Dear George,

I counted 50 people at the forum I attended at Trinity Episcopal Church, although some people may have come or gone at the longer than 90-minute event prior to or after my count. I forget whether I counted myself, so it might have been 51 at that particular time in the meeting. Millie Fife's call for great accuracy is appreciated, but she should consider that a particular count of 50 is not at all inconsistent with the fact that organizers counted 65 or 67 during a perhaps two-hour period. I do not doubt their count. All accounts of the count could be roundly accepted along with the spirit of greater accountability without discounting reasonableness or adopting Enron accounting.

Always happy to be counted a reader,

Bob Gibson (electronic mail, May 29, 2005)