Sunday, November 09, 2008

A Day in the Dalits Caste, or why I should receive the father-of-the-year award and other stuff


It’s snowing and I’m happy. Adding to my glee is a fire burning in the fireplace, the first of the season. Listening to the crackling and hissing of the flames makes me happy. There’s a puzzle on the coffee table for when I need to mindlessly pass the time and it makes me happy. Even the Steeler’s loss can’t dampen my spirit.

Can you believe how gas prices have dropped? The photo was taken on Thursday and it has dropped a few cents more since then! I just hope that because the price drops, we won’t forget our need to reduce consumption and become energy independent.

Let me tell you about my weekend…

I spent yesterday cleaning up poop! My daughter’s 4-H club, as a fund raiser, had poop and piss patrol at a large dog show in a nearby city. The club made good money and this is the only fundraiser they do during the year, but 10 hours of cleaning up after dogs and hauling bags of excrement to the dumpster was humbling and enough to make me cherish my day job. An, coming home last night, I’ve never enjoyed a shower so much! This was my first dog show; I wasn’t quite prepared. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are dog people and dog-show people and, to two borrow from Kipling, “never shall the twain meet.” Dog-show people are weird. They dress in a mishmash of tacky sport coats and faux-leather shoes, looking like salesmen at a Vegas convention or actors trying out for the lead in “The Music Man.” They store their dog treats in their mouth and then feed them to their canine while running, with their arm holding the leash up high, like the British hold teacups. Their dogs get to spend hours on a table in a head harness while groomers comb and blow dry their hair. Racism still exists in the dog world; the dog show may be the only place apartheid is tolerated in the 21st Century. Mixed breeds and mutts are not allowed on the premises.

Now that I’ve offended just about everyone, I will admit that I had a good time. Actually, cleaning poop made the day bearable as I couldn’t have imagined sitting in the stands, watching dogs be shown in the rings for 9 straight hours. I did see a lot of neat breeds. But most importantly, my daughter seemed pleased that I was willing to go and help, especially with the really messy ones. (For such a small butt, it amazes me how much a Doberman Pincher with diarrhea can put out, but that’s probably more than you want to know!)

How did you spend your weekend? Did anyone else get down and dirty?

I’m off to North Carolina on Tuesday, to check up on my mom and grandma and the Blues (the fish, not the music). I’ll try to check in occasionally. Be good now, ya’ll hear!

24 comments:

  1. I spent my weekend getting more stuff ready for winter. I had a fire going in the fireplace also but my third one of the season and since I don't have a coffee table, I have to settle for putting the puzzle on a card table.

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  2. So, you have played your part, a most humbling one. You cherished it, that's very important. Come to think about racism in dog's world, I think they were perfectly o.k, until they come in association with mankind:. My regards to your mom and grandma. Love transcends all barriers.

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  3. You know what, the constant news on the "First" dog which Obama is going to get is driving me nuts, makes me realize that I actually don't want a dog. Ok not true, I would like a dog, a REAL dog, not some yappy little rats on the rope! I can't stand that. But I can't stand fierce looking dog also. That makes me can't stand a lot of dogs. Gosh this comes out wrong, sounds too much like Glenn Close.

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  4. Wow! I love to read your blog and have spent the past few minutes catching up.
    This weekend we had 30 relatives from my dad's side travel from Atlanta, Seattle, New Orleans and other less glamorous locales visit for our yearly family reunion we host in our home. Fantastic time by everyone! Great food...my aunt and uncle bring dobage cake and loaves and loaves of fresh french bread from New Orleans, my Seattle cousin brought artesian cheeses from Oregon and Salumi Salami called Mole Salami with chocolate laced through it...sounds gross....keep thinkin' it so I can eat your portion! We licked the platter clean. Yummy!Honey baked ham,rum cake from my 90 year old great aunt, too feeble to attend, but she sent the cake anyway! Corn casserole,cornbread,butterbeans,broccoli salad,potatoes baked in cheese, butter, bacon and sour cream.....oh, wait...you asked us to tell you about our weekends...that's just the food part. We also sat around the fire at night visiting and laughing and praying deep down that everyone stays with us for a long time. My aunt wore a jaunty cap to hide the effects of chemo to her hair. We pray she stays with us.Such a diverse group of people: factory workers,bankers,lawyers,teachers,accountants,housewives,retirees,college kids,musicians,runners, runner wannabes(that's me)high school kids...Oh my, after this rough election it was nice to cocoon in on what matters in your day to day living...family, love,relationships.That's what I want to see grow from the hot air coming from Washington: more time spent with family. Wonder how they can deliver that in a positive way without laying off anyone else?

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  5. You won't find snow down here, Sage. It was in the mid sixties today.

    Somehow I think a day spent hauling dog poop would rank in my bottom three. I do enough cleaning out of kitty litter pans.

    I attended a tea today, and got to visit with some neighbors I haven't talked to in a while.

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  6. Ed, did you get snow last week? It's bee unseasonally warm here.

    Cyclops, interesting thought about racism in the dog world, and true! It's amazing, however, how dogs have been bread for particular purposes

    Mother Hen, I'm laughing at your "yappy rat on a rope" comment

    Susie, sounds like you throw one heck of a dinner party!

    Kenju, yeah, NC will fill warm to me!

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  7. It has snowed off and on for the last three days but nothing that has accumulated.

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  8. Oooookaaay.

    Have a safe trip.

    Cheers.

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  9. I hope that your daughter got credit :)

    I went to a folk concert in a winery. The concert was pretty bad but the day was incredible. Perfect weather, good company and much wine

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  10. I spent 2 1/2 hours crawling around a McDonald's playland with a one and three-year-old. Yeah, that made me feel pretty gross too :)

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  11. You DO need a daddy of the year prize...first the Hannah Montana concert and now this!

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  12. Ed, we're not getting any accumlation either. I thought you might have gotten part of the mid-west blizzard

    Randall, I will, thanks.

    Pia, my daughter's credit is that she won't have to do any more fundraisers!

    TC, I'm nominating you for the "Aunt-of-the-Year" award

    Scarlet, can I use you as a reference?

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  13. I spent yesterday watching NFL and thanks to the sleet later in the afternoon and the warm, cozy house, realizing that I may not have everything I want but I have everything that I need.

    Have you seen the movie, Best In Show? If nto, Netflix it. You'll enjoy it especially with your newfound viewpoint of a segment of our population.

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  14. Woah, you went to a Hannah Montana concert?!?!

    I love dogs. LOVE them. I can't have one here in the house I'm renting, but there are lots of them in the neighborhood. I do NOT like their poop, though. Seems like the sidewalks in the Haight are always poop-smeared. It's a hazard, and I'm guessing it's a health risk.

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  15. Murf, I hope things weren't too bad at your house following the Pittsburgh Steeler's loss... Haven't seen that movie yet.

    Ing, Yes, I went to her concert and one little girl had a great time and I was the old fart in the stands, with glowing ear plugs. I like dogs too, but dog show folks are weird and not the same as dog folks.

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  16. For what it's worth, with Hanna being on meds and ravenously hungry, and consequently eating alot, I am now on poop patrol about 5 times a day . . . fortunately, the county supplies poop bags in stands that are extra thick and make it a bit less icky.

    Hope your visit finds your family doing reasonably well, and I hope you have a great time in NC, a newly blue state!

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  17. I like a fire burning in the fireplace.

    I like $1.99 per gallon gas.

    And, I LOVE OUR NEW FIRST FAMILY!!

    So, I'm very happy, happy, happy, too!!

    Also, what Diane said about having a great time in NC, a newly blue state!!

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  18. TMI on the doby and we are still seeing above $2 gas.

    Hope your trip is wonderful.

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  19. Ah! Fire in the fireplace. Sounds wonderful and cozy!

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  20. I keep waiting for gas to dip below $2 here. It's $2.07 at the cheapest place I can find. I'm so excited, I went out and bought an SUV.

    Was that wrong?

    We need your daughter's 4-H club at the park where I run. Because apparently, the marvelous invention known as the pooper scooper hasn't made its way into northern Alabama.

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  21. You do deserve an award for that! I am so proud that my babies go way into the woods or pasture for their business.

    Good to be catching up here...I have much more to cover!

    I can't believe you've had snow. We have yet to have a fire this year but we did have some repairs done upstairs so that now we can have a fire in our bedroom too.

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  22. Well my friend as I pump poop for a living these days you get no sympathy from me!! Welcome to my world. I thought when starting this new venture my words would flow like diarrhea, but instead they've been constipated. Enough scatology. Hope the visit was good even if the fishing wasn't.

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