Kick! has been up and running now for 20 years with about 10 million of you stopping by at least once. I have been told that the question – Who is Rack Jite – has come to mind to one or two of them. How old is he? What does he look like? What does he sound like? How does he dress and of course is he as much of a hardass in real life as he is here? Well he was recently caught on camera giving a eulogy to his old high school pal Howard Berliner. Here ya go…
The name Rack Jite is of less mystery than supposed. When the web began in 1994 I wanted a short name no one else had so it could be easily typed and searched instead of having to give out a web address I could just say search “rack jite”. I didn’t even have to spell it out as mistaken spelling usually find it.
Of course there is the definition in the ABOUT link:
Rackjite – 1. n. A steel pole used to pry and move heavy objects. 2. v. To pry, shift, move or horse a heavy object.
But unbeknownst to some I made that up. The reality is much more benign than that. I had a friend once named Jack Wright and I just kind of switched the first letters around. Even today there is still only one Rack Jite in the world.
Back in the day the net was far more unregulated and wild than it is today, at that time I found it necessary to use a pseudonym because of the literally hundreds of death threats I was receiving in email, SIGS, ECHOS, BBS’s, and before CALLER ID, by phone. These days that is not as much of a problem as everyone understands they can be found out. Over the years the name Rack Jite has become an important search mechanism for the website so I have to stick with it.
Many may wrongly presume that the threats that come my way are from Fundamentalist Christians. I can only recall one from the Religious Right. No, all the threats to myself and my children – what schools they attended, where their bus stop was, phone calls to my wife from women pretending to be having affairs with me, drive-bys the house to report the position of cars and toys in the driveway so I would know their claim of WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE had gravitas – were exclusively from Libertarians and Gun Enthusiasts. So if you have noticed any bias in that direction, now you know why.
And lastly, the first email I got about this asked what liberal political crap does the lapel button have to say?
BEER
IS
FOOD
Oh, and Newscat is still a mystery as are all cats…