Dear davidf,

...and if there were a God he would be in his heaven.

Delighted to hear of your good cheer my friend, the positive effect of a contented digestive system on ones disposition should never be underestimated.

Last week we butchered our quarter of a jersey milk cow whose knack of finding ways into a neighbour's turnip patch has meant some of the most succulent fresh steaks I have ever tasted have been enjoyed (with a local red) each evening.

I must admit to a guilty secret. We even cooked a couple up for lunch with yet another delicious red while the children were at school. Felt rather decadent and yesterday hardly ate a thing, totally free from and hunger pangs.

Fresh turnip fed Jersey meat, must try it at least once if you can. Plus the fat makes the best soap.

As to finding the stats on thread responses go to the forum main page and click on the General tab. Then come down the page a little and you will find two preference boxes. Click on them so it reads.

Show '10'  discussions per category, having been started: '1 year back'.

Click display then go to to the next line down and click the heading 'Posts', the one with the little arrow next to it. The database will then return a list based one post numbers.

Let me know if I haven't been clear.

I want to jump into this feeling of euphoria as well. It's like a warm winter coat that you can snuggle in. We've got a wedding anniversary coming up this week-end and we're planning a week-end away to a tranquil setting nestled in the midst of the beautiful Gippsland land. We may never want to leave.

cont'd...

My apologies for the typo. I meant to say, the beautiful Gippsland lakes.

Dear Lexi,

Euphoria me and me for you.

The Gippsland Lakes are beautiful and so is the Victoria coast. You may never want to leave. Wait until summer. As Ira wrote: Summertime and the leaving is easy.

On April 8 I was standing on the deck of a ship sailing over the deep waters of the Pacific. I saw objects like dandelion fluff move above the water and enter the water with a splash. The movements were purposeful so the objects were alive. They were not self-destructive insects. Squinting I saw they were tiny fish about three inches long with extended fins which may travel as much as fifteen feet before they re-enter the water. We were where the flying fishes play. Even though we were in deep waters looking down at the light and shadow of the restless waters there was an illusion of a sandy bottom with irregular patches of seaweed lying on the bottom. There were stray winds marked by regions of tiny ripples on the bigger waves. Where there was no wind above the water the depressions and humps were smooth. In other places it is as though patterns on rice paper superimposed themselves with tiny ripples in the waves sometimes in more than one direction. There were rougher surfaces as a stronger wind rippled the water. The nearby shore was covered with trees to the water line. Shore line broken by fiords with cloud covered Owen-Stanley range at a distance.

It’s getting time to step aside to make room for others to enjoy the world. Detach oneself from desire. Belief in God is itself a form of human desire and clinging, a product of the ego and another cause of suffering in that it prevents a person from becoming an autonomous and free human being.

Dear David f.,

I wish I could give you a hug. You write so beautifully and fill me with such good thoughts. Your stories are awesome and if you ever write a book - I'd be one of the first to buy it. I love reading your posts - you open up windows for me that I wouldn't have looked through had it not been for you. I don't mean to embarass you - but truly you're a gift and I consider myself blessed having met you in this cyber space.