this is the true story of rudolph the red nosed reindeer. :heart:
"True Story of Rudolph"
A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his
drafty
apartment window into the chilling December night.
His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bobs
wife,
Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why
her mommy
could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and
asked, "Why
isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and
his
eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also
of anger.
It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different
for
Bob.
Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was
too
little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names
he'd rather
not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to
fit in.
Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to
get his
job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression.
Then he
was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's
bout
with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his
daughter
were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums.
Evelyn died
just days before Christmas in 1938.
Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even
afford to
buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined
a
make one – a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his own
mind and
told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and
hope. Again
and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling.
Who
was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May
created was
his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a
misfit
outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer
named
Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to
give it to
his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there.
The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little
storybook
and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the
book.
Wards went on to print, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and distribute
it to
children visiting Santa Claus in their stores.
By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies
of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the
rights from Wards to print an updated version
of the book.
In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all
rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and
marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing
family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his
grieving daughter. But
the story doesn't end there either.
Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph.
Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing
Crosby and
Dinah Shore , it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry.
"Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 an d became a phenomenal
success,
selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception
of "White
Christmas."
The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago
kept on
returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the
lesson,
just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad.
In
fact, being different can be a blessing.
Merry Christmas 2008
PainterWoman said:
Thanks for sharing this touching story Scott. I'd never heard the whole story. It boosted my mood today.
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sanshan said:
What a great story. I never knew that.
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Starphoenix said:
That's a lovely story, Scott! Thanks for sharing it. I hope you had a VERY Merry Christmas! 🙂
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BabyJay99 said:
Thanks for Sharing this beautiful and touching story Sir Scott.
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KYren said:
Scott,beautiful story! :up:
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DBabbit said:
What a beautiful story! I'll be sharing this with my niece when she comes to visit today. :happy:
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IArtMan said:
pam,a friend of mine who is now far away sent this to me today. well, yesterday. i couldn't wait to share it. :smile:san,so glad you came by. thanks for commenting. i had never heard the story before either. but before posting, i did do a little research to make sure it wasn't totally apocryphal. even if it was, i reverberated to the kernal of truth it contains. :smile:starphoenix,i know, it is such a moving story. even for me, it was a big help.hi kyren,i am so happy to see you popping up often again. it means to me that your situation has become a little more tenable, with a little more freedom. 😎
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IArtMan said:
cool. it is a touching and very positive story which could reconcile everyone's doubts caused by misfortunes. that to be patient until all the pieces of the puzzle of one's life are in place before passing judgement.
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IArtMan said:
lea,keep up the good work… it's a saving grace. :love:
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BabyJay99 said:
I will. Thank you Sir Scott 🙂
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KYren said:
:happy: Thank you Scott.:heart:To tell you truth I am happy with my life.I am neither from the "heighest" caste nor from the "lowest" caste in the caste system.My caste Bhavsar Kshyatria comes at the second position in the caste system.It's just that I feel that the caste system is unjust and it has to be abolished that's why I wrote the posts.
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lokutus-prime said:
re "lea,
keep up the good work… it's a saving grace."Scott – yes, she does! :yes:Lea – you do profoundly wonderful work and you are loved and respected and held in high esteem by your loyal and enduring friends :king: :heart:
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IArtMan said:
kyran,i know the kshatriyah are second only to the brahmins who serve only god. in war they are the heroes who win wars through great acts of courage. but i am more with the brahmins who wish to penetrate the very reason for our existence.we are in total agreement about the static 'status quo' in modern time which relegates your fate to rules. it serves the power possessors only.it's a giant misunderstanding of the meaning of human existence. wise men in ancient times were only trying to help by categorizing various life purposes.
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SqueakeyCat said:
very beautiful scott, and thanks for sharing it. it helps a lot to know that even famous ppl have over come what life has thrown at them. its also a help to know that not all ppl think that everything is MONEY MONEY MONEY in a time when so many are in need of that type of help.again…thx for sharing
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KYren said:
I am not for Kshatriyas or for Brahmins or for any caste.I am for simply humans.Btw,Siddhartha a.k.a Gautam Buddha was a Kshatriya.Hindu philosophy is not created by brahmins only.Hindu deities,sages and saints who were not brahmins.I wish I could rewrite my blog.I think there's nothing wise in the rigid caste system.A person's caste is not an indicator of his worth.It's an ancient evil tradition and it has to go.
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lokutus-prime said:
Scott, I'll check again later to know if you have seen my comment
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momable said:
:heart:
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noah counte said:
I am heartened by the act of Montgomery Wards to permit their employee the benefits of his imagination. It would have been altogether too easy to just suck it up as we are so used to seeing corporations do. What a great story. 🙂
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SqueakeyCat said:
KINKYCOMMENTS.COM
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IArtMan said:
dearest loku, my real friend. of course i saw your comment. i try to respond to comments but sometimes there is not enough time to do so properly. hi kim… so glad to see you.and matthew, always happy when you drop in.kyren,of course, ideally, we are all humbly equal.mom, :heart: your friendship is welcome always.
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SqueakeyCat said:
COMMENTPARTY.COM
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IArtMan said:
and a happy new year to you too kim. :heart:
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lokutus-prime said:
"dearest loku, my real friend. of course i saw your comment. i try to respond to comments but sometimes there is not enough time to do so properly. " Thanks for that :up: Opera is certainly a very busy place these days, isn't it.Best wishes, Scott
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IArtMan said:
wow, cool writing.sometimes i wish i could own a friend or a girl and keep them in my pocket. whenever i am down just take 'em out and laugh and play.loku english elder brother…. you may be far away, but you are close to my heart.
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lokutus-prime said:
I know you are mighty busy. The World is mighty busy…..Scott, I leave you with some memorable quotes from "The Dark Tower" (Steven King):"Friends come in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant, did you ever notice that?" – end of Chapter 32, The Body (Stand By Me).""The gunslinger waited for the time of the drawing and dreamed his long dreams of the Dark Tower, to which he would some day come at dusk and approach, winding his horn, to do some unimaginable final "I think that real friendship always makes us feel such sweet gratitude, because the world almost always seems like a very hard desert, and the flowers that grow there seem to grow against such high odds." – Chapter 69, Eyes of the Dragon.""..He lay down upwind of his little blazon, letting the dream smoke blow out toward the waste. The wind, except for occasional gyrating dust-devils, was constant.
Above, the stars were unwinking, also constant. Suns and worlds by the million. Dizzying constellations, cold fire in every hue. As he watched, the sky washed from violet to ebony. A meteor etched a brief, spectacular arc below Old Mother and winked out. The fire threw strange shadows as the devil-grass burned its slow way down into new patterns – not ideograms but a straightforward crisscross vaguely frightening in its own no-nonsense surety. – part of Chapter 1, The Gunslinger."
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IArtMan said:
you can say that again loku bro. i've just been kind of chasing my tail lately. you know me… busy busy busy.
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IArtMan said:
wait a minute that doesn't sound right… adieu? no, au revoir.
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lokutus-prime said:
Farewell Scott.
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IArtMan said:
yes. it was always like this… all the vagrant souls reaching out in spite of the wind. comforting each other with good words like this. rest well dear friend. rest well. :love:
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lokutus-prime said:
…FarPoet looked at the snow white words of the ArtMan, as they drifted slowly across his vision. The day had been a long one and the sun had long since swooped down over the world into another domain. He shivered. Was it always like this? he thought, the gradual loosening of a tie, the weakening of a branch, the slow time-sundered coming apart of what once was? Some where the wind murmured in the hills beyond his farsight. Over there, high in the mountains lay a track he had been searching for. Tomorrow he would set out and try to discover it, see where it led to. An aureole glow lit the air. Surely the night was not ended? He had only just hunkered down and was desparately tired now. The dawn would bring energy and a renewal of strength and purpose, but for now FarPoet needed to rest. His weary soul called him to sleep. For another moment he cocked his ear and tried to make out what the wind had murmured He caught it's faint sigh, answering his previous thoughts… it sounded like "Yes it is, it is the way of things, the way of the world, all strings unravel…." FarPoet nodded to him self as he softly said "Aye, it be so, as the wild wind knows" and then his eyes closed as fatigue claimed him and he saw the words of ArtMan melting.:(
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DBabbit said:
Happy New Year, Scott. May your pockets be filled with fun and laughter, and may you find the girl that doesn't mind being safely tucked away in your pocket to come out and play when you so desire. :love:
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IArtMan said:
happy new year to you babs… thanks for the wish. :love:
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Arnekrilu said:
Thank u wiseMan. :love:
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wickedlizard said:
Thanks for sharing that! What a heart warming tale! :heart:
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IArtMan said:
my pleasure to share a story as meaningful as that. it shows you that you don't just let go and let god, but that something is required of us."trust in god, but tie your camel" :smile:thanks for commenting isabel. :heart:and arne… if i were wise i wouldn't be in this situation. 😎
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Arnekrilu said:
But you know. The important thing is what we do in the situation we are. I often like to see who want to steal my camel. :ninja: 😎 😀 :pingu:
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wickedlizard said:
always a pleasure coming to your pages. :heart:
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IArtMan said:
arne,thank you for extending the analogy. for that, you get the story of the donkey and the camel. they traveled together. one day the donkey, who was always stumbling noticed how sure-footed the camel was who never lost his balance."how do you do walk so well never stumbling like i do all the time?" asked the donkey.""well, when i walk, i keep my eyes on the horizon. when you walk, your head is down looking at your feet."thanks isabel, i am always glad when you comment. :heart: :happy:
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wickedlizard said:
:heart: :happy:
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lokutus-prime said:
Sir Scott – you write a beautiful blog :up:
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IArtMan said:
cheers and thank you lokutus brother and friend of mine from the bonnie banks of the thames. :up: :heart: do drop in again. it is now two hours to teatime here. won't you have some? 🙂
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lokutus-prime said:
I'd be delighted :happy: :heart: my scott brother and long time friend from the warm climes of Cal-I-Forn-I-A :)Taking tea is something good for we.I prefer to sup the nectar in a bone china cup,and add a dash of milk, to turn the colorinto pearly silk.Shall we have a cake? One with fruit imbedded.Oh the glory of that. We shall be light-headedas the honey'd taste slides down.Neither thee or me will make a soundas we enjoy our tea – gazing quietly outat the ever undulating sea.Just us two – just we. :up:I keep you in my memory, my dear american brother Scott 🙂
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IArtMan said:
lovely, simply lovely… i like the quiet part and the ruminating by the sea, the undulating immaculate sea.do drop in anytime. :happy:
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lokutus-prime said:
I will, you can count on that :happy:
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KYren said:
Friends,can you tell me how do you remember the words and their meanings and make the correct use of them in a sentence?
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lokutus-prime said:
Yes KYren, I can tell you. But this is Scott's page and I know my Wordsmith brother will delight in explaining to you :)I will also add my humble comment, when Scott has said his words to you :up:
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KYren said:
:up:
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lokutus-prime said:
:up:
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IArtMan said:
what i have done since my teens is keep a pad of paper by me when i read. sometimes i copy sections i like. but to answer your question:when i come to a word i don't know, i copy the sentence. i have a composition book where i write the new words, the sentence and the definition from websters collegiate dictionery, or oxford or american heritage dictionery.i have a third notebook i make up a sentence using the word and write the word about ten times.i used to get so bored doing this that i started writing in colored inks. now the notebooks are beautiful.
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KYren said:
Thank you,Scott.:happy::insane: Improving vocabulary is a hardwork.But the hardwork pays.I love your writing.I had read somewhere that one has to be a voracious reader and make a conscious effort to have a great vocabulary.I don't make serious effort to remember the new words I come across while reading.I have to cultivate the habit of loving words.My head hurts when I meet new words.I skip or ignore them.:D Isn't there any shortcut easy way to remember words,photographic memory? My spoken eglish is bad too.:cry:I don't understand most of english songs and movies without the subtitles.I wish I was born in America.Hi Loku,now your method please.:)
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IArtMan said:
no shortcuts… for everything that we most want has to be paid for in advance. just try keeping a notebook and write down the words you don't know. soon you will know them all. :happy:i think you write very well. you have great possibilities. :up:
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KYren said:
:up: Thanks,friend.
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IArtMan said:
je vous en pris mon ami. :up: bon chance 😎
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Arnekrilu said:
Sir Scott (new name). Thank you for the new story of the donkey and the camel. As you may have guessed, I have a little of both in me. Kyren. Nice to meet you on this page. Good luck with your new blog! And even though it is wondeful to be an artist like ArtMan, I remain happy with being a Jack of all trades, and master of none. If people understand my english (or french, or german etc.), I am happy.:heart: :yes: 🙂
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KYren said:
:faint: now,what does that mean? And which language that is?
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IArtMan said:
french is the most beautiful language.i just said, 'it's nothing' in a very polite way, kiran. :smile:then i said, 'good luck'… bon chance.arne,yes. i was dubbed knight by the lovely queen of singapore who flies by the handle of babyjay… leazz. we have a lot of fun at the castle of happiness.me too… sometimes i am a camel and sometimes i am a donkey.that's funny… i am a jack of all trades too… carpenter, mason, painter, fixer of broken things. 😎
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IArtMan said:
french? one year in the ninth grade. two years at columbia university and lots of french movies.i also read french poetry (with a dictionary at hand of course.} rimbaud and baudelaire.
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KYren said:
Sir Scott,where did you learn French? :cool:Frankly guys,I am just a bit tired these days.But I will force myself to write the blog,Arne.
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KYren said:
🙂 I have been learning English from 5th grade(other subjects in my mothertongue) still my english is mediocre.Want to buy a Rosetta Stone course but it's expensive.
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IArtMan said:
you really don't need that rosetta stone… berlitz is tried and true. but i think you are beyond berlitz even. just read english books and you will soon be as fluent as any american. read the great books which are so well written and spellbinding like dickens and thomas wolf. somewhere i posted a reading list for a friend of mine… i'll see if i can find it. 🙂
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KYren said:
I want to learn the native accent.Do you think by merely reading the books I would be able to undestand a native?I have read about many language learning techniques lately,like immersion technique,input method.All these techniques give emphasis on the listening;watch a lot of movies,listen to a lot of songs,listen to podcastes,concentrate on learning phrases idioms,don't learn grammar books.Should I write a post about the difference bitween Indian english and native english?;)btw,plz give me the reading list to improve the vocab you know.:)
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IArtMan said:
i believe the only way to get the feel of a language is to be in that country. for example i speak spanish better than french because i've been to mexico four times.the post on native indian english would be very interesting.i found it. it's handwritten but you could probably decipher it. i wrote it off the top of my head for a friend who asked me what i would recommend. it's just a partial list, but i think i covered the best.http://my.opera.com/I_ArtMan/blog/2007/07/04/in-response-to-moontan
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Arnekrilu said:
Hi KYren. Do'nt stress with your new blog. I will wait patiently for it. As a student of english, ligustics etc. I have found that different people profit by different methods, but most profit to some degrees by most. My wife profit mostly by studying grammar and vocabularies, I profit most by the imersion method. If you want to speak with a local english or american accent, you have to listen to that sort of language. Most norwegians speak english very well, but with a clear accent, like most indians. BBC is the best teacher of correct, spoken english. More fun are english (not american) films, WITHOUT DUBBING, but hindi sutitles are ok. As wiseman said. The best method is to study the language in a setting where it is spoken. 💡 :yes: :happy:
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KYren said:
Hi wiseman,thank you so much for the list.I have bookmarked it.Btw,don't hesitate to point out any mistake in my English.:up:Arne,I really want to be fluent in English.Being mediocre is not enough for me.If I had a computer with an optical drive,microphone and a speaker I would have been fluent in English by now.My cable operator doesn't provide BBC.Internet is a great friend of an English learner.Today,I will post about the difference between Indian english and native english.:)
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IArtMan said:
hesitate. spelling.
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lokutus-prime said:
Hi Scott bro' – Hi KYren.I have followed this discussing with rapt attention :)KYren – all that my brother Scott has said is wise and good advice. :)I don't know if you are able to get hold of the following publication:THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE : SECOND EDITION : DAVID CRYSTAL: ISBN 0 521 82348 X HARDBACKISBN 0 521 53033 4 PAPERBACK but I give you some details now. In my personal library I have the following hefty tome and it is a gem of knowledge regarding the english language and it's origin. It give examples of spoken english from all of the english speaking countries, noting accents, patois idioms and a host of different and varied examples of how the language is written and presented in various forms, e.g, advertising, PR, political, romantic, journalism, Received Pronunciation (RP) – this is my manner of speech (there are poems on my pages with MP3 voice recordings).I'm looking forward to reading your post regarding the difference bewteen Indian english and native (?) english. I have been to India eons ago 😀
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KYren said:
Hi Loku thank you for the info.I will remember the wise man's adivice.:)Arne,thank you too.:up:I have written the post about englis,plz check it out.http://my.opera.com/KYren/blog/spoken-english
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