Foggy Update!!!
 
Many of you have e-mailed me lately to ask after little Foggy... I apologize
for the long time that has passed since I last posted on his progress.  The
incoming injured have kept me hopping and the Infirmary count now stands at
17, with 21 in the ongoing and long term care unit.  So... what with my
education program and my few other little activities I have been a little
short of open time for the computer.
 
I would like to share a recent indicator of his present condition..
 
What do you have when you combine one footless fuzzy and one very large and
mischeivious Tech?  If you guessed Creative Chaos you were close..  If it
was Hilarious Hysteria you were really close..  But the correct answer is
the invention of The Flat Ferret Shuffle Game!
 
Many of you have wondered 'How will he get around?' and 'How can he play?'
and many have commented things like 'Poor little guy, there's so much he
won't be able to do anymore.' and 'He is so small and now with no paws, the
other fuzzys may be too rough for him: Who will he play with if he manages
to play at all?' Some of your concerns have been eased by his wild antics in
the Krinkly Sack and his intrepid courage and brave cheeriness.  I am hoping
this escapade with Bruce will give you additional insight into the truly
intriguing personality and attitude of this little fur kid..
 
Bruce often stops over at any old hour to grab a Foggy Fix.  The two of them
generally get off in a corner and rough house [Bruce is well over 6'8" and
weighs in at around 280 lbs...but is the kindest and most gentle fuzzy
caregiver I have ever seen (any critter really, except the humans that hurt
little animals that is)] and laugh and just make idiots of themselves.
Bruce talks about all sorts of things with Foggy and swears the little
monster understands him very well, and even gives pretty good advice when
asked about some knotty problem Bruce is puzzling over.  I couldn't comment
much on that part of their relationship but I can tell you those two make a
couple of sneaky mischievous little boys look like relative Saints in the
deportment department.  And there is no point in telling them to hold down
the noise or asking Bruce to stop tossing a wildly wiggling Foggy high into
the air and catching him in heavily padded mitten pads.  They just glance
over at me as is to say..  ' Far Chance!' and go right on being reckless and
crazy!
 
A couple of weeks ago Bruce was absent for several days and Foggy really
missed his visits and took to hanging over the enclosure gate and watching
the entry for hours at a time hoping his best Buddy would put in an
appearance.  It was obvious every night that he was disappointed when
another day had passed sans Bruce.  So when he finally did show up Foggy
nearly went nuts letting Bruce know how happy he was to see him.  This time,
however, Bruce didn't grab Foggy up for their usual rough and tumble... He
just tucked him under one arm and marched back out the door.  Now Bruce
knows better than to take one of my patients out of the area so I was out
the door in a flash all prepared to give him a real talking to...
 
And stopped dead right outside!  Bruce had laid out a piece of linoleum
about 8 feet wide and thirty feet long... it covered the cement walkway edge
to edge and its full length.  the huge flat surface was edged with padded
four by fours that formed a sturdy frame while holding the flat area flat
and secure.  It turns out he was helping a friend recover his large
businesses floor space with this type of linoleum after a broken pipe ruined
the carpeting.  And this was the end of the enormous roll they had used for
the job.  Bruce had then made and padded the frame for it and used a very
slick and hard commercial wax to render the surface shiny and very very
slippery.
 
Just as I turned to ask him what on earth this was all about he started
pulling aluminum pole sections out of an old golf bag and fitting them
together until he had two poles about 6 feet long.  Then he opened a box and
began attaching a weird looking object to one end on each pole.  The device
he attached looked like an oversized horseshoe that had a heavy pad covered
with sheepskin lining the inside of the curve.  Foggy had been watching his
every move with total absorption, looking from Bruce's face to the emerging
assemblies and back making it clear he was fascinated and wanted Bruce to
explain everything... and right now, Please!  Bruce propped the poles on a
leg and snatched Foggy off his personal fleece blanket [the one from the
Marvelous Magical Box] and started checking how his little body fitted
inside the padded curves , extending all four legs out until the fuzzy was
laying flat on his lap with the half circle enclosing him in a one hundred
and eighty degree arc.  When he was satisfied that the arc would hold Foggy
with nearly no clearance but not put any pressure on his leg ends he handed
me one of the strange poles with a huge grin on his face and took the other
and Foggy and tromped to the other end of the thirty foot long surface.  He
and Foggy chatted for a couple of minutes while I tried to figure out what
the dickens Bruce was up to, then he set Fogy down on the slick linoleum and
placed the curve around him with Foggy facing me, then stepped back until he
was holding the pole near its other end.  Unlike his normal behavior, Foggy
didn't twitch a muscle.... like he was concentrating very hard and waiting
for something.
 
With a Whoop of glee Bruce shoved very hard on the pole and launched Foggy
down the long slippery surface at high speed!  Foggy's eyes got incredibly
wide and he glanced all around as he flew down the long sliding surface.
Just as he was nearly to my end Bruce yelled at me to 'Catch him in your
launcher!' and I had to scramble to get it in place in time to 'catch' Foggy
when he arrived.
 
I was furious and was really chewing Bruce out for being 'An irresponsible
jerk' and having 'risked Foggy being reinjured' and telling him this
'insanity will stop this instant' ... and..  when I looked where his finger
was pointing as he laughed like a mad man.
 
Foggy had wiggled himself around until his head was facing down the lane
towards Bruce and was looking over his shoulder at me with an expression
that clearly said..  'WOW, What a Rush!..  Will you quit hollering and push
me back NOW?, PLEASE!'
 
No doubt about it..  I was out voted and those two delinquents were enjoying
themselves enormously.  The Flat Ferret Shuffle (board) Game went on most of
the afternoon, with breaks only for eats and an occasional quick sip of
water.  They play the game nearly every day, and I guarantee you Foggy has
never been happier!
 
Needless to say fuzzys with feet are at a definite disadvantage as they
instinctively put down their feet to try to control the speed and direction
of their slide and rarely make the distance, and they don't tolerate little
socks on their paws for more than 5 seconds either!  So the all time Champ
is Foggy the Footless and Boy is he proud of himself!  He is positively smug
around the other fuzzys these days!  So those of you that have worried that
he might feel handicapped or be depressed because he was left out of the
other little ones games can rest assured that this little trooper is having
the best time of his life!!!!
 
 dayna  :]
 dayna frazier   102046,3162
'resident of the 'Marvellous Menagerie of Mirthful Mayhem'
             MMOMM!!!
[Posted in FML issue 1611]