First - superb that Fox News carried information on IFC's efforts to
raise funds for ferretsin the afternath of Katrina!  Kudo's!!!  Did
not get to see the segment, so if anyone has it, PLEASE share!  I never
watch TV :)
 
Thanks to all sending support - financial or otherwise - to ANY diaster
relief effort!  But please do not forget the need 2 months from now (how
many still send support to those areas affected by the Tusnammi?  And
why do so many offer to adopt/foster a disaster ferret and not one
lanquishing in a shelter today?How many angels fit on the head of a
pin?  :) ) sigh
 
Am happy to report that (timing being everything sometimes) FACT was
able to insert a blurb on the donation efforts for Gulf Coast ferrets
on a 1000 pc mailing that hit today's mail - 95% of whom are CT
ferret-owning/loving residents.  Sometimes it is easy to forget that
not everyone is tied at the hip to the WWW!  :)
 
A final plea.  PLEASE - all - be gentle on those who stayed behind along
the Gulf!  We are all (especially those who live in heavy snow zones)
familar with the over-dramatization of "weather events." (Whoever thought
up THAT term should roast in Hades forever!!!  One gets invited to
events!  Hurricanes, tornado's, snow storms, heat waves, et all are NOT
events... any more than they are "happenings" (just old, cranky and
tired!)
 
The people who stayed behind, as was so eloquently posted last night,
were 1) stuck there as they were too poor and had no transport to go
elsewhere 2) were tourists w/o vehicles to evacuate (hello - anyone read
that the airport was CLOSED down on Sunday - almost 24 hrs b4 ahead of
the storm?)
 
I cannot condemn those being forced to leave home, pets and all they
hold dear.  Even those fighting evacuation today deserve empathy, not
condemnation.  (I had a minute taste of the experience in 1964...my
family was evaculated to a Red Cross shelter just ahead of a hurricane.
I was at a girlfriends for the weekend.  We rushed back to work (as
telephone operators).  At 16 years old I was out of touch with my family
and our pets for 2 days.  I will NEVER forget the feelings of despair and
helplessness or the relief when I was finally able to speak with them
over the phone.....
 
Ann Gruden - FACT
President
Ferret Association of CT, Inc.
[Posted in FML issue 4995]