"So I was thinking of buying property near Mt. Saint Helens or maybe somewhere tropical, like Mt. Pelee".  I did not realize I was thinking aloud, until I saw the astonished look on my colleague's face.  "Are you kidding?  That's active volcano territory!"  Knowing this would lead to an argument, I took the bait anyway, "and your point is?"  "My point, dear friend," he began, "is once that volcano erupts, you are history!"  I thought about his exclamation; many cultures for centuries have lived in the shadow of a volcano.  "It can't be all that bad," I finally responded, "there has to be something about the region that's worthwhile."  With a snort of disgust my colleague turned behind his book muttering, "I can't possibly imagine what that might be!"