Best of luck with your new assignment! In some ways knowing that a living human being is better off is a lot heartwarming than wisdom from sages that are a bit difficult to relate to. Congratulations.

Always remember, Batou, whenever you enter the 'Net, I will be by your side.
;-)

Welcome.

America can always use a few good men and women.

Welcome aboard.

Now all we need to do is to teach you the language. :-)

Simon - voluntary American twice removed

Shabbat Shalom, Joe. Shabbat Shalom.

Im sorry, I guess I just assumed you were already resident here. We will be lucky to have you join us.

Somewhere on the Niagara that is the Net I recall reading of the story of the Hungarian refugees who finally escaped and made it to America. The father told the son "we are Americans - it is a cruel trick of fate that we happen to have been born in the wrong place"

Joe - you will make a fine American and we will be the better for it.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks for all you've done to make WoC such a high quality site, congratulations on finally moving in with your sweetheart, and best wishes. Shabbat Shalom, Joe.

Overjoyed to have you in America, Joe. Devastated to see you leave WoC.

Uh, you have been warned about Santa Cruz, I hope?

Tocqueville marveled at how quickly new immigrants became "Americans." And then he realized it was because we are loyal to an idea, not to a fixed collective. You will be surprised at how different it is to live in the world's freest place,surprised at both the good and bad parts of it, surprised at the eternal conflicts that give us our unique energy.

But you belong here and we're thrilled you're finally coming where you've belonged all along.

Bill Whittle said something to the effect that there are Americans all over the world - they just didn't happen to be born here, but they should do whatever it took to get here, their natural home.

Welcome home, Joe.

America is truly the only country in the world founded and maintained upon an idea. Generation upon generation of immigrants have sacrificed nearly everything to participate wholeheartedly in that idea, and by so doing have become Americans.

For some of us, that has been for a very, very long time. In every generation for more than 300 years my family has brought forth both officers and enlisted men for the defence of that idea. One of my great-grandfathers signed the Declaration of Independence, and I am closely related to three Presidents, yet I am no more American than you will be, Joe, because you also "get" it.

So do two Nigerians, building a future for themselves in this rural Kansas town. And the Hungarian refugees from both '48 and '56. And the Mexicans who now seem to be everywhere.

In moving to Santa Cruz, you are moving nearly to the very maw of those who for more than a generation now don't get it. Do not let it colour your idea of the true America, nor wear you out. They are people already left behind by the tide of history ... confused angry radicals, dazed both by events and by the abiding love of country so freely expressed by so many people.

Welcome. You're one of us. Believe it. Even now.

L'Chaim!
I'll send you a Yankees cap once you've landed!

Congratulations, and welcome aboard!

Joe,

I don't think I can say what I want to say any better than the folks above have said it, but I'll say it anyway:

Great job, Joe, and welcome to America!

(Yeah, I'm the guy who asked you about the faux Hibernianism of "Winds o' Change" and suggested you check the availability of windsofchange.net)

Well, sorry to see your time here end, Joe, but wish you best with everything, especially the move to the States!

I haven't kept up around here as much as I used to myself, nor with my own blog, but you ran a great ship and I always wished I could be more of a part of it. And if that isn't a sign of respect, well, it's meant to be!

Great luck and Gawd speed you on your path.

Joe,

Good premises with your move to America! If you are interested in my thoughts on the Land of Opportunity, read my post, Forbes on Immigration.

All the Best,

Martin Lindeskog - American in spirit.
Gothenburg, Sweden

"You see, the rumour that I'm moving to the USA is true."

Since you're going to become One of Us (weclome!), you might as well start breaking those Canadian habits now: we spell it "rumor" down here. :)

P., I'm not the one who recently graduated from advanced infantry training... I think the heartfelt wishes of luck and godspeed should go the other way.

And though I mentioned it at the time, our readers should probably take another moment to silently thank Hale Adams for rescuing us all from Winds O'Change (windsofchange.com was taken, so I had picked up windsochange.com instead).

TC@LeatherPenguin: a YANKEES cap!?! Oh well, I appreciate the spirit of it. You know, there's a reason stadiums around the league play "The Imperial March" when they're introduced....

Finally, re: Santa Cruz. I know, I've been there. Actually it's a pretty harmless place, more surf-ey and New Agey than "angry Berkeley". If you can chuckle at the "magic crystals" stuff, it's fine. And you may be surprised to know that nearby Scotts Valley has a bible college. It's all shades of purple...

Finally, for visitors to the Santa Cruz area, might I also mention that they have this fantastic arcade on the beach with all the old video games I remember from my childhood (Ok, they missed "Joust," "Armor Attack," and "Wizard of Wor"). The complex includes a Lazer Tag facility, and there's beach volleyball right outside. You can forgive a lot of sins for that trifecta.

But INS probably won't let me get there in time to enjoy the beach volleyball :-(

Hey, hey hey!!

I'm a "Slug" (graduate of Santa Cruz) and still spend a bit of time there (visiting my buddy who's marrying Joe, among other things!)...it's more a bedroom community for upper-middle class knowledge workers from San Jose than anything else. But it still has that fringe - on both sleeves - identity that makes it interesting.

Joe's gonna have quite a time!!

Joe for Mayor!

A.L.

Hmm, reading over the comments, I should note that I am not leaving Winds of Change.NET entirely - merely stepping into a different role.

I will be seen rather less often around here once all my promises are kept, and making an active effort to be less present. But I will not be resigning my posting account, and may sit back in the old rockin' chair once in a while if it should become necessary.

Joe, thanks for all your support over the years. Without your help and generosity, Watch simply wouldn't exist today. Good luck and Bon Voyage!

All the best,
Mårten
Watch

Joe: all the best and good luck.

You'll enjoy the Santa Cruz area, especially the drive to nearby Pescadero.

I counted 20 different The Band* -related references... did I miss any?

*some guys who made the same move about 40 years ago

Aliyah, Joe. Aliyah. Have you forgotten your duty to your people? To your nation? Son, Zionism isn't a choice, it's a duty.

Be a mensch. Fulfill the destiny of the your people. "Rise up" -- make aliyah -- from the filth and degradation that is the Diaspora, leave the Galut and make common cause with your people.

Don't hide in America.

So what was so bad about Canada?

Dave (#23) - I wondered if anyone would notice that. I started toying with the idea after "The Last Waltz" popped into my head as a title, and then "The River Hymn" struck me as perfect, and I was off to the races. I found that it helped me say what I wanted to say and added a slightly poetic tone. Plus, it was fun to see hw far I could take it.

Song titles inserted, in order:

The Last Waltz
Tears of rage ("tears of grief" follows in lyrics)
Words of fire, deeds of blood
The River Hymn
A change is gonna come
Stuff you gotta watch
Bound by love
The weight
Sacrifice
Day of reckoning
Across the great divide
Somewhere down the crazy river
That's my home
Move to Japan
Odds and ends
Out of the blue
I shall be released
Where do we go from here?
Share your love
Shine a light
Spirit of the dance
A stop between trains
It makes no difference
Thinkin' out loud
We can talk
Rockin' chair

That's 26.

I thought about referring to Winds of Change.NET as "The Band," but figured after the "I shall be released" line that it would be forcing things too much.

FYI, The Band had a VERY strong Canadian dimension. Robbie Robertson came from my hometown of Toronto, ON and spent a lot of time as a kid with his Mohawk relatives in the Six Nations Reservation to the north. South of Six Nations is Rick Danko's hometown of Simcoe, ON. Stratford, ON, where Richard Manuel came from, is a couple hours to the west of my home and famous for its Shakespeare productions. Garth Hudson's hometown of London, ON is about another hour or so west.

I remember my first comment here. Porphy really tore into me, over what really was a misunderstanding. Of course, I responded in kind! I try not to add fuel to the fire now. Count it as a Winds lesson.

So Joe, thanks for running the show. As my moniker implies, I do more reading than commenting. Just know that this doesn't mean that I haven't appresciated what you have wrought. Winds is my first stop whenever I get on the Internet.

Welcome to the US! I know many lefties threatened to move into the Great White North (eh.) when Bush was reelected. Perhaps you are in the vanguard of the reverse migration? I don't remember reading of it in the newspaper though? Any chance you could bring Alberta with you? Calgary at the least?

Joe,

Maybe I just wasn't keeping good track. I noticed them all except for:

>Bound by love
>Sacrifice
>A stop between trains

Welcome to the US!

Well, Joe....I can only say that I hope you feel you are "home" as soon as your feet hit soil here. America will be a better place with you in it.

Welcome home

Joe, congrats on the move and good luck with whatever the future brings.

I'd like to nominate you for the Blogosphere Medal of Honour. You certainly deserve it.

Joe,

I was IN Santa Cruz this weekend for the summer Shakespeare program. My son just graduated from UC Santa Cruz (as did I 34 years ago), and my daughter goes there. Between bringing my son and daughter home from college, or helping them move around in Santa Cruz, the Shakespeare Santa Cruz productions, and concerts several times a year by the wonderful UC Santa Cruz orchestra and chorus, my wife and I have visited Santa Cruz at least a dozen times a year for the past five years.

My parents met in Carmel, at my grandmother's house, on VE day. My aunt still lives in Pebble Beach.

Have you been to Big Sur yet?

Don't sweat the INS, Joe. My wife just came over from Canada with a fiancee' Visa in May and we were married shortly afterwards. Maybe you know her? LOL.

Welcome aboard and best of luck.

QM