JS-I am so sorry to hear about bandit
And it's not just dogs and cats that should be adored. Hell, I had a baby squirrel for 24 hours and he died and I cried my eyes out.
I'm also sorry about all of your family losses etc. Sometimes things are just hard to explain and understand, but I guess we really aren't supposed to. But it's good that Joshua is there to help you up. It's so bizarre because for me one aspect of my life may be crazy and the other is stable, so I guess I"m not the only one. If you didn't have that positive aspect in your life, you'd probably go crazy!! anyway..hope 2007 gets better and don't stay gone so long next time!!