Hi, all.
 
I met a little guy named Grandfather Bandit.  He had a *huge* Business
waiting with me for him to cross the Bridge.  Their names were Moxy,
Sandy, Mitzy, Daisy, Toby, Bear, Beasley, and Murphy.
 
Bandit made it across and there was an enormous, excited, dooking and
leaping ball of ferrets!  Everybody was so happy to see him.
 
He was very hungry, as his final illness made it hard for him to eat,
so the whole Business thundered off to the fruit bar.  Melons, apples,
banannas, mangos, pineapples, peaches, you name it.  We've got it!  And
oh, yes, raisins, too, by the ton.  (And prunes, gosh, but I love those
monster rasins!)
 
Anyway, when he was full I managed to get a little private time with
him to talk.  He wants to thank his Mommy soooo much for bringing him
into the bed with the blanket and the microwave heat-pack.  He said he
understood that he was going to cross the Bridge, and that their time
together gave him the opportunity to sort of, you know, get his head
in order.  After that, things got sort of blurry and strange, but he
cherishes the time he spent with his Mommy in the bed, just the two of
them.  He sends his love, his forever love.  Oh, yeah, his fur is so
good now he looks like a mink!
 
The rest of the Business had some pretty funny stories about messing with
Mommy Sally for fun, but it was all good natured stuff.  They want her to
know that they love this place, and they will always love their Mommy.
This is a Business that hangs its hammies together.  Actually, they have
a cotton filled futon that they have modified to make a group nest.  Very
cozy!  I had a nap there.
 
I met another little guy named Grandfather Quincy.  His Business was very
quiet next to the one before, but then again, it was only a Business of
three; Grommie, Phineas, and Pheobe.
 
Quincy had been dreaming about the bridge, too, and he really wanted to
go to the rock candy forest.  Imagine a deep dark pine forest.  Now
imagine the same forest, only full of light and tiny specks of rainbow
colors here and there.
 
Every time the wind blows in the rock candy forest, hands-full of
irridesent pure sugar needles fall to the forest floor.  Sometimes a
clear pinecone will fall to the ground, and smash like a christmas tree
ornament.  And everything can be licked, even the bark!  There is a cold
little stream winding through the forest, for when your tongue gets
sticky, or stuff gets glued to your whiskers with sugar.
 
Me, I like the rock candy forest best at sunset, when the whole place
glows with an orange fire.  Quincy and his Business had an excellent time
there, licking and sniffing and digging in the brown sugar dirt.
 
Quincy wants his Mommy to know that actually, yes, he does have a purple
squeakie dinosaur here.  He found it in his hammie along with a few other
"welcome to the Afterworld" items, like the strap-on wings, etc.
 
He also wants his Mommy to know how very much he loves her.  So do the
other guys.  Quincy wishes he could bring her back one of those clear,
hollow rock candy pinecones, he knows that she would love it, but maybe
someday...maybe the two of you can go together.
 
Off to bed, now.
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4324]