Subj : Farewell To : All From : Ross Cassell Date : Mon Oct 29 2001 07:53 am * Originally in FN_SYSOP * Crossposted in WILDCAT * Crossposted in PLATINUM_XPRESS * Crossposted in WHAT'S_HOT! * Crossposted in Z1BACKBONE * Crossposted in Z1_BACKBONE * Crossposted in SYSOP18 * Crossposted in HOST18 I was asked to post this by Andrea Santos, to announce her withdrawal from fidonet, except for how she elaborates below, she will be missed. A Fond Farewell =============== For the last few years I've known a day would come when I'd be writing this message. What I didn't know was the time, day, circumstances or events which would prompt me to do so. In all honesty, I didn't want to know. You participate in an activity or group for so long, there's a comfort zone, but there's also complacency, to the point where you simply don't allow yourself to make the decisions _you_ really need to make. It's also about change and change is tough and it's scary but you'll never know the benefits of other challenges if you don't allow yourself the opportunity to move on. There have been a number of events which have occured in our family this year that have changed all of us forever, and each of us feels a need to embrace new paths and pursue other interests, and we've been proceding along that vein. Santronics the company and our support site and BBS/Mailer continue on and a listing will be maintained in the Nodelist. We still have much to give in the way of programs we provide and will keep on doing what we do well. It's been some 14 years since Hector first explained the concept of shareware to me. Being petrified of anything that looked or smelled of computers and highly skeptical of "honor" systems, I wrote off much of a message it would take me years to understand. But after persistence and encouragement to get me online, I was able to put the pieces together and recognize that my husband was providing real tools for thousands upon thousands of users and system administrators to communicate and provide services, at a hobby level, as well as critical applications for businesses and organizations around the world. In the process, I became computer literate, and was able to connect the dots sufficiently to make my own contributions to a network we both loved and encouraged for so many years. There's no question you get from this life what you are willing to put into it. When I look back at all the years I've been participating in Fidonet, I realize how very fortunate I've been to have made the many many friends and acquaintenances I have, and the communications, laughs tears and real-life experiences I've shared. And I will miss it, but I will also leave knowing I gave it my all, with integrity and principles intact. There are so many individuals to acknowledge and thank, it wouldn't be possible to do so in relatively short order. Past and present, you know who you are, and it was a sincere pleasure. There is, however, one person who is entirely the reason why I was here at all and that is my husband, Hector Santos. And this is my opportunity to give him the recognition he's earned and deserves for bringing his vision of communications to life. From creating Offline Mail for Fidonet, to the many programs and utilities he's written, covering every aspect of communications in this network, to his pivotal involvement in Saudi Net and providing the technology to make it happen, to the thousands upon thousands of hours of help he's provided to countless sysops and users, no Developer gave more of himself to this network and none did it better or with more conviction. And, today, I thank him for giving me all of you and for the courage to recognize we've accomplished here what we set out to do and that it's time to move on. With gratitude, @copyright 2001, Andrea Santos, NC135, asantos@santronics.com == Ross http://www.easternstar.info ross@easternstar.info or rcassell@home.com ICQ = 5305939 .... The avalanche has already started, its too late for the pebbles to vote. --- GoldED+/W32 snapshot-2001.5.29 * Origin: The Eastern Star [Mail Hub] - 864.573.7069 (1:18/500) .