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Janet, Thanks for the dig. We are as a species a paradox.Amen. But I would never say "waiting for worse days!" Here's a view of things as they seem to be Status Report As a species, we are, like Kipling's small elephant, "ineffably curious," and also, like Miss Piggy, greedy for praise and forever fishing for our next compliment. We study the past in the vain and contradictory hope of proving that we have descended from a race of heroes, and also that we are superior to those who came before us. We want to be both noble and commoner, both high-born and self-made. We then write history books which by assuming that which was to be proved not surprisingly prove that which was assumed, and we believe them without a trace of conscious self-deceit . For the moment at least, we can consider our species as being The Greatest Show on Earth, the largest troupe of high-wire artists, aerialists, jugglers, gymnasts, lion-tamers, roustabouts, clowns, and side-show barkers ever assembled. We should not be complacent, however; nothing is harder to maintain than prize-winning mediocrity. Any damnfool can earn that crown of weeds. Copyright G.M. Andes July 1997 George 63/15 and still writing