Hi FMLers,
 
I've been absent for a couple weeks...lots to do, so little time...we flew
to Florida this weekend to watch my brother graduate from Eckerd College
in St. Petersburg.  He's a marine biologist now, a science genius (which
impresses me 'cause I struggled through calculus and never took even basic
chemistry).  Cried when he walked across the stage, so handsome in his
green cap and gown.
 
Here's a recent experience I wanted to share with all.  Besides being a
ferrety story, for me this underscores the importance of being educated,
and the importance of educating the public:
 
I work at a small liberal arts college.  Several weeks ago, a student was
waiting to see the dean.  He is an "older" student, unusual at our school
because we generally have only younger undergrads.  Kids don't usually
leave for more than a year or two.  This particular student was supposed
to graduate in '96 but left after one year and just came back this
semester.  So he's closer to my age (27) than to the sophomores (18-19).
 
Back in February the student newspaper interviewed me for a piece on
ferrets.  Besides making a point of mentioning that ferrets aren't an
appropriate "dorm" pet, I expounded on the joys of having ferrets and the
funny, lovable things they do.  The student newspaper ended up running
a fairly long article that resulted in several students getting involved
and helping us with an event.  It was a good piece.
 
Anyway, this guy (who I don't actually like very much because he is kind
of smirky and smarmy every time I've seen him) turned to me and said,
"I've been meaning to write a rebuttal to that ferret article you wrote.
 
I gave him a rather cold stare.  "I didn't write it, a student did,"
I said somewhat frostily.  I have to be nice to students as a rule, but
I didn't care for his tone or his smirk.  He put up his hands in mock
protest and snickered a little.  My co-worker said "Don't bash ferrets in
front of Heather," in a joking tone, but she was serious - she knows how
I feel about small fuzzy people.
 
"Well," he said, "as a resident of New Hampshire, I really think I ought
to correct a lot of what you said about ferrets.  They're not the cute
and cuddly little things you made them out to be."
 
Raised eyebrow on my part, atmosphere in the room dropped about 20
degrees.  "Oh?" I asked.  "What are they really like?"
 
"Have you ever seen a fisher cat?" he asked knowingly.  I couldn't begin
to figure out where he was going with this.  "Yes, I have," I answered.
 
"Where?" he challenged, obviously not believing me.  "There's one in my
neighborhood," I answered (there is).  "I've seen it by the lake shore,
and in a tree.  I've also seen them on TV.
 
"Well," he lectured, "the fisher cat is a very close relative of the
ferret."
 
I corrected him, "No, actually, it's about the same relationship that a
domesticated housecat has to a mountain lion."
 
He wasn't buying it.  "It's a VERY close relative," he argued.  "They have
the same disposition - nasty!"
 
I was getting quite argumentative.  "Have you ever actually SEEN a
ferret?" I asked.  With all his talk about fisher cats I was starting to
wonder if he even knew what animal he was talking about.  He became
immediately defensive.  "I've seen hundreds!"
 
"Where?" I persisted.  "Where have you seen these hundeds of ferrets?"
 
"I come from New Hampshire," he said loftily.  "We have ferrets running
around everywhere in the wild."
 
"Umm," I said, trying hard not to laugh right out loud in his know-it-all
face, "I think you're seeing weasels or ermines.  Ferrets don't run loose
in the wild all across New Hampshire."
 
The dean came out at that moment and called him in, but from the look on
his face and his smug smirk, I could tell that he firmly believed that I
was the uneducated one.
 
After I got through picturing myself ramming his head into a fisher cat's
mouth, I reflected for awhile on the importance of educating the public
at large about ferrets.  I thought of all the people who might hear about
ferrets from someone like this guy FIRST, and believe every smug,
misinformed word this cretin (and those like him) spit out.  I've been
told on several occasions, "Oh, we have ferrets in our woods," and not
everyone believes me when I say, "That was probably a weasel."  They say,
"Oh, no, we've had ferrets in our woods for years.  They turn white in
the winter."  SIGH!!
 
Let's remember to educate, wherever we go, whoever we are.  Let's get to
the public before people like this do!
 
-Heather W. in Massachusetts
 Wondering if the neighborhood fisher cat would like an "uneducated" snack!
 (Hey Alicia, go round up those hundreds of wild ferrets in NH, will ya??)
[Posted in FML issue 3790]