"No!" Cassie exclaimed, "I have told you for the last time, I am not interested." Cassie slammed down the phone, and turning, she flipped her mane of auburn hair in exasperation, looked at me and asked, "What is it going to take for him to get the message?" Thinking back over the years that I have known Cassie, I smiled. This behavior is typical for her. Her Irish heritage, combined with the fact that her parents died when Cassie was very young, leaving her to fend for herself, make for a feisty combination. "Cassie," I patiently observed, "he is just trying to help you." "Help like this I can do without!" she answered. Cassie is a beautiful, headstrong young woman, very stubborn and sure of herself. When her parents died, Cassie was only 15. Her parents were very well to do. They owned the local newspaper, along with several other small publications. Now, nearly 10 years later, the 'Tribune' is her baby. Left to his own devices for the intervening years, the acting editor-in-chief had nearly driven the paper into the ground. Three years ago, when Cassie had finally finished college and took the paper over, the paper was nearly defunct. The man she had so abruptly ended her conversation with was a young lawyer who had been offering to buy the 'Tribume" for the last six months. Cassie was vehement about not letting it go. Despite my telling her that she would be better off without the burden of the paper, my friend was adamant. She would not sell what her parents had worked so hard for. I know that Cassie felt it was her last tie to her parents. And in many ways, it was.