<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; cha= rset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV>The recent uproar has me thinking about the diversity of clients, and m= y relationship to them, as a businessman and a person.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My clients are Baptists and Buddhists, straight and gay, atheists and a= gnostics, leftists and rightists, very social and reclusively private. They = are a joy to me BECAUSE OF, not in spite of, their diversity. Many of those = who some would consider the most "off center" are, when approached with an o= pen heart, the most enriching to me as we share our common interest in = music and the piano from two [sometimes very] different points of view. I am= sure that more than a few of them think of me as a bit "off center" as well= .</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As is also apparent from this list, almost all of us have some special = gift. In some cases, the development of that gift may even be intensified in= compensation for social ostracism. Thinking only in terms of "tolerance" fo= r those different from us puts us in an attitude where we can not fully= appreciate those gifts, to our great loss. "Tolerance" isn't enough; t= rue humility admits the most joy. It's the difference between "sympathy" and= "empathy", and we are the beneficiaries.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sarah Fox says, "This email list was the first list I have ever joined = as a rank-and-file<BR>human being with no visible gender issues." For many m= onths she was judged (fairly and positively) on the content of her posts. Ex= actly as it should be. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>With sincere best wishes,</DIV> <DIV>Bob Davis</DIV></BODY></HTML>