Hey folks! Back from North Carolina and let me tell you guys-it's bad! And I mean BAD!! I know this post may not be totally ferret-related, but I believe that alot of the readers on the FML are animal lovers-not just ferret lovers. Please note I said alot-not all! Anyway, getting in to the Jacksonville area was not near as difficult as getting out! Going in, I got within 48 miles of Jacksonville and was routed around to the only road that was open-a 3 hour detour. But that wasn't as bad as getting out. Jacksonville to Raleigh is normally about an hour and a half-it took 6 hours!!. Water was still rising so all the roads I came in on-were now closed! Trying to find a way around was almost impossible, but we finally made it out and home! Being a military brat-I've lived a variety of places and have seen more than my share of natural disasters-40ft waves and Volcanic eruptions in Hawaii-both caused major evacuations. Tornados in Kansas/Missouri, Hurricane in Biloxi Mississippi and fires and mudslides in California, but I have never seen the kind of damage and havoc in any of these places that Floyd has caused in North Carolina. I am not sure the national news has accurately conveyed this tragedy. I watched the local news for hours while I was there and some of the stories are heart-breaking. The 75 year old man who refused to leave his 17 dogs! His house was completely surrounded and the water was still rising-"I ain't going without my dogs!" is all he said. The poor man and his exotic birds-2 macaws, 2 cockatoo's and an african grey. Heart-breaking! The man was crying when they interviewed him. He had to make the decision to leave them or set them free. Even though all their wings were clipped, he figured at least they would have a small chance-so he set them free. When they showed his house-it was completely under water, he was rescued off his roof. His heartbreaking plea was to anyone who found any of his birds-please take care of them! Or the people who rescued over 100 baby squirrels who were blown from their treetop nests-Thank God someone was there to pick them up! They were turned over to an agency where they will be bottle-fed for another couple of weeks, weaned and then released! The stories go on and on! There are many people doing animal rescues, but for everyone they save-several are lost. Over 1 million chicken and turkeys have been reported killed, 100,000 pigs, thousands of head of cattle and hundreds of horses. As for companion animals-no figures yet, but it is going to be staggering. Like I said, there are many people in the area who are making a difference-but so much more is needed! I read the post about donations-please, please, if you can help-do so! It is so much worse than I anticipated it to be! I wish I would have had more time so I could have been more help. I made dozens of phone calls, but so many lines are down and so many are still without power, that getting through to anyone was impossible. My son had his power back on, but his phone was still out so use of the internet was not possible. My cell phone bill will be-well, I don't want to think about it-much less talk about it! The worst of this tragedy is far from over-with all the dead animals, human waste, industrial waste and gas/oil in the water-the health hazards are frightening!! My son will keep me posted. So, if you can't send supplies-please, if not, at least send prayers!! Now for the lighter side-Tyson and Einstein made the trip like little troopers!! They were such good boys, I am so glad I decided to take them! They loved the rest stops and used these as "ferret education" opportunities!! I can't believe how many times we heard: "Aren't they mean?" GRRRRRRR! Although we saw many, many animals both going to and coming from-we did not see any other ferrets! Someone did honk-but that might have been because I was driving like an idiot! (kidding!!) And last but not least, I thought nothing could shock me more than Tyson's Elvis imitation last week-but I tell you-the only 2 tapes my daughter brought along were BackStreet Boys tapes and now Tyson knows all the songs by heart! Einstein just covered his ears and rolled his eyes!! (kidding again) Oh-one last thing(really!!) I recently met a little albino female who up to this point has not had a very good life-hopefully things will get better for her and she will pull through this-please-if you pray-pray for her-if not-just send good thoughts her way! Thanks!! Della and the Tumbleweeds AIM <imjudella2> Judy Cooke ICQ # 12094923 Tyson and Einstein "The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything." Clarence Darrow [Posted in FML issue 2811]