On vacation?

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In a phone conversation with my son the other day, he wondered if I were on vacation. He said he'd noticed that I wasn't posting much on Black Hills Monitor of late.

Oh, to be on vacation! The past few weeks have been the busiest since this poor soul found the retirement road out of Hershey, Pennsylvania back to the Midwest.

It seems that some months ago, in a weaker moment, I volunteered some time to another interest of mine -- family research. My Miller ancestors were Germans from Russia who immigrated to the United States at the turn of the century. Since my late teens, I've always had a keen interest in them, and I eventually pursued genealogy as a way of finding out more. That was when I became familiar with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR), based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I was an occasional practicing genealogist while still holding an 8-5 job. But that changed when I retired, and I found myself more immersed in it than ever. Nonetheless, I continued to pursue bicycling, digital photography -- even read a good book. Then, I agreed to co-chair the Publicity Committee for the AHSGR's 2008 joint convention with another group -- the Germans from Russia Heritage Society.

These two organization come together in just another week or so for their International Convention of Germans from Russia. And for these past many weeks, I've been immersed in news releases, phone calls, e-mails and blogging for the German-Russians.

My chores will be done in a couple of weeks, and I plan to resume postings to Black Hills Monitor on a regular and more frequent basis. In the meantime, just in case you have a hankerin' to know more about these German-Russian folks, visit our convention blog at International Convention.

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Oh, by the way, I don't fish - - - -