Thanks for the Shell Oil Website. It's a little confusing, considering that
more than one company is involved, but it's clear that Shell is nowhere
near as old as I thought it was. Guess I can't trust any memory that is
older than 1970. My apologies for spreading urban legends!

So. Which shell dealer has been in business for the longest time? Has any
shell company lasted for several generations?

(Helmut: I have heard that there is a tavern in Salzburg that offers free
beer to any man who is 90 years or older, as long as he is accompanied by
his grandfather.)

Back to the field... I am tracing the contact between Ordovician limestone
and Silurian sandstone along Red Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama. The
poison ivy is luxuriant and beautiful, with big glossy leaves reaching
higher than my knees. The other day, a smilax thorn stabbed my forearm to a
depth of 1 cm, right in a vein, when I grabbed a tree to prevent falling
down on a slope. The bruise from bleeding under the skin is now in many
interesting colors. I have so far avoided touching the devil's walking
stick, a plant with more thorns than you can imagine. Isn't it wondrous to
see nature green in tooth and claw?

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama