Hello friends to the fuzzies, all, Rocky Coder, here, to continue the fun and mayhem involved in our first ferret rescue! At last writing, John and I had just repaired a broken fan belt, with still a VERY long way to go! In fact, we had a bit of a spat because I wished to stop every so often and make more of a vacation out of it! He, on the other hand, wanted to make Manhattan by nightfall! He wanted us settled in a motel room, first and foremost, so we could pick up the rescues late morning the next day! This seemed extreme to me, so I pouted a bit! As it turned out, he was MORE than absoulutely correct to insist on his plan! We had a pleasant meal after we settled in our motel room in the campus area, so we were well relaxed when he contacted Troy Lynn about timing the pick up the next morning. We had a leisurely brunch at a micro-brewing company called "The Little Apple" where the food was fantastic, and the ferrets were within 2 miles of the place! Now, talk about confusion! Poor Troy Lynn was in a state of upheaval at letting the designated ferrets out of her care; although she knew that she had to! This lady has a great heart! Her friend, Nancy, took a few photos, as did we! It was a very tearful and tender incident, between perfect strangers, that took place within the space of one half an hour, tops! Ah, but we were strangers with a VERY common bond! Those little fuzzies meant everything to all of us! The real confusion came down to "which ones do we take?" Which ferrets go with us? How many of them get along with each other? (And believe me, not many!!!!) Which are "ours?" Which get picked up for points further north from Cincinnati? The logistics were mindboggling! WOW!!!! We wound up with 13 ferrets, in about 12 cages! Please, bear in mind, that all of these ferrets had been raised in separate cages all of their lives! Or, worse, like the females, thrown into sheds during the winter for treatment from the outside "en masse," like mass feeding, watering, absoulutely no attention. I am going to leave off now, but with a special notice, made by Troy Lynn! She said she could perceptibly feel the love shared between us for the ferrets! I believe she was correct, because I most certainly did my share of "tearing up" upon leaving with her trust in us! I have one last leg of the journey to write, but allow me to say to Troy Lynn and Nancy, many thanks for your trust in us! Our little brood is flourishing nicely! Why, the kit has gained a half pound already! Til next time folks, love and dooks, from John, Rocky, and the babies!!!!! [Posted in FML issue 1774]