Hello everyone,
 
Myself and three other brave bicyclists left Antioch this morning at
approximately 6:15 AM on a 61 mile trek to the State Capitol to deliver
43,490 signatures to Governor Davis.  Dr. Deb, an ironman triathlete set the
pace between 15 and 20 mph despite a headwind. Since she set the pace, she
got to lead and I drafted!  Michelle, who moved here from New York and had to
give up her ferret valiantly rode a mountain bike and Lee Donehower of LOS
bravely tackled the ride with virtually no training!
 
Just minutes before taking off, Deb and I were watching the morning news
and saw a news crew delivering, just the day before, 30,000 signatures to
Governor Davis regarding energy rates and regulations.  Wow, I thought,
this is great!  That issue is an economic issue that touches everyone in
this state and we gathered over 25% more signatures than they did.  It
shows the depth of our issue and the depth of our commitment.
 
Armed with that perspective on our efforts, we sped off at approximately
6:15 AM from Antioch.  We were aided by 5 cars driving as sag wagons
(including an ambulance complete with siren, loudspeaker and flashing
lights).  We also had a huge ferret camera crew led by the Golden State
Ferret folks.  At about 2 hours into the trip, some of the smarter folks
pulled off for breakfast but we stayed the course since we were expected by
10:00 AM or 10:30 AM for media interviews.
 
We rolled up to the capitol at approximately 10:30 and were met by at least
two camera crews and two or three reporters.  We and the petitions were
filmed, complete with helmet hair, sweaty and grimy from the 4 hour ride.
Michelle had delicately placed a stuffed ferret between the handle bars of
her bike and it was a great visual for the media.
 
Senator Johannessen's press aide came down to meet us and then left to see
if the Senator could join us.  We were really hoping to see him and thank
him again for his support so a few minutes later he joined us on the
Capitol lawn, did some press interviews and escorted us into the Governor's
office.
 
We told the woman at the reception desk that we had some ferret petitions
to deliver to the Governor and she said how much she liked ferrets, that
her brother used to have one-- great, I hope they got that on tape!  Next,
the security officer, looking decidedly like secret service with the ear
phones and all, pointed to our Convict T's and said, "Nice shirt, I've
heard ferrets are really playful."
 
A nice young man then appeared to introduce himself as someone from the
Governor's office.  He was there for the petitions so we stacked two large
legal boxes in his arms and watched as the cameraman filmed him disappearing
through an office door.
I hope the Governor hears our message today.
 
I want to congratulate the many Californians that worked so hard to gather
these petitions.  As I told the press, there was no economic incentive or
drive behind the hard work it took to gather these signatures, only a
strong emotional one.
 
Way to go everyone!
 
Now, I'm going to eat a HUGE dinner, shower and go to bed early.  I think
I'll leave the bike in it's stand tomorrow.
:)
 
Jeanne Carley
Californians for Ferret Legalization
410 Mountain Home Rd.
Woodside, CA 94062
(650) 851-3750
www.ferretnews.org
[Posted in FML issue 3532]