My wife and I took our first Steamboat cruise, a very short one, in 2000 for our 25th wedding anniversary, I was convinced I would hate it, but my wife prevailed. My, oh my, oh my, what a first time experience.  We were so  taken by this  Legendary Lady of the rivers that  I think we went a little crazy, neither one of us could get enough of her fantastic crew, her ambiance,  her  furnishings, her smell, her vibrations, her incredible food, her exciting entertainment, her incredible history. In 2000 we took our first Delta Queen cruise, in 2007 we took 6 cruises on the Delta Queen, all told we have taken 20 cruises on the Delta Queen in 9 cruising seasons , and we would have taken even more if vacation time allowed. True story, in fall of 2007 I partially retired strictly so I could take MORE cruises on the ol' gal without worrying about my vacation days. We have met so many people on the Delta Queen that have become our true dear friends, notice I didn't say they were all passengers, some were crew. We have become so close to the crew, from Captain to Nightwatchman to Deckhand, all have become so close to us that we feel like they are truly family. We dream about the boat, we worry about the boat, we worry if we will ever feel her love again, smell her smells, drink her coffee, walk her decks. This boat is safe, safer than my house, safer than my car, flying on an airplane. I'm safer sleeping on this boat with her state of the art fire detection, her over designed fire sprinkler system, her continous night watchman, her trained fire response crew, than I am sleeping in my own house...Why is this not a no-brainer  to allow her to continue after so many exemptions have been rubber stamped? We as a country agreed that she was safe enough to carry an acting President and his family on vacation along with the Nuclear launch codes. Why is Jim Oberstar stopping this "always passed in the past exemption" now? I believe this man has been bought by the unions, unions exceptionally upset when the Delta Queens owners allowed the boat to go non-union in 2007, look at Jim Oberstar's campaign contributions, him blocking the exemption has nothing to do with safety...We love this boat, we adore this boat and all she stands for, the history, "the last one of her kind", Please try to save her. I'd like to show my grandkids her magic, her love...My wife and I stand ready to cruise her again, and again and again...