about apsie & marieke

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

hoi hoi here I am again for the second time today :-)

I'm not going to post a full list of my reliable friends here :-) that would be troublesome hehe! 

But I want you to know that Apsie & Marieke are, without doubt, also in the list of reliable friends. Just in case they might read the blog and wonder what my thoughts about them are :-)

counting hugs,

.

About Quinten

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

Today, Quinten showed that he's a real true friend, he answered my request to come and advise me (about the roof of the renovated house) and was there when I needed him.

Thank you, Quinten :-) you're a gem :-) 

Shouldn't we all, from time to time, review our list of friends, and keep it updated? If only in our mind? I'm still counting :-) 

I have 2 hands, and both of them contain 5 fingers. Will I reach the number of 10 confirmed reliable friends?

Stay tuned :-)

.

DIOR !!!! friendship vs. networking, and my retreat from FB

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

Dior! A powerful brand in fashion industry. Tonight, we watched a documentary about the guy, and about how much he valued friendship, and what friendship ment to him and his friends.

It was touching. Obviously, Christian Dior wouldn't have been alive without his friends: he was seriously ill when young, and his friends raised money to get him healed, even though they were in need of money themselves. Heartwarming.

I'm afraid this kind of friendship is dead. It no longer exists but in my heart. For me, I prefer to die if I can make my friend live. Friendship is for me of the highest importance. Which also means I have little real friends, of course, only the really connected ones are in the circle of my heart. 

But nowadays (I know I might sound like an old fool) friendship is replaced by networking. Sharing the ups and downs of chainpersons in your network. Giving and taking and hoping to benefit. 

With all due respect, this is not the kind of friendship that is in my heart. Facebook is the best example of this social networking. As a test, I was connected to it for a month or so, to see how it goes. It was really disappointing, a total waste of time, with only few exceptions. I left it, of course ... and no doubt my subscription will live forever?

Meanwhile, I count my blessings ... my partner HL, my (few) real friends, and I gently but firmly decided to stop adding new internetfriends, as a general rule, with only few exceptions. I eagerly joined internet in its first years, nowadays I try to shelter myself from it, to a certain extend.

How are you feeling about this topic? What is your idea about friendship and networking and socialising in the facebook-manner? Let me know :-)

huggies,

PAULBAVO

.

being and feeling and acting free is sometimes ... a heap of trouble!

http://www.stevesullivan.co.uk/clips/heaptrouble.mov

Watch it! you'll love this short clip :-)

.

overall impressions of Bucharest

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

So, the Bucharest Experience is behind us, we are safe & sound back in Belgium. What are our overall experiences?

First of all, it still is a very poor country. We have read in the newspapers that people don't get paid anymore due to the global crisis, and the population starts throwing eggs and other projectiles to their politicians. They mean business. They are a proud folk, and they still dress up as nice as they can, but if you look closer, the dresses are inappropriate, too old, or too big, or too black for the heat of the summer. The people keeps its head up high, but social unrest is clearly boiling under the surface.

Second, the actual generation still lives in the past, where the state was supposed to do everything for them. Slowly slowly it is improving, and you see individuals pop up, who take initiative, but there's still a long way - and many more generations - to go, I'm afraid.

Third, it's a lovely country, if you can live with the inconveniences. The hotel we stayed in was absolutely acceptable: reasonable prices because not in the centre of the city (in the citycentre, prices reach Western European levels without the adequate service), good food, acceptable service (if you can live with the initial coldness of the staff, fortunately that warms up if they get to know you a little bit better). The pool was absolutely lovely. Our complaints were quickly dealt with. Public transport is abundant, although you won't always find a seat. Lots and lots of things to see. And very remarquable, almost no gypsies during this trip, they must hide them somewhere hehehe!

So, you might see us back there :-) We can live with the inconveniences, and we appreciate the bonuses :-) HL didn't exchange our remaining money, he clearly plans to go back there :-)

Just a short memo ... one of the guys told us that the dead still get a coin on their tongue, to pay for the ferry to the here-after ... woohoo!!!! The Myth of the Styx lives forever :-)

And while it was so hot & dry during our stay in Bucharest, when we returned to Belgium and Gent, we were welcomed by a cooling drizzle :-) Welcome back to Belgium, rain land by excellence, naturally airconned country  :-)

wet hugs,

PB

.

The Nutcracker (no porn)

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

whoops, it was so funny when I received that email about The Nutcracker (a ballet with music by Tsjaikovski) and the sender was so afraid of hatemail that he had to mention explicitely that it was not pornographic :) we live in weird times :-)

And weird times we had today too! We wanted to visit Palatul Parlamentului (Parliament Palace, also commonly known as Casa Poporului). Up we went, first a bus then the underground, then a nice stroll, and we were standing in front of this huge monumental building. Huge is an understatement, really, it's incredibly big.

It was built during the darkest days of the Ceausescu regime. Standing 84 m. above ground level on 12 floors, the building housed all the dark and torturous organs of the communist state. 

My tourist guide (http://bucharest.inyourpocket.com) told me that the entrance for the public tour was at the left hand of the building, if you're looking at it front-on. Left we went. Entrance after entrance was not open for the public, the guards told us that we needed the right hand side. So we walked all around the compound (an hour stroll, I guess) to reach the correct entrance. In we went.

- Hi, we would like to visit the palace, can we buy tickets here?

- The ticket bureau is over there.

- Yes we noticed, but it's closed, there's no-one inside (friendly smile) :-)

- Wait, my colleague will arrive in a minute.

We waited patiently. Half an hour later a lady announced that the English tour was going to commence.

- Hello, we would like to buy tickets and join the English tour but the ticket bureau is still closed.

- Wait, my colleague will arrive in a minute.

- Yes you told us that half an hour ago.

- Do you have reservations?

- No, would we be waiting here otherwise?

- You'll have to wait.

- OK, I guess we'll miss this tour, when will be the next tour?

- You'll have to ask my colleague in the ticket bureau.

- The one that will arrive in a minute?

- Yes.

Convinced by the discouraging effect of such a customer-unfriendly burocracy, though feeling a bit nut-cracked, we quickly decided to cancel the tour, and spend our money on shopping :-) We had a wonderful time in the free commercial world where customers are treated like valued guests :-) 

Nutcracking hugs,

PB

.

Saint Nicholas Student's Church

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

or, in the local language, Sfantul Nicolae Biserica Studentilor is the most gorgeous church in Bucharest. It's built in 1905-1909 with a 600.000,00 gold rouble donation from Tsar Alexander II, and it's topped with 7 typical onion domes and crowned with an orthodox cross. The wooden, gold-gilded iconostasis is allegedly a copy of the altar in Arhangelsk Cathedral, in Moscow's Kremlin !

And for the rest we strolled in the old city centre ... lovely. Many beautiful things and persons ... see the pix :-)

huggies,

PB

.

Bucharest .... jumping to a new millenium?

Van 0907-Bucharest-July2009

hello! you find us in Bucharest, Romania now. A strange mixture of Middle Ages and Modern Times. Young boys still slep wood inside the house to survive the cold of winter. Meanwhile, the most posh cars terrorise the streets, and we have internet in the room :-)

We like Bucharest very much, because it shows us both our roots and the present, at the same time, in the same glimpse. 

It's incredibly hot here, the real blast of Continental Summer, 37°C in the shadow, and we walk for miles and miles. No need to say that we drink liters and liters of the famous Romanian bottled water, very yummy, excellent stuff and quite affordable.

We stroll street in, street out, following a flexible plan. We don't hunt for the touristic destinations, described in the books, we want to explore the city as it is. 

And after a day of enless walking, we return to our safe heaven, the hotel, where the pool waits for us and offers our aching muscles a lovely relaxation, and the complimentary snacks & drinks (only complimentary after making some comments about the amount of luxury a club level should offer) refreshen our palet and stomach.

The pictures speak for itself ... follow the link above !!

huggies,

PB

.

constructive day!

Van Bangkok-April2009

today was extremely constructive!

I repaired the terrace floor in the garden, and in order to do that we had to drive first to Makro so that I could buy the tools. 

The work made a lot of noise and dust, but nobody complained, so I was able to finish it all, and even mowe the lawn! 

It made me realise that I really love to do construction work, it pleases me very much. If it were better paid, I'd close my law firm and start a construction business !!!

Are you good in working with your hands too?

huggies,

PB

.

Chennai Rainbow Coalition welcomes Delhi High Court Verdict on Section 377 of IPC

Van Budapest[Hungary]-May2009

Chennai Rainbow Coalition welcomes Delhi High Court Verdict on Section 377 of IPC

Contacts: Aniruddhan, The Shakti Center (98840-17695), Sunil Menon, Sahodaran (93810-16129)


Chennai Rainbow Coalition welcomes the Delhi High Court ruling of July 2, 2009, that decriminalizes consensual same-sex behavior among adults. The judgement, long awaited, lends new hope to millions of homosexual, bisexual and transgender Indians who have had to bear the unjust burden of criminality imposed by an obsolete colonial law.

Though a High Court verdict, it is an important precedent that has nation-wide implications for equality, non-discrimination, dignity and inclusiveness for all in society, as envisioned by Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Coalition urges the progressive Tamil Nadu government to take the lead in initiating similar measures in the state.

.

will you get all answers correct??????

Van Venice-June2009

A Madam Teacher was having trouble with one of her students in 1st Grade class. Madam asked,'Boy. what is your problem?'

Boy answered, 'I'm too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 4th Grade!'

Madam had enough. She took the Boy to the principal's office. While the Boy waited in the outer office, madam explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Madam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the first-grade and behave. She agreed.

The Boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: 'What is 3 x 3?'
Boy.: '9'.


Principal: 'What is 6 x 6?'
Boy.: '36'.


And so it went with every question the principal thought a 4th grade should know. The principal looks at Madam and tells her, 'I think Boy can go to the 4th grade.'

Madam says to the principal, 'I have some of my own questions. 
Can I ask him ?' The principal and Boy both agreed.


Madam asks, 'What does a cow have four of that I have only two of'?

Boy, after a moment 'Legs.'


Madam: 'What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?'

Boy.: 'Pockets.'



Madam: What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin whitish liquid?

Boy.: Coconut


Madam: What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft And sticky?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, Boy was taking charge.

Boy.: Bubblegum


Madam: What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer..

Boy.: Shake hands



Madam: You stick your pole inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do.

Boy.: Tent



Madam: A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first.

The Principal was looking restless, a bit tense and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.

Boy.: Wedding Ring

Madam: I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you blow me, you feel good.

Boy.: Nose



Madam: I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.

Boy.: Arrow

Madam: What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?

Boy.: Fire truck

Madam: What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if u don't get it, u have to use ur hand.

Boy.: Fork

Madam: What is it that all men have one of it's longer on some men than on others, the pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?

Boy.: SURNAME.

Madam: What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of veins, like pumping, & is responsible for making love ?

Boy.: HEART.

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher,

'Send this Boy to the University !!!! 

I got the last ten questions wrong myself!'

back from Venezia !!!!!!

Venice-June2009

sigh .... it's good to be back home :-) we had a great time in Venezia, (click on my mask to) see the pix !!!

But as always ... home sweet home hehe! We always are happy to travel and happy to be back :-)

Did you miss us while we were away? (grin grin)

huggies,

PB

.

goodbye arabia ... the Iran disaster closes all doors 4 me ...

Here is a relic from the time that arabia ment: joy and fun and sweetness .... now, with the disaster unfolding in iran, it's clear that there is no happiness in that region anymore, and I closed all doors. Nowadays, I get allergic to arab and persians and their political and religious system. I'm very sorry for my friends there .... I know they suffer from it too.

gratitude vs. ambition

Van fwfreshmenpicstheklineshcolarsinthepool

I've read somewhere: "The first step is being grateful for all you have. It is a very healthy and positive way to keep you motivated. Take time out of each day to think about five things you are grateful for. This is a time for you to reflect on the day in a positive light."

Those are true words. Whoever you are, you and me, and whereever we are, we have so many things to be grateful for. It's a good idea to start the day, revisualising the persons and things and circumstances that should make us grateful.

But at the same time, I am not content with just gratitude. I want to look forward, and see new things and meet new people and discover new attractions.

-oOo-

Does that make me ungrateful? I don't think so ... it's who I am, constantly welcoming a new day and new experiences. What do you think? Can gratitude be combined with ambition and expectation?

huggies,

PB

.

little tony

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

A teacher asks her class, "If there are 5 birds sitting on a fence and you shoot one of them, how many will be left?"

She calls on little TONY.

He replies, "None, they will all fly away with the first gunshot."

The teacher replies, "The correct answer is 4, but I like your thinking."

Then little TONY says, "I have a question for YOU. There are 3 women sitting on a bench having ice cream:
One is delicately licking the sides of the triple scoop of ice cream.
The second is gobbling down the top and sucking the cone.
The third is biting off the top of the ice cream.
Which one is married?"

The teacher, blushing a great deal, replied, "Well, I suppose the one that's gobbled down the top and sucked the cone."

To which Little TONY replied:

"The correct answer is 'the one with the wedding ring on', but I like your thinking."

.

Chinese gays step quietly toward progress

Van Bangkok-April2009

By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer Tini Tran, Associated Press Writer – June 18, 2009

BEIJING – The first time director and movie buff Cui Zi'en tried to hold a gay and lesbian film festival in 2001, it was shut down by police before it even opened. When he tried to organize a gay cultural festival in 2005, five dozen police officers swarmed the venue, closing it.

But this Wednesday, Cui and other organizers managed to pull off the opening to the five-day Beijing Queer Film Festival with no police and no disruptions — drawing only an appreciative and low-key crowd to the Songzhuang Art District on the city's outskirts.

For China's gay community, this week's film festival and an art exhibition on sexual diversity in Beijing, along with last week's first gay pride festival in Shanghai, are quiet steps forward after years of slow but unmistakable progress.

Cui, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, said the events mark a significant moment for China's fledgling gay movement.

"The biggest change is that I'm not the only one doing this," he said. "There's more support from the gay community. Society has become more relaxed and open-minded in its thinking."

But he sounded a note of caution that progress is often accompanied by setbacks, saying organizers would not consider the events a success unless they make it to their closing ceremony Sunday unscathed.

"In China, we were the first to put on queer events. In those events, we've had interference and that had lasting influences," Cui said.

"(Now) we've had a successful opening and if we can also achieve a successful closing to the event, it will have another kind of impact," he said.

China has indeed eased its control over some aspects of gay life. In 1997, sodomy was removed from the country's list of crimes, although homosexuality was not taken off the list of mental disorders until 2001.

In recent years, the gay community in China has gone from being virtually invisible to establishing a small foothold in society. In large cities, gay bars have opened and gay and lesbian activist and support groups have sprouted. Internet access to gay groups online has helped ease the isolation for those who live in rural areas.

Even so, the vast majority of the country's gay and lesbian population continues to face discrimination and stigmatization. Most remain deeply closeted in a still highly conservative society. Gay Web sites are often blocked by the government's Internet firewalls.

Still, community organizers see progress in the fact that gay-themed events that would have been banned outright even a few years ago are now being permitted.

"Ten years ago, this would have been completely impossible," said curator Yang Ziguang, who helped put together the Beijing art show, the first in the country to explore sexual diversity and gender issues. The works by 16 artists include explicit explorations of gay and gender issues.

The auditorium for the film festival's opening movie — a story of a Chinese man who searches for the soul of his dead Swiss lover — was packed with a lively crowd of about 100 people, mostly young and proudly gay.

Others who came were simply curious to know more about gay issues, a segment sought out by organizers who wanted to encourage dialogue between the gay community and the wider public.

"I don't know that much about the lifestyle so I was curious," said Du Jie, 30, an artist who lives in the area. "I really liked the movie. You see on-screen the raw emotions in the relationship between them. It's a very good opportunity for the public to better understand the gay community."

That's not to say that everything has gone smoothly. The art show curators ran into problems with local authorities just before opening day last Sunday.

"I used to think China was becoming more and more open. On TV, movies and magazines, you hear more and more about these issues," said Gogo, a second curator who goes by one name. "But before the exhibit started, they came and told us 'You can't do this.' That changed my mind a little about how ready China really is."

Furious negotiations followed, and in the end only four works were removed — including one photo showing a man holding a fish over his crotch and a painting depicting two naked men in a sexual act. Organizers decided to leave the empty white frames hanging on the wall as a statement on censorship.

Despite the initial problems, the exhibit's opening drew an estimated 500 people — an enthusiastic public response that left its organizers pleasantly shocked.

The organizers said they made a concerted effort to keep the events low profile to ward off unwanted attention. There were no fliers or public advertisements for the events — only announcements circulated on Web sites. And they chose to hold it in the remote Songzhuang Art District, almost an hour's drive from downtown Beijing.

"If we were to advertise this all over the place, then we would only cause problems for ourselves," said Zhu Rikun, another film festival organizer.

The same low-key approach was taken by organizers of the country's first gay pride festival last week in Shanghai, China's commercial hub. They carefully planned a week's worth of movie screenings, art shows and sports events — all held in private venues instead of public spaces, said festival spokesman Kenneth Tan.

Despite the attempt to avoid problems, several events still ended up getting delayed or canceled by authorities who claimed organizers didn't have the correct permits, said Tan.

Still the festival got high praise from the China Daily, the country's official English-language newspaper, which ran a front-page article lauding organizers for sending a strong signal about "greater acceptance and tolerance."

Overall, China has been slowly moving in a direction of more openness toward the gay community, Tan said.

"I think the government has given a lot of space for the local gay community to grow and flourish," he said. "I've been in China for seven years and the changes I've seen in the Shanghai gay scene is tremendous. It's a metamorphosis."

.

the kitchen is coming!

Van fwfreshmenpicstheklineshcolarsinthepool

which means ... we went to the Bulthaup store today and they nicely prepared everything for us and the price was within our budget ... so tomorrow we'll sign the contract and the kitchen will be delivered this September! Woohoo !!!

Maybe you wonder what the picture on top has to do with kitchens? Well, in the kitchen you prefer to use fresh food, and the picture shows the fresh meat at Allan's Institute :-) so whenever there is the smallest opportunity to publish pix of cute guys, I'll grab it :-)

fresh hugs,
PB
.

PDF under attack?

Van Budapest[Hungary]-May2009

sweets, for today just a quickie :-)

I read that nowadays there are computervirusses, even in PDF files !!! My oh my ... and that's something that was totally virusfree till recent ... and I use PDF a lot.

So no choice, I'll have to buy a good virusscanner. According to the consumer magazine, the free one I'm using now (AVG) is not so good, and they preferred GDATA.

I downloaded it today, a whopping 250 Mb !!! and it's a free trial for 30 days, I'll let you know if it functions well :-)

Stay virusfree !!!

PB
.

nudity: why we should embrace it

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

(source: http://www.planetout.com/lifestyle/2009/06/naked-power.html)

There’s an adage that says, "All the world’s problems could be solved if our leaders would hold their meetings in the nude." The image may be humorous, but you can’t miss the powerful connection between accepting our bodies and accepting each other.

What we believe about our bodies, is what we believe about ourselves. That’s why that old joke about the one’s who seem to always go naked on a nude beach are the one’s who should keep their clothes on, is ultimately a statement about body-phobia. If we can’t see the beauty in others, especially in the body’s natural state, then we are doomed to hate ourselves, because sooner or later we will have less and less control of our body’s look, not to mention it’s function.

Many of you are probably thinking that this is nothing new because you already feel that your body is far from where you’d like it to be. After all, America’s consumerism has succeeded in not only making us the most obese population in the world, but also the most unrealistic body conscious population in the world. Is that a lose / lose situation or what? But all is not lost. There are many ways out of this scenario and believe it or not, the key is actually your body.

When streaking was the fashionable mode of activism, it worked because the naked body had the shock value to disrupt and attract attention, regardless of what cause the runners were trying to advance (the sexual revolution, antiwar demonstrations, etc...). A few celebrities don’t give a damn about who sees their naked beauty, like Madonna. When she was cornered by the tongue-wagging media about her first nudes being published, she simply yanked the bang out of their buck by responding with, "So what?" (Hey! look, I am a fag! I just made a Madonna reference!)

These examples point out the power and strength that is the unobstructed body. Furthermore, it seems this strength of nakedness is present regardless of body type. It does not matter if a "gym bunny" or a "troll" walked down the street naked, they would, without a doubt, stop traffic. Furthermore, if you were to witness this event, below your culturally trained shock would be some configuration of awe, as if to think, "That takes guts!" Nudity can be viewed as one of the most natural forms of honesty — physical vulnerability. I believe that the innate desire for a sense of belonging infers an innate desire to be known — to be accepted as you are. In that light, nudity, to a great degree can become a recipe for more fully accepting yourself — even if it’s just running around in your birthday suit in the privacy of your home.

So am I suggesting we all doff our clothes any chance we get? In some respects, it is already happening. Photographic and video imaging across the internet is now so easy, that showing explicit and sexy self portraits is becoming as commonplace as revealing your astrological sign. Hundreds of websites are solely devoted to sharing thousands of explicit self photos and videos of everyday people. There is a sense that this kind of cyber exhibitionism and voyeurism has the feeling of a revolutionary act of freedom and sexual self acceptance, which flies in the face of the prudish negativity that is so pervasively degrading in our society. Although an intricate part of internet exposer lies in the fact that all of the sexual activity occurs in the safety and privacy of one’s own home, I predict that if people experience pleasure, freedom, empowerment and sexual health from this type of semi-anonymous expression on the internet, more public forms of this kind of natural expression is only a pant zipper away.

That’s what makes the negative hysteria around sexting so vile. With all this new media, it was going to happen sooner or later, and it will happen again when other new forms of communication emerge. I’m not saying that the bullying and exploitation that has come with it is okay — I am not. But to label these kids as sex offenders is so damaging and wrong. Besides, if so many adults are doing it, why are we so surprised that they are following our lead? Once again, silly and irresponsible teen behavior gets blown way out of proportion, and what is the message that everyone hears though it’s never spoken: "The body in its natural state is severely bad."

Is it really that horrible? Wouldn’t it solve a lot of the problems in the world if everyone felt comfortable with their unique sexuality, behavior and body shape? Could personal explicit photography and video recording become as commonplace and enjoyable as taping a person’s birthday party? The, um... naked truth is that the majority of us have perfectly healthy and beautiful bodies, and we look nothing like the enormously unrealistic body type our society deems as acceptable. And for that I say, "Thank goodness!" When it comes to body image the most important activity is not to conform to whatever the "ideal" body might be, but to celebrate everyone’s body type, whatever it’s shape and size!

So if you want to reach new levels of accepting your body, I don’t necessarily suggest you streak down the middle of some busy street (unless you can get away with it). But if you are at a nude beach or a clothing optional resort, don’t be the one who keeps your shorts on. You’ve got nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. Celebrate it! I’ll wager you’ll feel good about yourself for letting the sun touch you all over. Make it a step of radical self-acceptance. Oh! But don’t forget sun block - Youch!

Dr. Jallen Rix holds a doctorate of education in sexology and specializes in maximizing sexual pleasure for singles and couples, "ex-gay" recovery, religious abuse and creative approaches to sex education. You can learn more about Dr. Rix at his website.
.

lawyers joke :-)

Van Manila-Cebu-Bohol-March2009

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road-side eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.

He asked one man, "Why are you eating grass?" "We don't have any money for food," the poor man replied. "We have to eat grass."

"Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you," the lawyer said.

"But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree."

"Bring them along," the lawyer replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, "You come with us, also".

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, "But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!"

"Bring them all, as well," the lawyer answered.

They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."

The lawyer replied, "Glad to do it. You'll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high".

.