Brother am I late with this! In a message dated 02/04/2000 11:35:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << If Lee had kept his commission, the war would have been far, far, shorter. Too bad he didn't--too much blood was spilled. Plus, he got suckered into commanding a Confederate army when all he wanted to do was defend Va. Then you got Jeff Davis--talk about your incompetents! Agreed! And it just wasn't possible for Lee to really command the entire confederate army in his circumstances! Ever read Shelby Foote's seminal "The Civil War"? Wonderfully in-depth. It certainly ain't baf'room reading. No I haven't and bad on me. My nephew and I were talking about Foote not long ago too -- how about that? He is the one in the family who knows the most about this, but I'll get right on the reading assignment. I've seen my family's coat-of-arms. I think it features a drunken Scotsman scratching himself underneath his kilt. I believe the motto is, "Semper Pruritis" (Always Itching). Semper Pruritis -- I love it! Man you've got me beat by a mile. Mine features a duck walking on her own eggs. What idiot duck does that? Maybe it's a drunken Scotch duck. And who's the idiot in my family who thought this would make a good coat of arms? Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is? BTW--to me, "sugah" is hugs and kisses, as in when a plump aunt comes over and says, "Gimme some sugah, hon". >> Ah...well, my grandmother used to call everybody sugah, but I'm familiar with both meanings. I'm plump and I'm an aunt, but I never demanded "sugah" from my nephew. He'd probably toss his cookies.