Hi, all.
 
I met a little guy named Jersey the other day, coming across the Bridge.
For some strange reason he ran right past me and his Business of Freckles
and Smudge, and jumped snout first into the little ornamental fishpond
that I usually stand right in front of as a greeting spot.  It's really
pretty right there.  The water iris bloom yellow and purple along the
edge, and there are many beautiful fish in the water.
 
Well, that was a first, to say the least.  I promise, out of all of the
greetings I have ever done, nobody *ever* did that before.
 
Jersey splashed around in there for quite a while, I thought maybe he was
trying to catch one of the fish, and I wasn't too keen on that idea, but
I couldn't see any good way to stop him.  Hunting isn't allowed here on
this side of the Bridge, not even for fish!
 
He kept diving and diving.  Finally, he came up with the stem of a white
blossomed water lily clutched firmly in his teeth.  He swam to shore with
it, and dragged it up onto the grass with him.  The blossom was really
nice, creamy white with just a little yellow in the middle.  The stem
itself was pretty muddy.  So was Jersey, for that matter.  He dropped it
at my feet and yelled happily "I got one!" Then he proceeded to roll and
dry himself in the grass, while Freckles and Smudge rolled on the grass
with laughter.
 
Come to find out, in the World of the Living, Jersey was famous for
uprooting his Mommie's water lillies and stashing them them under the
sofa.  His final illness had left him with mobility problems, and he said
that his body felt so good and whole again coming across the Bridge, that
he just couldn't help himself when he saw the lillies in that pond!  He
*had* to have one!
 
Well, now that I understood, I had to laugh, too.  It was just a really
wonderfully silly moment!  I guess we all went a little nutso, because it
wasn't long before all four of us were in that pond, diving and digging
and pulling at the long, green slippery stems.  They taste pretty good,
they are sort of sweet and starchy.  (The fish, by the way, will probably
not be seen again for days!)
 
Freckles, Smudge and I gave up pretty quickly, it's not easy to pull
those things up, but Jersey got two more!
 
The four of us had a long talk, as we lay drying in the sun, later.  We
made some plans to have Ragamuffin, their Mommie's cat visit us halfway
across the Bridge.  (Jersey wasn't really certain that he wanted to
visit the Cat Afterworld, but all three of the guys really wanted to see
Ragamuffin, so we compromised.) Next, I have to wrack my brain to think
of where the nearest sofa is.  Jersey says he won't be satisfied until
he stashed his lillies under one.  It's like a quest.
 
Wish us luck!
(Where am I going to find a sofa?)
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4357]