Thanks to our special language and abbreviations we (most of us) feel that we are part of a big happy family. Some "old timers," that have never operated above 30 Mhz, do not realize the importance of the (usually 2 meters) connection. From the news to the`company' during the ride to and from work, to hidden transmitter hunts, to having a fellow HAM a push on the hand mic button away, no HAM should be without these relationships. I should know, I was a NOVICE for 17 years, never owned a scanner (I thought they were only for listening to the police and fire departments) and I didn't know there was a reason to upgrade to the next level. I could have answered those 25 questions at any time. I just didn't know any better. Every HAM that has never been on the air above 30 MHz must check this out. Next time I will discuss the second ham community, the world wide community.