Hmmn, well George, spring is in the air hereabouts, too. It warmed up to 34 degrees, and the MOUNTAIN of snow on the ground has decided to start its thaw. Jim was out there again today, happy as a giant hummingbird, and shoveling away. He decided not to do the entire driveway (for the first time) because his hip and knee hurt so much. You know, we go once every 2 or 3 weeks to the China Buffet, and every time we walk in, the manager sings out, top of his lungs, "Zhonguo cha!" Now that simply means Chinese tea, but they all know that this is what I will request from the young person waiting on me ... The waiters ALL sing out, "Ni hao!" which just means hello, and even the gal who takes care of the steam tables and speaks neither Mandarin nor English waves and smiles... We don't do anything special -- we don't tip all these people, we don't bring them extra customers -- yes, I do ask for anything I want in Chinese, which they enjoy. Tonite we reached our table, and the pretty girl smiled and said, "Hot tea and Diet Coke?" and we laughed -- how can they remember...? Then just as we were finishing our meal, she arrived at the table with a flourish and placed a dinner plate in front of Jimmie, loaded with 4 pieces of cake, 4 squares of jello, 4 half peaches, and a lighted candle stuck in another square of cake, and sang Happy Birthday to Jimmie, all by herself..! Can you tell me how these people manage to remember those things...? Extraordinary! Penny, NY . ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com