Back from a wonderful weekend of dog shows in Northern California. I must admit that my unofficial job as Bill Basu's babysitter needs to be reviewed. I demand a raise!! But seriously, the weekend went flawless, good dogs, good shows, extraordinary camaraderie, you couldn't ask for more. This was an example of things done the right way. To me, it was more enjoyable because I was back visiting with friends. And I had no dogs to show, so you know I was totally slacking. Back in January Bill Basu asked a group of friend to do something good for a very dear friend. A friend to all of us northern Californians (past and present) a friend to the breed, a friend to the sport. Mr. Ben Bigornia. You have to understand, there would be no NoCal shows if it wasn't for Ben. He is the Gorilla Glue that keeps it all together. But more than that, he is the person that gets the job done, every time, with a smile on his face and the best disposition ALWAYS!! We should all be so lucky to have a BEN in our clubs. And some of us are totally blessed to have Ben as part of our lives. Thanks to the organizational skills of Karen, Miki and Isabel, Saturday night a group of fanciers got together and did just that. We celebrated Ben. Bill Basu and Jerry Guzman roasted Ben (big time) for what was a nite of extreme humor and good sportsmanship. In all honesty, they should take this act on the road, they are HILARIOUS together!! Keeping all these arrangements a secret from Ben was no easy task, as so many people were involved in getting the party together. Huge Thanks goes to Kathy (Bens delightful significant other) who lied to him so well for so long......LOL It was so refreshing to get together, with all our differences, and with a common goal, to do the right thing. A huge THANK YOU to Ben. For everything you have done, for everything you do, and simply for who you are. You are truly one of a kind, and I am so glad you got to experience our collective Thank You. Your friend, always, Ileana ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. 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 - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================