Mary Shefferman of Modern Ferret and I have exchanged some e-mail lately. She would very much like to let FMLers know a little about what is going on in the Shefferman's household but she really feels unable to write it all down right now. I've agreed to extract some thoughts from her recent e-mails and write to the FML on her behalf. None of this is necessarily my own opinion -- Mary has read this and indicated it was OK to post and I'm just acting as the messenger. Now, I certainly don't want to start another round of bickering. Many of us have chosen to express our opinions about Modern Ferret here over the last couple of weeks but the Sheffermans have not responded in this forum. So this is their response. Take or leave it please -- it's a response to past posts, not an invitation to start the mess all over again. Q: Well, OK -- first why doesn't Mary or Eric post? Why go through me? A: The short answer is the emotional demands of doing so are just too great. Eric is extremely ill. Mary is trying to hold everything together while suffering from MAJOR depression. Their love for each other as well for the magazine makes this an incredibly trying time. Better let someone else who can remain relatively neutral post than to expend great emotional energy writing about what's so dear to their hearts. Q: Why do we have to find about it here? Couldn't they send out a card to their subscribers? A: They theoretically could. But that costs a lot of money, which just isn't there now. Eric has no medical insurance. Q: But what about the magazine? I even volunteered to help and heard nothing back. A: Plans are to continue the magazine as soon as it is possible to do so. Eric is one of the few "things" in life more important than the magazine and his health comes first. As soon as he is strong enough he will have surgery. Offers of help are much appreciated but just aren't practical. The business is run out of their too small residence. Even in normal times there's so much going on that accommodating and supervising extra people would be difficult, but the already crowded home now resembles a hospital. Mary has to give IV medications to Eric every eight hours as well as change the bandages on the drain in his side. Plus take care of the business. And the busyness. And if you've lived with someone with Crohn's Disease you'll know it's not pretty. Makes cleaning the litter box seem like a spring picnic. It is not really an environment you want to invite strangers into -- even well-meaning, sympathetic strangers who want to help. Sleep fits in there somewhere when it can. Q: So why can't I help via the internet? A: The magazine is a labor of love. Maybe in normal times the effort to explain their standards and requirements might allow some sort of "internship", but these aren't normal times. Everything has to be just right and it can't be that way without lots of input from Mary and Eric. Q: Well, I'm sorry to hear about what's going on, but that's not MY fault. I want my money back. A: Write to Mary. Paper letters are better, but if you MUST use e-mail, do so. Mary may not answer for a while, but the letters aren't just thrown into the garbage. They are honest people -- when there's any money to pay for refunds you'll receive it. Q: Mary really hasn't been too friendly lately. It's no way to run a magazine. A: Well, maybe not. But major depression (and difficulty in finding an adequate medication to treat it), a very ill husband, little sleep and huge amounts of stress take their toll. Apologies for any harshness -- really, sometimes it's impossible to see things calmly. The posts on the FML upset them quite a bit -- it's hard to read posts against Modern Ferret without them taking it personally -- they ARE Modern Ferret. Those posts added to their already stressed situation. Something had to give. Q: But is there ANYTHING I can do to help? A: Yes. A few things. Be understanding. Have patience. Have faith. Visit their websites ( http://www.ferrettradingpost.com and http://www.ferretdesigns.com ) and buy their products. These orders are filled by outside sources (not Mary & Eric), so they ship right away regardless of how the Sheffermans are feeling. The income will help very much plus the products you get in return will help your fuzzbeans. Pray if it's in your nature to do so. They need all the help they can get. Bill, writing for Mary and Eric Shefferman. [Posted in FML issue 3753]