Hello, all -- thanks for the welcome-back wishes a few days ago, Peter & Andrew and others. It's nice to know that I was missed. At the same time, I realize that my absence was so long that some of you may have completely forgotten me. And, of course, I'm a complete stranger to those who are new to the list. (We still number about 350 subscribers in total, by the way.) Peter, I'm relieved to know that a note explaining my long absence from the list isn't required. But perhaps the right thing to do would be to provide at least some explanation, however inadequate. First of all, sorry to have left HWE in the lurch, as it were. And with no notification or explanation, either. But, as I said a day or so ago, you were all getting along quite well without me. I knew that because I was keeping an eye on HWE. There are many Rootsweb lists, you know, where the list admin seldom or never makes an appearance and most of the list subscribers are completely ignorant as to who the list admin is (or even if there is one). Anyway, things other than HWE have been keeping me occupied these past several months -- but it was nothing earth-shattering or cataclysmic. Just the stuff of life that sometimes carries us along. Ordinary events like -- there were ongoing computer problems as well as responsiblities of home and family, visits from friends and relatives, a couple of little holidays, the need to complete some projects that I had put off for too long, etc. I'm sure you all know what I mean. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." (John Lennon) And, lastly, I must confess that a deep and despairing melancholy came over me in the first few months of the year. I needed time to withdraw into a little shell for while, so that I could ponder the state of humanity on this planet at this particular time in history. I didn't come to any happy conclusions. So, there you have it. And now, as I suggested in one of my messages a couple of days ago, I'd like to get back to the business of this list. Therefore, in order to keep this post at least a bit on-topic..... A few days ago, on 28 Sept, Peter asked "why a Walloon is so called". Hmmmm, well.....I wonder if there are answers to be found on our HWE website at: http://www.island.net/~andreav/hugswalls.htm? See what do you think. Andrea (list concierge)