[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Everyone seems to have passed over Chris' comment that he is 76 and that his wife of 53 years is not all that amused that he is devoting so much attention to this ongoing effort. So, too, is the lady I've been seeing for the past 23 years and I am approaching my 75th birthday, so I know from whence such concerns arrive. My friend Manfred Boehme, who will be 80 this year, was approached in the past to do an update on his famous book on JG 7. There is certainly much new information to add to it, but he mulled over the same concerns as Chris and elected not to pursue it. He thought it unfair to his wife and preferred to spend his time in ongoing research. Both of us have willed our collections to museums so that others will have the benefit of our research. Yes, that leaves a big gapping hole as to our accumulated knowledge to assess what we have, pull together various strings for making far better conclusions than we could when we were young, and the network of friends and associates to help us in our efforts will be gone.

But, life doesn't go on forever and while it is tonic to receive encouragement, it also places on one a burden if one accepts the load. So, our encouragement of Chris to keep going, to complete volume 2 and then, hopefully, the remaining 5 volumes, may be too much to ask. It's "we want, we want, we want" without giving due consideration as to the impact on his and his wife's lives.

Regards,
Richard