Dook dook dooka dooka dook dook, dook dook dooka dooka, dook dook dooka dooka, dooka dook dook (Translation: We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year [a very loose translation]) :-) In spite of a virus protector, I got a virus on this computer, and I had to have it put into the ICU of the computer hospital. The good computer doctor downloaded what I needed from the hard-drive and put it onto a CD and then proceeded to do a hard-drive erasadectomy (kind of like removing total immune system before bone-marrow transplant), and then reinstalled my basic programs. I am now in the process of reinstalling whatever he did not have available. Plus, I have had to go through 1200 emails (mostly spam) and delete all of the garbage and empty the deleted items file. I should be back up to snuff in a few days. To those of you who have lost their beloved fuzzies to the Rainbow Bridge, my sincerest condolences. But, may I console you with a few words? Based on what I read in the Bible, which includes the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament), the books of the prophets, the teachings of Jesus (the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), I believe that the animals will be in heaven, as animals are without sin. Further, as a Native American, I believe that the Great Spirit (GOD, YHWH, JEHOVAH, ALLAH, ect.) gave life to all living things and that the spirit must return to the Great Spirit. Further, as one who has studied science, one great law of physics states that ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED NOR DESTROYED BY ORDINARY MEANS, IT ONLY CHANGES FORM), for example, when we burn wood, it changes from wood to light, heat, smoke and ash. Therefore, life, which is an energy form, cannot cease to exist, but only change form (to the spirital form?). I don't know all of the answers to life's questions, that is where faith comes in: You believe in something, even when logic goes contrary to the belief (my belief in the afterlife for all living things does go contrary to what our senses permit us to see, touch, taste, smell, or hear). Next month I will undergo surgery to correct a malfunctioning muscle in the lower esophogus, hopefully to put an end to GERD (Gastro-Esophogeal Reflux Disease). Therefore, I will be out of communication for a while. Please know that each and everyone of you will be in my thoughts and prayers, and I say prayers for all the fuzzies both healthy and those who are ailing. May the Peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, be and abide with you all. Rev. Ronald L. Sims, D.D. [Posted in FML issue 4368]