Busy Weekend

I had a busy weekend, well actually, it was a busy Saturday. I already mentioned the Halfway celebration at Tir Na Nog. Unfortunately, the Marquise was under the weather, so she could not make it. The guys from Hercules Mulligan sounded great. I did, however, miss the bass. Zack was out visiting with family. We (the Marquise and I) had mentioned to them previously that we really wanted to hear them play on a weekend again. Don't get me wrong, they have a great set up at the Cary Hibernian, but there is a big difference between playing on a Wednesday and playing on a Saturday. Everyone is a little more relaxed on a weekend, since most won't have to be at work the next day. There was a good crowd at Tir Na Nog and everyone was in a festive mood (slightly drunk). We even got the band to perform "Alice". As good a participatory song as you are going to get. At least as far as a bar full of drunk people go.

I was, of course, the only one in kilt, which draws as much attention in a straight bar as it does in a gay bar. It's a little disconcerting for me to be hit on by a couple of women. I am definitely NOT used to it. Actually, it was disconcerting that I realized I was being hit on. Usually I am blissfully unaware of such things. But this time, the women were not particularly subtle.

Let me back up just a little and tell y'all what I did in the morning. I attended the Responsible Dog Ownership Day event that was sponsored by the American Kennel Club. It was held out at the Fairgrounds this year. It started at 10a and ended at 2p. I helped the dog rescue groups set up and did "crowd control"; I walked around and answered questions, greeted dogs and picked up poop. It was a really good crowd. Lots and lots of dogs. Just about everyone brought at least one dog. Surprisingly, there were very few problems with the dogs. A couple of them obviously did not like each other, but most were very well behaved. I found it interesting to note that dogs seem to make immediate decisions about other dogs. Sometimes dogs would pass each other without ever taking any notice, other times they would decide that they just had to meet this other dog. I tried to see if there was a male/female thing going on, thinking that might be the cause of the sudden attraction. I really couldn't tell if that was the case. It seemed like some dogs just immediately liked other dogs.

There were several demonstrations that went on throughout the day. The flyball and agility demos were amazing. Flyball looks exactly like it does on TV. The dogs are going crazy and barking and running like mad to get the tennis ball and then get back to their owners. The agility demos were fun. It was very evident that the competitions on TV are the very best of the sport. The folks on TV make it look so much easier than it is. Several of the dogs were just beginning their training and did not quite make it through the entire course. We all cheered any way. If you ever get a chance to see a flyball or an agility contest, you REALLY need to go. They are a lot of fun.