I received an e-mail yesterday telling me that Mel Smart, owner of Acra-Bond Laminates in Montana is very sick. He's had a bad staph infection which caused pneumonia-like symptoms for the past 5-6 months, and he has just been readmitted to the hospital. He'll be out of work for at least the next 4 months.

Maybe thats why I never got a response back from him. If anyone is reading this that has regular contact with him... I hope he has a speedy recovery.

Mel is a very nice gentleman. Sorry to hear that.
I wish him a speedy recovery.

I wanted to let you all know that Mel has been suffering from advancing Staph infections for the last 6-7 months. He spent about 8 weeks in the hospital late last year and thought he had the problem licked. Unfortunately, the infections worsened after he returned to work and tried to get his business back on track. Last week, Mel was medivaced to Ft. Harrison. The prognosis is only fair, and he is likely to be out of action for four months or more.

He�s asked me to keep his customers informed and to try to serve their needs by using his vendor�s services to deliver stocks and stockmaking services. It will take a little time to organize, but hopefully we�ll have a delivery plan in place sometime in April. Feel free to mail me directly (rod@mountainofdreams.com) about particular needs, but please always copy Mel on the email. He may not be able to read them anytime soon, but I want him to have all the information when he returns.

I'm organizing Mel's customer files and contacting everyone. Once that task is complete, we'll be scheduling most of the work through local craftsman who agreed to get it done to Mel's specifications. In a couple of weeks, I'll be able to answer your specific questions and deliver formal quotations. Mel's prices will still be met.

Rod