Hello

[Mark Walker]

Lepsters,

It has been a very long time since I posted anything here, mainly because I
never arranged to have my current work email authorized, but also because I
have been chatting my brain off for several years now on Ron Gatrelle's
yahoo listserve.  I will continue to do that, especially in light of his
passing, though I'm certain that it will never be the same.  As many of you
recall, Ron launched his online presence here on LEPS-L.  For a number of
years, his posts dominated the discussion here, and even after starting the
TILS-Leps-talk group, he continued to contribute on occassion.  He certainly
went before his time, though I'm inclined to believe that the timing was
perfect in the grand scheme of things.  I'm still lamenting the loss of a
friend, however.

One thing is very certain - since Ron took much of the worldwide online
discussion over to yahoo, this listserve has been much quieter.  The other
thing that contributed to this was the predominance of smaller, regional
discussion groups, which many of you participate in.  I recall debating the
pros and cons of this shift many years ago, and sadly many of my negative
predictions indeed came true (particularly with regards to the reduction in
worldwide discussion of lepidoptera, and the onset of pockets of
communication that go largely unheard).  I suspect it doesn't have to be so.

I thought of wearing a T-shirt at the recent LepSoc meeting that read:
LEPS-L - RIP.  Now, I'm inclined to do what I can to see that this isn't the
case.  Being just one loudmouth in the crowd, it is probably quite
presumptious for me to think that I can have any impact on the quantity or
quality of discussion that takes place here, but I do tend to be old school
and the discussion that took place here for many years has entered into the
realm of nostalgia.  I say: bring back the good ol' days.

Well, anyway, since I never lapsed my subscription, I'm guessing that many
of you are still out there, too.  Seeing some of you at the LepSoc meeting
was a joy, and I send my best wishes to old friends whom I have somehow lost
touch with.  The summer is starting to wane here in SoCal, and the
butterflying is reaching that lull that occurs prior to autumn emergences.
Meanwhile, I have a bazillion vouchers to tend to from several
out-of-control years of field work.

Mark Walker
Oceanside, CA


 
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