excused if they're getting a little confused these days.

Earline and Debbie are caught in a situation that adds new dimensions to the meaning of coincidence.

You see, they are being released today from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The two have been in the same room on Cooper Ward, each recuperating from gallstone operations, which were performed on the same day by the same doctor.

Earline and Debbie, in fact, had their gallstone problems diagnosed on the same day some weeks ago. Lo and behold, they were also admitted to hospital on the same day.

And, oh yes, their Wednesday operations -- one at 10 a.m., the other a hour later -- used the same laser techniques.

"We find this very strange,'' Debbie said yesterday from her bed just across from her sister. "Everybody's getting a kick out of it.'' Mrs. Ball said she and her sister are going to be discharged at the same time.

Of course, "We're going home in the same car.'' Even now, five days after the event, one can feel the collective cringe. There was golf pro Peter Jacobsen, walking up the fourth fairway at the Mid Ocean Club during the Merrill Lynch Shootout, extolling the merits of Mid Ocean to the television audience.

"I love it,'' he enthused. "I think this is one of the most unique golf courses we play.'' And then he said it: "Anybody at home who hasn't been over here to play Mid Ocean, get over here because this is a great spot.'' It was enough to make any Mid Ocean member cringe; the thought of hundreds (maybe thousands?) of Yankees following Jacobsen's lead, banging on the private club's door for a tee time.

"I think I felt more than a cringe,'' one member said. "Even now we're struggling to get tee times.'' It was a sentiment many members must have felt.

The demands of the tournament had brought out the best of the club and its members, but it was an exercise many felt to be more of a sacrifice than a public service to Bermuda.

Even as the pros' tee shots were hitting the green on the third hole of play, one member in the greenside gallery was heard moaning: "I want my golf course back.'' Local television viewers could be forgiven if they missed the Shoot-out television programme. Last week's TV guide did.

There in the Sunday 5-7 p.m. slot the Guide listed "PGA Golf: Merril Lynch Shootout. From Lanai, Hawaii''! Victory is in the eye of the beholder.

When Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen adjourned the Throne Speech debate at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, VSB News declared the move the Progressive Labour Party's first tactical victory of the new House session.

It is true that it is usually Government that decides when debate will end for the night.

But going into Wednesday's debate, it was the Government side that said it wanted to adjourn at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., while the Opposition said it would prefer to sit until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.

So which party was really the victor? Even Mr. Allen politely declined to take VSB's view of the adjournment.

"We had had representations from Government that they were interested in continuing the debate on Friday, rather than passing right through the night,'' Mr. Allen told The Royal Gazette . "We decided to accommodate them.'' It also allowed the PLP to save some good speakers for Friday, when it will be the Opposition's turn to speak first, he noted.

"Some people saw it as a tactical move,'' Mr. Allen said. "We decided to accommodate Government. If it's seen as something that allows us to have the first speaker on Friday, then so be it.''.

SAME OP -- Sisters Debbie Ball, left, and Earline DeSilva.