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