Dear Alex,
I'm kinda new to this greeting thing and while I know you did not ask
for one, I really felt, at the very least, a letter of comfort was
something I wanted to send your way. [Posted to FML with Alexandra's
permission. BIG]
What a gift love is, no matter how it happens ... because, as we say
on this side of the Bridge, it is not how you love, nor is it who you
love... but that you love, which is most important. Love, real, true
and unconditional love is the very best of all, and Ping is He was full
of that sorta love, so are you Alex, and while you may feel love is
bigger then you, the truth is that a heart as good, and as kind as
yours, well in my Bridge Ledger that makes your love infinite and
larger then life, and something we here have always greatly admired.
Through the years, your love of life, and of all things and of all
people and fuzzits and dogs and fricken pigmy hedgehogs.... well we
have been deeply blessed by the magic of it all, and knowledge and
the humour that has been reflected in the posts you have shared both
on the FML as well as the sadly missed Ferret Magazine.
So for you, I have this, it is not much, but I am hoping it is a way
for your heart to find a bit of comfort.
Twilight at the Bridge is my most favourite time of the day for it is
golden and magical moment that is full of things that neither the day
nor the night can boast of, yet both much equally share in. There are
lovely night bird aria's set to the background of cricket and frog
symphonies. There are helpful fireflies who don't mind lighting the way
for those in need. There are twilight butterflies that can capture a
sunset in their wings and carry it forever. The soothing scents of
pine, night phlox, honeysuckle, august lilies (which"guess who" really,
really love!) and jasmine and moon flowers fill this place with such
sweetness and beauty, that one truly has no reason to not stop and
simply smell them. Lastly it is a time when everyone finds that place
where they feel comfortable and we begin to settle down for a nice
relaxing evening.
Tonight was different though, it was quiet, and scentless and still. I
could sense that something of a most cosmic nature was happening, that
somehow someone truly epic was coming our way and then Hobbes showed
up. He looked at me and then looked down and slowly began to shake his
head from side to side. I asked what was wrong and all he could do was
hand me my next assignment. I remember taking the scroll from his paw
and as I began to unwind it, Hobbes placed his hand on my shoulder and
said.
"This is big Pie, I mean really big, not that they all aren't, but
just, well you'll know when you read it."
I looked deeply into his dark, red rimmed eyes and I suddenly feared
opening that scroll, but I did, because that's my vocation after all,
it's what I trained for. I read it slowly and then read it again, and
then I quietly rolled it back up and took a deep, sad sigh and walked
over to Hobbes and we hugged each other and I cried. Yes even Bridge
Greeters can cry, and we do most especially when someone, who is so
obviously full of life, finds, for what ever reason, that they have
been called home early. Life is such a valuable thing, and for us
fuzzits it is doubly and triply so because the span we are granted is
so short yet .... yet SO full of vivaciousness, and sprightliness, and
true dedication to inquisitiveness ...... and of course love, a great
abundance of love.
My first stop was at a place we call The Butterfly Field. It is full of
tall meadow grass and wild flowers, and sneaky ferrets who like using
it for stashing their very best of goodies. In this vast and large
stashing ground is a huge green beast, it original date of creation was
1966 and if you should ask its caretakers, it is known as THEE John
Deere 1020 Tractor with hydraulically operated front-loading bucket.
One must be exact when saying the name of the green beast or the rather
small and pointy beast with the French accent gets bent out of shape
and NO ONE'S enjoys a bent France! Switch and Lily, the green beasts
other caretakers and official pit crew (oh, don't ask, it's one of
those things you have to see for yourself) cherish annoying the pigmy
wolverine by calling him Dude and calling him it continuously!
Oh the arguments that go on for days over this single, dreaded word!
My favourite was when France asked her to please define the word dude.
Lily was ever quick on the draw told him it meant a city dweller
unfamiliar with life on the range. France then proceeded to pooh-pooh
her and then promptly dug out his pocket dictionary and thumbed through
until he found what he was looking for, and then he read it aloud,
"Eets a man 'oo iz a'l'extreme elegant in dress and zee manner!" he
snapped.
Switch held her hand out and motioned to France to hand over the
dictionary, and France, being France said no, which lead to Switch
being forced to pluck it out of his tiny mitts. She then thumbed
through it until she found what she was looking for and showed it to
Lily and then the two of them fell to the ground giggling with glee.
I remember the both of them rolling on the ground in laughter, I mean
they were laughing so hard *I* had to pee, and then Lily finally gasped
out,"Oh that's rich, now we can now stop calling him dude, we have a
new nickname for him now ... isn't that DANDY!" and then she looked
at France and said, "Yes, France, it clearly says a man extremely
fastidious in dress and manner but....."
"Eet is what I said you sillllly ferretsss!", he loudly interrupted.
Lily then turned the dictionary around and pointed to the word which
followed the colon *AFTER* the definition itself and read out loud, "It
says d a n d y you Brillo pad!" ..... Needless to say France was NOT a
happy camper that day!
But I digress and rightly so, because as Mr. Frost once wrote, the
woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep..... And
so I made my way to Butterfly Field and without even calling, they
slowly appeared, three small figures, each paw in paw ... Lily, Switch
the Kit and France. I did my best, I really tried, but no words would
come, so I smiled and then I reached out my paw and took a hold of
Lily's delicate, tiny fingers and off we walked toward our next
destination.
Fireflies gathered about us as we walked, but still it remained so very
motionless and quiet. Even the sunset seemed to pale and loose its
colour, but would not allow itself to yield to the night, instead it
seemed to be holding its breath and waiting, and in the distance I
could hear two clear voices. One of them was humming an old Elvis tune,
and the other, well it sounded like she was making an extremely warped
shopping list.
"Ummmmm he's gonna need a drawer, a really, realllllllllllly big
drawer, with lots of pens and junk in it, and a trash can, one that
can filled to the brim with wet, nasty stuff, and can be easily tipped
over, has to be easy to knock over. Do you think they can manage an
endless can of white-hot, wasabi peas, and oh, don't forget a HUGE hunk
of white chocolate, but it has ta' come from Trader's Joe's. Hummmmmm,
Sabrina do you think that they have any books here on dealing with
homicidal chicken rage?"
Even before I saw them, I could clearly picture this duo. One sleek,
dark and lovely, with raisin coloured eyes, and the other a lush, white
beauty with ruby-gem orbs. Sabrina the Bat Biter and Maya the Moose,
but I think you knew who they were even before I did, because such is
the way of things. Only our parents know us by site and touch, and our
sounds. They know us by the beat of our tiny hearts, by that playful
gleam in our eye's..... By our taste in celebrated rock'n' roll
artists.
"So it's true then, Ping is He has left the earthly building?", asked
Sabrina.
And she left the question hanging in the air. No one answer her, and
not because we didn't want to, but more because if someone said yes,
we would all have to admit that it was true and that he really was on
his way here. So being the very wise ferret she is, she simply reached
out and took my other paw and off we went to a place we fondly call
"The Warm Spot". Yep, you guessed it, we have found a way of making
permanent warm spots, we had to, because for Don't there was NO
substitutes for this very real sleeping place and feeling. It took the
guys at the shop a few weeks to work out all of the kinks in it, but
in the end it has made Don't an extremely happy girl. So much so that
she has finally decided to forgive Laura for stealing her warm spot on
that day so long ago.
The Warm Spot is filled with large, over stuffed chairs and couches and
love seats and all manners of comfy furniture, and no matter where one
decides to lay down for a nap, it is always warm, and always, always
smells like home. When we arrived, I could hear Don't telling No, and a
few other fuzzits, to move her yellow sofa a bit closer to what looked
like a brand-new, green, velvet arm chair. I knew this was a nod to
Allis, both in memory as well as in love, and that it would have all
the smells of home and be ever so warm and waiting for just the right
ferret butt. It must have taken Don't nearly 10 minutes to get things
just right. She then looked over her shoulder at Sabrina, as if to say,
what do you think?
"It's really lovely Don't.", Sabrina said and then added, "and I am
certain that Ping will adore and use it often."
Don't then ran over to her, and so did No, and Sabrina hugged those
girls like it was going out of style and then said, "We have tarried
too long my darlings, and put off what is truly inevitable and now we
must go and greet Ping is He." She then gathered them all up, one by
one, including me..... Hugging and kissing us, and she lead the way.
Along the twilight path we traveled fireflies and all. We held on
tight to one and another until we reached the clearing where rests the
Bridge, and we waited ever so patiently for the arrival of Ping. We
were not alone though, not by a long shot. It was truly an amazing
site, hundreds; I mean thousands of fur kids, every shape, every size,
every colour, from all parts of the world, and of the Bridge. All of
them had gathered there, in complete silence, with great regard and
affection, all waiting for Ping, and at the same time, all of them
wanting to bask in the love that would follow him through to this side.
The fireflies then left us, and made their way over to the Bridge and
gathered about it. They then lit this place up from all the way over
from where you were in the small vet's office to here where we silently
and patiently waited. Then we all watched as Ping left his mortal coil
and started his journey for the Bridge. Normally this a private
journey, one which is filled with all of our best loved and most
cherished memories, but Ping had been a celebrity in his earthly life
and admired and adored by one and all.... so we shared in his journey
and in his life of live and we shared you Alex, because while love may
be bigger then you, we also know that where we love is home, home that
our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
You heart is where ever it wants to be, Ping's is as well, and while
there is but one single door dividing the two of you from one and
another, that door will one day appear and Ping, Lily, Switch, Maya,
France, Don't and No and countless others will be here waiting, and
so will I.
Oh and more thing, Ping told me to tell you, "I love you dude's, errr
mom, dad, and Allis."
In Love & In Comfort,
Pie O' Pah
[Posted in FML 6079]
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