Editorial

Editorial With thisvolume, Dictionaries:Journal oftheDictionary Society ofNorth America celebrates its 25th anniversary. The first volume was published in 1979. Its editor, Richard W. Bailey, shepherded the journal through the critical first decade; he was succeeded by William S. Chisholm, who edited thejournal from 1990 until 1999, since which I have been privileged to extend their legacy. Professors Bailey and Chisholm deserve the Society's thanks and congratulations for their work on this journal, for their service and leadership during the Society's formative years. The current volume contains excellent articles on diverse subjects of lexicographical interest, and there is, perhaps, no better way to honor Dictionaries than to enjoy the research offered within it, each article a gift from one or two members of the Society to the rest and to all those, at any time and in any place, who share our passion for words and books about them. As a special feature, though, this issue of the journal includes a set of memoirs by some of the Society's founders. These are all personal essays: they recall the Society's history and provide a public record of events that begin to recede in memory; they bring colleagues and friends, past and present, vividly to mind; and they remind us that, while every wayfaring lexicographer takes his or her own road, it isn't a lonely one — at least, not as long as we have a Society to welcome us at the end of the day. As I read Vicki Neufeldt's contribution to this section, I couldn't help but pause over my own memories of the various meetings I've attended — Wisconsin, Berkeley, Michigan, Durham — the things I've learned, the people I've known. In Durham, I fell in love with one of the presenters, Jennifer Westerhaus, and we were married on 29 May 2005, just in time to attend the Boston meeting together and present our first paper as husband and wife. Erin McKean, Anne Curzan, Ron Butters, Jesse Sheidlower, and Steve Kleinedler ably represented the Society at the wedding and reception, and several other lexicographical friends sent salutations. When people ask me why they should join DSNA, I can hardly promise such happy results, but I certainly recommend the meetings. In general, then, the year or so since the last volume of Dictionaries appeared has been a good one. But there have been occasional problems, too, and attendant editorial delays: in May 2004, a worm ate pretty much every file in my computer, and it took a month or so to reorganize , only to pack everything up and move to North Carolina in June and July, so that I could start teaching at North Carolina State University in August. No sooner had I recovered from all of this than I vijjEditorial landed in the hospital with pneumonia, from which I had a slow recovery . Thus my best intentions on behalf of the Society were thwarted, and Dictionaries 25 has appeared later than I had hoped. I thank the Society for its patience during the last few months; I know that members wait eagerly for the journal to arrive. But I especially thank contributors for their sympathy, help, and even encouragement during the last few months, which have surely been as vexing for them as for me. Some contributions that should have appeared this year will appear in the 2005 volume, and their authors have been more patient than all of the rest. Luanne von Schneidemesser has reassured members, while I have finished the volume; as usual, she has been supportive in ways that only a conscience can be. And the 2005 volume is already in preparation — it will be in mailboxes well before the end of the year. ...