Tidying up...

[Russ Chappell]

I want to tell you a story. It starts with a trivia question.

What #1 song on the U.S. charts has the oldest lyrics?

In the late 1950's, Pete Seeger sat down to add music to a favorite poem. He shuffled around some of the lyrics, and added two lines of his own. The folk group the Limelighters originally released the song in 1962, and Seeger followed up a few months later, on his own album, The Bitter and the Sweet.

Serving as a backup musician for the Limelighters at the time was Jim McGuinn. By 1963, McGuinn had gone on to become a studio musician in New York, working with folk artists like Judy Collins and Simon and Garfunkel, and during that time, Collins also recorded the song. It was there that he first heard about the Beatles, and by 1964, McGuinn was incorporating a rock style into his performances of traditional folk music. That was when he attracted the attention of fellow Beatles fan Rick Clark, and together they formed what would eventually become the Byrds.

While touring with the Byrds in the summer of 1965, McGuinn remembered that Seeger composition, and he played it that night, in the back of the tour bus. He later explained, "It was a standard folk song by that time, but I played it and it came out rock 'n' roll because that's what I was programmed to do like a computer. I couldn't do it as it was traditionally. It came out with that samba beat, and we thought it would make a good single."

It wasn't until the Byrds released it as a single in October, 1965 that the song entered the American public consciousness as "Turn, Turn, Turn."

Those lyrics were from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, and tradition holds that they were written by King Solomon, almost three thousand years ago.

The two lines that Seeger added were the title, "Turn, Turn, Turn," and its last line, "I swear it's not too late."

I've always felt that I fell somewhere on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, and the lyrics of that song have always spoken to me. Some people would say you HAVE to be on the spectrum, just a little bit, to run a site like this.

Chrissy and I watch a selection of old TV shows, such as Cheers, and Everybody Loves Raymond. But not like everyone else.

We watch them on a certain night of the week, like everyone had to do before streaming (or, if you're really old, before VCRs). We watch Raymond on Mondays, Seinfeld on Tuesdays, Cheers on Wednesdays, and so on, because THERE'S A TIME for Raymond, and a time for Seinfeld, and a time for Cheers. Don't you see?

That has to play into why I started the Chronology Project, right? It's all about time, and placement of events. There's a time for Cap to fight with the Avengers, and a time for Cap to go it alone. And I had to find a time for both of them.

I'm almost sixty-five years old now, and for over fifty years, those lyrics have spoken to me, and continue to speak to me. There's a time for everything under the sun. A time for work, and a time for play. A time to eat, and a time to sleep. A time to begin, and a time to end. A time to start, and a time to stop.

And my time to stop draws nigh.

For twenty-five years now, I've devoted a good chunk of my non-working, non-family life to the Marvel Chronology Project. Three and a half years ago, I decided that the time was coming for me to put the Project behind me, because there were other things that I wanted to do with my life. I want to write. I want to produce a podcast. I want to read some comics that aren't Marvel. And I want to read some Marvel comics without compulsively recording everyone that appears and everything that happens.

I don't know if I can, but I want it.

And so, in July of 2019, I started the "Tidying up" thread in Chat. Counting down from 49. Did anybody catch it? Did anybody understand what was going on, in front of them? I dunno. This month, the countdown reaches eight. So in August of next year, I plan to put on my cap, walk through that door, and go to the house.

I'm telling you this now, because I don't like abrupt changes. I want you to understand that this has been the plan, for a long time.

So.

What comes next?

About three years ago, I approached Daron Jensen--Col Fury--and asked him if he would be interested in taking over the reins. I suggested he take a couple of weeks to think it over. He talked it over with his wife--at my insistence--and eventually, he graciously accepted the offer.

There has been--and will continue to be--quiet movement behind the scenes to ensure an orderly transition. The observant among you would have realized that Daron was made an Administrator of the forum a couple of months ago. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I anticipate that, by the end of August, Daron's furniture will all be comfortably in place, in the corner office. I will back out. The Project, and everything about it, will belong to Daron.

I have made a lot of screw-ups in my years on the Project, and we still have eight months for me to screw up more, but if I know only one thing, it's that asking Daron to inherit the Project is not one of them. Congratulations, my friend.

Now...Let's go read some funny books!

[Clive_Reston]

Congratulations to you, and to Daron--and to everyone here, for having been lucky enough to work on this delightful project with both of you!

(And looking at that thread now, it's all making a lot more sense. 21 is particularly clever... but then, I would think that.)

[Col_Fury]

Surprise!

[Midnighter]

I had imagined such a situation.
I had deciphered the countdown after only a few posts and wondered if you had planned so far in advance for a change of such proportions.
Well, now I have the answer: congratulations on foresight! I cannot imagine anyone better suited than Col. Fury to pick up the MCP's legacy.
Of course, it is difficult to adequately express gratitude for creating a resource that is nothing short of essential for those so fixated on continuity and for which it is an honor to contribute even a small part.

[Russ Chappell]

Well, we're a few months behind schedule, but that's how we roll, right?

Everything that I know to do, has been done, and I'm walking out that door.

I'll drop in every now and then, I suppose, if there's something I can contribute, but it's time to let someone else carry the banner, and you guys are in good hands with Daron. Treat him right, guys!

watching: Cheers [One For the Road]