After 10 months of denial there is no getting around the fact: last August, while trying to keep up with a red BMW piloted by Chuck Lanter I was slimed. We had fallen in with a group of netscum which included Chuck and Barb, the Poser and Robin, TL, Roger -the other one, Papaboop, Don Anderson, and Terry and Maddie. Trip reports exist from several of the participants, but the appearance of the green slime has been carefully concealed, probably in an effort to prevent mass hysteria. Somewhere after the ferry ride from Portland Me to Yarmouth NS, and before we disbanded at Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick after touring Nova Scotia, with a side trip to Prince Edward Island. I believe the first appearance was on the Cabot Trail, as we labored mightily to keep up with the group as it went through the mountains.

In retrospect it was obviously the green tinted exhaust fumes from the BMW that contained the spores needed to start the growth that has been with me (and Pat) since.

I refused to recognize the facts of the matter, blaming the almost invisible slime that started to appear after that date on any number of other things. Now that the denial phase is over, we can start to get on with our lives, learning to live with the slime. There are some advantages, for example the green slime is excellent for cleaning and preserving firearms, as long as you wipe it from the handgrips. The downside is that the keyboards for our computers have to be cleaned regularly.

This is to be considered as a warning to those that have yet to be exposed to this insidious substance. You could be next.

Good luck

Jim Butler            Pat Butler
BS #175               BS #176