Story time, gather round everyone Falrick Wednesday July 08, @04:06PM falrick@isunix.it.ilstu.edu New coordinates: Nathan Smith Ok, once upon a time, many many many years ago, so long ago everyone who was alive at the time has long since passed on, there lived a humble computer nerd. He was a kindly old man who lived alone. Many of the other villagers feared Falrick. Not because he was menacing, but rather because on many occasions he spoke to himself, was listless when away from his home, and lacked the ability to follow any conversation that another person started with him (on the rare occasions that others attempted to converse with him that is). Despite what most of the villagers said to each other about this man, or just thought to themselves but were too polite to tell others, there was a young lady who took pitty on him (there is always one nice lady who takes pitty on otherwise i unaproachable computer geeks in stories). She would come over and sit with the computer geek in the afternoons and tried, no matter how many times she failed, to hold conversation with him. After time, she even began to understand the old man, and truly had a spot in her heart for him. Many times she would hear him complain that he was missing this, or he was missing that, and so she took it upon herself one day while he was out, to clean his hobble, and arange things so that he would have no problem finding anything. As she started, things were progressing very well, untill she got to the desk. The desk simply would not let go of the papers and pieces that lay on its surfaces. She tried and tried for hours, but just couldn't seem to get a single one free. Finaly, in desperation, she cried out and kicked the desk, which, as most desks would agree on this, it cried out a single plea of help. "Oh help me please kind soul! I am traped here forever cursed to bear the burdon of these papers." "But how can I help you?" asked the woman. "Pull with all of your might this can of Jolt (tm) cola from on top of me, and the curse will be lifted. But pull hard, and hold on, because the can is sticky and won't come free easily." So she pulled, and she pulled, and finally, after a great deal of pulling, the can was free, and so was the desk. But the desk didn't tell the woman everything about the curse. For now it was she who was destined to take the place of the desk. "Ah, much better," remarked the desk who was now beginning to take on the shape of the woman. "I was trapped there for twenty years like that. You see, I too thought that I would help out this man's father by cleaning his desk off. So now you and I will trade places forever, and you'll be trapped there untill some other stupid bink such as yourself comes and free's you from the curse." And so the woman became the desk, and the kindly old computer nerd never knew the difference, and she still sits there today. So next time you think about cleaning off your desk, and you get to that ten year old can of cola, think twice before you pick it up yourself. After all, that's why God invented roommates.