Laurie (Kremer) Miller

I got this e-mail from Reunion.com that someone sent me an e-mail. Wow! How cool!

You know, you have to pay to read the e-mail! Well, I'm cheap and -- more important -- I'm broke, so I can't go read this e-mail. I figured out who sent it. It's someone I knew from elementary school. We were best friends until she moved after 4th grade. I would love to talk to her! I googled her & came up with some dancer, an MD who's involved with adoptions, an artist, a photographer, a real estate agent, a math professor ... but I don't think any of them is her.

I'm kind of surprised that people don't google "Mary Drews." They'd find me. It's pretty easy. They'd quickly discover that Mary Drews is now Mary Shefferman (I mean, I make posts like this and I've written things like this on some of the web sites I have, so Mary Shefferman and Mary Drews get mentioned together a lot, like right there). Then you can figure out that I am the Mary (Drews) Shefferman who lived in East Northport, NY, and had a big St. Bernard named Bruno when I was a kid. TANGENT: Memory just kicked in ... the day my dad brought home our dog Cinders (after Bruno had died), Laurie was at my house! She got to see our new puppy the same time I did. My dad had him in his coat when he came in the front door. /TANGENT

Unfortunately, I've found that most of the people I've looked for are not as easy to track down as I am. Laurie (Kremer) Miller is one of them. It would be so easy (and cheap ... hell, FREE!) to contact me if she wanted to. I know I'm not the only person who uses google to find people. I am also not the only person who googles herself (that really does sound dirty, doesn't it?). I don't know if people just don't think to use google (or any search engine for that matter) to look for someone. Maybe it's the age thing -- all of the people I knew from school are 40ish.

Anyway, if you want to help me get in touch with my old friend Laurie, go buy something so I can pay Reunion.com to read the e-mail she sent me.

Thanks.

--Mary

Hoppy Easter!

I actually dreamed of bunnies last night! Weird stuff.

It started with Eric and me at Ian Hunter's house. Don't ask me where that came from or why -- but we were there and talking with Ian and his wife Trudi. They were very nice, and God only knows what we were talking about ... just stuff. Then we went to some hotel/restaurant where there were a bunch of bunnies outside. Gray and white, black and white, big, little, lop-eared -- a whole bunch of them!

When I related my dream to Eric this morning, he said, "That's about right for Easter." Yeah! It hadn't occurred to me.

So happy Easter! From the bunnies in my dream to you (I can't speak for Ian & Trudi Hunter, though I'm fairly sure they'd wish you a happy Easter, too).

Gabby's Teeth

Gabby's teeth are a mess. She's never had good teeth, but now they're particularly yucky. Tomorrow I have to do something I'm a bit reluctant to do: ask our vet for the favor of extending us yet more credit to care for Gabby's teeth. It needs to be done. I'd thought I could control it on my own, but she needs a proper tooth cleaning. She's become unwilling to eat kibble, so we're giving her chicken baby food. I can't believe how quickly this worsened. But she's eating and otherwise behaving normally, so I feel like we're on top of things.

Money

The last couple of FerretNews newsletters we sent out focused on ferret owners who are unwilling to spend money on their ferrets. We took a bit of criticism from people who didn't read those newsletters very closely. We never came down on people who do the best they can with limited financial resources; it's the people who have the money but don't even think to spend it on learning about their ferrets or taking their ferrets to the vet.

I do realize, though, that some of the people who wrote in to chide us for attacking them might be feeling a bit guilty about not having the money to do what they want to do for their ferrets. I realize that because I've been there (I am there!). Berating us for bringing up that guilt isn't going to assuage that guilt. You need to learn to forgive yourself for circumstances that are beyond your control and learn to accept that you can only do what you can do for your ferrets. As long as you are doing your best for your ferrets (and as long as that means you're not creating an abusive and neglectful situation), then lighten up on yourself (and us!)!

I repeat: Those newsletters were aimed at people who don't do -- not those who can't do.

That's about all for today. We should be sending out another newsletter later today or for tomorrow morning.

--Mary

Sunday the Thirteenth

Eric has taken to listening to old Mott the Hoople cds while he's working out. So I sit up here and look at the lyrics while the music's playing downstairs. It's distracting, but interesting. I keep thinking one of the songs will spark a memory from my young teenage years, but so far, nothing.

I've been working on a couple of new things. First up is www.MongoWorld.com -- it's basically about dumpster diving. Second is www.MaryRShefferman.com -- it's basically for editorial clients to learn more about my background and experience. There's also a store at CafePress that Eric and I have both been working on: Power Designs. Take a look. Let me know what you think. Okay?

Graham Parker

I had been a bit excited to learn that Graham Parker was playing on Staten Island last Thursday (the 10th). Unfortunately, I had a more pressing engagement so I couldn't go. Imagine my joy when I got home and checked GrahamParker.net on Thursday night to discover that he's playing at a place about 5 minutes from my house on April 6! So I get to see him after all. Yay!

That's about all for today. Just needed to take a quick break from work.

--Mary

What a Blast!

Eric and I actually got to meet Ian Hunter after the concert last night! We -- along with several other fans -- discovered that it was all right to hang out in the back hallway behind the stage. It took a little while, but Ian came out and signed some cds & books & ticket stubs and shook hands and said hello to us. He was appropriately friendly (and why wouldn't he be?). I'm happy I decided to hang out and try to meet him. I don't know if I mentioned that Eric and I saw Ian hanging out in a booth at Maxwell's before his gig that night last October. We were too shy to approach him (I cursed not having unnaturally colored hair at that time because I'm much more outgoing when my hair is unreal red or pink). I was annoyed with myself over that missed opportunity, so last night kind of made up for it. (Though it still would have been easier if my hair was colored -- I wish my hairdresser was back from Hawaii already!)

Anyway, the concert was great! Ian's voice was really on (I know when we saw him in December he had a cold, which must make singing kind of difficult). It was mostly accoustic, and the club (Joe's Pub) is tiny and cozy. It was just a wonderful night all around. If only there were fewer cops, soldiers, and various armed people milling around Penn Station, it might have been even nicer.

That's about it for now. If the picture Eric took of Ian with his palm pilot comes out all right, maybe I'll post it. God, I feel kind of silly being so happy about meeting a rock musician! But, hey, in my soul I'm still 16 years old.

--Mary

Ian Hunter ... Again

Eric and I are going into NYC to see Ian Hunter ... again. This is the third time since October. Tonight's gig is at a place called Joe's Pub in the East Village. It's a small place and Ian's playing "semi-accoustic," so it will be different from the other times we saw him recently. I had wanted to get my hair done (cut & colored) before tonight, and I'm kind of annoyed that my hairdresser is off in Hawaii when he should be here making my hair pink, but I'll live. At least I now know for certain that I have virtually NO GRAY HAIRS (OK, maybe three or four -- literally). That's pretty good for a woman over 40. My brother Mark, who's a year older than I am, had quite a bit of gray before he hit 40. My genetics favor youth, I suppose.

I digress -- what else is new? Anyway, it snowed here last night and continues to flurry today. We didn't get nearly as much accumulation as they predicted, but it'll still be a bit messy getting into the city. We have to walk to the train station from here. It's not a long walk, but I doubt the sidewalks are clear. I have on my snow boots and I'll dress warmly.

New Web Site

I put up www.maryrshefferman.com -- it's my editorial services web site. It's nowhere near finished, but it's sort of there. You can get an idea of what I plan on doing. If you know anyone who has a book/e-book project who needs an excellent and experienced editor, send them my way.

Now for lunch.

--Mary