Thank you Tom for the comments on the COA convention. I consider myself to be a rank beginner and so often only participate by actively and avidly checking my e-mail for Conch-L postings. I live in a part of the world where my shelling activity is often lived only vicariously. The ocean next to my "hut" is still frozen on July 8, 1999, and so I engage in the "real" activity of a conchologist by the daily reading of these postings. When there's a winter storm and the outside windchill is 100+ below zero (it doesn't really matter if it's C or F at that level) and the ice is over 8 feet thick, when the requests and responses for the best shelling opportunities and places to visit in the Canaries or the Philippines or Miami come through on the list - I'm taken to a place in my mind that you folks can only begin to appreciate. My dream has become to actually visit a COA convention. Hopefully the move from Louisville to Houston is a westerly trend that will continue and soon make it practical for the "frozen one" to finally associate names with faces that, unknowingly, have provided so much assistance and support to a beginner. If nothing else, I truly hope that the COA convention provides the enthusiasm for all those that regularly contribute to the Conch-L to continue for yet another year. In debt and gratitude - Brooke _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com