Dear Folks, I had no intention of writing down this bit of memory of mine but when I just now recalled a tinkle or a clanging that sounded like cow bells, I knew I had to share the story. Back in 1979 when My Friend Fred was giving me the grand tour of Switzerland, we had stopped for the night at a simple inn. We had already eaten dinner and started to settle down for the evening. It was dusk and everything was quiet in the small town. No traffic, no rowdiness outside on the small road passing through the town and so we figured that it was the end of a perfect peaceful day in Switzerland. And then we heard bells, loud bells approaching toward us from down the road. We immediately went out on our balcony to see what it was all about. And oh what a sight and sound to behold! What was passing by below us right down the middle of the road was a herd of cows led by the farmer herding them back to the barn after the end of the day after being fed in a nearby pasture. Note: Because the cows were herded down the middle of the road, they were holding up cars and trucks and such from both directions. But oh what joyous sounds! Every cow had a large brass bell tied around its neck. And I believe that each bell had its own distinctive pitch so that the farmer could distinguish one cow from another. And as they passed us the air was filled with a glorious sound of different bells clanging together from the necks of the cows. It was a true symphony to our ears. We realized that it was simply Switzerland at its best and as the cows continued down the middle of the road with the farmer at their heals wielding a switch, we knew that the Swiss Tourist Bureau didn't have a clue what was really Swiss in the eyes of us foreigners. The parade of cows down the main street wasn't a tourist ploy. Oh no, the farmer was a tired man who obviously only wanted to get his cows back into the barn at the end of the day. But oh the joy of the privilege of hearing such a symphony of such a variety of beautiful cowbells in Switzerland! vee