What if I became the first to commit to a subscription to that web site? What a nice idea you have proposed for us to ponder. Thanks. Ronald L. Whitaker Athens, OH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Walter Waddell" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 4:51 PM Subject: 09282048Z07 What If > My 180-degree panoramic northwest porch view here in Verona, Virginia > hardly compares with > the ambient pleasantness and grandeur of the sweeping vistas viewed from > Madison's > Montpelier, Jefferson's Monticello, or Monroe's Ashlawn-Highland estates. > Similarly, my > life accomplishments, successes, and failures are hardly material for > historical note. But > I believe I did once enjoy something more than these great men may have > had either the > time or opportunity to do so during their occupancy of those great > estates. > > I keep an old, but beautifully restored, milk box on my porch. My wife has > colored it in > keeping with the porch's décor and weatherproofed it for me. I store > varied reading > material in it and after yard work and on other occasions when I am just > enjoying my > porch; I can reach in to my outdoor library and have, to my mind, some of > the best of what > this world offers. > > In preparing the milk box to winter over, I was made to empty it contents. > At the bottom > of the stack were several issues of the Virginia Cavalcade. I thumbed > through them and > remembered that I had read one or two articles from each but had not read > all the articles > from all of them. All of these issues were very recent to the announcement > to the magazine's > death. I had this thought that I had at one time all the intentions of > perusing their > contents; but, upon knowing that the magazine would no longer be a regular > in my mailbox, > I "kinda" gave up -- succumbing to the sin of despair, disappointment, and > defeat -- > nothing to look forward to so why bother. > > As I write this, I remember the wonderful Virginia stories, the colorful > and beautiful > photographs and art work, and the engaging maps and drawings this magazine > brought to my > mailbox and the pleasure I had enjoying a good read on my very own > porch -- again > something I had that those fellows above may not have had. > > James Shreeve said in his "The Neanderthal Enigma: Solving the Mystery of > Modern Human > Origins: "By all appearances, the people of the Upper Paleolithic came > into an innocent, > unexamined world and galvanized it with symbol, art, metaphor, and story. > They did not > simply invent better means of surviving. They invented meaning itself." > The rationales for > the emergence of modern humans are varied and many. "No matter the cause, > 40,000 years ago > our ancestors developed an imagination. They learned to ask, What if?.." > > What if: a pool of authoritative, talented historians could submit digital > material to an > authoritative, professionally managed editorial staff? > > What if: approved material could be published entirely and only in "html" > or "pdf" format > complete with photographs and graphics and published on a web site? > > What if: interested readers could subscribe to that web site and enjoy > complete > "downloading" rights to published material? > > What if: interested subscribers could print out that material in a variety > of quantity and > quality forms including, but not limited to, glossy 8 x 10 photographic > paper? > > What if: interested subscribers could bind or insert downloaded pages into > plastic sleeves > and create their own copy of a magazine? > > What if: I could sit on my lowly porch and relish something that former > magnificent > Virginia "thinkers, movers, and shakers" couldn't even imagine despite the > splendor from > their own vistas? > > What if: someone has a better idea? > > What if: they made it known?