It was a lovely day at de Bridge. SaraFerret was busy repairing her
roof. As you may or may not recall, Dexter, one of de couriers, had
made a crash landing, leaving a hole in her roof. So here she was with
de kits sorta helping. Okay they were handing nails to he.

Finally it looked like she was finished as she pounded de last nail in.
Together, SaraFerret and de kits looked with satisfaction at de job
they had completed and hoping that Dexter would avoid the place for a
while. All of a sudden, they heard the flutter of wings and looked up
to see Mimi, the little girl courier. She had a note in her paw and
said,

"SaraFerret, why are you repairing this roof again? Didn't you just do
it? Oh-oh, don't tell me that Dexter did it again. Maybe he should get
his eyes checked. I sure thought we were sposed to be perfect once we
crossed the Bridge, but... Anyway I have a message that a ferret is
crossing the Bridge and they have requested that you greet him. I think
that you know the family well. Do you want me to get them and have them
meet him?"

She handed me de note and I sat there on the roof and read it. Of
course I knew de family so very well. So me and de kits and Mimi
scrambled off the roof and I headed for de entrance and Mimi went off
to find de NZ group. I was just in time to see a fuzzy with big bumps
on his neck moving very slow towards me. When he got here I introduced
myself,

"Hi I am SaraFerret and I am de bridgegreeter. Welcome to de Rainbow
Bridge. Here you will have no more pain or suffering and will run on
green grass forever. You will have lotsa friends to play with. Did I
mention de fun and games?"

He said, "Oh I know who you are, I am Jimmy, My mum, Eileen calls me
Jimmy Jim. Isn't that just the funniest thing. She says that you know
where I am from cause you have greeted lotsa her ferrets. Can you do
something about these bumps on my neck cause they trouble me something
terrible? Where are all my friends that you was chatting about cause I
see only you. Now I do admit that you are a very nice lady ferret, but
I do want to see my own kind, because we are NZ ferrets and we are so
special. What are those funny things on your shoulders--oh my lady,
don't tell me you are afflicted too as I thought everyone here was
perfect,"

I replied, "Jimmy, I have greeted many of de NZ clan. You will see your
friends later but you have to be patient for a little while. Not to
worry, you won't be stuck with just having me for your only friend;
although I will be very proud to be your friend. Now as to your bumps
around your neck just wait a minute. Check your neck with your paw--do
you feel anything?"

He reached up and felt and nothing was there. In fact he admitted he
felt as though he was once more an adolescent in his prime and began
to dance around.

"Now hold on a minute, Jimmy." I said. "You ask about the funny things
on my shoulders. I am not afflicted. These are wings. See how they flap
in the wind. They are great for flying about the heavens. It sure beats
hopping from cloud to cloud to cloud and you are gonna get your very
own pair."

Jimmy immediately began to apologize. "Oh don't do that, Jimmy." I
replied. "All fuzzies ask that very same question when they cross the
bridge. So I am always prepared for it. Now we have to go."

So off we went down de path to de Wing House where de wings were
stored. We opened de door and on de counter was a big box--of course.
He opened de box and took out de wings--bright pink with silver
streaks. I helped him put on the wings and then adjusted his halo. Then
he turned to me and said, "I wish Mum could see me now." Then I gots an
idea.

We left there and went down de path to de Misting Pond. We sat down
beside de cool clear water and with one swish we saw the vision of Mum
Eileen appear. Jimmy got so excited he started waving and dooking with
all of his might.

"Mum, I love you so much. Thank you for loving me. My bumps are all
gone; I feel so much better now and I can walk so good. I has wings now
and soon the others will show me how to fly. Everything sure is pretty
here."

He began to throw hugs and kisses and wrapped them with all of his love
and laid them on a nearby shooting star which was headed to your house
and by de time you should read dis it should have landed dere. And with
another swish de vision was gone.

We left there and went to a fork in the road and to his surprise, there
was a group of fuzzies who ran up to him and introduced theirselves,
"Hi, we are your own, we are the NZ of Mum Eileen. I am Phoenix and
this one is Abbie, and that one is Phoebe, and Ellie, and Bear, and
Oscar, and Chilla, and Koko, and Darth, and Missy. Whew I am outa
breath. Welcome to the Bridge, Jimmy. Wait until you see the others."
Jimmy replied, "You mean there are more?" Phoenix said, "Oh yes, lots.
So come on. We have a big doings." Off they ran so fast. I could barely
keep up. Hey I am not as fast as these NZ clan fuzzies. They are built
for speed. We caught sight of their village, and mercy, that place had
grown since I had last seen it. Cottages had been built. You could tell
a party was set up. Fuzzies were running all over the place. Music was
a-playing. As we arrived, they all stood still and de flag with the
southern cross was hoisted up high and each fuzzy stood at attention as
de music played "God Defend New Zealand." Such and nice song. I could
tell Jimmy was happy. He was surrounded as he said by "his own kind."
So I gave him a hug and said my good-byes.

So ended another greeting at de Rainbow Bridge.

Lovey and hugs,

SaraFerret,
bridgegreeter

[Posted in FML 6679]