It is my policy on this site to not publish any of Gerard's work until after AD goes dark - and to not publish anything that's been published in his book.

It's also my policy that if it weren't for rules, I'd have nothing to break.

Before AD goes dark in the next few days or maybe a week or so, I'd like to recommend those that haven't purchased "The Name in the Stone", to go to the archives and read "A Death On The Net" from Aug 30, 2022; titled "Thomas E Mandell" in the book.

It took the third or fourth time reading this post before it sank in.
An excerpt, just this single paragraph - the part that led to this post:

"What Tom Mandel knew, and what many companies and individuals still refuse to learn, is that on-line is not about selling something to someone or bringing information to the starving masses. what it is about is people wanting to connect in a real and genuine way to other people, free of the filters of older media -to establish, no matter how ephemerically, communities of like-minded souls who are not separated by facts of geography, and to create a place where it really is the content of one's character that is the first and foremost thing people see. Through his work on The Well and Time Online, Tom Mandel gave the net an example of how to transmit your soul through the medium of conferencing."

I'd say that Gerard Van der Leun also accomplished that as well as any before and possibly after.

It's not in my nature to be of that nature but perhaps it was some stirring of some inner voice of the same that led me to step up and start this site - this is not the me that I know. Perhaps it is to be my future self to at least find and follow the footsteps of those before me and to show that same path - good or bad - to those of you who desire to follow along.

Or maybe, just maybe, I'm full of it once again ... which is my nature.

Neo made the announcement today that the last post of American Digest is now up.
Time to go and catch the last of Gerard's works directly from his site for the last few days the site will be active.

My thanks to Neo for all the work she has done to keep Gerard's site up as long as it was ... seems like not all that long ago Gerard was still writing.

My thanks to her also for her permission and help in getting this site up and running; hopefully "the gang" can stay together and comment on topics far and wide - or even contribute posts for those of you so inclined.

But all good things come to an end ... (bad things seem to last forever).

R.I.P., American Digest

Somehow, it's not hard imagining Gerard during the days these tunes were "new".

*&^%(%__%!!!