Panther 'bug'

I seem to have come across something rather weird that has infected my computer for the last few days, and i wonder if anyone else has experienced this:

There are occasions when my modem icon on my bar across the top will continually scroll "disconnecting...." when doing so. There is nothing i can do short of restarting to remedy it. I've tried to relaunch the finder; i've tried opening internet connect to maybe cancel the disconnect, but it doesn't work, at all. It scolls "disconnecting..." where my modem icon is. I can do anything else, but i can't do ANYTHING with the modem.

It does it under these circumstances:

1. I close my laptop lid without disconnecting first.

2. From time to time, the modem 'unexpectedly hangs up' soon after it's connected. Many times i have to try and connect several times before i get a good connection. From time to time, it will 'disconnect' as part of this routine. the scrolling 'disconnecting...' will not go away....

This is really annoying cause i have to restart my computer every time this happens. i've looked at macintouch, but didn't find anything in their reader reports. has anyone else seen this anywhere else? adolph, have you experienced this? (i'm sure you haven't since you use an airport station...)