Well, I like my pond, too, and unfortunately, the liner sprung a leak. New liner is sitting in the basement, which will go in when I return from the Florida keys. Koi ponds are neat, and relaxing to watch the fish during feeding time. Now, if I could just find a way to get rid of the damned great blue herons that predate on the koi. They get 90 percent of the fish every year.

Today, I turned down a lucrative yacht club job, a job that 5 years ago I would have jumped on like a tick on a dog's back. They only wanted an hour a week, and they offered twice my going rate. However, that would have required me to do a lot of Friday doubles, and I'm just too damned old to do doubles anymore. I would rather watch my koi swimming around the pond on Friday evening, after I finish my Friday Happy Hour job at the nearby retirement community.

Good luck, Russ,

Gary