[AT] The A.T.I.S. list - Thanks Spencer

[Robinson]

	It is A.T.I.S. BTW, not atis as a word. Spencer
officially settled that for us some time back.   :-)
	"Some" people tend to miss the best part of this
list. I'm on a lot of list and have a bunch of my own.
There are some folks on many of those list that I
consider to be friends. Somehow though it is not the
same as this list. I have never met any of them in
person except some that are also on this list. I wish
it were possible for every list member to sit around
the Dotson Inferno at Portland. I can think of little
I would rather do than gather with good friends I have
made on this list. I have come to think of distance,
time and lack of funds as the enemy. I would highly
recommend to anyone shying back from any opportunity
to meet with or visit with other list members to "just
do it". I have been on here about 8 or 9 years now
(dang, where did that time go?) and have "NEVER"
regretted meeting a list member.
	For some reason East Central Indiana is not a hotbed
of list members. Except for list member Scott Pike
(who was here last night and drives past the farm
daily) every visit requires at least a few hours of
driving.
	Like any large family we are prone to bicker and bark
when the list runs out of things to talk about and
sometimes we see things differently but when meeting
in person that all goes away.
	There are a few list that I only join for the
information that I can suck from it but this one is
different. I know there are those that wish we would
stay straight on topic but I have belonged to a few of
those (notice the past tense) and they soon become
dull dead things indeed. As I moderate my own batch of
list I very often quote to them Spencer's sage advice
about subject matter. "If you don't like the topics
being discussed start a new topic of your choosing.
Ask a question or tell a story about what you are
doing." Much of the off topic stuff we get into is
just to fill up space and keep communication going
with friends. Those of us that have been here for some
time have already pretty well discussed the topic of
what a steering wheel is for, as an example. That is
one of many reasons that it is important for new
members and lurkers to jump in and share questions and
stories. Don't make us try to fill all of the space
while you just read. Tell us what you are doing or
just want to do.
	A lot of new folks get confused by some of the almost
shorthand joke references that we use, some of which
came from several years of build up. Things like
TMCOTKU, TGCOTKU, The World Famous Internationally
Traveled Blue Handled Fence Pliers, the Dotson
Inferno, Troy and hand clutches, Ricky and his spark
plugs and lightning, Skip's "you are not going to win
this one farmer" and a host of others. Then more
seriously there were the traveling boxes and charity
auctions. You can feel free to inquire to the list
about them or better yet ask at Portland while
camping. While we love meeting with old friends we
also love making new ones. Heck even "Evil Dave" is
greeted warmly at Portland...   ;-)

	Thanks Spencer, and this year get that hay in a week
earlier. See you at Portland.


"farmer"


Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net