.

I am jumping on board Choo Choo Tommy with 3,375 days without a smoke. It's been real.....   

[Strudel]

Quite the tribute to how incredible your creation has been Tommy!! Thank YOU and thanks to all of the wonderful conductors who have helped along the way!! Congrats to all of the fine quitters here today! I am certainly going to miss this tradition - it has always been a must read and comment each day when I come here! 

Thank you all again!!! Love you pir8fan‌!!

[YoungAtHeart]

[jojo_2-24-11]

Hello all and Happy early 4th of July. I'd like to say thank you to all who have conducted this train as well as those who rode on it. Although I haven't been here for a while, I am whole heartedly committed to my quit and I think about all my ex friends often. I hope everyone of you are doing well and continue to keep your quit protected. Life is so much better as a quitter! Love to you all and stay well, my friends. 

[jojo_2-24-11]

So sad to hear of your relapse, cyn but very glad you're back on board. You have incredible strength and I know you got this! I remember my early days reading so many blogs and comments on this site, I just about lived here and cyn, you were one of the many inspirational people who have helped me along this beautiful journey. Stay quit, don't forget! Love you girl  

[maggiej08-01-10]

Hi Tommy! Hello to all of today's riders and those that could not make it but plan to follow up with this blog! Thank you to all the wonderful friends that helped keep this train alive and running on the tracks for the past 7 years.  Many thanks to all the elders and fellow Exers that helped me with my forever quit. 

I'm very proud to say that on August 1 of this year I will have been a very happy non-smoker for 8 years!

I am very grateful that working alongside Tommy shortly after he started the Freedom Train to when, unfortunately, due to severe eye strain and more, my eyesight was permanently damaged and I had to stop and eventually leave Ex. Also, there are so many people I'd like to say thank you to and recognize, but I'm hoping you know who you are! Love to you all forever!  May you be blessed with good health and stay an Exer forever more!

I plan to leave Oregon and move near my son in Ohio sometime in the fall!  New life, new beginnings and I hope, at least one grandbaby!  All the more reason to maintain my forever quit!  

So, for all those still in the cycle of "quitdom", stay focused, listen to your elders, support your fellow Exers and live long and prosper! 

~ Maggie

p.s. my permanent email address is live.well.love.much@gmail.com I'd love to connect with you!

[maggiej08-01-10]

Says it all Nancy! xoxo

[maggiej08-01-10]

Congrats on your amazing quit! Good to see you! xoxo

[maggiej08-01-10]

Love you and the picture you posted! Take good care of you.  xoxo

[maggiej08-01-10]

Wow! What a magnificent accomplishment your quit is. Thanks for acknowledging all these people also. Take good care of you! ~ Maggie

[maggiej08-01-10]

Wonderful to see you and read your great stats, Teresa! Love to you!

[maggiej08-01-10]

Good to see you Mike! xoxo

[maggiej08-01-10]

Thank you for all of your support Dale. xoxo

[Madyzsgocka]

Thanks to both of you Tommy and Shawn, as well as all the other conductors that were part of running the train. We've had some good times, and good good food here on the train. Congrats to all the new quitters as well. It's nice to see everyone together again after all these years. ♥ Karen

[ShawnP]

yes it is!

[maggiej08-01-10]

Dearest Marcie, I will always remember when you started your quit and your dedicated progress. I also would like to thank you for helping Tommy and me to support the Freedom Train in all the many ways that you did. This includes helping to identify milestones and of course, conducting way before all the others.  Congrats on your continued quit!  I will always love you!

[Sootie]

Connie--So good to see you here on this site again!!!

[Sootie]

Maggie----So good to see you on tis site again!!!!

[KMC56]

Thank you Tommy and Shawn, and to all the conductors and conductress for their time making our days of the freedom ride fun to share  our DOF with great pride!  I'll enjoy this last ride with 798 DOF...~Kathy 

[Pops]

Wow!  This is more somber than any real life funeral that I have "ever" been to in my entire life.  Congrats to absolutely everyone on this site period.  (regardless of where you are at in your quit)  The fact that you are here at all speaks volumes for you and the site.  This train was and always will be so important and such a significent force in so many ways to so many different people.

To all of the conductors, each and all....Thanks.

Pops w / 72 days....

[Sootie]

pir8fan‌

In 2011 you began a wonderful idea to celebrate milestones each day by "Riding the train together". It was fun, it was rewarding, it was satisfying to have friends celebrate milestones together.

In life, nothing is as certain as change. We will all remember the train as a GREAT chapter in the life of our community. Thank you Tommy for starting this.....thank you to all who kept it running.

Good to see old and new friends on this last ride.

Stay Strong

[Pops]

So I post this as my last & final train post.....Pops w / 72 DOF

[NewMe]

  

So, this is kind of how we felt when we first heard that the Freedom Train was running out of steam, and soon to stop running. But we decided for sure that we would not smoke over this bad news, or any other. So we said to ourselves, we best put on our big boy and girl panties (not on your head, please) and get on with our lives. And we will. But first we will board the train one last time, and bid a very fond adieu to this fabulous party machine. I would like to extend a very heartfelt thanks to all the conductors who graciously volunteered their time to make sure everyone was honored as they passed landmark milestones on their journey to a better life. Since I have been here, that's Tommy, Shawn, Smorgy, Jennifer, Terrie, C2q, Youngatheart, Jackie, Pops, Shashort, Cyn9, Mandolinrain, and crazymama_lori. You guys are awesome, and each of you brought a unique style and feel to the party.          I'm Karen, and I have 1044 DOF. Farewell, Freedom Train!

[misty_dawn]

As of July 29, 2018, I have 8 years of freedom from cigarettes... And the Freedom train and EX community of quitters have been a huge reason and contributor tonthat achievement.

Thank you, everyone who conducted and rode that train.... There were days when I would read and celebrate from the sidelines and there aren't words for how many times it solidified my quit. 

Love to you all

[maggiej08-01-10]

Dearest Giulia,

Thank you so very much for sticking with Ex all these years and providing such valuable help to me and countless others! You will remain in my prayers always. 

[maggiej08-01-10]

Congrats on your progress!  Best wishes with your journey!

[maggiej08-01-10]

Hi Misty! Happy to see your post. We were quit buddies from the beginning and I know we supported each other long past that! Congrats in advance for your upcoming 8-year milestone on 7/29! I will celebrate my 8 years smoke-free on 8/1 ( oh happy day!) Way to go for both of us. Take good care and good luck with all your adventures! 

[maggiej08-01-10]

Love you always m'lady!

[maggiej08-01-10]

Oh, Pops - Thank you for posting this powerful video and song. Blessings unto you.

[IrishRose]

Love you too, maggiej08-01-10‌ .  It's so wonderful to see you here today.  You need to come back - we all need to band together, My Friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big (((((((hug))))))) for you!

Irish Rose 

[MarcieWhosoever]

awesome to know shawn! Thank you

[MarcieWhosoever]

Thank you Maggie. Couldnt have done it without you and Linda and Cyn!! ❤️

[MarcieWhosoever]

you helped me more than you will ever know! Thank you Dale!

[cpsono]

So sorry to see the train go. I still check in several times a week and I will miss the FT. Thank you all who ran it and have helped me on my journey! Love, Carol

[Lauralives]

Thank you all for conducting and participating. I too will miss boarding but understand it takes a lot of work. Love to all. I started again for two weeks after 491 days but now have 8 DOF!!❤️      Congrats to all and remember NOPE!!

[TurboRose]

I am so grateful for the Freedom Train. I've been part of the community for 1 year, and I came to rely on the Freedom Train as an area I could come to for inspiration and support. It's bittersweet that my 1st anniversary falls on the last ride BUT I feel blessed to have been a rider.

Congratulations to noknowing  and LexyLuna 

Thank you to all of the former conductors for your generous hearts. 

11 months 30 days 23 hours 14 minutes DOF 

[noknowing]

Wow!! I can’t believe my first train is the last. Makes it all the more special and gives me even more oomph to never smoke again. So grateful. Thank you everyone on here. 

[marilyn_marmac]

While I don't get on Ex very often, I still check my emails for updates. I don't care for the changes that were made to our beloved Ex community, but I will always love and be thankful for the people of the community. It was with sadness and a heavy heart that I read the message from Tommy.  So many celebrations, be it day 1 or day 5,000,000 of our quit, were held on the Freedom Train. It was a treat to be able to see milestones and faces. To treat it as the celebration that each person deserved.  Thank you to each of you that put so much work and effort into keeping the train running. Thank you to each of you that made the ride with me. We had a great time and being here made my quit not just bearable, but fun. It's a shame that so many things have changed since that time  Goodbye Freedom Train. 

Marilyn

[MarilynH]

Huge hug from me to you dear Marilyn_marmac_07-31-13 Blog

[Pops]

I am in "total" agreement with you on that Marilyn_marmac_07-31-13 Blog, things just seem to be falling away at a very rapid rate these days.  I can't really put my finger on it, but it is "real" and not just my imagination either.  There always seem to be a corp group of special quitters on the site that just handle the mundane everyday affairs of the different things that make the site fun.  As of late, that group seems to have lost some of that "let's just get it done" exhuberance, and who can really blame them either.  With al of the restrictions, and directions that have a whiff of expectations, rather than appreciation....yep, those sort of things just fhave a way of sucking the life out of anything after a time.  Sad, but life must go on I suppose.  However, you're right in your assessment that it simply isn't as fun as it once was.  I just wonder what will be the next tradition to simply be dismantled?

Pops w/77 DOF!

[SimplySheri]

I tried to get here in time, Tommy!  I'm late which is unusual for me but I wanted to celebrate your creation of the Freedom Train as it made its final run.  You gave quitters much more than just a 'ride' when you started this, my dear friend.  You gave them recognition, a sense of pride, and support no matter where they were on their quit journey.  You changed lives and it all started because you wanted to help.  I'm in awe of your talents and people skills   And to those conductors who, over the years, gave so much of themselves to the train....thank you!  Thank you for caring, for supporting, for taking the time to show others that they mattered.  Again, you changed lives!!  And so many will always remember that cake with their name on it....that kind word...that applause.

I have 5 years, 1 month, and 3 days of smoke free living behind me.  Thanks to all who shared my journey!!

Sheri

[Mroseforte]

 I cannot navigate this app is so frustrating 

[elvan]

Mroseforte  The Freedom Train does not run any more...its last run was June 30th.  I suggest you go to the HOME page and read new blogs and recent activity to start out...don't try to get to know all of this site at once.  I don't know all of them and I have been coming here since we migrated over to this site a year ago in January....read blogs, read comments, read conversations...you can get to that from the home page.  

I know it's frustrating, don't let it get to you...one thing at a time.  Just do what you can for now and accept that, you don't have to go to every place on the site and learn everything it has to offer.

Ellen

[Mroseforte]

Thank you ❤️

[elvan]

Mroseforte  You are welcome, be patient and gentle with yourself.

Ellen

[moose1]

hello barbs cloud, thank for your enlightenment when I started my journey to freedom on June 1 2018. Thanks for this website and all the other EXs. I am still an Ex

[Barbscloud]

That's great.   I'm happy to hear you're still an Exer.   And, I'm happy to say so am I! 

180 DOF