OMG OMG <3 PONY!!!!

I became a citizen of Caledon last fall, having been an occasional visitor in the year previous. As such I missed last year's RFL season. One of course, Hears things. And certainly photos and other ephemera remain, including some truly awesome Machinima. If the Pirates of Caledon does not make you chair dance you do not have a pulse.
So as the four month long season draws to a close, I heartily agree that it is much too long. Compassion fatigue sets in after the long months.
That said (and certainly understanding that our Teams and their Captains have no say in the length of the season), I would like to say how terribly, terribly proud I am today of our community.
Having got a late start at the actual Relay yesterday (and suffering some technical difficulties), I attempted to make up time by going most of the night. I would like to tell you my impressions as the time progressed.
-The building done for this event was truly awe inspiring. I was blown away by the Caledon build, and Equine McMillan is my new hero. The other builds I saw, including Steelhead and Mark Twain's Mississipi were also wonderful and exceptionally well done.
-Being a tad parochial, and immersed in Caledon culture, I was not really aware of RFL participation on the rest of the grid. So I was so proud to see how overrepresented our community was in this event. At every turn I saw the name or person or build of a neighbor or friend. Luminarias with names I knew, and our team making an amazing showing in the relay as well.
-We are a small community and a small nation relatively speaking, when looking at the Grid as a whole. So to have our team raise the kind of money we do is a great thing. More important to me, however, is the raising of awareness. Our neighbors and friends, our mentors and leaders all have contributed by telling their personal stories in two books. And this can literally save lives. It is terribly hard to share those stories about your RL selves. For that, my deepest thanks.
-Caledon's RFL team are not human. No possible way humans could have accomplished what they did over the last 4 months and survived. I will be hunting for pods later this week. I am pretty sure Erasmus Marguiles is twins.
-And Caledon's favorite Evil Pony is a fraud! Viderian Vollmar ran 41 laps, which is something along the lines of 344km. And he did so under his own power - no wheels, rockets, motors or anything - just hooves. In case you are wondering, this involves holding down the forward arrow on your keyboard and steering with the mouse while staring at the computer screen for like 24 hours. Try it, it is not actually possible. And not actually evil.....
Seven of the top 15 finishers were from Caledon.
Today I am so proud of Caledon, and to be a part of all you amazing people.
Now we rest, and then go do something fun.....