The end of an era

Forlornly watching fire consume Dutch Annies, Virtual Tombstone AZ in Second Life

In a tight spot

On the porch of the saloon in Black Diamond Hills (Second Life)

Cold hand of justice

Night Hanging, Virtual Tombstone Arizona in Second Life

Text 100 in the Virtual World

Virtual Reality

Crystal Palace saloon fire

StevieG (wearin suspenders) keepin his distance from the conflagration in virtual Tombstone Arizona, Second Life.

Tombstone Arizona is InWorld and out of this world

Tombstone AZ in Second Life. StevieG in foreground wearing suspenders

During my college days, I wrote news and feature articles for the local edition of the Tombstone Epitaph. The newspaper made the University of Arizona Journalism department one of the best in the country--we wrote and designed a paper for a real town with permanent residents. And Tombstone's storied history provided added cache that drew visitors from all over the world.

Dinosaur bones, nearby ghost towns, local beauty pageants, and contemporary town power brokers provided a wide palette for reporters. Today you can follow the goings-on in Tombstone at the online version of the Epitaph, still published by the U of A Journalism department.

Inspired by Casey Olbermann's Epitaph article (Culture Section), "Many travel to Tombstone's virtual world," I recently went through the preliminaries (see above graphic) to enter the virtual world of Tombstone Arizona on Second Life. I will post my experiences there from time to time. SG