WOW!...this sport is intimidating, and I do not mean intimidating in a negative way, the competition was almost un-nerving! I have never owned an animal meeting the same level of quality as the top dogs I saw this weekend! A few I spoke with privately stated that the overall quality in their opinion was down a bit!...that, if true, means that I can not compete even in an "off" year! The location and host hotel were great!, The people were friendly and a few thanked me for some of the non-sense I say on this list, sometimes I forget there are a few folks that read this nonsense, and I say that respectfully,nobody is curing cancer or solving the war on this list! The list is ( or should be) about learning a few things, having fun debating issues, and meeting new folks who share our same addiction!...we get too serious here sometimes. I hate when the list gets hostile and rude...life is too short, which brings me to my next point, before the first show began, Judge Lew Bunch acknowledged a few of the Shepherd family members who have recently died. Lew asked for a moment of silence...a very nice gesture...both of the two judges I saw went about their business in a very professional manor! I even got to kiss one of them, and it wasn't Lew.....Ms Walker spoke to my wife on the phone right after Saturday's show and told her that she could have my body dumped in the New Mexican Desert for a reasonable price!...guess I don't kiss as good as I used too...lol...I also got to meet the Famous Jr handler and future star Melissa Chavez....Gary S. has two of the cutest grand kids in the whole State.......all in all a very very nice weekend, friends , dogs and NO BASU....one note about the super bowl.....I missed Janet Jackson, who wants to see an old beetle...next week Santa Maria (no dog)...the good news about that show is that its where the Michael Jackson trial is going on, maybe I can see Janet (again)...the bad news is that this weekend I'll be with Basu..life is not perfect...lol...FB ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================