Reflecting on the Grist… 

the inspiration and the process

Our neighbor’s brother and sister-in-law were visiting from Georgia and the brother shared this story with me.  In real life, the ferret incident took place before the accident, but I took creative liberties there. In real life, the accident had taken place one Christmas day, and he sustained head injuries which left him with short-term memory loss.  Using a notebook helped him keep track, and over time his memory improved.  

The rest of the details, including the ferret’s journey through the various apartments, climbing up the pants’ leg, and heading to the pet store with multiple boxes, one inside the other, happened, according to the brother.  

It’s told in first person through Mark’s point of view in past tense.  I use time jumps to compress the story.  

I am grateful to Marty for his enthusiastic storytelling, and his generosity in allowing me to retell it.