After 18+ mostly fun-filled yrs of participating in this forum, it's time to pull the plug. Despite the friends I've made here over the years, I feel that my presense here contributes to a contentious environment . There are some things here that certainly rankle me and I have spoken up about it when perhaps I shouldn't have. Sometimes it's best to just let things go (for the greater good). There will be conflicting personalities in almost ever group and we must learn to either resolve those conflicts or leave the group. In my case, I feel as though the 'conflicting' personality has more to offer the group than I do, so I am choosing to leave the group. Truth is, between my age and my health condition, my interest in creating new music as well as my interest in the latest gadgets (especially those that contribute little to becoming a better MUSICIAN) has waned considerably over the years. That is why during my time on the forum, I have gravitated towards people like Russ Lay, who clearly values PLAYING an instrument over OPERATING an instument. That may be why most of the finest musicians in our (worldwide) community tend not to be techno-geeks (but creative artists). One positive thing that seems to be trending; many older musicians are starting to return to their roots (by starting to return to the acoustic instruments from whence they came - mostly piano and guitar). Most seem excited by the technical and creative challenges that that poses. To paraphrase Gary, "Shortcuts are for wimps".

As a last ditch effort to explain my attitude towards Arranger keyboards (I've owned 8 or 9), I TRULY, rightly or wrongly, have never considered them a 'legitimate' musical instrument, and through 50 years of gigging, I have never used one on a gig (would be inappropriate on the type of gigs I played anyway -plus, the bulk of my gigging was pre-arranger anyway. For most of that time, the Hammond organ was King and I was lucky enough to have been around some of the finest proponents of this art form.

In leaving this forum, I have stayed true to my reputation of being long-winded, so I'll wrap it up by wishing ALL of you the very best that life has to offer, and especially those who have accepted me for the progressive liberal atheist that I am.

chas