Barbara Carlson's posting about CA tactics hit a familiar chord here in Frettchen Vergnuegen Land Seattle. That part about being tagged as a Nazi sure caught my eye.. Hey welcome to the club. I've been dubbed as the "Ferret Nazi!" I got this revelation from my local friendly ferret veterinarian with whom I've shared duty at the many Ferret Frolics past years. He's a good ole guy - a full colonel. Since I get a slew of phone calls from volk who I've never met, I ask them to come up to me at the Ferret Frolics/Olympics and please introduce themselves. That way I can connect names with a faces. How will I know you when I see you, is the next question I'm asked? Well, just you look for this guy with a little white beard and a steel pot on his head - a helmet. That'll be me (I). I kinda stand out in the crowd ... as a matter of fact, attached to the helmet by a circular rubber band are two frag grenades (fakes of course.) The idea of a steel helmet (with a chin strap) was originally to carry around on my head one of my ferrets in an attached wire/plexiglass cage. The cage would be screwed onto the steel helmet. I'm gonna make it one of these days between Ferret Olympics as time allows. Kinda neat, huh? Hey, look, here comes a guy down the street with a ferret on his head. Yeah, its attached to that steel helmet, maybe to give him some protection when his little fert goes poopie and we-we from time to time. Yeah, makes sense. The helmet is really an antique from World War 1 or earlier. It cost me $150 and it still has the original camoflauge paint on it. Maybe it was worn by a sniper, some have pondered. Oh, by the way it's a German helmet. It is not a Nazi helmet. They came later and were of considerable different structure and outline. However, most good people don't know the difference between a German helmet and a Nazi helmet. A Nazi does. Never the less, I've somehow picked up the moniker: The Ferret Nazi. I just shrug my shoulders, mutter "Oy veh, dumbheit" and carry on unflustered. Since I have many Japanese customers and have my helmet on display in the ferretarium reception room in a manner loosely similar to a Samuri warrior's armour, one of my "Ichiban tomodachi" friends presented me with a Japanese Marine's helmet, complete with camo netting. It's brand spanking new, never having been worn. I guess if I start wearing that at the Ferret Olympics, pretty soon people will be calling me something like, "Ferret kamikazi." Why is it Barb that people come out with these names? Is it because their means justify their ends. In other words, if you disagree with someone, as your husband did, then you are likely to be attacked and tagged with a name that is designed to get the most bang for the buck. Is tagging with a widely hated name somehow seen to bring favor on those who are not of that name, namely, the accusers? Seems so in their minds. Edward Frettchenvergnuegen Lipinski, Der Frettchenlustbarkeitsfuehrer. [Posted in FML issue 2352]