Just received a delightful letter from DSF to the effect that he had been a guest of Don Herron's at the annual REH event in Cross Plains - where, apparantly following a disastrous fire, the locals saved the Howard House, and were able to purchase the land of the adjacent house which burned to the ground, providing a location for a pavilion for use during the REH event, which, I suppose puts Cross Plains, Texas on the map -

Additionally, I have encouraged the proprietor of the local book store I mentioned in an earlier post to join the forum -- another book seller in addition to our beloved Gavin will be welcome I am sure - the owner is a widower (grass or sod I don't know) and is raising his extremely bright and articulate 15 year old - who, wonder of wonders, has read a good deal of the fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and other arcana that fill the shelves of the store - he also carries a very interesting line of model classic ships - which delights me (and which I expect to have time to do when the body at last fails) -
Side note of some interest - If you, dear friends, are not familiar with the play and film (1938) "On Borrowed Time" in which "death" gets trapped in an apple tree - I recommend it highly - delightful comedy in which murder and death prevail - oddly enough, rather inspirationally - Lionel Barrymore played his part from a Wheelchair to which his extreme illness had confined him (also the classic, "Down to the Sea in Ships" with Bobby Driscoll and Richard Widmark about a thousand years ago in a galaxy far away, in a country rapidly dissolving in the mist created by the foggy intellects in the White Palace.