Hi, all-
 
Lots going on here at the Bridge!
 
I met a little gut named Walton, only he says that he now wants to be
known by his real name, WaltonWuzzle.  No problem, we get lots of that up
here, just ask that little girl FattyFattyBoombaLatty, sister of Lizard
Breath!
 
WaltonWuzzle had a nice reunion with his Business of Grommie, Quincy (who
has only been here a little while himself), Phineas, and Phoebe.
 
First they all went to the Ferretone Fountain to lap up buckets full,
then they all had to wipe their faces in the grass to clean their
whiskers.  Then the whole crew strapped on their wings, and flew to the
red sandstone canyon full of tens of thousands of rolls of soft, bright
white rolls of toilet paper.  They were rolling and ripping and
shredding, it looked like a blizzard, but it was a lot of fun.
 
WaltonWuzzle is not the most social ferret, but he seems completely happy
to be hanging out with the Wild BlackFooted ferrets.  They are an odd
bunch, sort of clannish.  They mostly stick to their own kind, but they
really seem to have accepted WaltonWuzzle with open hammies!
 
I met a little girl named Princess.  Her Mommy Sandra told me that
Princess wasn't much of a wardancer in the World of the Living, but
things are different here!  Princess has joined the Drummers and Dookers
circle.  At night, they light a huge bonfire on a sandy plain near a
slow, deep river.  The drummers begin their songs, and we ferrets compete
to see who can do the best wardance!  Sometimes it's not a competition,
it's just a chance to show off your skill, and have a good time.  Well,
it's not unusual for those drums to beat until dawn, sometimes!  Princess
is not the best wardancer, but she has real spirit and rythmn, and she is
coming along well!
 
I met a little girl named Star.  She had suffered terribly with adrenal
problems in the World of the Living, but everything is, of course,
different up here.  Her new coat is so thick and so glossy, it almost
seems to shine as if it is sprinkled with stardust.  We've taken to
calling her Dusty because of it!  She is soooo happy not to have that
bald head anymore.  Now her ears are always warm, the way she likes them!
 
I met a celebrity, here.  Countess Coquette, also known as Cookie.  (She
prefers Cookie.) Cookie was the Cover Ferret for the Ferrets of the FML
2003 calendar.  Her Mommy and Daddy were so shocked to lose her suddenly
like that, and so young, too!  Cookie wants them to know that she is a
*tough* Cookie, and she is doing just fine.  She has found a nice
sun-warmed hay bale in a grassy field that she has dug a nice nest into.
She has many neighbours in their own bales.  It's a nice, peaceful
community.  You can always pick them out.  They are the ones with bits of
straw in their fur!
 
I met another celebrity, too.  Kouri has made his way across the Bridge.
He has his own Fan Club in the World of the Living.  He is famous for
being a chef, for raising money for his favourite charity, the SOS.
(Support our Shelters.) His motto is "Ferrets Advancing to their Greater
Glory" He has a sense of humor too.  When his friend Jubilee Spirit
greeted him with me, Kouri said, "Well.  So this is the greater glory,
huh?  Bring on the food!"
 
Oh, the binge we went on at the Fruit Bar.  We had a melon chunk fight
that just went on and on.  Kouri is famous for building his Medieval
siege engine, the Trebouchet.  Think of it as a catapult the size of
Godzilla that could hurl boulders thousands of feet, up and over castle
walls.  He wants to stuff the bucket full of honeydew melons, and see how
far he can throw them.  A mile?  maybe more?  Only time will tell, he has
eternity to practice!  Then I guess we'll just have to eat 'em once they
land and go splat!  Sounds like a plan.
 
I checked on a little guy named Weasle for his Mom Julie, his Dad, and
Nana.  This is his one year anniversary of arrival at the Afterworld.  I
am happy to report that he is thriving.  It turns out that he has become
an artist of some renoun!  He does beautiful watercolors.  He says that
his primary influences are Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent.  I'll
just have to take his workd on that, I'm not up on art history.
 
Weasel's front paws are always amazing colors because he paints with
them!  The floor of his studio is COVERED in little colored footprints!
 
He says that he is happy, and he looks forward to seeing his Hoomins,
some day.
 
I don't even have to energy to tell you hoomins how many messages of love
and remembrance I have been asked to send to your from your friends here
in the Afterworld.  It would take ten pages of text!  There is not one of
these ferrets who believes that they could possibly have had better lives
in the World of the Living, not once they found the right Hoomins to love
them.  You are a special bunch.
 
Hmmm.  I hear something about a little girl crossing the Bridge, and a
Hoomin named Valerie.  I need to go check it out.  I'll get back to you
on that tomorrow!
 
Dooks,
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4342]