[at-l] Belcher don't leave

[knowhal@netreach.net (Hal Wright)]

Belcher,

As the one who started the whole A*n R*nd thing, I feel bad you are leaving,
and that I upset you. I read every entry in your on-line journal and looked
forward to new entries appearing every couple of weeks. You added a great
deal to my knowledge of the trail and did so in an entertaining fashion.
(Your post involving the dress, the rattlesnake and the interruption of
bodily functions is to the day the funniest thing I have read in any
trail-related list or journal.)

I can't agree with your assessment of the value of this list in comparison
to ATML. I'm a relative newbie to this list, but I've learned more in the
short time I've been here than I did in over a year on ATML. And I never
hiked with anyone I "met" on ATML, but have already hiked with one person I
met here.

When I first started on this list, I found it a little overwhelming. There
is a lot of amateur philosophizing, there are a lot of inside jokes, and a
wide diversity of opinions. I decided to hang around for awhile, and I
resisted the temptation to follow every thread. Now the list seems as
comfortable and worn-in as an old pair of boots. May I humbly suggest that
if a thread veers onto a philosophical, political, or just plain nasty tack,
and you find it tiresome, you simply ignore it.

Hang on, hang in, and peace out,

Hal / Pokey