MORE ON THE BURNETT ANDERSON MEMORIAL AWARD FOR NUMISMATIC WRITING

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V11 2008 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 11, Number 32, August 10, 2008, Article 3

A number of readers wrote to congratulate me on the Burnett Anderson Memorial Award for numismatic writing, including Ginger Rapsus, Jeff Starck, Roger Burdette, Dennis Tucker, Dan Gosling, Don Carlucci and others. -Editor

I was keeping it a surprise! -Editor

If anyone ever deserved to win the Burnett Anderson Award, it is you--and by golly, selection processes sometimes work well! Your weekly writing in The E-Sylum is consistently excellent, and even if you never wrote another numismatic paragraph, it is already both a legacy and an example for the rest of us to emulate. Take a bow, my friend--you deserve every accolade!

Many thanks for your kind words, everyone. Knowing that my efforts are appreciated are what keep me going week after week (it sure ain't the money). I'm glad my wife Dee was able to attend the banquet and hear some of the comments first-hand. She has no interest in numismatics but she's a dear for putting up with the time I devote to it. When asked if I spend a lot of time on the computer, she'd laugh and say "I see a lot of the back of his head." It's true. As I type this, the kids are in bed, she's relaxing on the couch watching television, and I'm in my library tapping away on the keyboard.

Replying to Dan Gosling's question, she said, "He even takes the laptop on vacation with us - he's never without it." That's true, too. While it takes less time each week than most people think, the only way I can deal with editing The E-Sylum is to keep up with it constantly. It only takes a few seconds here, a few minutes there, and maybe a half an hour a few evenings a week. I hate falling behind, so I stir the pot a little every day, even in hotels. Sometimes I end up with a pedestrian beef stew, but on good weeks The E-Sylum's a tasty gumbo of numismatic information and commentary. Keep sending those ingredients my way, day or night! -Editor

I read your comments on my reminiscing about the old format. So, I took an hour to read all the entries (most all, anyway). When I got to your "folksy" story of attending the ANA at Baltimore, I was overjoyed. Your personality (and yes, you are a journalist) came though with flying colors. Congratulations!

I am sorry that I got tied up following the ANA banquet and did not cross paths with you to congratulate you on being the recipient of this year's Burnett Anderson Award. You were certainly most deserving. Having known Burnett so well, I can assure you he would have been delighted as well. Having been the instigator of the recognition, I have to say that to this point in time, I am most pleased with the quality of the recipients that have been recognized. The program is working pretty much as I had hoped it would from the recognition standpoint, although it has not yet contributed much towards pulling the ANA and ANS into a more total community beneficial relationship, which was a somewhat secondary intention. That effort is moving forward in baby steps.

Again, thanks to all for this award and your good wishes. It is truly an honor. I only hope to continue living up to the standards. It's as much due to you, the readers, as it is to my own efforts. Keep your contributions coming. Even references to interesting web pages or news articles are a huge help to me in compiling a compelling newsletter each week. Now back to our regular programming.... -Editor