Thank you for the post, Will! I enjoyed reading every caustic comment! :). The final explosive scene you refer to--the one she shares with Salinger when she pulls the ol' "But what purpose did I have in your life?" makes clear that she spends way too much time reflecting on her life instead of living it-- You write beautifully! When is your book about Salinger due out?! Or is it already? :0 m.e. -- M.E. Pierce Dept. of English/ SFASU http://titan.sfasu.edu/~f_pierceme "and gladly would he lerne, and gladly teche." Chaucer