We just finished up a long weekend in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where we attended the eighth annual Midwest Pet Fair in St. Paul, which included Ferret Expo Midwest--my first ferret event (just observed; might participate in a future one). It was great fun seeing all of the fuzzies and their owners around the St. Paul Civic Center; I don't think that I saw a single unfriendly ferret (or ferret-owner, for that matter). It was also great fun bumping into Bill and Diane Killian, even if Bill didn't remember me from here (Diane did, though; thanks, Diane!<g>). We missed our two ferrets TERRIBLY! My mother has not yet learned the joys of being owned by a ferret, and made it clear that she did not wish to have ours living with her for even a short time; but she's a softy, and we're wearing her down slowly! Anyway, Daisy and Zeke were in the care of a neighborhood friend, and they were as happy to see us as we were to see them. The pet fair was a beautiful example of diversity: Ferrets were very much in evidence, but so were dogs, cats, snakes, hedgehogs, iguanas, a few rats, and even a sugar glider. California Governor Pete Wilson should visit a show like this sometime! <g> Good to be back! Paul Sadek [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1577]