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