Hi Ella, welcome (((()))) (: As for the chicken - I guess the most obvious answer is that Salinger was a good Jewist boy who was fed lots of chicken soup as a child. He tends to use it as an emblem of comfort and security - which I guess makes the end of `Just Before the War ...' even more telling. Camille verona_beach@geocities.com @ THE ARTS HOLE www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6442