Dear Jim,

A century ago Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem that foresaw the decline of the empire of his country, Great Britain. Kipling’s poem attributed this decline to the loss of the old virtues, the virtues that were listed at the top of the pages in the special notebooks, called "copybooks," that were given to British schoolchildren at that time — virtues like honesty, fair dealing, Ten Commandments stuff. The title of Kipling’s poem is "The Gods of the Copybook Headings," and its conclusion is a warning to the empire that succeeded the one he was living in:

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled,
And their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled
And began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters,
And Two and Two make Four,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings
Limped up to explain it once more.
As it will be in the future,
It was at the birth of Man.
There are only four things certain
Since Social Progress began:
That the Dog returns to his Vomit
And the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger
Goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished,
And the brave new world begins,
When all men are paid for existing
And no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us,
As surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings
With terror and slaughter return.

Dear Jim,

I thought this was fun, and the lyrics are fitting of the situation without the need for too much imagination.

Have a safe trip.

CIGA Brian

Dear BT,

It is my experience that the bull moose does not hold a form of animosity, but simply goes where it pleases which is usually straight ahead.

It you are camped on a newly snow covered moose trail you can anticipate a 2000 pound moose print on your forehead, not because it is fierce like a brown or polar bear, but because you simply were in its way.

However, that is splitting hairs when you are running like hell to avoid 2000 pounds of determined bull moose.

Respectfully yours,
Jim

Dear Jim,

The bull moose is the most feared animal on the North American continent. They will even kick the heck out of a polar bear! Not one to upset, when they get mad one cannot run fast enough!

Our time is coming very soon for the shares. People are so demanding and yet will not lift a finger to help!

Best,
CIGA BT