Churak, I'm honored to have been bestowed with your last post for just now, so much so I have this special story for you. The punch line seems apropos. AK
===============
An Indian chief was feeling very sick, so he summoned the medicine
man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a long,
thin strip of elk hide and gave it to the chief, instructing him to
bite off, chew and swallow one inch of the leather every day. After
a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was feeling.
The chief shrugged and said, "The thong is ended, but the malady
lingers on."