The shows at Harrisburg were my last appearance “on the road”. I'm now concentrating my efforts on the web site. I’m pleased that many customers I’ve dealt with at dog shows the past 32 years have followed me to the site. I’m also excited that many new customers have found me via the internet. So I’m not retiring just beginning a NEW ERA. I’m looking forward to the challenge of supplying engraved signs and tags to past customers and finding new ones.
I must say, however, I won’t miss some things that came with doing 80+ shows a
year. Like the mud and being towed out of a show site, high winds causing tents
to go down and shows to be canceled, having the LED screen on the computer run
slow because it didn’t like 30 degree temperature, changing a tire on my cube
van on the Capitol Beltway during rush hour, listening to the PA announcer call
(for the 4th time) for a vehicle to be moved “immediately or it will be towed –
the tow truck is on the way”, watching flood waters rising in the parking lot
and seeing the wheel chocks float away as I pull my trailer to higher ground.
I will miss the comradery of my fellow dog show vendors. I expect to continue to share in the excitement of achieving a new title when I get the order for a crate sign and a new puppy with the order for a pet tag.
Recently my granddaughter purchased a new cell phone. She was unable to transfer her stored numbers from the old phone as it was non-functional (lost or dropped or something). A situation developed where she needed to contact a family friend whose number she had stored in the old phone. She attempted to contact people who might know the phone number she needed to no avail. She asked me if I could think of someone else she could call to get the needed number. Fortunately, the friend whose number she needed is also a senior citizen (like me) who had an old fashion phone – the ones with a chord attached. You guessed it. There was also a listing in that book we use to boost up little kids who have graduated from hi-chairs and I had not yet recycled my copy. I instructed her in the use of the PHONE BOOK and she was able to make the call!