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Another comment to add to the thread about our militant attitudes... It's
an easy trap to fall into - I often do it myself. However, I'm definitely
finding that old saw about honey/vinegar and flies to be true.

Recently, I made reservations on-line with Northwest Airlines, but
"gluten-free" was not one of the options under meal preferences. I thought
about just skipping it, but decided to go ahead & call. The operator was
genuinely curious about the diet and whether it was an allergy, etc. She
had had customers request GF meals, but never really knew what it was.

Granted, this woman is not a decision-maker at the airline & cannot help us
get *real* GF meals once on board, but it's this kind of
one-person-at-a-time education that can really help build positive
awareness (and would still be a valuable supplement to large-scale,
big-budget efforts should the Univ. of Maryland study prove a much higher
prevalence of the disease).

Besides, maybe grass-roots education helping people really understand the
disease and the diet will increase my son's chances of becoming an
astronaut someday! :)

Tami

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Tami Powell
Waterford, Michigan
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