Dear Andrea: As if you didn't have enough to do! Thanks very much. As you'll see in another message, his name is Peter, and he will be much amused and bemused by all the e-mail messages, which we expect will come from all over the world. We have a weekend of activities planned for him, including work crews to help him plant the hundreds of annuals he puts in each year, tennis matches he is sure to win (and throwing the match to brighten his birthday will not be difficult, since at 80 he still plays a mean game of tennis), and rum and cokes before a gourmet meal prepared (and likely ruined) by the four of his children still in the Montreal region. Speaking of which, I had to turn the job at SFU down, because I could not convince my ex-wife to move to BC (I came this |--| close) and I could not bear to be without my kids for long stretches of time. (I can barely stand it now when they're with their mother every other week.) At 13 and 16, the kids will need me around for a little longer. It was a painful choice, but softened somewhat with tenure and sabbatic leave, which I've been granted here at McGill. O well, it rains out there a lot, doesn't it, and now they have all those nasty Reform party types running the show. I think I prefer the snow and the separatists! Again, thanks. Have a fine, long summer. Love, Anthony.