Hi, Daryl!  Recently you wrote in a message to ARDITH HINTON:   
      
   AH>  Dallas would remind me that others might want to use the   
   AH>  BBS, and I'd remind him that since we were paying the bills   
   AH>  I felt we should have first dibs on it....  ;-)   
      
   DS>  Rank has its privileges.    
      
      
              Or as a musician would say, "He who pays the piper calls the tune."   
   AFAIC it's quite true that if someone offers the dance band a generous tip for   
   playing their favourite song the musicians will do their best to oblige.  :-))   
      
              Initially we got... i.e. at our own expense... a few echoes we were   
   interested in & decided to make them available to other folks.  Later we got a   
   lot more at the request of our users.  I can count on the fingers of one hand,   
   however, those who donated any of their $$$ or time or surplus hardware to the   
   BBS although we once had over two hundred users.  IMHO I wasn't being selfish,   
   just doing a bit of healthy limit-setting.  Some people will walk all over you   
   if you let them.  We have a male friend who's in exactly that position because   
   he can't bear to say "no" to a damsel in distress.  We're not the only ones to   
   have noticed that a certain damsel has been taking unfair advantage... (sigh).   
      
      
      
   DS>  On ham radio (another one of my hobbies), you start talking   
   DS>  about food on the air, and folks come out of the woodwork.   
      
      
              Yes, it does seem to be a popular topic.  Dallas & I first made the   
   acquaintance of one of our neighbours when he saw us buying stuffed chicken at   
   the local butcher shop & asked how I cooked it.  We know very little about him   
   except that he is interested in cooking.  But he's a nice guy, so when we meet   
   by chance we all exchange pleasantries & share our ideas on the topic....  :-)   
      
      
      
   DS>  I found some Little Debbie Brand Banana Pudding Cream Rolls   
   DS>  at the local Kroger yesterday, and they are delicious. I think   
   DS>  I ate a whole box in one day. But, I need something to satisfy   
   DS>  the sweet tooth, and to me, a meal isn't a meal without dessert.   
      
      
              Hmm.  When I was growing up, dessert was an optional extra which we   
   had only when my father (who worked afternoon shift) got a day off.  And since   
   I've heard that sugar can do bad things to folks with irritable bowel syndrome   
   I'm concerned about what various "sweet stuff" may be doing to your body.  :-(   
      
      
      
   DS>  Most of the clubs have folded, because while square dancing is   
   DS>  a hobby, and should never take precedence over ones church, job,   
   DS>  family, or health...for the ones that are still active, it seems   
   DS>  that no one wants to do the work behind the scenes. They think   
   DS>  everything will just happen by itself...and the same goes for   
   DS>  the ham radio hobby that I'm involved with.   
      
      
              I hear you.  Dallas & I are the sort of folks who notice what needs   
   to be done & just do it, although nobody else seems to notice what we're doing   
   until they expect us to solve all the world's problems.  Congratulations.  You   
   have earned your stripes, IMHO, as one of us annoying Old Pharts... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)