I know, I know!  I didn't think you did mean me personally.  But my initial
reaction gave me pause for thought.  I came up with a personal defense too
quickly -- I didn't know what that meant.  I thought perhaps I'd better tell
on myself.

Now that that's over, I can say that I do know a variety of
"American--English" dialects.  Sometimes I accidentally slam all of 'em in
the same sentence and hurt myself.

In a message dated 05/06/2000 1:28:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Betty,
                 I meant Americans in general, not anyone in particular on
the list.
 At the same time, if my message gave you food for thought, I'm glad.
 Have a great day!
 Mariana
  >>