Dear mmbers of Conch-L, Please remember that we are all linked by a common bond - a love and appreciation for the beautiful and fascinating creations of molluscs. We may differ from each other in a myriad of appearances, opinions, national origins, and many other ways. But Conch-L does not exist for us to argue about anything other than, for example, "what is the correct scientific name of this species?" PLEASE, let us leave our differences about anything but shells aside, before the situation becomes even more ugly (and not even mentioning that non-shell related arguments are not permitted by list rules). Those of us in America thank all of our foreign membes for their condolences, which, in a situation like this can briefly transcend the rules of the list. Let us now return to "business as usual." Sincerely, Linda Bush