So Long, Farewell...

-- "What a long, strange trip it's been...."

For the past couple of years, ever since Laura Bobendrier dragged me from the sprawling suburban Weird Chronicles compound here to the cramped Mystery Cam cubicle, it has been my privelege every two weeks to take you on trips around the world to various scenic, and oftentimes obscure locations.

Laura and I both, while neither of us were present for the birth of this column, have thoroughly enjoyed being its caretakers. She has done the bulk of the work, constantly finding new netcams and weeding out those that had gone dark. All I've done is waltzed in, with my bag of doughnuts and Ren and Stimpy bobblehead dolls, every two weeks and spun my little yarns.

However, it is the nature of feature writing that columns like this have a certain lifespan. After a while, you've gone everywhere there is to go and the quest for fresh voice and fresh perspective becomes overwhelming. Rather than have it become a rote exercise, we have, after much debate and soul-searching, decided to end the Mystery Cam feature.

To all you loyal and true readers, whose names I've seen in my inbox faithfully every two weeks, my heartiest and most heartfelt thanks for your participation. It is my hope that you'll continue to visit this site, perhaps discovering some new favorite features. There's lots to choose from!

And now, for the last time, last week's winners:

Laura took us to Tallahassee, Fla., certainly a nice, warm spot to retire to, and the last batch of winners were Robert Wenzel, Steve Hoffman and Gary Wilson. Well done, gentlemen!

Farewell, and may all of you have happy, content holidays and the very finest of new years!

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