It is rare for me to hit a discordant personal note publicly, but some things are more important than the feelings of anybody that may be reading my small postings. 

I have been absent and busy with other things, in part attempting to get my head around stuff that a friend is dealing with.

I have failed in that, but I think you will understand why...

"We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form."

  William Ralph Inge (1860-1954)