I soaked up the information in the published robins back then. But my entire daylily world changed in 1995 when I heard about the email robin from my email friend Jean Hecht, who was posting to a Compuserve robin at the time. I contacted Tim Fehr about joining the email robin and became instantly absorbed into a high-octane discussion.

Over the years I have come to love particular narrative voices on that robin, and have mourned the passing of some of them...Bill Watson, for instance, who got up early and started each day with a good post. Bill was one of the early explorers into the world of online chat rooms. Many of his posts referenced good chat sessions the night before. Many of his posts referenced recipes, too. There were so many that a separate recipe list developed.

Sally Millman Taft was another of my favorite voices. I remember meeting her at the 2000 National Convention in Philadelphia. And then she learned that she had advanced cancer, and so quickly she was gone. Her husband, Russell was an Alzheimer's patient. Jack Carpenter named a daylily for him: Russell Henry Taft. I think several are named in honor of Sally.

David Kirchhoff, of course, has a voice no one would mistake for anyone else. His posts always begin with "Gentle Robins." My friend Paul Aucoin always signed off with the Sanskrit blessing, "Shantih," meaning "the peace of the Lord be with you," I believe. George Lawrence, when he wanted to ramble, would title his posts, "Lagniappe." He often wrote in a Cajun voice, to everyone's delight.

That robin defined AHS for me as an indispensable organization. I suspect this Membership Portal will do the same thing for my life now that I am retired.

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