Hi, Richard!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   RW>  I don't get exposed to enough new and different living   
   RW>  out here in the sticks, sorta miss it at times.   
      
      
             I can relate.  Years ago a friend of ours lived on a cattle ranch in   
   the interior of BC.  The grass-fed steak she served us was as smooth as butter   
   ... I've never eaten so much at one sitting before or since.  Her neighbour on   
   the other side of a common wall was apparently addicted to C/W music, however,   
   and we very soon tired of hearing identical bass lines repeated again & again.   
   We also found when we visited the area a bit later that in at least one of the   
   local eateries a Caesar salad = a lettuce & tomato salad with Caesar dressing.   
   As an ex-waitress I realize how far this notion has deviated from the original   
   concept.  What you gain on the swings you may lose on the roundabouts....  :-)   
      
      
      
   RW>  None of my neighbors are music listeners really it seems,   
   RW>  not like the city where just in the course of walking up   
   RW>  the road you were exposed to a lot of it.   
      
      
             Yeah.  The upside for me is hearing live music from the window of an   
   apartment or from buskers on the street.  The downside is the people who leave   
   their car radios blaring away while they run errands somewhere else... (sigh).   
      
      
      
   RW>  SEems the lady who lives up the hill from us has a son   
   RW>  who's started to take up the drums, and he seems to   
   RW>  practice a lot in his garage.  IN fact, it was that   
   RW>  which made me remember the joke "when does the drumming   
   RW>  stop" I think I posted in this echo .   
      
      
             If he wants to practice where he can get serious about whatever he's   
   not yet able to do very well... with no concerns about who may be listening...   
   I'd suggest distancing himself one way or another from the rest of the family.   
   In some cases, however, would-be musicians are banished to the garage for good   
   reason.  When we heard a drummer practising in a nearby apartment a few months   
   ago we sent him/her a message... via another tenant in the same building... to   
   the effect that our community band needs more drummers.  OTOH, during the year   
   I was studying choral conducting & practising three instruments in addition to   
   the clarinet the neighbours on both sides of us moved out.  I'm quite sure you   
   wouldn't want to hear me attempt to sing *or* to play the violin... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)