Thanks for that, WO'N. It's a beautiful piece, in terms of both style and content. And a nice departure from all the "wink-wink nudge-nudge tee-hee" this board has been suffering lately.

Re: Dr. Bill's question, I'm not at all sure why Thoreau is more popular than Emerson. Is it because of his experience at Walden Pond? One of his dictums I particularly like as I begin to ease into geezerhood is "Simplify, simplify, simplify."