"This is a stupid discussion anyway, trying to compare American-made cars to foregn-made cars. Maybe you missed the picture here. Why does the "Big Three (Ford, GM, Chrysler)" keep laying off workers, shutting down plants, losing billions of dollars a year in profits while say Toyota is building more factories in the US, hiring American workers and making billions in profits? It can also be applied to just about every manufacture in the US. Briggs & Stratton and Kohler = Losing out to Honda and Kawasaki. Harley Davidson = Just pick a Jap bike. Polaris, Artic Cat, Bombardier/Can AM = Again pick a Jap ATV or PWC. Why can Ford, GM or any other US company make a profit paying US wages? The Japs are. Oh and by the way Wally. You stated, "Do some research. You'll find that none of the Jap. plants have union labour.." Sorry to inform you. But the Buffalo WV Toyota plant is about 10% union. The other 90 % of employees learned their lesson watching a stamping plant here in Charleston. The plant had a huge contract with Ford and GM making body panels. Both got fed up with not having a reliable source of parts due to stupid strikes by the UAW. One of which lasted for over a month because the Lawn service the company hired to mow and trim the grass was not union. Ford and GM canceled their contracts forcing the place to shut down putting over 600 out of work for they could not get a contract even if they offered to stamp parts for free.. BWM has since bought the building and has spent millions updating it and have since hired 250 on their first round. And not the first employee has a desire to join a union. For the ones that had worked their before have better wages and benefits than what they did when working under the union. They are thousands of Coal miners here leaving Union jobs to go to work for Non Union mines. For they pay the same wage and have nearly the same benefits. But not having to pay the unions a wad every month. They actually take home more money.

I'm so sorry for all the loss you've experienced in such a short time. You have some situations that I've had including a cat with IBD and hyperT. And I'm often pondering a third cat including when I thought my IBD hyperT cat wasn't going to live much longer. He ended up living a couple more years. I currently have a 14 year old diva cat who is healthy and a five year old cat who was close buddies with the IBD cat who died earlier this year. I thought I wasn't going to get a third cat but I decided the boy needed a buddy since the diva doesn't snuggle up with him like the cat who died. I had some trouble with one adult male who was too aggressive so I ended up getting a seven month old female and they were buddies within a week. I too try not to have them too close in age so I don't have multiple medically challenged geriatric cats at the same time. I can see why you'd want to get another cat now. If the new cat had the right demeanor it probably wouldn't be too stressful for the diva.

I offer my condolences and best wishes, as well. I am pleased that you have that feeling of peace in your heart ... it takes many people a long time to come to that place in their mourning journey. I hope that you haven't short-circuited some of them. Good wishes to you and the others who loved and cared about your grandfather, during the coming days. It is true that many couples, especially in earlier generations when there were fewer activities going on, come to depend so heavily upn one another that when one dies, the other feels little reason to go on living and just waits for death, him/herself. Many wives of recent retirees who have few other interests become very frustrated at having that person around underfoot so much: their house used to be "theirs" for a good portion of each day/week/year ... but that was the situation no longer. Many partners in a very loving relationship also have a number of other interests ... which would please their wives just after they retire ... and will help them become adjusted to single living, after the death of the partner. ole joyful

All of my best thoughts and wishes are coming to you right now, and will continue to come. What an ordeal, and not being able to find out what's going on has to be awful! All good wishes, white light, and everything else holy going out right now and for as long as necessary. Nancy