The Israelis and Arabs finally realized that, if they continued fighting, they would someday end up destroying the world. So they sat down and decided to settle the whole dispute with a dogfight. The negotiators agreed that each country would take five years to develop the best fighting dog they could. The dog that won the fight would earn its country the right to rule the middle east. The losing side would have to lay down its arms. The Arabs found the biggest, meanest Dobermans and Rottweilers in the world. They bred them together and then crossed their offspring with the meanest Siberian wolves. They selected only the biggest, strongest puppy from each litter and continued to breed them together. They used steroids and trainers in their quest for the perfect killing machine. After the five years were up, they had a dog that needed iron prison bars on its cage. Only the trainers could handle this beast. When the day of the big fight arrived, the Israelis showed up with a strange animal. It was a nine-foot-long Dachshund. Everyone felt sorry for the Israelis. No one else thought this weird animal stood a chance against the growling beast in the Arab camp. The bookies predicted the Arabs woul win in less than a minute. The cages were opened. The Dachshund waddled toward the center of the ring. The Arab dog leapt from his cage and charged the giant wiener-dog. As he got to within an inch of the Israeli dog, the Dachshund opened its jaws and swallowed the Arab beast in one bite. There was nothing left but a small of fur from the killer dog's tail. The Arabs approached the Israelis, shaking their heads in disbelief. "We do not understand. Our top scientists and breeders worked for five years with the meanest, biggest Dobermans and Rottweilers. They developed a killing machine." "Really?" the Israelis replied. "We had our top plastic surgeons working for five years to make an alligator look like a Dachshund!"

Wow....what an amazing list of people.... too many of them no longer with us or active here. It is nice to remember some of their names and their struggles that we shared. Thanks for the memories.

Rob, great to see you! Your life sounds full, hectic, but gratifying. I second everyone's kudos in the mom department for you! We seem to have a lot in common. I'm a researcher/writer/editor/teacher/historian by profession (it's so hard to explain what I do, haha!). And music is a HUGE part of my life. I worked for 12 years as a professional musician before going back to college to do whatever it is I do now. My parents were so supportive of me and my music growing up. I didn't realize until I was at least in my 30's how exceptional they were. I cannot remember one single time them asking me to stop practicing or even goofing off with my friends on the piano, drums, guitar, trumpet, whatever...and I didn't know for a long time that other kids' parents weren't like that. Lass--we are lucky here in Washington (state) to have several excellent writing grants available to us. Think positive! If you don't get it this year, write and ask them how you could strengthen your writing to be competitive for next year. Then follow up and apply again! Also, check out Jack Straw. It's an amazing fellowship where they have you share your work on NPR and other venues. IIRC, the deadline is usually in October. And thanks for the encouragement! I'm celebrating small successes. If I do a little each day, it will eventually get done. :-) I'mhappy--have you tried opening your printer on your hard drive and making sure it's properly installed? Sometimes a printer can go offline even after it's been fine before. One easy check would be to uninstall it from your computer and then reinstall it. llucy-- I'm glad things are OK with your mom, but sad that you have been experiencing anxiety. I don't have first hand experience with that, but definitely second hand, as my daughter Joy has a lot of anxiety issues and full on panic attacks. I understand how frightening it must be. You're in my prayers. Steph--so very sorry you've been sick!! This heat sure doesn't help! I know you feel internal pressure to get stuff done every day, but remember your health is job #1 and getting the rest you need to get better IS doing something! Laundry and dishes aren't going anywhere. They'll wait until you're feeling up to it. :-) Audrey--that cake looks amazing, just like your name, lol! I swear if I didn't have diabetes I'd bake, then eat, that entire cake, hahaha! murraysmom--how cool is it that you have such wonderful friends to vacation with!! That sounds delightful!! And YAY for recycling! Shades, if you ever line your entire yard with empty wine bottles, I'm driving over the state line to have a serious chat with you, hahaha!! ;-) Schoolhouse, let us know if you try the tea again and how it turns out. Maybe it was just something different about your digestive system at the time and it will go down like it's supposed to now.

Between running, strength-gym work and walking the dog, I'm exercising every day. Last Sunday we did a two hour trail run through a canyon and didn't hit any snow but we were scrambling over some downed trees which were victims of our horrible winter.