new direction

I posted yesterday under the older thread of common ground, so that my new post only shows up if you look in older messages. Sorry...not real used to how these threads run yet. Ron and others interested in the new group or concerned about trash may want to check it out.
The springs were so wonderful over the weekend!!! I was only sorry that I did not meet AZ Mike.
Wizard, we are so glad that your little munchkins liked the dresses. Making art is fun, but the real reward comes when others enjoy the artwork.
Laughing Bear, I liked your response to the question about our similar names. Maybe one day we'll meet and have a laugh together.
Sorry that I cannot make the new meeting date. I am hoping to return to the springs again this summer, but don't know when I'll be able to. Having some vehicle problems and broke down on the way home. You would never believe who saw us on the side of the freeway and stopped to offer assistance: Mike Castro himself!! If anyone talks to him, please let him know that we did arrive home safely, as I know he does not read the forum.
On the subject of slander, Wizard, I think what Paul is suggesting is that you apply the same logic to the accusations against Mike C. that you apply to the cries of slander...that if it cannot be proven then it should not be said. As to whether it can legally be called slander, that is quite possible. The initial accusations are those against Mike. If there is truth to any of them, then I think the accusers should take the case(s) to court. When you accuse someone without proof, you may well be guilty of slander in the legal sense as well as the common usage sense...if the person who is accused decides to press charges of slander and the accusations cannot be proven, then the court would be likely to find that slander has occured if it can be shown that the allegations have harmed the person accused. Damages would be awarded based on the harm done to the individual by the accusations.
I think, though, that when most people use the term "slander" in regards to this, they are speaking less in a legal sense than in a more general sense. Accusing someone without proof seems slanderous to fair-minded people whether or not a court has declared it to be slander.
Talking with people over the weekend, I did indeed find that there are some who found out how to get to the springs from the directions given on the website, and that some decided to use the new trail or to avoid Bowen Ranch because the website's portrayal of Mike made them leery of accessing through the ranch. I understand the motivation of Wizard in wanting an easier access for his children, but fail to understand the motivation in publicizing the new trail on the web. That act seems shortsighted to me, unless the only goal is to direct people away from Mike. I hope that that is not the case. At any rate, it is done now and we must deal with it, right or wrong.