xoconostle, We need all the moderation we can get... given the number of unthinking idiots following marshlights into the swamps or jumping off battlements whenever an irresponsible firebrand craves attention. I especially savor the complaints from people who haven't even seen the program, much less had their hands on it. :shrug one shoulder: Clemens was a story-teller, but he didn't pose as a cynic for cynicism's sake or tell a story to enlarge himself in the eyes of his audience or raise a controversy just to be embroiled in the middle of yet another storm. I used to own 21 of the 25 volumes of the collected Mark Twain, and enjoyed reading most of them. Tales about the human condition, such as he told, require a dry wit and light hand to do well. Fables, parables, and sermons succeed when they are humorous and fail when they are too didactic. Some of us don't like preaching no matter how it's packaged. Carolly