Hey, howdy... The big bad bug is gone--it's purt' nice, bein' married to one of dem dere puter techs--but the bad part is, he was lookin' over my shoulder this morning when I was composing that warning, and I got all flustered and didn't clarify things. And I've been corrected, so I'm lettin' y'all know... For one thing, it was an absolutely beautiful day in the Ozarks! (in spite of bugs and viruses) For another, that particular virus does not go around getting sent by replies to emails. It is sent to the addresses of the UNOPENED emails in your box, all on its own, nasty thing. For some reason, while Greg thinks that some of the e's sent by the virus went through, one program or another put a "bug" of its own in the addys that most were sent to, and so a lot of them were sent back with a warning from various "Postmasters" and didn't go through. Weird, but thar ya go... However, hitting "REPLY" to sender won't pass the virus--in this case--on. I hollered about that because folks sometimes don't realize that there is a difference in emails through the lists, and emails you receive from individuals. Attachments cannot go through Rootsweb--no way, no shape, no how--at least, that's what they tell me. Two different things, but clarification was needed, alright? End of lesson on subject matter which I honestly get confused on my own self sometimes. Some newbies who haven't been here long don't realize I tend to send rather chatty posts about the Ozarks and connected things, because some unfortunates have never been here, and don't realize how special the White River Valley is. I am real big on sharing events and other things about our culture and our background, for it helps folks in general to understand why their people lived here. There are many folks who are drawn to this area, through visits on vacations, and eventually move here. After a while, they get to doing genealogy, and they find out their great-grandparents lived here, often only a handful of miles from where they themselves now live. You wouldn't believe how many times it's happened. I'm lucky in that my people were Cherokee, lived here a number of years before the Trail of Tears, and several branches still live here (such as my own). Some went on to Oklahoma after statehood, and I do believe I am kin to half of Butte Co. CA (and I've never been there, but hear tell it is similar in mountainous appearance to the Ozarks--is that true?) Ennyways, that's why I talk about things like Outlaw Roundup. There are folks on these lists who are planning to attend, and are planning to meet distant kin which they've never before seen at the event, and that's the reason I'm working so hard to make it fun in the first place. (I think!) And genealogy is one reason we are doing it as well. For instance, many people, like my own, have Cherokee in their background. The White River Band of Cherokee will be at Outlaw Roundup, with information and applications, and they are really excited about meeting others with ancestors like their own--or who may be their own. Other WRV historical societies and the local FHC will also be there, to start people out on finding their roots. I honestly don't see how a person can be interested in genealogy, and not branch out into other connected areas, such as historical events, cemetery preservation, that sort of thing. If you don't live where your people did, I believe that what goes around comes around--it sure has in my life--and by getting involved with your local societies and groups, maybe someone will be getting involved where your people were. (Confused yet? Shoulda been me, trying to figure out what point I was trying to say...) But that's me, and some folks don't wonder how come another valley a few miles away has people in it who married in the same patterns, that sort of thing. Or why a family that ended up in CA or AZ has a picture of a family from MO or AR when no one knows who it is. That's why. By passing around what little I know, I learn a lot from folks like y'all. Speaking of which, I've got some news I'm gonna save for a future post...(that's right, I'm leaving you hanging...things are falling so neatly into place with Outlaw Roundup, I gotta be onery somewheres...) Vonda KS ListMom for MOTaney and MO-AR-WRV http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~moarwrv/ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gregvonda/