Thanks for the past order. It helped to pay some of our bills.

No, I'm not a relative, but have seen the name, more than once on the ALCWMB. I did not know there were CW era letters for this man until I was doing a little surfing on the internet, yesterday.

I have some interest in the 1st Alabama Reserve / 62nd Alabama Infantry due to their late war service at Mobile and the fact that they were a senior organization. When I was a young guy I could fantasize, bayonet lowered, marching through the smoke toward the enemy's lines, but now that I've "matured" I'm limited to imagining myself as a chaplain, surgeon or a member of a unit like the 62nd Alabama. I'm joking about that, I don't fantasize about participating in a civil war battle. But I do think about how I'd do in my mid-fifties living the life of a Civil War era soldier. I don't think I'd do well.

Ken, I enjoy these sites as much as anyone. The motivation to setup the first ones, was a desire to research my own genealogy and interests. Fortunately, people like you have taken a continuing interest in visiting and participating in the discussions. That's what makes them go.

I wish I had more time to devote to them. I'm a regional manager for a machine tool company, so I travel quite a bit. Due to the downturn in the economy, my travel and work schedule has increased dramatically, so I really can just keep up with the maintenance of the sites, blocking spammers and deleting off-topic or inappropriate posts. Hopefully, things will improve with the economy and I can have a little spare time to devote to the growth and development of the sites. I've got and have received a lot of ideas to improve these sites, but right now, I don't have the time.

I'll be off to Raleigh, NC in the morning, then Atlanta to Chattanooga on Wednesday, Chattanooga and East Tennessee Thursday and then fly out of Atlanta early Friday afternoon. I try to mix a little business with pleasure, so while I'm in Chattanooga, I'm staying at a Fairfield Inn that appears to be right on Missionary Ridge. I hope I don't get knocked in the head in the parking lot.

Jim