Growing up on a farm in South Georgia in the olden days (clue: You
could buy a pack of Lucky Strikes plus a box of penny matches for 25
cents), I learned all the names for God's creatures. There was a large
land tortoise which lived in burrows in the ground. Our neighbor kept
one in the fenced yard for months, feeding him turnip greens and other
vegetables. We kids would take turns standing on his back while he
carried us around. He was about 20 inches in diameter. Anyway, they
were called gophers. Now, we also had gophers (the pocket gopher), but
they were called salamanders. Strangely enough, we also had
salamanders which lived in the small streams or branches, but they
were known as spring lizards.

I was so mixed up by the time I learned the "real" names that I have
been mixed up ever since.

A nice day at the office today. I finished a medium-large wild cherry
bowl and roughed out seven more bowls.
--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

Is there life before coffee?