When the Lapidary Digest stopped being published, there was no intent
that it would ‘fold’. But I really needed a break. My wife of half a
century was losing the battle with Alzheimer’s and that sapped my
energy and enthusiasm for anything other than her. So I stopped the
circulation, but kept all the Archives and all the programs, etc. in
place, against the day when we might want to start again.
Well, the burnout fires have abated; my wife has lost the battle -
still alive but ‘gone’, and I think it is time to restart the Lapidary
Digest. I have contacted those who were working together to publish
the LD, and all have shown great interest in continuing to work on the
LD It will take a few weeks to get rolling and up to speed. I had
already made plans to be away for a week or so around Christmas, so to
have time to get ‘reorganized’ and get underway, I am setting the
early part of January 2001 as the targeted start-up date.
If any of you would like to work with us on the Digest and thus delay
future burnout, please let me know at @Hale_Sweeny. One
problem we were having for the 6 or so months before the hiatus was
that queries would come in which had been asked and answered several
times before. Those answers are all in the Archives, but possibly we
need something like a few “Really Frequently Asked Questions” for the
questions which were truly frequently asked. We need help putting such
a document together, as well as doing other tasks.
I want to thank all the subscribers who helped build to Digest to the
level it achieved, and will try to make it an even more useful
publication in the future.
hale
Hale Sweeny
@Hale_Sweeny
Hale, I am sure I join many others in welcoming your return online.
You have done an admirable job in establishing the Lapidary Digest
into the resource that it is, and you have been missed!
We share your grief in the loss of your wife’s awareness, and while
nothing can replace that half century of companionship, remember how
many internet friends and acquaintances surround you .
I want to thank Hans for opening the dialog, and for his enthusiastic
support. Hans is a member of the internet community who has always
been willing to help and share and I look forward to
working with him on the Eclectic Lapidary again. (Yes, we are coming
back too!)
Looking forward to participating in the Lapidary Digest when it
returns. Carol @Carol_J_Bova www.eclecticlapidary.com
www.bovagems.com
Dear Hale, Welcome back ! My business is located in a retirement
community and one of the most heartbreaking experiences we have is to
witness are the agonies of those who are afflicted with Alzheimers,
Cancer and Diabetes ! Very few people realize what hell the caregiver
goes through ! My own wife suffers from cardiomyopathy and we are
grateful for each day that she prevails. I have had a premonition
that you would return to the fold and keep up the good work…I just
mentioned that belief in a post to Orchid a couple of days ago. If
you have followed this thread recently you will have been gratified
to note that many have missed you and took it to be a portent of the
demise of this form of communication…happily this is not the case
! I will be happy to help you in any way that I can…but, please
wait until I get Christmas and Quartzsite out of the way. I have got
five thousand cabochons which have to be weighed, measured, priced,
inventoried, photographed, packaged and packed…not to mention being
already inundated with Christmas jewelry orders. Welcome back ! Ron
Mills, Mills Gem, Los Osos, CA.