E D I T O R I A L

HIGHLAND TUCKER THE WONDER DOG CHASES CYGNETS IN BORDER COLLIE HEAVEN

Our friend Tucker Jordan passed away at the age of 14 last month. He suffered from dogs-heimers for a while, but always seemed to recognize his friends even if he sometimes forgot the disposition of doors and furniture. I like to think he remembered me to the end, rather than just being polite, because he appreciated that I seldom wash my kitchen floor. He was the model of doggish unconditional love. He would methodically check out every inch of the floor with his tongue as Martha and I visited, and looked like he was having the time of his life.

I didn't know Tucker during his working days, but he was good enough at herding and sorting waterfowl by species that he was decorated by President Bush with the "Take Pride in America" award for volunteer work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Volunteer or not, I think he would have worked for kibble just to be in Alaska with birds. (click here for Tucker's brief interview, 7/99)

JUST WHEN WE'RE FEELING GUILTY, BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS OVER...

On NPR there was an interview with Edward Ball, author of Slaves in the Family. It had occurred to him in his search for the ancestors of the slaves owned by his own ancestors, that the Civil War was fought mainly to preserve a lifestyle which gave white men the right to own other men as property. These days he discreetly collects Confederate flags off graves and car antennas when he finds them, and puts them in the closet. He's eager to see the Confederate flag retired.

I found Ball's story interesting. Since I'm not black, nor a slave owner, nor are my living relatives, I didn't think I had much connection to Black History month, until I came across an old property inventory in my genealogy research, and found that my pioneer ancestor, Captain Daniel Harris of Hartford Connecticut, was a slave owner. One minute I was marvelling at the minutiae of his household, the ball of string, the broom, the waistcoat and new wool coat. The next I sat staring at the listing for "The negro man mingo" worth 30 pounds, valued right up there with Harris' best livestock. Now Black History has my attention, because now it's mine, too.

CAVEAT EMPORIUM... MAD FOR VIAGRA

Since we run this magazine on a ragged little shoestring, we work hard at the illusion of prosperity. We also never walk away from the specter of profit, until now.

Affiliate agreements are sort of standard for web sites to drive business to other web sites and get paid referrals. In our sidebar you'll see arrangements with Amazon and DeLorme and Ebags and others, which we chose because we like their products and figure you will, too. We had a "live one" drop in our laps last week for a company called MyWebDoctor.com, a storefront that specializes in selling the hottest drugs on the market. A doctor, who you never see and who never sees you, prescribes Xenical, Viagra, Propecia, Claritin and Celebrix after a brief email questionaire and $85. In case you've been confused by the tasteful and ambiguous television commercials, these are potentially dangerous prescription drugs for weight loss, erectile dysfunction, hair loss prevention, allergy control and arthritis. They're also very expensive. This affiliate deal is the most lucrative I've ever seen, with $20 for each new prescription sale generated by the affiliate, and $5 for each drug refill.

McBee and I discussed the ethics of it... is this a civil liberties issue or just more irresponsible aggressive commerce? Can these drugs be purchased elsewhere without the usual ungodly markups? The same dosage and count of Viagra was $12 a pill at MyWebDoctor.com, compared at $7.80 at Drugstore.com.We found similar price differences with Xenical and Propecia and concluded that you're really paying for extra-legal access to the drugs.

It was easy to decline the opportunity all the same, but it seems interesting how often we, or slave traders, or zoo-keepers, or business owners have to consider putting price tags on life, health and freedom. Thank goodness February was a short month.

- Leslie Strom, Your Editor