A couple of my Message Board buds have emailed me, wondering why I've been AWOL from the Board for long stretches of time this year. They encouraged me to post something for my friends and fellow researchers. So here goes -- I've been undergoing treatment for Stage IV lung cancer since March of this year. I'm not posting this to elicit sympathy (although mentioning me in your nightly prayers would be truly appreciated), but simply to explain my absence and what I plan to do with my 40 years of research.

I've been undergoing heavy-duty chemotherapy for several months, which basically turns me into a zombie for about two weeks each month. On my lucid days, I'm diligently transcribing my research material onto my computer. With luck and a lot of chemo, I may have two more years. When I finally do the high kick-off, I've instructed my family to donate my extensive Civil War library (about 100 various volumes, including some first editions, as well as my boxes of notes and transcribed discs to the Butler Center for Arkansas Research at Little Rock (Brian Robertson's bailiwick) with the condition that it will always be made freely available to Civil War researchers.

I'll be as active as I can on the Board during that time, answering inquires and sharing interesting tid-bits, so hopefully I'll still be around for a couple more years, just not as often as I used to.

Once again, I hope I'm not coming across as a whiner. But a couple of friends were insistent that I post something.

Thanks, fellow researchers.