>>Running in and out today, just checking messages. Wanted to let you know I read this and will respond more when I can. Great message. It should not surprise anyone in the least that you landed a doc-tah. You just come across sometimes as cynical and ungrateful, that's all. As I said in the beginning, you are one of my favorites here. You are never unentertaining.
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>About expectations of gratitude, I have an arm-long list of _people_ to whom I am deeply grateful for helping us at crucial moments. People, not countries.

I suppose we all do. There are many people I am grateful to, 24 hours at a time. Ya know? Not to be obscure, "Ya know?" has been written on the blackboard at AA meetings the last couple of weeks or so. I haven't figured out who's doing it. There are a couple of suspects.

Back to the tournament, which you are missing out on....