Howdy!

[bird]

In a nutshell, there was a dispute between Collins and Coes, a long drawn out court battle that Collins won, but in the process lost a lot of business and Coes went on to be the major player in monkey wrenches.

Was there ever a time when lawsuits/ disputes didn't take place?  Was there ever a time that persons settled things within themselves (in my neck of the woods, that could mean  who shoots first..............not the city "ghetto" group...but,  the country folks).
     I suppose if we rely on who can "shoot first," we're all in trouble. ... unless you're an incredible marksman.  I would love to be able to tell "young folks" that all of the things we fought wars over, land disputes, material ownerships, patents, and disputes between religion were all a thing of the past.
     I would love to be able to tell a child of mine or another that the crazy wars and disputes human kind has had with each other is in the past. But, I guess that's not going to happen. I always have the unanswerable question:  Why do we continually repeat history?  We repeat the awful parts of history, never any good moments in time".
      Well, most of us "strive" to be a better person in one way or another.  I have to beg the question, though, "which person is it that we are supposed to strive to be better then?..."  Yeah, it doesn't make any sense to me.
      It's been a long night,
cheers, bird

[Branson]

I read someplace that law suits were very common in the winters early in US history.  No crops to tend, and time to nurse peoples' resentments.  It was said to almost be a winter sport for Americans.   Seems we're a contentious lot.

I think we're best off if we try to be better than the person we were yesterday.   

My sights used to be higher than they are now.  But I've come to think the best I can try, and can succeed at, is to be a good neighbor, a good friend, and kindly toward strangers.  We may not be able to make the world right, but we can make the world of our lives a little better than we found it.

[bird]

I read someplace that law suits were very common in the winters early in US history.  No crops to tend, and time to nurse peoples' resentments.  It was said to almost be a winter sport for Americans.   Seems we're a contentious lot.

I think we're best off if we try to be better than the person we were yesterday.   

My sights used to be higher than they are now.  But I've come to think the best I can try, and can succeed at, is to be a good neighbor, a good friend, and kindly toward strangers.  We may not be able to make the world right, but we can make the world of our lives a little better than we found it.

I agree completely. ... thanks for those words.
cheers, bird

[Wrenchmensch]

Well, what happened to the Maine Central Railroad?