At the risk of interrupting my stream of levity, our mysterious friend, Nephew of Estelle, needs to consider this lead stuff is serious business. A true barrel of crickets. Scraping lead paint is going to produce dust as well as chips, which is going to spread all over the ecostructure, including petunias, neighbor's sandboxes, etc. We nastier Pinheads should be sure to get lead tests done on any unsolicited shipments of homegrown Ohio vegetables. The entire Estelle Clan--and their neighbors and contractors-- should have their lead levels checked before and after the work, and go around with HEPA masks and vacuums. As a wise Supreme Court Justice once said (approximately), three generations of cretins is enough. Then he can start worrying about compliance with environmental laws, if there are any, in those states some of us prefer to fly over. Solicitous and sensitive as ever, I remain Ralph