Hey folks!  Back from North Carolina and let me tell you guys-it's bad!
And I mean BAD!!  I know this post may not be totally ferret-related, but
I believe that alot of the readers on the FML are animal lovers-not just
ferret lovers.  Please note I said alot-not all!  Anyway, getting in to the
Jacksonville area was not near as difficult as getting out!  Going in, I
got within 48 miles of Jacksonville and was routed around to the only road
that was open-a 3 hour detour.  But that wasn't as bad as getting out.
Jacksonville to Raleigh is normally about an hour and a half-it took 6
hours!!.  Water was still rising so all the roads I came in on-were now
closed!  Trying to find a way around was almost impossible, but we finally
made it out and home!  Being a military brat-I've lived a variety of places
and have seen more than my share of natural disasters-40ft waves and
Volcanic eruptions in Hawaii-both caused major evacuations.  Tornados in
Kansas/Missouri, Hurricane in Biloxi Mississippi and fires and mudslides in
California, but I have never seen the kind of damage and havoc in any of
these places that Floyd has caused in North Carolina.  I am not sure the
national news has accurately conveyed this tragedy.  I watched the local
news for hours while I was there and some of the stories are
heart-breaking.  The 75 year old man who refused to leave his 17 dogs!  His
house was completely surrounded and the water was still rising-"I ain't
going without my dogs!" is all he said.  The poor man and his exotic
birds-2 macaws, 2 cockatoo's and an african grey.  Heart-breaking!  The man
was crying when they interviewed him.  He had to make the decision to leave
them or set them free.  Even though all their wings were clipped, he
figured at least they would have a small chance-so he set them free.  When
they showed his house-it was completely under water, he was rescued off his
roof.  His heartbreaking plea was to anyone who found any of his
birds-please take care of them!  Or the people who rescued over 100 baby
squirrels who were blown from their treetop nests-Thank God someone was
there to pick them up!  They were turned over to an agency where they will
be bottle-fed for another couple of weeks, weaned and then released!  The
stories go on and on!  There are many people doing animal rescues, but for
everyone they save-several are lost.  Over 1 million chicken and turkeys
have been reported killed, 100,000 pigs, thousands of head of cattle and
hundreds of horses.  As for companion animals-no figures yet, but it is
going to be staggering.  Like I said, there are many people in the area who
are making a difference-but so much more is needed!  I read the post about
donations-please, please, if you can help-do so!  It is so much worse than
I anticipated it to be!  I wish I would have had more time so I could have
been more help.  I made dozens of phone calls, but so many lines are down
and so many are still without power, that getting through to anyone was
impossible.  My son had his power back on, but his phone was still out so
use of the internet was not possible.  My cell phone bill will be-well, I
don't want to think about it-much less talk about it!  The worst of this
tragedy is far from over-with all the dead animals, human waste, industrial
waste and gas/oil in the water-the health hazards are frightening!!  My son
will keep me posted.  So, if you can't send supplies-please, if not, at
least send prayers!!
 
Now for the lighter side-Tyson and Einstein made the trip like little
troopers!!  They were such good boys, I am so glad I decided to take them!
They loved the rest stops and used these as "ferret education"
opportunities!!  I can't believe how many times we heard: "Aren't they
mean?" GRRRRRRR!  Although we saw many, many animals both going to and
coming from-we did not see any other ferrets!  Someone did honk-but that
might have been because I was driving like an idiot!  (kidding!!) And last
but not least, I thought nothing could shock me more than Tyson's Elvis
imitation last week-but I tell you-the only 2 tapes my daughter brought
along were BackStreet Boys tapes and now Tyson knows all the songs by
heart!  Einstein just covered his ears and rolled his eyes!!  (kidding
again) Oh-one last thing(really!!) I recently met a little albino female
who up to this point has not had a very good life-hopefully things will get
better for her and she will pull through this-please-if you pray-pray for
her-if not-just send good thoughts her way!  Thanks!!
 
Della and the Tumbleweeds                     AIM <imjudella2>
Judy Cooke                                    ICQ # 12094923
Tyson and Einstein
 
"The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure
of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything."
Clarence Darrow
[Posted in FML issue 2811]