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Elizabeth Smart: "I am the luckiest girl in the world," the message, written and signed by Elizabeth, said, "Thank you for your love and prayers. It is a wish come true!! I am home and I love you all."

"Now close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And say to yourself, 'There's no place like home'."

"There`s no place like home-There`s no place like home-There`s no place like home..."

"Home! And this is my room - and you are all here! And I'm not going to leave here ever again, because I love you all! And-Oh, Auntie Em - there's no place like home!"

Are they really as wealthy as it is said they are?

In 1996, at the height of boom times, Ed Smart buys a house. His business is buying, fixing up and selling houses, among other things. "A real entrepreneur," one of his admirers describes him.

Was the house unfinished or in major disrepair? How much did he pay for the house? How much is the mortgage? Are their any liens on the house from building supply creditors? There are probably no mechanics' liens on the house since his workforce was composed of men who would not willingly visit a courthouse where the registry of deeds office is usually located.

Over the years he brought in 50 (Salt Lake Tribune) to 100 (Boston Globe) men of questionable character, and, perhaps skill, to work on the house.

Did he keep records of their pay? Will he include their labor costs to reduce the capital gains he must pay on the sale of this house? It would be an interesting exercise for junior IRS accountants to try to subtract the value of say, an old jeep, five dollars for five hours work on a roof, or a hot meal, from whatever profit is made on the house.

The house had been for sale when Elizabeth Smart vanished from it. How long had it been for sale? At $1 million to $1.19 million, reportedly, it should not be difficult to sell according to economists' who claim that high end merchandise is not affected by downturns in the economy. It is to laugh.

And there is a downturn. Even in Utah things are not rosy. Even the LDS Church, Utah's largest individual employer, 33,355 people on its payroll, more than the 22,500 on the State of Utah's government payroll, was eliminating positions "from the mailroom to investment personnel who watch over the $6 billion annual income to the church (mostly from tithing.)"

In addition, more than 22,000 individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy the majority seeking debt relief under Chapter 7, for individuals. More bankruptcies were filed in Utah in 2002 than in any other state, and state economists predict there will be an increase in 2003.

This is not good news for real estate entrepreneurs and mortgage brokers.

The Smarts have not, to my knowledge, claimed to be rich, but have been invested with the imaginary panoply of wealth by reporters who are rarely from that class which inspires in them, envy, resentment, and absolute servility as can be observed in their slavish attention to the personal attractiveness of the people they cover, and their almost imbecilic inattention to gaping holes and small details screaming to be noticed, in the narrations their subjects deliver.

Of course, the Smarts will be rich beyond the dreams of avarice, as they say, when Ed Smart sues the National Enquirer for criminal libel for printing that story about him and Richard Ricci.

The Enquirer story stated that Ed Smart and Richard Ricci had a very odd relationship that involved the trading of child porn. The story also claims that when the police found child porn on Ed Smart's computer he collapsed from exhaustion and was hospitalized, so the police did not charge him for what is a federal offense out of sympathy.

This issue of the Enquirer was not sold in Utah. The distributor claimed that the Enquirer story was insensitive to the Smart family.

Ed Smart should not have to exploit his daughter by selling her to movies and book publishers. His lawsuit against the Enquirer would concern only his reputation so Elizabeth would be safe from prying eyes.

I've spent about ten days at Barset and Mrs. Barset's house trying to shake pneumonia. I was supposed to go home today but there was a mix-up and I have to wait until tomorrow.

This case went right by me. When I first heard that the Smart girl was found I thought Pam Smart had broken out of prison and been re-captured. My aunt suggested I go on Free Republic as they keep current. I'm not sure she would be too pleased with the emotional tone in some of the comments.

Please excuse the length of this comment. Your comment set me off. I checked your profile and like your "courage of one" stand. It's mine, too.

Barset's niece