In relation to deafness: remember to try different pitches. Some can only hear low sounds and some can only hear high ones. We had the former. Someone else here had the latter. That sort of deafness can be harder to spot but is VERY important to know about in relation to training. Thanks, Cris for teaching us all some of the aspects in the distribution phase and what can go wrong. It's useful info to have. I grew up in retail and had a career in it before I returned to school; there's a lot more to it than most people seem to assume from the outside, and I am sure that is true for any field. Pam wrote: >Since DC is so small, and there are so few ferret owners there, there >were not enough people to get a movement going. I can tell you a funny story about D.C., ferrets, and the FML, though. Bill knows this one, but I don't think anyone else does. A few years ago I was helping a cable Vietnam Vets show at times and that included assisting with the filming of Rolling Thunder one year. At one point I was in a vehicle right after the police motorcycles, taking a few stills (with my lousy eyes I doubt they were focused) and holding onto Don who was perched on the roof (through the sun roof) filming whenever a bump came up. As the parade progressed I suddenly heard someone in crowd shouting with joy. Know what she saw? My FML Anniversary t-shirt! She was yelling to the people with her that I had an FML t-shirt on and she called it by the full name, too. D.C. may not have many ferret people, but one of them was in that crowd that day. [Posted in FML issue 3130]