In this issue, we have our regular outstanding original stories--from our 24th year of continuous publication. We are six issues away from being online for a quarter century!

DragonCon is going on this weekend. I understand that there is a little over half the regular number of attendees this year. From the photos I've seen, looks like everyone is having a good time. I've missed going to conventions over the past few years. So much so that I have been persuaded to go to a very small con in October, Hallowcon. It's held on the last weekend of October, every year, at a small hotel in Dalton GA. Run by a very good friend of mine from the Chattanooga area whom I regularly meet at LibertyCon, JoeDog McKeel, it is horror-themed--as you might expect from the name. JoeDog assures me it'll be a lot of fun. I also expect to meet some of my new friends from the Rising Tide Broadcast Network. They'll be driving down from the Illinois area, as I recall--a bit further than I usually drive to attend LibertyCon, in fact. I'm quite looking forward to meeting the people I usually see on the other side of a computer screen.

Two of the things that have been driven home to me over the past two years are how much I miss all my convention friends, and how much weight I've put on lately, LOL! I can't fit into many of my fancy costumes any more. I'll probably spend most of my time there in mundane garb. I think I might be able to manage a passable Phantom of the Opera, however. We'll see, won't we?

Sadly, I'll be attending without my lovely wife. Her dog has gotten to be an elderly gentleman. She no longer feels comfortable putting him in a boarding kennel for a long weekend, So, I'll go it alone. It won't be nearly as much fun as spending convention time with my wife, though. 

In other news, in just under two weeks I will begin my 44th year at the factory. In 29 months, I will finally retire. I'm looking forward to THAT, let me tell you! I'll start an entirely new routine of full-time writing, appearing on streaming broadcast shows, adding a few, select, small conventions to our schedule, and a lot more time doing household maintenance and yard work. I'll have to stay busy so that I don't just sit in my chair and vegetate. I've had my fill of that these past two years. I want to get back to having fun!

The only constant in life is change. It's about time for that!

About time I quit talking and let you get to reading!

Dan