Dear Readers,

For those of you who may have wondered what had befallen me — and those who did not notice my absence from the blogosphere — let me confirm that I am back and all is well.  For the past several weeks, my bride (of 45 years yesterday) and I have been absorbed with the process of relocating to France.  Finding and purchasing just the right house for us and selling the one we already own in West Virginia, along with most of our other possessions, was a bit more time consuming than I had foreseen.  Now we are well-ensconced in a pleasant little house in a small village not far from Montpelier in the Languedoc region of southwestern France.  This is where we intend to hang our pool towels for the foreseeable future under the watchful eye of our guardian pool nymph, Daphne. The beaches are close by, as are the mountains and terrific countryside for walking/hiking/trekking/climbing/running/biking depending on one’s level of ambition.  It is also a good place to just sit in the sun on a lazy afternoon and enjoy a dram of the local rose. The food is good, the wine is better and the natives are friendly.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle around our move, I do plan to get back to the blog with posts on evaluation, working with donors, collaboration, innovation and others yet to be determined.  I also welcome all of your ideas of subjects you would like to discuss in this space. Responses to the posts I have made to date indicate that the key to maximizing readership is to “Keep it Simple” and recognize that “Sex Matters.”

Some of you may have blog ambitions of your own but would like to dip your toe in the water before going all in.  I would be happy to discuss including your contributions on a guest post basis.  We can figure out exactly what that means if anyone is interested.

Don’t hesitate to invite your friends and colleagues to join our discussion of “Economic Development as if People Mattered” at developmentcowboy.com.

Gary