In response to Mr. Cosgrove's not so subtle "rip" of Wes Britton...whats
your
point?  The MT Forum is for legitimate inquiries just as you suggest.  But
it
should also be a forum of lighthearted tit-for-tat.  Would MT approve of
anything less?  Does Professor Trembly-Scandela's email fall into the
category
of a legitimate inquiry? This forum has typically been a place where the
learned as well as literary neophytes could come for both serious research
and
simple trivia without being dressed down as neglectful by those of  "greater
minds."

The good Professor may have a valid point but, without pretending to speak
for
anyone else, it was in fact her shrill tone that  rubbed the wrong way.  MT
said that "A person who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can
learn no other way."  When we take an arrogant attitude and speak with our
emotions rather than our good sense,  we should be prepared to take our
verbal
lumps and learn the hard way.  And while some may view it as "pathetic", I
think Mr. Britton's satire was the perfect Twain's-eye view of the contempt
MT
himself would hold for such vanity.

Cheers,
Mark Weatherford