--- On Sat, 6/27/09, ExoticRainforest wrote:
From: ExoticRainforest
Subject: [Aroid-l] our dear friend Julius Boos
To: "Discussion of aroids"
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2009, 2:33 AM
One of the most valued contributors to the International Aroid Society and Aroid l is a brother to all of, my dear friend Julius Boos. With Julius' permission I wanted to let all of you know about his medical condition.
Julius was diagnosed earlier this week with Pancreatic cancer. That form of cancer is extremely difficult to treat and/or cure and Julius has made it clear to several of us that his personal prognosis is not great. Julius is a remarkable man and is one of the most brilliant people in the aroid community. He has authored many papers on aroids as well as other scientific papers on insects and other animals. Julius is also a co-author of scientific papers introducing new aroid species to science and there are more in the publishing process right now. He has personally guided me almost from the very beginning when I elected to try to create a website on aroids and tropical plant species with good scientific information written in a way any one can understand. Julius has proofed and made positive updates on my efforts many, many times. Over the years we've traded thousands of email and quite a few phone calls. I have no idea how many times I've quoted him but his name pops up on my site more than anyone else other than Dr. Croat. In 2006 he helped to track down a plant that was on the internet called the Rare Thailand Parrot Flower than almost everyone thought was a hoax. That page on Impatiens psittacina is the single most often visited page on my website with as many as 1000 individual visitors in a single day on some days. If you were to do a Google search his name will pop up on many, many pages.
He has asked that his email not be flooded with tons of mail since he is currently having a great deal of problems with his older system and at this time sees no reason to replace it. Brief notes would be appreciated but attachments can cause unnecessary problems. I personally have great faith in prayer so many of my personal friends have added Julius to their list of people they ask God to take care of. I'd like to see as many of us as possible do the same but even if you aren't terribly religious please do remember "Ju-Bo". If you were to go back through all the Aroid l postings (and you can back to 1996 here: http://www.hort.net/lists/aroid-l/ I would doubt anyone has given more great advice to aroids than Julius.
Julius has told me on the phone he is perfectly at peace with his medical condition and is feeling well. There are more tests that must be done but please do think about him.
Julius, please remember that thousands of us love you dearly, just like a brother! I know of several Aroid l members other than myself that literally consider you to be my brother. I only wish I had made your friendship many, many years earlier. And for those of you that have never met Julius this is just one more great reason to attend the IAS Aroid Show and Sale in September. Julius like always, Julius plans to be there and so should you.
Steve Lucas
www.ExoticRainforest.com
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