Dear Ferret Folks-

E-Mail communication is *such* an alien, insufficient medium of
communication for us primates. We have had millions of years of
hard-wiring that make us dependent upon tone, inflection, cadence,
facial and body-positional cues. Words on a keyboard are *not* the
same as face to face communication, not even close. We've been online
for what, twenty some years? I don't know what motivated the original
Anonymous poster. I'm guessing pain, pain that was a lot more
immediate, deeper than the premse of the post. We will never know.

Some people are truly troubled by these apocalyptic fears, the
holocaust to come. Well, maybe yes. And maybe no. As a species we do
*insanely* dangerous things and justify them. We also ignore clear and
present dangers. We *have* to, or we couldn't function. We all know
that California is due for a big earthquake, New Orleans is partially
below sea level, tornadoes love the midwest, etc. But the people who
live in those places are not blind or stupid. They are just ordinary
folks, coping. Humans are great copers, and in a way that is a shame.
We cope with millions of people not having decent shelter, running
water, acces to even the most rudimentary education. The list goes on.

Me, I keep having ferrets in my life, knowing that they will suffer and
die from things like insulinoma, ADV, adrenal disease, lymphoma...and
my heart will be ripped out every time. I have seen them grow old,
lose their vision, lose all interest in life and leave it prematurely.
I have taken them into my custody, already at death's door. Yet, I
choose the inevitable pain, and so do all of you. And that's not
strictly rational, is it?

I think we should give our Anonymous poster a break. We don't know
what the story was behind the post. But I am glad that this is a place
where a question like that can be asked and debated. It should make us
look inward at ourselves.

Alexandra in MA with her emergency pillowcase at the ready

[Posted in FML 6337]