Hey Monica, the first FML I've read in weeks only to be proclaimed a ferret god. Cool. I admit I own a healthy ego, but this was beyond my wildest expectations. Really cool. So, who will pass the collection basket for me? Actually, I'm a minor deity, probably more like Mercury than Zeus. You know, fast car, running all over the place? Zeus had power over all the other gods, sort of like Bill has over us....maybe that should be the Church of BIG? It was Zeus that would make proclaimations like "Yes, it can enter," and "Not this time, try again..." Besides, Bill looks far more Greek than I do; I'm just a wimpy lookin' European type. Hey, that being the case, maybe I'm more like Thor. Mild-mannered sickly science dude, smack the cane, and blam, a new ferret superhero guy...no, not Thor..... Bob remember? It would be...Bhor! Bhor the Ferret God. Cool. Those followers of any faith, including ancient Norse and Greek religions, please do not be offended by this post. It was all in fun, as were the original remarks. Personally, I have always been amused by the popularity bestowed upon me because of the occasional short post I beg Bill to allow in, and have long awaited the day when everyone else realizes what I have known all along...I am just another ferret nut looking for a place to vent frustrations at the CaCa Flushing Gestapo and boreocratic bummbleheads like Pete "Wee Weasel" Wilson. In fact, many people on this list, and off, do far more for ferrets than I do, starting with Bill who spends far more time than he has making sure it gets out on time. If there is such a thing as a list of ferret "players," mine would be long down the list, under names like Gruber, Troutman, Greene, Bossart, Eckhart, Carley and many more I could never find room to list miuch less remember (If I omitted a niame you thought should be on the list, sorry. It's very late and I'm on long distance, so I am writing fast.) In a very real sense, we are all gods of a sort to our ferrets, granting freedom, food and pleasure at our whim. That gives us a great responsibility towards them, and as great towards each other. It has always been a great sorrow to me to see wonderful people, each with a great love of those little ferret rascals at odds over small disagrements of a personal nature, at such odds that it disrupts the ability of our ferret community to bond together to form a truely national organization with political power and influence. With appologizes to all, none exist at present (regardless of any amount of drum thumping) and nothing can be started that can do better than what already exists. Do I have a solution? Yes, but the "players" involved will not like it, and I doubt if many people will take it to heart. And now that I've been proclaimed a "god" and Easter is approaching, I realize what can happen to anyone offering unpopular solutions. The solution is simple; bury the hatchet, make friends with enemies, and bond all the weak and tiny groups into a single strong group, with elections and all the junk that goes with it. Make sure Ferret people in non-USA parts of the world are invited, after all, the world actually revolves around an axis rather than the USA. Personally, I won't belong to any organization that does not allow the membership voting rights for the highest levels of leadership, nor will I support any organization that allows personal disagrements to influence policy. As for you club people, don't try to impress me with membership numbers, or how large you are compared to the other clubs. It means nothing to shelters who see little or no help, nor to most of the States (and the world) who have never heard of you. You want to impress me? Set a date for a conference, invite all the clubs, and set down and work it out. That would impress me. That I would work my ass off for. That would mean something. And that would have the political power and clout to back those pinheaded burrocrats into a corner to make changes. I read over and over about biting ferrets and heads being cut off and Kodo and who knows what else, and friends, we can fight the bear like a thousand gnats or a single tarantula hawk. We may not be able to kill the bear, or even harm it much, but I'll tell you; a well placed sting in the right location can help guide the bear in the direction that moral and ethical ferret gods wish it to go. Bob C sans 19 MO Bhorites (Missing Jet and Pooh) [Posted in FML issue 2270]