Thanks to all who sent words of encouragement while BEE-L was off
line.  There were more than I could answer individually.

BEE-L was closed due to technical difficulties.  The techinical
difficulties involved loosely veiled threats of retribution in various
and sundry forms and demands of what I must do to satisfy the
allegedly aggrieved person.  after tyring to reason with the alleged
aggrieved party, I thought it best that I be quick to end the threat,
hence the temporarily closing.

After a very trying weekend, I have decided to satisfy the demands of
the allegedly aggrieved party.  Hereafter, any post submitted to BEE-L
even vaguely mentioning said aggrieved party will die in my inbox.

I had to make a long drive this weekend to address business of my
State Beekeeping Association.  While I was driving I thought of the
following analogy.  If someone requested a ride to my meeting, I would
gladly accommodate the request and cheerfully give the person a ride
in MY vehicle.  I would NOT ask for gas money and I wouldn't tell my
rider what they could or could not wear.  I would tell my rider
beforehand that they could not smoke in MY vehicle, and I would inform
them ahead of time that I like to listen to audio books while I drive.
 If the rider told me that they must smoke and cannot tolerate audio
books I would tell them, "Sorry, I can't give you a ride."
My rider agrees not to smoke and looks forward to hearing a good book.
 So now my rider and I are driving in MY vehicle on a long trip,
listening to an audio book (currently _Legacy_of_Ashes_ by Tim Weiner,
a fascinating history of the CIA).  But I digress.  I'm listening to
my audio book, and my rider keeps blabbing away any I'm having a hard
time keeping focused on my audio book.  After 40 miles I realize I
really haven't heard any of the last few tracks, so with dramatic
flourish I skip back a few tracks and politely tell my rider that the
conversation is interfering with my desire to my audio book.  My rider
apologizes, and stays quiet for a few miles, then starts up a
conversation again.  After another 40 miles of distraction, I politely
tell my rider that the conversation is not welcomed and I insist that
they sesist.  After five more miles my rider starts a heated
conversation bsaying that if I would drive a little faster we'd get to
Syracuse sooner and we wouldn't have to listen to this boring history
of the CIA.  After all, my rider knows all about the Bay of Pigs and
could tell Tim Weiner how his perspective is all wrong, and how he is
a real son of a bee for getting it all wrong!

I remind my rider that we agreed that while we were riding in MY
vehicle, we'd be listening to an audio book, and that when we ride in
MY vehicle, as the driver of MY vehicle I set the cruise control at
the speed limit so I can get a few more pages out of the trip, and
that doing so assures I will not get speeding tickets and that audio
books have helped curb former aggressive driving habits.  Audio books
have made me a "Reformed Vehicular Terrorist".

So now my rider's beef with how Tim Weiner wrote HIS book that we're
listening to in MY vehicle becomes a verbal attack on ME, with vague
references of trying to wrest the wheel away from me so we can drive
faster and lister to punk rock.  Then my rider lights up a cheap
cigar!

As far as I know, my rider is still in Syracuse.

With no fanfare, BEE-L turned twenty years old last June.  I did not
"own" BEE-L for all of those years, it was originally "owned" by Dr.
Ed Southwick who worked at SUNY Brockport.  BEE-L has always been
hosted at the University at Albany.  When Dr. Southwick passed away,
BEE-L would have been retired had I not continued its sponsorship.
LISTSERV lists hosted at the UAlbany require an annual renewal.  If
the sponsorship is not renewed, the list is retired and the archives
are purged.

Guidelines for posting are available at Full guidelines for BEE-L
posting are at: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm
If you ride in MY vehicle, smoking is not allowed and the rules of the
ride are not open to discussion.  Call me a fascist, some have, it's
in the archives!  Archives can be searched at:
http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?S1=bee-l

Aaron Morris - 20 years and counting!

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* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at:          *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm  *
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