"John Bachman" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 16:11:00 GMT, "Pam - gardengal"
wrote:


"Frogleg" wrote in message
.. .
Cat was watching the porch with great attention when I came downstairs
this morning. Is there such a thing as a Christmas Possum? Is this a
good omen or bad? This is a long built-up suburban neighborhood, and
this is the first neighborhood possum I've ever seen. It's raining
now, but "unseasonably" warm -- right around 60F.

What is the real meaning of possum?

snipped interesting information about opposums

They tend to be non-aggressive unless cornered but can put up a good
fight
with extremely sharp teeth when provoked. Recent medical research has
piqued
a lot of interest into possum pathology - they apparently have a
remarkable
self-healing capacity and recover rapidly from injuries such as broken
bones. The fabled "playing dead" manuever is apparently a self-induced
epileptic seizure and unfortunately these furry little creatures are the
subject of medical and scientific investigations and experiments to
attempt
to discover how this siezure mechanism can be of benefit to humans
suffering
from epilepsy and other similar neurological disorders.

"unfortunately"? Why say you? We learn from animals much that
improves the human species. Is there something unfortunate about
that?

John

Well, I tend to diverge a bit from the homocentric view that animals were
put on this earth for the exclusive benefit of humankind. Animal testing and
experiementation is a particularly barbaric custom which is essentially
nothing more than a torturous prison.

pam - gardengal