Seldom do I use the feature position for personal messages. There are plenty of reasons, but principally because I consider "personal" to be just that- not for public consumption. And I've gotten wary of anything claiming to be "a personal message from...." . Too-frequently it's the bad open to yet some other solicitations from some organization that needs "my urgent support to counter a threat from.....whatever." And personal messages aren't addressed to me "or the current occupant" -or come via robo-dialers precisely at whatever time I sit down for dinner. Don't know about you, but I've never heard the "urgent message" because I try to hang up by that point. It can't be an urgent message from someone I know- I've never given out that phone number. Heck, I don't even know that number. So why a message today? To tell all of you -publicly- that effective this morning and for all of next week I'm doing something I've not done since starting The Outdoor Wire. I'm going completely dark. Turning off my cellphone, putting my computer to sleep and going off the grid. No Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, email, or phone calls. None. For the entire week. Frankly, I'm terrified. I've never not checked email, returned phone calls or kept in contact. Out of the country or in the hospital, I've never gone cold turkey. I've even shared some of the ridiculous situations I've found myself in while I've cruised around strange cities in the middle of the night searching for a cell signal or an open public internet connection. Through more than 1200 nights of travel, major medical situations, floods, hurricanes, snowstorms and other calamities, I've always been in touch. And I've kept those private situations private. So here's why I'm telling everyone. For nearly 15 years, some of you have insisted on sending your information to me - personally. In all but a very few situations, I've gotten your information in the next edition. And for years, my editors have been telling me that until I go cold turkey, you will never use the system to submit your material. By the time you read this, I will have gone cold turkey. Don't worry, I'm fine, despite the likelihood I'll suffer periods of nausea when I realize I have taken what for me is an extreme step. While I'm withdrawing, I'm also going to do something I've promised I'd do for a long time: separate myself from of the daily noise and really focus on what's important. Updates of the wires, expansion of our services, a clearly defined vision for the future, succession planning, what I want to be when I grow up. Adult stuff. The stuff I've been promising editors, a business partner and a wife I was going to do "when I wasn't so busy." Although I'm not really certain how it'll turn out, I do promise you one thing: I'll keep you posted. --Jim Shepherd