In a message dated 98-01-02 19:05:28 EST, you write: << Don't think we have all the answers, or are necessarily as wise as we may appear--it's a good act. I think a certain amount of tempering goes as the years accumulate and that goes a long way toward the appearance of wisdom. >> Tempering? Yuck! I guess you're right that tempering can sometimes be percieved as wisdom, although I personally have the opinion that tempering is just the outward appearance of either (1) giving up the search (think BIG here) or (2) accepting that one will never find a satisfying answer so one basically believes what one is comfortable with. I guess these are very similar, although to me (1) is much more an "act". More of a throwing up one's hands in frustration and deciding that at least one can look wise. :) (2) is more a logical decision based on logical reasoning... I don't know. I'm freewriting here, thinking as I write. I guess I had to say all that to agree with you that "its a good act". Boy do I need to work on my Getting To The Point skills. Eric