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Open Letter to Linford and all listees, band members etc:

      	       "How much of this was meant to be? 
 		How much the work of the devil? 
 		How far can one man's eyes really see, 
 		In these days of toil and trouble?" 
	                        --Resplendent (VoL)

  Over the Rhine has meant more to me over the last seven years than any
other band out there (gypsies or otherwise!), and I just want to state
here and now that I really couldn't be any happier with the direction
the band has taken thus far.  To those who scoff at this level of
commitment, you have my condolences.  It really is wonderful to be here
like this.  Some would call me fanatical or idolatrous, heck, I've even
been called a closet stalker, but that doesn't deter me.  To Quote jg: 
"when I find a good thing I stick with it".

So on to the topic at hand.  

Basically, when I think of Over the Rhine, I think of two things. 
Beauty, and integrity.  This is not to say that I equate these things
with the band, because in the end, we're all just trying to tend the
little gardens that we've been given.  Some gardens expand and bear much
fruit.  Others will diminish and fill up with weeds while rabbits and
turtles nibble away at our accomplishments.  Yet, no matter what happens
we're still just farmers in the end. Come harvest time, some of us will
have impressive storehouses of food, while others will barely survive
the cold.  If nothing else, we should keep in mind that a farmer can
only toil for so long in the same field.  He will eventually move to
another spot and allow the earth to renew the garden that has given so
much of itself as sustenance.  But, one day the farmer will return and
plow the old fields once more.  One day, he will toil and labour until
that familiar earth blushes again with bounties of crops.  Beautiful
fruits of labour are reaped when the proper methods are followed.  And
the best farmers are in tune with the earth.  They kneel down and feel
the soil with their hands--canvas their palms with the rich textured
ground and feel the life as it turns and folds, as it slips and falls
from which it came.  The best farmers come to understand their fields
and through wisdom and skill will produce the best fruits that their
labour allows.  

Is it time to plant that new field?  Are their larger gardens out there
that will reap greater rewards?  In the hands of an accomplished farmer
this will be easy.  

I know that as a farmer, I have had both successes and failures.  There
have been winters that I thought I wouldn't make it.  Fortunately, I've
been able to borrow from neighbors who reaped greater rewards than me. 
At times, Over the Rhine has been that neighbor.  If, by chance, your
new fields should prove infertile, I believe I have enough now to return
the favour, and I don't believe I'm alone.  But, perhaps you won't need
any assistance.  Perhaps you will gather enough to supply your needs and
still take that surplus vegetable stand of yours all the way to a
national level. And why not? You've already been supplying the needs of
all of us for years now.


			Grateful to be heard,
			Mark


"That is very well put, said Candide,  but we must cultivate our
garden."
                                                      --Voltaire