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  EDITORIAL: 
   Exit Virtual Stage Right
   by Dave Bealer
  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  
  
      Change Happens, to paraphrase the old bumper sticker.  Some
  changes come as a complete surprise, like BRAVEHEART beating out
  APOLLO 13 for the Best Picture Oscar.  Other changes can be seen 
  from miles away, like the ouster of the Clinton Administration
  from the White House this November.
  
      I've been going through some major changes in my life the 
  past six months. For one thing, I've finally found a winning
  ally in my lifelong battle against obesity. Between October
  1995 and April 1996 I lost over 50 pounds, with more to come.
  Sure, I've lost this much before, only to quit in disgust and
  gain it all back (and then some). But this time it has not been 
  a Herculean struggle to lose every pound.  (Ed. Note: For 
  details of the diet that is working for Dave, see his separate
  article on the subject.)
  
      I don't mean to imply that a lot of stress hasn't been 
  added to my life, because it has. Large scale changes like 
  these, especially when they involve mending the bad habits of 
  a lifetime, do take their toll. It was almost certainly these 
  added stresses that have made it impossible for me to continue
  in electronic publishing.  
  
      Effective in March 1996 I resigned my position as publisher 
  of DREAM FORGE magazine and as president of Dream Forge, Inc.
  I was simply unable to continue in these roles, and was harming
  the efforts to make DREAM FORGE grow.  For those of you who are
  not already aware of this, I was totally unable to bring myself
  to read or answer any of my e-mail for several weeks in February
  and March.  This included mail from Rick Arnold, my partner in
  this venture!
  
      Not too surprisingly Rick and several other friends grew 
  quite concerned about my health during this period, and even 
  wondered if I was still alive!  I sincerely apologize to every-
  one who I may have distressed with this ridiculous behavior.  I 
  will never be able to catch up with all the mail which piled up 
  during the time I was "tuned out" (several hundred messages) and 
  have only answered those I deemed critical.  Please don't feel 
  offended if your message wasn't answered.  Had I answered your 
  message during that period, the reply would probably not have 
  made sense in any case.
  
      The two or three of you who have followed my publishing 
  career since it began in 1992 may recall that I fell into
  publishing RANDOM ACCESS HUMOR (RAH!) pretty much by accident.
  It was fun, and people seemed to enjoy RAH.  Eventually it 
  started to become less something I wanted to do than something
  I had to (read: was expected to) do.  I wanted to quit doing 
  RAH, or at least quit doing it on any kind of a regular basis.  
  That was a good instinct, one I should have followed.
  
      Unfortunately I have a long history of learning things the
  hard way, a history that just gained a new chapter.  Instead 
  of taking some time off from publishing, I decided that I could 
  keep going if only the proper motivation was present. 
  
      What motivation?  Money!?
  
      Right. Money has to be the worst way for an artist to
  motivate himself; at least it seems to be the worst way for
  THIS artist. Not only was I still tired of the monthly grind,
  but now I had backed myself into a real corner.  There were
  now a bunch of paying customers who expected to get a fresh 
  magazine every month.
  
      The pressure to write, edit, proof, prepare the zine for
  publication, and distribute the publication built up month 
  after month until finally something had to give. Suddenly in 
  early February I could no longer bring myself to log on to my
  own BBS to read my e-mail. The first day or so this didn't
  bother me. I had been working pretty hard and probably just
  needed a short break. This had happened once or twice before
  and didn't seem like a big deal. Besides, the work time being 
  lost would be more than compensated for by my increased 
  productivity when I returned to work refreshed from the break.
  
      Only that day never seemed to come. In fact the idea of 
  logging on my BBS or working on DREAM FORGE seemed more 
  threatening to me with every passing day. As days turned into 
  weeks I knew the work was continuing to pile up and would 
  soon be insurmountable. In short order March had arrived and
  I had not yet completed final preparation of the February 
  issue for publication!
  
      Eventually I faced up to the fact that I simply couldn't
  do it anymore. Leaving Rick to carry on by himself was some-
  thing I hated to do, but it was much better than continuing 
  to saddle him with a partner who couldn't keep up his end of
  the load. So I swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and logged 
  on to my BBS (an act which had been completely routine during 
  4+ years as a Sysop). I e-mailed Rick with an explanation of 
  my situation (or at least, the best description I could make 
  at that time - much of the preceding has only become clear 
  to me in the past couple of weeks).  
  
      I then dove for mental cover, expecting Rick to react 
  with the loathing and hatred I deserved (based on my own 
  self-image at that moment). Instead, Rick reacted with 
  relief that I was all right, at least physically. Obviously 
  my sudden withdrawal from our partnership took Rick by 
  surprise, and he needed some time to decide what to do.
  
      Rick has since decided to keep the magazine going. I
  wish him well in this effort, and will support him in any
  way I can. I will still contribute to DREAM FORGE as a
  writer whenever possible.
  
      I will keep my BBS running for the foreseeable future.
  If nothing else, the extensive collection of electronic
  publications and e-texts I gathered over the past several
  years will provide a good resource for anyone who calls.
  
      In order to make the break with my publishing past as
  complete as possible, I have turned off all my existing
  Internet accounts.  These include: 
                   dbealer@dreamforge.com
                    dbealer@rah.clark.net
                      dbealer@clark.net
                       dforge@clark.net
                        
      You can still reach me via FidoNet netmail at this 
  address:  Dave Bealer at 1:261/1129. By June 1996 I
  expect to have a new address set up at my BBS domain -
  vword.com. Check the bio at the end of my articles in
  future DREAM FORGE issues for my current email address.
  
      Just because I won't be involved with publishing 
  doesn't mean I've stopped writing. In fact the removal of
  the burden of publishing duties seems to have increased
  my level of writing output. Look for my work to appear in
  the online and print media frequently in the future.
  
      By summer 1996 I hope to have my own personal home 
  page up on the World Wide Web. Obviously this page will
  always have a pointer to the DREAM FORGE web edition.
  Other than that, I expect the page to show off some of my
  best articles, reviews, and stories from both RANDOM
  ACCESS HUMOR and DREAM FORGE. I may even put some new
  material up there now and then, although I will avoid any 
  definite scheduling, not to mention the resultant pressure.
  
      I would like to thank everyone who has helped me with
  my electronic publishing ventures these past four years.
  Your assistance and encouragement helped me keep on as 
  long as I did. 
  ==============================(DREAM)==============================
  
