a couple of things spring to my mind... >From: Jadesun <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Silly Annoyed Girl...... > >Rainbow Bridge, is a place we all believe our beloved pets go to wait >for us and join them in eternity. I appreciated much of the rest of Benita's post, but we don't all believe in the Rainbow Bridge. Personally it does not suit my beliefs. I have no problem with Rainbow Bridge and Sandee stuff being on the FML, and just as I respect your differences, please be mindful of others' differences as well. That's what makes a community work. Moving on to the issue in general, I thought that Annonymous poster [SH] at the end of yesterday's FML made some very good points. I also think implying that the original poster isn't taking proper care of her ferret because of her different beliefs is really striking a low blow. While I do use the term kids for my ferrets, I don't literally think of them as my children, and I defy anybody to tell me I don't take excellent care of my weasels. I do think of them as incredibly special little beings that I treasure having in my life, but to me there's not much difference between calling myself their "owner" and their "mother", both imply a sort of possession that I'm not comfortable with (I like caretaker, or just plain "I live with ferrets"). But other people mean different things by those words, and I can accept that. People can have different ways of talking about the same things, but just because they are different it doesn't mean the love isn't there. There are things that people mention having done or said on this list that I think are wierd or sketchy, but I don't doubt that they love their ferrets and do their best to take care of them, and I try to refrain from passing any sort of judgement, though I might offer a different perspective. I think a collective pause for a deep breath and a moment to imagine life in somebody else's shoes is in order for the list-- Wolfy's post about the rose people is a very good place to start. Regina and Pan and Seti, blissfully snoozing under the bed :) Regina Harrison [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] http://www.channel1.com/users/regina/ blog: http://www.channel1.com/users/regina/zblog.html Is that my business? Well, what is my business? Do I know? Did I ever know? Let s not go into that. You re not human tonight, Marlowe. Maybe I never was or ever will be... Maybe we all get like this in the cold half-lit world where always the wrong thing happens and never the right. --Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister [Posted in FML issue 3906]