The beautiful Delta Queen became the bane of my life in the summer of 1999, when the outfit I work for raffled off a cruise aboard her. This involved a 750-piece mailing that still gives me nightmares, but we learned a number of technological lessons in the process. We also learned that over half the names on that huge mailing list were no longer valid, and we pared it down accordingly.

The cruise was won by an older couple who were totally delighted, and throughout the cruise they sent us ecstatic postcards with pictures of the beautifully restored boat, raving about the scenery and amenities. The guy died three months later. I have always been glad he had such a good time in his last months.

I have just visited John Hartford's website and gotten ordering info for the album, "Down on the River." Thanks, Joe, for the link.