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Jim, Since my congressman, Harold Volkmer, has recently signed on as co-sponsor of the Udall bill, I guess we can consider this a success story. I just wish I could reach more of the others I've contacted - the two senators, other Missouri reps and those on the committees, and, of course, Nancy K. Do we have much chance of success without her help? Harold surprised me because I had received non-commital responses from him previously. I had visited his office when we were in D.C. for the forum in May, but only got to speak to a young assistant (they all look so young these days) who didn't say much of anything. A girl in the office overheard our conversation, though, and told me her dad had pd and she wished us luck with our efforts. I wrote to him again to express my sympathy for him and his wife who had cancer (she has since died), and remarked that he now knew from personal experience the problems of dealing with serious illness on a daily basis. I referred to a meeting we had in his office many years ago, when my children were young and we took them to Washington for a visit. We had stopped by his office unannounced, and he invited us in and just visited with my daughter and me for awhile. I told him how impressed I had been to run into a "real down-home person" instead of a Washington bureacrat. Perhaps the personal touch helped. Of course, he is a Democrat (unlike our senators) and more inclined to favor such programs. Then, too, like Hatfield and Pell, this is his last term, and he may feel the inclination to do something humane and altruistic before he leaves. Whatever his motivation, I'm grateful. That reminds me that I need to write him a thank you letter. I haven't responded to the latest Action Alert yet because I'm waiting for the resource packet from PAN. I've exhausted my bag of tricks on these guys and am waiting for more inspiration. Frankly, I feel like a bit of a pest, though you claim that's the road to success. I just don't want them to think when they hear from me that it's "just that nutty lady again." Any thoughts? Pat Schark