Hostility and anger? Goodness sakes! The whole purpose of my card regarding the "fork it over" issue was intended to be clever and somewhat amusing. I thought it humorous that you included a note contradicting our phone conversation in the same volume in which you referred to your forgetfullness (the putting of the safety deposit box bill on the top of the whatever it was you put it on top of).

However, it does point out a problem that exists between Diane and me quite frequently. I often try to make a joke about certain issues, and she interprets these so-called jokes in ways that make her think that I'm being critical of her. This always leads to arguments that can be summarized as follows:

Diane: That's not a nice thing to say.

Larry: It was just a joke. You're reading into it something that just doesn't exist.

Diane: I don't think that it was funny. I think you owe me an apology.

Larry: I'm sorry. (But I really didn't mean it that way.)

Perhaps Diane is right, and only I can see the humor in some of my jokes. So, John - I'm sorry, but I really didn't mean it that way.