Amid all of the criticisms, impatience, explanations and justifications about research in MORGAN county Ohio, I want to urge people to take a moment and reflect on a phrase I coined: "The plowhorse of Genealogy is the volunteer." As each of us hungrily scours every nook and cranny we can reach into, much of the time just for our own (selfish) research......we acquire skills and knowledge that we can pass on to others. It was made clear to me years ago that one can only get the booby prize of gratification if one just looks out for him/herself. It is giving to others, in service to fellow people, that gives us true satisfaction....... the feeling which lets us rest peacefully.... at night and in eternity. Contrary to one person's assertion that people might be too lazy to go to McConnelsville and do their own research (as he had done) there are many people in this passionate hobby who are strapped for cash and who live miles and miles away from the hamlet of McConnelsville. It ain't possible to do that for everyone. Clearly, what seems necessary to me is the expansion of the passion we have for genealogy into government so that some of the tax dollars that go for drug treatment, abortions, military hardware and God only knows what else might be sent to the counties, states and the National Archives to subsidize the wonderful work that is being done by volunteers or scant, underpaid professionals. I venture to say that if genealogical information was as easily accessible as porn or drugs in our society, we would be a very different society based much more on commonality than we are today. I am fortunate enough to have been out to Ohio from California 2 times in the last two years and I am astounded and aghast at the deterioration of the tombstones just in that period of time. I fear that the monuments to our progenitors, the heroes of our past will fall into chips and dust if something is not done to help with this. I encourage each genealogist to give back to the others..... indirectly if necessary.... but do something to help out. Write letters to congresspeople to open up and subsidize Write about deteriorating cemetereies Write about cultural enhancement through embracing our history Work locally to groom or restore tombstones Give classes on genealogy Give something back to those who lived and died and whose legacies lie in cartons, getting crisp and yellow......doomed to fragmentation and discarding if these are not embraced with the respect they could receive by active, concerned people. That old Hippie statement is true, unfortunately/fortunately: "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Saddle up and ride out! Cheers, Peter