In a message dated 9/19/99 5:50:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time, rbowman@indigo.ie writes: << j) consider ... Scottie B. >> Scottie, your point would be well taken if it applied. A connection between a young woman saying, Take me to bed, and the Upanishads would indeed be pretty odd, strained, and completely inappropriate. And you'd wind up pretty lonely too :) But the phrase, "inverted forest" is pretty odd. It's outside of common experience, there's nothing in my life to contextualize it. I don't think I've EVER heard that phrase, in fact, until I saw it as the title of Camille's website. At least I don't remember it. And only after that did I learn it was the title of a Salinger story. So it makes more sense here to look for some connection between the title and Salinger's reading, because somehow I doubt if he's ever actually experienced an inverted forest either :) Tell you what, why don't YOU give us the obvious meaning apart from references to Eliot or eastern literature -- one that's consistent with experiences similar to a woman asking a man to take her to bed (in other words, referents in our everyday lives), and consistent with the content of the story as well? I won't be holding my breath :) Jim