Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2001 15:08:38 -0500
From: Deron Dreem
Subject: Come Sail Away / update

Well, due to the amount of mail I still receive, I guess no one has
forgotten about me. All I can say about this is. Thank You.

First off, let me start by saying that the story is not over. Not quite
yet.  The end is coming -- it just seems like a long time getting there.

My life over these past months, has gone from out of control to chaotic.
To those that have kept in contact with me, thank you. I have actually been
able to answer only a partial amount of those. For that, I am sorry. I have
always been a firm believer in answering all those who take the time to
write. I mean my life is no more important than yours.

Well here is a small explanation as to my whereabouts.

	At the beginning of every Chapter I always thank 2 people. First
and foremost is an old friend. Billy Joe Walker Jr. He posted a wonderful
story on Nifty many years ago called My Fifteenth Year. It was one of the
most compelling stories I had ever read. I wrote him and told him so. We
exchanged E-Mails on a daily basis for a long time after that. I hear
through the grapevine that his health is poor these days, and sadly I have
lost touch with a dear and great friend. I can only hope that he still
knows that he is only one thought from being on my mind all the time.

	Secondly, is my best friend Dave. I met Dave on his fifteenth
birthday. He had just lost his father earlier that year, and had become
quite introverted. I quickly became very close to him. It really wasn't
very hard. He was funny, obnoxious, and everything we as teenagers are. It
became apparent to me that he needed more than a friend. He needed a big
brother, and a person to help him along in life. I quickly stepped in and
assumed that role with pleasure.

	Four years later I am happy to say, that he is still one of the
funniest people I know. He also had become a very large part of my life. I
don't believe a day goes by that I regret meeting this wonderful person.
Dave moved in with me just before his eighteenth birthday. Yes, there are
days we fight. There are days that I just want to stick my foot so far up
his a.. Well you get the idea.

	Sorry, I got kind of sidetracked there for a second. As I was
saying, Dave became very sick about 4 months ago. This started the cycle of
being out of control. After many visits to the hospital, a diagnosis had
been finally found. An operation was scheduled, and the hopeful cure was to
be administered. A tumor was removed from his neck. To the delight of all
that know him, it was not cancerous. This still left me with one sick kid.
Almost 2 months later he is still recovering from this new adjustment in
his body. The tumor was attached to his thyroid glands.

	Now, as the doctors describe it. I have a person who experiences
massive mood swings. Still not a day goes by that I don't love my best
friend. Hence the chaotic stage.  So this brings me to where I am at
today. I am taking care of my best friend, and trying to help him get his
life under control once again. I have been working on the rest of the
story, and I promise that it will be completed before the end of the
year. I still see that I am receiving visitors to my web sight. I went on
there today for the first time in months.  Although I see people stopping,
no one is signing the guest book.

	Please don't give up on this guy. I can promise a completion to
this story, and the ending im sure with make the journey worthwhile. Thanks
to all those who still drop a note in my mailbox. The friends I have made,
I will carry with me for a long time.

"It takes a long time, to grow an old friend"

Thanks to all.

D.D.