Ebbie my firend, NEVER lay off me and I feel you are far more than a Pekingnese and I far less than a lion. Your point on anecdototal evidence is well taken and I hope I didn't give the impression that I was giving short shrift to the stories. I have had far too many strange occurances in my own life to disregard anything as impossible and they become part of my "chaotic organization" theory. I think there are tings that go bump in the night which are worthy of deeper investigation whether or not a definitive answer is ever attainable.

My son Tristan was born with significant delays and elements of mental retardation. The chances of his even being close to functional were low; so low in fact, the attending doctor would not release him to us from the hospital until she was sure we knew all the facts and the adoption agency had told us all the background genetic details. We have been very lucky that he has progressed as well as he has. About a year and a half later, our other son, Michael, came to us as a foster baby and after working hard to reunite him with his birth mother, we applied for permanent custody and were able to adopt him a few months later. All this background is prologue to this.........Tris will require someone to always be there for him even after Karen and I are gone. That's not why we adopted Michael, but the responsibility will fall to him and even now he is taking on the job at age 7. Now are you ready for the strange part?

When we were going through Michael's file as the law requires, a cold chill went through both Karen and I. We had been in court completing Tristan's adoption before the judge between 2:00PM and 2:30PM on November 25, 1992. Michael was born a few blocks away at 2:15PM on November 25, 1992. Strange coincidence isn't it?

Spaw