Barbara, it's funny you bring up Wiccan and spells. I have come to the understanding that the military is made up of mostly very conservative, Christian, staid, straightlaced people. So imagine my surprise when saw a whole row of books on spells and Wiccan philosophy in the base bookstore the other day. I have had to reorganize my little mental picture. There is obviously enough of a demand to get those books on the shelf. I was impressed.

As to the contract, my job will be team leader. There are plenty of people who will be doing the grunt work. They are good people and will make the job a lot easier to take. For perspective currently there are TWO team leaders doing that job. I shudder to think what will happen when they settle that cloak of responsibility on my shoulders.

Charley, I have some bad news for you. What we do for music would not be considered entertainment by the modern TV generation kids who make up the military. They would think it a waste of time and money. So it is unlikely we will be flying Roll & Go in for a winter concert series on the island. That's even if I had the power and money to make it happen.

When you mention snow removal I am reminded of something one of our Mudcat brethren or sistren said about house cleaning. It was something to the effect of; why bother, it only silts up again. Of course I know why you bother. You need to make room for more snow. And more and more and more. Charley, you are only half way through December and you already have a lot of snow. What are you going to do with the storms of January and February, not to mention March? I remember last winter when we were running out of room in the dooryard.

As for the "shite" threads, I generally ignore all those opinion threads. I don't care to read other people's opinions of stuff. I make my own opinion and keep it to myself unless asked. If someone has something negative to say I generally turn off anyway. It comes from being married for 17 years to someone with her own perpetual black raincloud, a glass-is-half-empty-and-could-spring-a-leak-any-moment kind of person. I've heard enough negativity to last me a lifetime.

Cairns is only four hours away but Sydney is a lot farther off. Still, I'll keep the festivals in mind. We'll see how the money and leave situation looks when we get closer to the date. I am planning to take a week off in March. I have to go to San Diego for a two week class and may take an extra week to fly home and surprise my parents. "Oh I was in this hemisphere and thought I'd drop in."