We all miss Sil, and yes, I was very sad too when I read his last post when he put it up.

To be honest, I cannot find any notice of his passing, and his name is still on the property record of his home, along with his spouse and son. It is entirely possible he has not yet passed, given the slowness of the type of cancer. Perhaps he changed his mind and sought treatment after all, but just doesn't wish to engage anymore.

I have lost two close people in the last 18 months, and I have also been focused on that versus much commenting here. It takes a lot of energy to close out someone's estate and take care of their things. Especially after a protracted illness.

You should come anyways. Never know whom you might run into. The USA is definitely worth visiting, and is only suffering due to the great imbalance caused by the EC. Conservatives have far more power than they represent as a body, which is why they are so so desperate for this last SCOTUS seat. For a group that cries about freedom and tyranny they work very hard to wrap up as much power in the presidency so they can continue to punish those who no longer subscribe to their noise. I say this as someone who owns guns, but sees the farce.