Hi folks,
 
Some people think that the FML is going through dark times.  That there
is too much bickering, that good people are being forced to leave to avoid
nasty remarks against them.  Well, maybe there is some truth in that.
But you notice the circulation numbers haven't gone down that much.  And
while key members of the list have left us, they haven't made themselves
inaccessible by any means.  You can still ask Dr Williams and Bob C.
questions if you need them.  And new members who weren't here when they
were will hear of them too.  Have no fear, the first time someone
recommends Bob Church's Chicken Gravy to a newbie, they will want to
know "Who is this Bob Church?"  And thanks to Sukie's cross-posting,
Dr. Williams' esteemed advice is still available.  Or you could join the
other list.
 
In the end, we are still here.  Everyone reading this post has braved the
flames and scrolled through the nasty posts and is still here.  Here for
the support, the advice, the friendly stories.  Here for the family, their
family and the FML family.  And just like every family, there will always
be people who dont get along, don't particularly like each other, even
those who cause trouble just to cause trouble.  But families stick together
despite, they support each other, help each other however they can, share
their joy and sadness, and that is what we are here for.
 
To those who complain about the flaming, etc., I can understand your
frustration, and you have the perfect forum here to vent it.  But does it
do any good?  If the threat that Dr. Williams would leave didn't stop the
flames, I doubt anything will.  Undoubtedly, your post will just spark
another little battle.
 
So, to stop the cycle I say we just ignore the meanness.  Don't respond,
don't give the trouble makers the pleasure of seeing these little flames
blossom into the conflageration of the FML.  Whenever you read a post that
really makes you mad, instead of posting how mad you are, post a lovely
story of one of your ferrets.
 
For example, my newest addition, Nietzsche, (which is easy to say, but a
pain in the butt to type, by the way,) is doing SO well.  It has been
roughly two months since I rescued him from the utter negligence he called
a home.  He was filthy, so dirty my hands started itching from the dust on
the hour long drive home.  He was hungry, and being fed I'm not even sure
what.  He was alone, his owner had moved into a no pets apartment a month
earlier, and left him with his 64 year old drunkard roommate.  (A nice
enough fellow, but hardly a responsible ferret owner.) This man, who
affectionately called Nietzsche a "red-eyed polecat," told me proudly that
he checked on Nietzsche every evening, giving him water and making sure
he had food, and that he hadn't escaped from his cage.  Which is quite an
accomplishment for a man who seems to be barely able to keep himself alive,
and has never had any experience with ferrets.  But what I heard was,
"Nietzsche is by himself all the time, locked in his cage, he is never
bathed or played with, and he only sees a human once a day, when he is
given not enough water and food." Nietzsche wore a collar for about the
first five mintues I knew him.  It was so tight, I had to cut it off,
discovering a complete lack of fur underneath.  (I removed this torture
device before I even left the house where I picked him up.)
 
Today, Nietzsche is asleep with Robin, his new found friend.  All three of
my boys are albinos, and now that Nietzsche no longer has an orange ring
around his neck where his fur was growing in, I can hardly tell them all
apart.  He is eating Totally Ferret with wild abandon, and his ribs are no
longer readily appearant.  His tail has not recovered completely from the
lack of baths.  I am battling blackheads you would not believe.  But he
doesn't seem to mind.  He comes to see me when I open the bedroom door,
instead of hiding under the bed.  He kisses me and snuggles with me when
I'm sleepy.  He is the most playful ferret of my whole bunch.  Which suits
Tasha and Robin just fine, but I think Mira and Cael, the old fogies, could
do with a break every once in a while.  But then I see them snuggling with
Nietzsche in sleep, and know they like him.
 
So today, I love the FML because I get to share with you my happiness that
my boy Nietzsche is finally a happy, healthy ferret, who plays and kisses
and snuggles and loves his new family.  Yeah!
 
Melissa Barnes
http://www.geocities.com/lothruin
Mira, Cael, Robin, Tasha and Nietzsche
[Posted in FML issue 3395]