Hi, all-
 
I met a stately old gentleman the other day.  He lived to be a full eight
years old, although he has of course had his youth restored here on this
side of the Bridge.  His name is Grandfather Dupree.
 
Dupree is a big, strong guy.  I think that maybe "strapping" is the
word I'm looking for.  He doesn't talk much, but when he does, everybody
listens!  His Business of Stella, Jasmine, and Lola came with me to greet
him.  I hardly got a word in edgewise.  They were all over him in a
second, pouncing and dooking and bouncing!
 
Dupree said that he really wanted to hang his hammie in a tree.  Well,
the five of us set out in a walk through the nearby woods.  It is very
quiet there, and still unless the wind is stirring the leaves.  When that
happens, the ground is a shifting carpet of light and shadow that seems
to move like dappled sunlight on water.
 
There is a cool, clear little stream running through these woods.  Dupree
said he wanted to hang his hammee near it so that he could hear it's
crystal musical notes playing all night long.  We found just the perfect
tree near it!  It is a dark, smokey green hemlock with boughs that sway
all the way to the ground so that Grandfather Dupree can climb in and out
of the tree easily.  We helped him tie his hammie strings to the
branches.  He is very happy with it!
 
Grandfather Dupree says that the best part about living such a long time,
is having the love of your hoomins for years and years.  His favourite
hoomin has the most beautiful name, Sonam.  Someday, a long time time
from now, they will be together again.
 
I met a little guy named Grandfather Bob Marley the other day.  He also
lived to be eight years old.  He is so worried about his hoomin Mommy,
Melanie!  His final illness was very fast, but very powerful.  Bob could
see the fear for him in his Mommie's eyes as he weakend, and finally
crossed the Bridge, to where there is no longer any pain or suffering.
 
But Bob is so happy, here!  He sleeps every night in a green velvet lined
guitar case.  There is hardly any room for him in it, because of all the
interesting little things that he has stashed in it.  A money clip that
shines gold and silver.  The pit from a ripe peach.  An acorn.  Three
small bulbs from a string of Christmas lights, each one a different
color.  A big, rattling google eye.  A squeakie frog.  Two potatos.  And
on and on the list goes...
 
Bob says that he actually had two lives, one before he went to the
shelter, and another with his Mommy Melanie afterwards.  She rescued him
and his Brother in Fur, Ziggy, and they were both so greatful!  They
still are.  Someday, Bob knows that he will have an opportunity to thank
her for all the love she lavished on them.  But for now, he is going to
dream of her, and hope that she can feel just a little, little of that
love right now.
 
I met a little girl with a lot of friends.  Not here in the Ferret
Afterworld, but sprinkled around in the Dog and Cat Afterworlds.  Her
name is ZoE.  ZoE's cat friend is named Samantha.  ZoE's dog friend is
named Lady.  I arranged for the three of them to meet in the middle of
the Bridge.  Again, there is only one Bridge, but it leads to many
places!
 
It took ZoE a little while to get used to speaking and hearing.  She had
never done either well, as she was born with Waardenberg's syndrome.  She
paid a very high price for that pretty blaze on her head, it seems to me,
but she isn't resentful.  She says that the hoomin breeders simply didn't
know what they were doing, and she forgives them.
 
ZoE, Samantha, and Lady had a nice time chatting, and remembering funny
stories about their Mommy, Jennifer.  Jennifer was very, very good at
loving, I'm told.  Lady said that the best thing about the Dog Afterworld
was the food, and the open spaces to run in.  Samantha said that the best
thing about the Cat Afterworld was the naps in the sun, and the other
naps in the sun!
 
Well, later I introduced ZoE to some friendly Businesses that I know.
They all like to snuggle up in groups for their naps.  They said they'd
be happy to snuggle with ZoE, who snuggled with three other ferrets in
the World of the Living.  Here, there is enough snuggling available for
everybody to have some!
 
I met a little guy named Oscar.  He lost his sight due to illness in the
World of the Living, and he was very, very happy to have it back once he
crossed the Bridge!  His first sight was of me and his Business of Lilly,
Bailey, Elle, Jack, and Duckie, all waiting expectantly for him.
 
Well, Oscar wanted to see some bold colors, so we all strapped on our
wings and flew to a beautiful garden that I know.  It was only a short
flap away!  Oscar was very excited.  In the World of the Living, we
ferrets only see a few different colors.  Here, we can enjoy them all!
 
We landed, and oh, it was just as beautiful as I had remembered!  There
were hedges of giant pink peony blossoms.  The buds, waiting to flower,
of course had tiny little ants crawling on them, licking up the sweet
nectar.
 
There was a very formal arrangement of old fashioned English roses in
white, red, pink, and yellow.  There were splashes of airy white baby's
breath between each bush.  Oscar enjoyed seeing the roses, but he enjoyed
smelling them, even more!  He stood on his back feet and brought his nose
up to each rose, sniffing delicately.  At one point he lost his balance
and went sprawling and scrambling, but fortunately he didn't get hooked
on any thorns.  He sure did get a lot of heavy orange and yellow pollen
on his snout, though!
 
The wisteria vines bloomed a gentle purple on their trellises, and the
lavender blossomed a much more muted purple at their feet, with a hint of
gray silk to it.  The purple delphiniums practically *screamed* purple!
It made Oscar's head spin!
 
We all sat down in one of the grass paths besides the fragrant mass of
white easter lillies, and had a nice chat.  We talked about color, and
how wonderful it is, how every color can give you a different feeling.
We talked about being sorry for out hoomins, who apparently can't smell
much of anything at all!  Ah, smell...nothing is as good as the smell of
your friends when you curl up with them for a nap.
 
Oscar says that he still misses his Mommy Carol, but he knows that he is
going to be happy here.  Someday, maybe they will walk in this garden,
together.
 
Well, back to work!
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4378]