Douglas_the_Black,

Treasure your mother, you've got a good one!  She lets you take chances and do unusual things (unless you're doing all the stuff I've read, on the sly  ) but she makes you deal with the consequences of what you do.  A lot of parents let their kids do anything ('cause they don't care) and don't enforce consequences ('cause it would be too much trouble) -- then those kids get out in the real world at 18 or so, and they are completely unprepared to deal with reality.

my mom likes to say   " I dont care what you are doing as long as its not illegal but if you crappity smack up your paying for it"

but my favorite thing about my mother is her cooking skills

This is a great forum.
We are trying to describe arrows for black bears and we end up describing our family and social agenda.

This is great, we should all meet up sometime-- especially in Germany during Octoberfest.
I hear the legal drinking age for beer is sixteen and the legal age for wine and spirits is 21.
sounds like a plan

and a monkey that smokes french Cigarettes 

In Germany the legal age is always 16.  For beer.  18 for spirits.  It's a nice country if all you want to do is drink.  And in the north, where it's so flat, that's really all there is to do.  Same as in England I guess, but there's more to do, so the legal age is 18 for beer and spirits.
  I wish I had a midget to work for me.  *sigh*

Gosh I wonder why?