Alice, Erica, opera isn't as rare among folkies as I thought. Not me but one of the guys in our group loves to sing it (I don't have a clue), he's also wild aboutthe songs of the Alpenie (sp?, that's how it sounds), it's songs from the Alpenie Mountain soldiers that fought with the allies during WWII, after practice he tries to start us going on 50's & 60's Do Whop. A little over a year ago I broke both legs, I had just got my first dose of hi-teck, it was a delight to have the folk world over while I mended, Ive been just about daily since. I've been walking around for years looking to fill in the gaps of some of the stuff I do, waiting for someone from Oz to explain this or run into some else from Scotland to fill in that or I heard this thing at a festival but no one else can give a clue as to who, what or where, until Mudcat. I enjoy passing along my 2 cents as well the info. Some folks here I've known & sung with for 20 yrs, John Nolan over to my East & I get to see Ricky Rackin, my old roommate, once & a while, 3000 miles away. There are others I've sung & partyed with, who's names I see in the members list who I'm looking forward to seeing when they do get around to showing up in the forum, & it's nice to put a face on the names I see here, like meetig Dick & Susan at the Champlain Valley Folk Fest. & LaMarcia & her husband at the NEFFA fest. (they were wonderful, lots of talent there). And the likes of the personalities that hang about, opinions from the world over, more about folk than could be hoped for. I see where getting the likes of Frank Harte lately (welcome aboard), Louie Killen lurkes about from time to time, Art's been a steady (sorry you're hooked, but it's nice to have the company), Abbey Sale's been out there knocking but won't come in, yet, come in Abbey, you're as appreciated as much in here as you were on the newsgroup. So we have in here from the great to the green & all as pleasast as pie & drinking from the same trough, it's as good as a festival that just keeps going on without the slightest hint of fatigue. Thankfully, Barry