those of you with northern european complexions will be familiar with whack-a-mole i went to see my dermatologist bothered about slight itch and scale like someone mopping up a pacific battlefield with a flamethrower she got going with liquid nitrogen this may sting a bit she said then she asked something i didn't comprehend i'm not at my best in doctors' offices she repeated the question no i said i haven't seen anything there i never look in a mirror this is not quite true i do glance from time to time and of course shave but i do not interrogate the image as art historians and evil queens will do she dug out a knife a scalpel wanted to biop my the bugger stung the lie i told myself is i might have liked the era better when a leather strap between the teeth came with a slug of rum but had i lived in that era i'd naturally be dead not only from the swift tromp of passing history but also because legions upon legions of lesions offed their owners i wrote to the governor today to thank him for his courage i believe he acted as a leader ought but i agree with him so my test like the death penalty itself is neither just nor fair David Ritchie, Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html