When I was a kid, people were digging fallout shelters in their backyards. (We didn't, but some did.) The other day I saw in the paper that the Russian cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station, 200 miles above the Earth, were doing their Christmas shopping in Manhattan - via the Internet, using credit cards to buy such things as Barbie dolls and Chicago Bulls sportswear. Jeff Manber, director of RSC Energia, the Russian agency that operates Mir, told the Associated Press: "This is not a trivial event. As we as a society progress to living and working in space, the people there are going to need to shop It's very real and important to us to bring society into outer space." Things do change, don't they?

A.R.A. President Pam McKenney is thinking along the same lines, although on a more modest scale, and she keeps her feet on the ground - but her thoughts soar. Her column this month talks about the globalization of business and dramatic, inevitable change, and shows the positive side of international relationships (page 6).

Want to make the most of the A.R.A. trade show? Take a look at our Financial Forum, on page 35, where four finance authorities tell you how to get your ducks in a row before the show. Then take a peek behind the scenes at some tips the experts have for exhibitors about how to make a trade show really valuable for attendees, from 1997 A.R.A. convention speaker Kare Anderson (page 88) and Exhibit Marketing magazine (page 89).

We got mail taking Don Taylor to task for his October column, "Sometimes it's OK to steal sheep," charging that "dog-eat-dog" competition should not be condoned. This is "a view this industry simply does not need," wrote one reader, citing the close relationships that have historically characterized the rental industry and affirming that personal friendships can coexist with competition. It is an eloquent tribute to rental people.

And it rings true. When I came to the rental industry after many years in a large corporation, it was refreshing - and thoroughly im-pressive - to see the family-like closeness and decency that the people in this business commonly displayed toward each other.

I don't think that spirit has left the industry, but there are competitive pressures now that many rental operators have never before had to wrestle with. And as a consequence, marketing has become a critical factor of survival. "Our industry has done a poor job of marketing itself," observed one reader. We agree, and we'd like to help: you'll find some straightforward stuff about that on page 54. Let's not forget - at least half the people out there have never rented anything. That's a market. You don't have to eat your competitor's lunch to survive, but customers aren't going to just happen by on their own. We can be decent and eat, too. But not without a plan.