Leaving Soon

Hi, everyone.

This year, instead of sending long e-mails stuffed with photos and sound files custom-designed to fill your mailbox, I'm going to try making the big leap to the 21st century with a blog. And, this is it.

Called Baseball in Paris for no particular reason, all that you will need to do is click on the URL that I have sent you by e-mail to read the blog and see or listen to whatever else is there -- no clutter on your local hard drive.

More important, if you are inspired, or irritated, or whatever, by something you read, if you sign up as a member (which means asking me to enter your e-mail address into the list of approved people) you can post comments in the blog -- but, when you do, you are taking the same risk I am that others may respond/reply to your writing and not just mine. Which means, anything you post is not just seen by me; it will be seen by everyone who chooses to look at the blog.

The really sophisticated among you can set up an RSS feed and get the blog's updates streamed to you as soon as they are posted. You already know who you are; tech support will not be provided here.

The rest of you will get a simple one-line e-mail when there has been a post, which will remind you of the blog's URL. You can also just bookmark the URL, it will not change -- it is mduca.blogspot.com

The news for now:

I have the keys to our home in Paris sitting in my right pocket. They are unlike any keys I've ever seen before -- one is sort of like a Medeco key, with a round shank and a starburst of metal tabs coming off the central shaft. It already feels exotic.

I leave Monday, and Kelli will follow in 10 days. It will be her first time traveling alone so far, but not mine, so, of course, I'm the one who is nervous about it -- I'm so used to having my companion and helpmate and other half with me that it's a little spooky to contemplate 10 days in Paris with nobody to practice my garbled pronunciation and choppy three word sentences on. Fortunately, I still know how to point, so I don't think I'll starve.

I will not likely have time to post again before I arrive in Paris.

au revoir