[Harp-L] Merry Christmas (and a little story, not much harp content)

[John Kally <jkally3@xxxxxxx>]

I don't do a lot of posts anymore, partly because I get the digest  
and by the time I see something I might respond to, lots of  replies  
have already gone out.  About once a year I may do a post about  
clearing out some extra harp stuff I've accumulated, frequently  
because of something new I've replaced it with due to what I've read  
about here.   I still read just about every posting on harp-l and  
grateful for all the good information that comes out, and  the  
opportunity to  connect with  many harp-lers I've had a chance to  
meet in person or through email.  OK, now my little story, if you'll  
forgive the bandwidth:
A couple of days ago I returned from walking my dog in the  
neighborhood to find three young, nervous, armed burglars in my house  
(I only saw two, the third had a gun to my wife's head , walking her  
around in search of "valuables" (incidentally, we are not, by any  
stretch, affluent people, just a couple of schoolteachers).   Then  
they had both of us facedown on the floor, at gunpoint, and I thought  
"this is it" but they left without  firing a shot.
Other than a few scratches and being scared out of our wits, we  got  
through this ordeal OK.  As for the stuff they took (some cash, a  
little jewelry; actually most of my gear was still stored from a  
recent trip to attend a funeral for a family member but I don't think  
they were looking for tweed amps!),  we can replace that, no big  
deal.  But having our lives spared, now that's a big deal.
So right now, to paraphrase comedian George Burns,   I'm "happy to be  
anywhere" and hope everyone has a good holiday and a safe one.