.bash_profile does not work

[dckinder@mountain.net]

When I attempt to adjust my path by editing .bash_profile, there is 
no response.

No matter how I may edit it, when I type $PATH, I get the 
environment set by /etc/profile.

How can I override /etc/profile?

Here is my current version:

<.bash_profile>

#!/bin/bash

#~/.profile: executed by bash(1) for login shells.

if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
  source ~/.bashrc
fi

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr
/X11R6/bin:/usr/local/mysql/bin"
export PATH

mesg n

</.bash_profile>


Regards,

Duncan C. Kinder
dckinder@mountain.net