Some of you may have noticed my absence from RinkWorks, and I decided to post this message so that people wouldn't forever be wondering if and why I left. I didn't know how long I'd be gone, but I now believe that I will not be back. Please don't blame anyone; I have nothing against any of you, and I have found some of the most honest, real people here in the past three years.

To those who were here before I came along, thank you for welcoming a stranger and accepting me. To everyone, thank you for your friendship and support. Thank you for helping create a place I truly saw as a refuge -- a place where I could nearly always find a friend. Such things don't happen very often, and my only request is that you offer the same friendship to newcomers that I was offered.

Thank you for showing support when I struggled through a number of trying times, for forgiving me when I messed up, for overlooking my faults, and for allowing me into your lives.

So long, and if you see my byline on national articles one day and remember me, know that I also remember you.

-Layla "Ellmyruh" Bohm