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Oops! Someone mentioned Jesus of Christmas Eve! Oh the injustice of it all! And imagine - those poor folks without a DELETE key.... Have at it, guys. You all are doing a fantastic job of bringing this list back to life. I've enjoyed the past few days, enjoyed every post, enjoyed the personal emails. I wish I had more time to spend answering every single letter. Roger, the disclaimer was perfect. Thanks! Janet, you are beautiful. Don, the king of the PD list, says it best - "I love you all!" Keep up the good works. Post, and post again. A few may take offense, that's to be expected. It doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't enjoy the ideas and comments. Now, for a personal note: I have two horses that we are going to put down a few days after New Years. These two have been together for almost 20 years. Neither one has ever been ridden. They have been protected by those who love them, as they have loved one another. They snap at one another on occasion, bicker over food, disagree about who should be standing where, but they have protected one another, depended on one another, and supported one another for most of their lives. The female, Biddy, is blind. The gelding, Sam, has cancer. She goes a little bit crazy when she can't touch him, which is why we must put her down also. I wish I had a cure for all the illnesses of this world. I wish I had a way to keep them together forever. Twenty years of life together is a long time. Another week to live is very, very short. There is a parallel between them and the members of our community. If you see it, you understand what I'm talking about - our love is what will keep us together. We may bicker, but we will always support one another because most of us, the people with PD, understand what all this is about. There are those who have questioned me about why I've let Sam and Biddy live this long. "They're useless. You're wasting your time messing with a blind horse and a crippled old gelding. I care about horses, but I don't understand what reasoning you have for keeping them alive." And, just like the members of our PD community, some folks will never understand what we do or why we do it. I can't give any reason to the critics of either group, not one they will understand, and I don't really want to waste my time trying to explain. The critics don't have the power to make me put Sam and Biddy down tomorrow. The critics don't have the power to make PWPs stop loving one another. What I feel here at the computer, reading letters from my friends, is what our community is about. That they don't understand is sad for me. That those who profess to love horses don't understand why I want Sam and Biddy to have a few more days of life together is also sad. I can't change either one. I can only do what I think is right, and do it to the best of my ability. I will love these horses to my dying day. I will offer everything I have to help them make it through another sunrise. I could do no less for my friends here on the list. Happy Birthday, Jesus. And God bless us everyone. Jerry -- Help us save the horses! Habitat for Horses, Inc. A lifetime home for abused, endangered horses. http://www.habitatforhorses.org/