Barbara M I am in shock. You had Hemingway write: > > > "It was a dark and stormy night, with the night sky rent by the jagged > brilliance of lightning. He sat there at the window watching the rain > fall and thinking deep thoughts about Sinemet, Mirapex, pallidotomies > and..... " With all due respect, this sounds more like Snoopy (another of the great writers but with a different approach to that of Papa Ernest). The idea of E.H.describing a natural phenominum with other than a simile, is frightening. May I suggest Clouds like used cotton waste hung low, neon lightning lighting the sky and the room where he sat watching the night. Equally frightening is the thought of E.H. actually mentioning something directly connected with the subject of the piece (the thoughts on Sinemet etc). Perhaps as PWP, Snoopy's approach is to be prefered. Hemingways solution to our storm watching friends problems would undoubtably be painful, probably involving being mauled by lions whilst blowing up a bridge. Snoopy would have him meeting the Red Baron, ("drat you Red Baron"), a caring young French girl, and finally lying back on his metaphorical doghouse thinking "what's a PWP without a twitch". I know which approach I would prefer (bring on the caring young French girl). Dennis. ++++++++++++++++++++ Dennis Greene 47/10 [log in to unmask] http://members.networx.net.au/~dennisg/ ++++++++++++++++++++