Sorry Norm, I thought Id give you the benefit of the doubt and call it a Ten! Barb came in behind you and spotted us a Twenty anyway. :-) Our location is, has been and always will be free. I think that everyone will agree that thanks to Jan & Jim we have had one of the most beautiful locations imaginable for the last seven years and Im sure that you will all be thrilled with the new one as well. We dont spend any money on the luncheon as far as food or drink is concerned unless we see that there is going to be a shortage of something needed. Our Guest Lecturers are not paid (except for Captain Compost, who more or less screwed-over Jan & Jim but thats another story). Supplies are the real killer. Plates, cups, napkins, forks, knives, spoons, tablecloths, trash bags, pencils, pens, magic markers, name tags, notebook pads and legal pads for 200-300 people every year (and I know that I'm forgetting a bunch of other stuff) all adds up pretty quick. Just the plates, napkins, cups and utensils alone will run us a minimum of $150-200 a year at Costco because Lavonne refuses to buy the cheap crappy stuff. We normally over-buy too just to make sure that we dont get caught with our pants down. Now multiply that by 14 swaps or seven years worth. I have no idea what the attendance numbers are at other swaps but our spring swaps usually have between 125-175 folks and the fall swaps normally are around 75-125. That doesnt factor-in my Ms. Cheap debacle where we had in excess of 400 (which I take full responsibility for my screw-up there) so were probably looking at between 1,800-2,500 that have attended the MTPS since its inception. I doubt that any other plant swap in the country can boast those numbers. Obviously if our attendance was a third or a quarter of what it actually is then our out-of-pocket expenses would be far less. Rest assured that nobody has ever made any money and no one is paid for their hours of time, service and effort; all Im talking about is straight-up financial expenditure for supplies only. Im sure that Ive burned $100 just in gas running down to HHSP and back in the last few months to scope out the new location, make decisions on that location and meet with the principals insuring/confirming the location and working out the logistics but thats strictly all on me and I dont expect anything for it. Hey, Id be more than happy for someone to come take over the financial end of this if they could do it for $100 a year!!! To think that we could pull off what we do with the MTPS for $50-100 a year is actually pretty laughable. Ive even given money to folks that didnt have enough to buy gas get home from the swap. (Not Norm though, Id make him walk or thumb a ride BTW, that joke about the cop and the tickets was hilarious dude!) Bec has to rent her server space, she had to register a domain name, setup the server, do all the programming and graphics, she does all the updates and changes, the site hosting and the artistic logo creation for a 12-page website with a ton of different links. Ive searched the internet a multitude of times and seen dozens of plant swap websites and NOBODY in the country has a website that even comes close to equaling the MTPS site. All I want is to make sure that she gets is what she is out-of-pocket. BEC HAS NEVER ASKED FOR A DIME but Im not going to have anyone spend their own money and not be reimbursed for it even if it means that Lavonne and I have to foot the bill. She has done this out of the kindness of her heart and her love for the MTPS. Bec is donating her time, expertise and efforts just like the rest of us but the difference is that this is her occupation. There is no way that we could pay her normal pricing and service fees for what she has done for us for free! Its not even fair to try and equate what she has done for us with the MTPS site to anything else that is out there because there just isnt anything else out there equal to it and shes not even finished yet! When I look at what she has done for us it makes my piddly little excuse for time and effort look fairly lame in comparison and I was embarrassed when I realized that Ive been unknowingly stiffing her. So. I. Again, Im not complaining one bit about anything but I did want to remind everyone that (A.) we do need those donations for the time being, (B.) we need to help out Bec whether she wants it or not and (C.) that Im adamant about NOT charging an admission as long as it is my decision to make. My post wasnt about beating everybody over the head and demanding more money; Ill eat the $200-$300 a year myself if that what it comes down to and never give it another thought. II. My other concern was that as we continue to grow then we are going to want some nicer stuff and to make everyone aware that about all we are able to do right now is to break even. I understand that some folks will throw in a Twenty and some folks cant afford to donate at all; Im fine with that and always have been! But if everyone does want new, more or larger signage then its going to cost more money. If we want a nice banner or two its going to cost more money and right now we arent getting enough to pay for that stuff at all. Its entirely up to you guys, Im not suggesting that everyone has to drop more money in the donation jar either. I just wanted to make everyone aware of the situation. III. Thats why I mentioned sponsorships by local businesses; Id eventually like to completely do away with the donation jar all together so that none of us have to be out any cash at all and we may actually have a surplus to buy stuff with! IV. Ill gladly share the total donation amounts versus actual expenditures to anyone that has any questions about where the money goes! Ill even have Lavonne start keeping a ledger sheet and we can post it on the website. Geez Louise, this is why I hated to even mention it in the first place but Im not going to have Bec and Doug footing the webpage bill because it isnt fair. So thats all Ive got to say on the matter and I wont bring it up again. Anyone having any further questions can email me directly or give me a call at 615-310-4155. If you read this entire post then I'll give you a dollar. Ill be happy to answer questions that you can throw at me other than questions pertaining to the air-speed velocity needed by a five ounce swallow to carry a one pound coconut from a tropical climate to a temperate one or the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow in any climate. (Birds just arent my thing.) The Characters and incidents portrayed and the names used are fictitious and any similarity to the names, characters, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional. Signed RICHARD M. NIXON Including the majestik møøse Sorry, now I'm punchy and reverting back to Python

I do know what eclectic means, and now that I think of it, I realize that it wasn't literally being misused. But I do think it's often used when people want to show how interesting and difficult to peg they are. Although, now that I think of it, I suppose I just assume that most people have eclectic tastes, so it's not something you'd bother to bring up, since it's the norm. (Though I do love learning which specific combination of things appeals to an individual.) Dilly Dally, maybe you're right, and I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who appreciate all sorts of things. Well, at least you guys have got me thinking. I must admit to having a knee-jerk negative reaction to the word "eclectic," and I'll try to temper that in the future.

The news media is really good about making too much of something in order to increase viewers. Maybe they're doing it again, it's hard to tell since they've done it so much in the past. This is not to say I'm not concerned, though. It's just that I think we shouldn't panic. When the swine flu vaccine was offered, years earlier, I felt it had been thrown together too quickly and I didn't think it was wise to get innoculated. It was a wise choice as later I heard people were dying or having severe permanent disabilities because of it. My family and I do go and get a flu shot every year and have for years, though. My dad was five years old when his father died during the Spanish flu epidemic in Iola, KS. In 1918, people had very little medical care. Dad's dad was never placed in the hospital, because there wasn't one anywhere near, and he was treated with home remedies because there were no medicines. Even at the age of 90, my dad would get tears in his eyes when he would talk about the day his dad died. It was a scarey time, with people burying their loved ones every day. It seemed like the healthiest people were the ones who died. I have read that that particular strain of flu was airbourne and people who caught it were those who were outside the most. There was a huge flu epidemic in the 1700's in Germany. My German ancestors came to America after losing most of their family to it, thinking they would be safe from the flu if they left Germany. Even less treatment for it in those days, but at least people were further apart from one another. Once it got into your family, though, that was it for many of the other members as well. Truly, the flu has done a lot to change history. Like was said earlier, had people not died, many of us would not be here. I wouldn't, had my ancestors stayed in Germany. And my Dad's dad was getting ready to move his family to another state. Had they moved, my dad wouldn't have met my mom. Bottom line is, I'm a Christian and I'm not afraid to die. Death to me is just going to the next stage. Yes, I'll be grieved if I survive but lose my loved ones but life on this earth is a crap-shoot anyway. Death catches up to all of us sooner or later, whether it be flu, war, crime, or crossing the street in front of a beer truck. Take normal precautions, and stay calm.

That's right, Lydia--hopefully the shelters hold on to all those people who didn't get the "celebrity" dog. Should be a requirement that if they don't get the dog, they are REQUIRED to take another!! LOL!! Shelters should make up fabulous tales about the other dogs locked in cages, maybe that would work. They could recruit elementary school kids to write stories and attach them on the cages. Schoolhouse--it's pretty sad, but the help the pooch got just warms the heart. I'm not recommending you look. Some people cannot watch Animal Planet, but I like it because those poor animals get help. I love to see the way they thrive and hang on in the face of cruelty.