This year's Wargame Convention in Philadelphia ranks as the, best ever--and, having taken advantage of MFCA hospitality at conventions all the way back to 1963, I can speak with some authority on the subject. There seemed to be more people having more fun and becoming entangled in more confusion than ever. Perhaps, of course, my judgement was clouded by the fact that I refused to go sit in the corner and sell subscriptions this year, and I didn't have my usual problem of trying to put 500 or so little men into slotted trays and take them down again later.

The occasion was marred by word of the death of Mike Arnowitz and the serious illness of Jack Scruby. Mike may be known to some of you only through his popular articles in T.A.G. and other publications in this hobby--most of which were not compiled for publication, but reflected the thorough and enthusiastic research which he and his friends brought to any period they found interesting. Mike was known to many of us as a regular participant in the wargame conventions, having attended his first convention as a high school student. Most members of our staff met him at the 1963 convention and he could almost always be found in the thick of the challenge games and any impromptu day after affairs. He was reported killed in action while serving as an advisor to South Vietnamese irregular troops on August 29 of this year. Several of his friends in the MFCA are considering the establishment of a memorial award in his honor.

The word from Visalia is somewhat more encouraging. Jack was laid up for a time with a heart attack, but has notified us that he is up an around again. As evidence, he has the models coming off the assembly line again and has issued a fine new catalogue in smaller size than the old one but with more pages, and he has been putting out a small newsletter on the side. Although Jack's illness has caused an unavoidable delay in production he is at it again and is now striving to overtake the backlog of orders by the first of the year.