Actually, I'm only in Will's Salinger class in a poetic sense. As for the absence...well, I was unable to maintain a concsiousness for spans of time sufficient to send email on Saturday. At first, I figured I had merely drunk too much (a common procedure for tolerating English department parties), but the nausea kept recurring. Every 2.5 hours some out-of-body will dragged me to the restroom, or to the nearest bowl, for purging sessions. I had to clamp my hand over my eyes for fear they would pop out. By evening I was stable, but I still didn't dare stand up. I suspect it was either the tofu, which was prepared by a particularly shady hippie, or the "polar smack," a holiday drink featuring chocolate, egg whites and rum. I am in Houston now, being fitted for next Wednesday's Byrnes Summit. The jacket is splendid, though the wire is a bit uncomfortable and may have to be moved to one of the Genghis snakeskin boots. -- Matt Kozusko mkozusko@parallel.park.uga.edu