Hello All: Well, if by nice one means being pleasant, then perhaps that's a good thing to take away. However, if nice is taken to mean always being agreeable, as in no expressed differences, then that is not at all what I'm saying. I must confess that my previous post was somewhat influenced by rather excellent Madeira that I find does even more than malt can to justify God's ways to man,* let alone making sense of Twain or any perceived personality clashes on this delightful list. I suppose the main point I was trying to make under that amber spell was that one can say anything one likes without direct, brutal or seeming offense to others if one takes time to write it well. I know online mails are often more akin to transcriptions of thoughts hastily spoken but, in the spirit of the Great American Subject of this list, it might be a wonderful thing if everyone considered putting in some joyful effort to be less abrasive and thus more persuasive when the occasion is called for. I look forward to continued reading here and remain Yours cordially, Benjamin van der Wel (*Paraphrase/redaction of John Donne's famous lines.)