I am very grateful for the energy and skill that others expend on my behalf, both directly and indirectly.

Other things for which gratitude wells up: the love of good companions, of family, and of kind souls in small towns. The wealth provided by long experience and a sense of humor. A life free of entangling bureaucracies and multi-tiered administrative gobbledygook (except, of course, when dealing with gummint agencies, health care organizations, insurance, taxes, and large corporate help desks.) A long life in good health, more or less, and a head full of wonderful songs and the will to sing 'em (regardless of ability). A wife I could not live without, a son in whom I am right proud, and a dog who seems to adore me, when hungry. For a lovely home and family with whom to share it, for the silence of the woods and the soft whisper of history that surrounds the colonial town where I live, and the lonesome whistle of the North Carolina RR as it rattles through town. And the stark bright blue of the North Carolina skies, and the thrill of belonging to a country in which I can still invest my affection and pride despite all the strange challenges of the last decade.

And for all of you, good Mudcat souls hither and yon!