Hi Frank, I appreciate the positive and well written response. I've noticed in the past that you are one of the few who respond to postings that haven't negatively "pushed your buttons" for some reason or the other. In fact there have been a few occasions where I've deliberately stuck my tongue in my cheek and/or have written in a somewhat inflammatory manner just to see if anyone is paying attention to the forum. Yep, they are, and definitely so when the reader feels as though they or their erudition has been somewhat challenged.
I had a professor in a college program I took in Advanced Interpersonal Communication who, while walking about the room listening to our group or one on one conversations, would often comment, "No work being done." It took us all awhile to grasp the truth of what he was saying.
Of course some of us take life more seriously than others, and age can factor in as well. But I'm often dismayed, by what I see in this forum and elsewhere, how little "work" really does get done.
Naturally though, in this forum, there is no real definite direction that one can point their pen at and follow to a logical conclusion. Which sort of fits into one of my own personal beliefs - that in life their is an abundance of unfinished conversations and very few finished ones.
But in fairness to us all, this forum does offer the opportunity to practice our writing and communication skills during a time in our life when we have only the rare opportunity to do so. So I welcome the opportunity to write and even sometimes ramble and digress just because it helps to keep the skills honed.

And speaking of digressions - You mentioned that you've been having trouble with your knees, which by the way convinces me even more that we are near the same age as well as being like-minded. Well anyway, since I started riding a bicycle around town and around the university where I work, I've been amazed at how much better my knees feel. Of course it took a couple weeks before I got past the discomfort of discovering new muscles, but ultimately I noticed a real improvement in my knees. It also saves on taxi bills and uncomfortable bus rides. The downside is that I now walk less and walking of course is also great for the health. It's kind of funny actually. My girlfriend and I are now on vacation and since we're traveling, it has necessitated our walking much more than we had been because of the bicycles. For the past few days we've been moaning and groaning about our sore legs. Well, as my grandma used to say, "Land sakes, you can't win for loosing."