If my email (and post office) box is any indication, my lack of
participation of late has caught the attention of more than a few people.
Dozens of you have sent letters and cards of condolence, and for that I
am extremely grateful.  One dear person sent a picture of a different
ferret each day for more than two weeks, just to cheer me up!  I have
been left speechless.  Thank you all.
 
I have no desire to speak of the particulars of my loss; it is too
private and too painful.  I will just say it was sudden and unexpected,
and the loss hit me like a heavy blow to my stomach.  I have learned to
live with my own mortality, but the sudden intrusion of death into a
carefully preserved aspect of my private life caught me unaware.  It has
taken me some time to deal with the loss to an extent where I would be
interested in posting here again.  I am still not sure if I am willing to
post in such intensity as before; the nitpicking and sniping exhibitied
by some people have removed much of the joy of sharing discovery with
others.  I have a wealth of self-confidence and I have always believed
admitting mistakes demonstrates strength of character, and the truth is,
my deep love of ferrets is a far greater incentive in trying to be as
accurate as possible than any one or any group of people's opinions.
None-the-less, the intensive nitpicking without substantive argument or
the offering of viable alternative evidence makes the experience less
than enjoyable.  It also leaves the person in a lose-lose situation--
say nothing and you risk that some will misunderstand the silence to
affirm the opposite viewpoint, or defend the idea and see seen as someone
aggressively attacking the other.  It may not quite be an internet
version of casting pearls before swine, but it is still hardly worth
posting new ideas or on controversial issues.
 
In other news, my daughter Elizabeth, once an occasional poster in
this forum, is a fireman and paramedic in the Army Reserves.  She has
been recently activated and sent to San Antonio for advanced paramedic
training.  She is engaged to a fireman who is a member of the Marine
Corps reserves, who has also been called up.  Both have been issued
desert camos, if that means anything.  Elizabeth graduates in the
beginning of May, and since I WILL NOT miss the event, I will be putting
off my trip to Britain and West Europe to gather information of the
history and domestication of the ferret until later in the year.
Instead, I will drive down to San Antonio to visit Elizabeth for a week
and attend her class graduation prior to her next duty assignment.  My
route will be through Springfield to Oklahoma City, through Dallas-Ft.
Worth, to San Antonio.  My return will likely be through Houston to
Texarkana to Little Rock, and back to Columbia.  I am open to stopping
and visiting ferret shelters or clubs within an hour of that route,
first asked, first accepted.  However, the reason for the travel will
be to visit my daughter, so time is limited.  Please contact me directly
for time, details (and a single caveat).
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4047]