>>In true fashion, I leave behind some music. X is one of my all time favorite bands. They were at the forefront of the L.A. new wave/punk movement of the early 1980s.
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>I saw them last year at a party at the end of an Oracle conference. On a night when Kings of Leon were on first, Pearl Jam second, and X third, I actually enjoyed X the most.
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>Doug

Hi Doug,

Guess what? I am back, albeit on a diminished basis. I have been part of the FoxPro community for nearly 20 years and can't just walk away cold turkey. I tried and it didn't work. And then I realized I don't have to be a zealot about it.

It's really not something to feel guilty about. This is a special place despite the ongoing fratricide. My neighbor to the north -- you know who I mean -- went to a VB conference and said it was good enough, full of chatty Cathys (his phrase). But not the Fox.

Professionally I am making every effort to move on to more desired skills like HTML, jQuery, and CSS. I do not see VFP as my professional future even for the duration of my 10 years or so left as a worker. But I like this community a lot and always have. It's magnificent. I have tried to explain it to people at times and have always failed. Some things -- the marathon comes to mind -- are not really things that can be explained. You just have to experience them for yourself.

FWIW, I did my first marathon on a whim. The Bulls had just lost the NBA championship series to the Lakers, just before the Jordan championship run. It left me in a foul mood and I went out on a run. Something about that moment must have struck me because I kept on running every day. I was working in downtown Chicago at the time so all the training was in the evenings, apart from the long run on Sundays. (Tip to aspiring marathoners: you have to do those escalating long runs. 8 miles every day is not marathon preparation). I feel myself gearing up again. I don't know if my knees can take another marathon but I can step up harder.

Looking forward to seeing you, Tamar, Rick, and others in Phoenix....