In a message dated 8/9/2005 6:13:17 PM Mountain Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Just checked my dictionary to make sure I wasn't imagining words; tow is a coarse fiber from jute or hemp and gunny is a cloth made from coarse fibers, so tow sack and gunny sack, which we used interchangeably, are appropriate words for what us Okies and Texicans used in ever day use. Billy Well, I am 60+, born in Texas, lived most of my life in Colorado and I have always called them both . My parents were both born and raised in northeast Texas. My father was born in Lake Creek, Delta County and my mother was born in Minter and raised in Cunningham so they passed down many Texas euphemisms that have really enriched our vocabularies. My favorite was "I'll be there directly - which could mean in a minute, in an hour or when I am good and ready! <smile>. Phyllis Carpenter Grand Junction, CO

I thought that "tow" sacks were just a southern way of shortening "tote" meaning to carry. I learn something new every day! PAT SHIVELY ELMORE