Introduction (Editorial‪)‬

My students and colleagues do me great honor in dedicating these papers and this edition of the Journal of the Southwest to me on the occasion of my retirement from a long, thoroughly enjoyable, and infinitely enriching academic career. I am grateful for their generosity. Taking time away from scheduled research to write a paper involves a significant sacrifice, especially for younger scholars--even if the purpose be noble and the recipient of the act be a beloved major professor or esteemed colleague. All these papers touch themes that have informed my scholarship and teaching, but they represent significantly more than that. I am pleased that my students and colleagues may have been influenced by my own scholarly passions and proclivities. But these papers reflect much more than Williams' whims (or genuine interests!). They evolve from the scholarly interests and unique genius of the authors. They should, they must. One of the lessons I most emphatically preached to my students and urged upon my colleagues has been the imperative to follow their own instincts, their individual research passions. We should all withstand the temptation to embrace indiscriminately the scholarly fad of the nonce. Equally importantly, students and younger scholars should argue strongly to counter the well-meaning (or self-serving!) directions of major professors or senior colleagues who would have them clone their scholarly directions.