Hey Dougly, (The manner of address is a total "Don-ism)
I have been quietly following your blog regularly, but up until tonight, have had nothing but grief trying to "enlist" as a certified follower. Problem solved and you'll now find me doing my best "popeye" impression on your page. I'm still not sure how I finally got it to work, but I did. The basic problem was that I already had Google, Gmail and Yahoo accounts and never use any and lost all the passwords, etc. The bast'ds all kept shooing me away when I tried to enroll "again" and I guess I just didn't have the patience before tonight to analyze the situation and deal with it.
Following the Duppy/Doug roadshow for me conjures up a basket full of adjectives; enlightening, inspiring, educating, entertaining, thought provoking and heart warming come to mind easily. I selfishly wish each of your entries were more frequent, daily perhaps, but I understand how that type of imposed -self or otherwise- pressure may water down the very product of your journey that keeps me and others glued. I do suspect that more pen is meeting paper than we out here are seeing right now and one I hope to be among the first to add the hard cover to my collection.
As much as I think I already know and admire about you, every time we speak and every time I read your writings I learn more, admire and envy you more. I'm not surprised at your wide and scattered circle of friends, but what I truly admire is your family unity. My family is intact, but the closeness you enjoy evades us. We're all so different I guess. Cherish that my friend.... and I know you do.
I was a bit surprised by your focused visits to the historic battlefields. Notice that I did not call them "Civil War" battlefields. I have always viewed that term as an audacious oxymoron. I've always been intrigued by the travesty, but not to the extent Luke has. His 40th birthday was marked by a guy's trip to some twelve or so of the most prominent locations complete with period garb and facial hair. I excused myself from the trip only because the timing was bad. I plan to make the same trip on my own terms one day. I was touched by your reaction to Antietam. That is on my short list since my great great grandfather was wounded there. I sadly know very little about him except that he was a bugler... go figure... and he did not die as a result of his injuries. My mother's side is not known for given much of a sh*t about heritage and such, but I think this is where he is buried.... Vermont Civil War He's where Sara's middle name comes from, "Hopkins." One day I shall learn more.
Well it's late and I'm beat. I just got interrupted by two collect calls from Costa Rica, so I better get to work on time tomorrow to cover that. I'll leave you with a couple of picture attachments to give you a hint on what that's all about. We had a big day last weekend. (Note: Don's baby and new son-in-law are honeymooning in Costa Rica - Congrats from the Duppy and me!!)
Later my friend.
Don
P.S. I can't believe Luke is 40!!! How did that happen??
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