[ SHOWGSD-L ] Reflections
- From: "Evan Ginsburg" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "elg440@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:01:05 -0400
It is Monday morning and the month is about over. This was a month with so
much to remember, so I wanted to take a minute to share my thoughts and reflect
on our sport.
Of course the losses stand out. Joe leaving us reminds me that there are some,
who when you say just their first names, it brings to the front how important
they were to the breed, and us being who we are. Lamar, Ernie, Joe, Connie,
names that mean so much to the sport of German shepherds, and we celebrate that
we were able to know them. And, it should remind us to never miss a chance to
say hello, sit down and share a thought, or just to smile at someone. Losing
Joe reminds me of a show where he was not pleased with the judge and said:
"Watching her judge is like a deeply religious man watching the church burn
down." A sense of humor is what I will remember most about Joe, but so many
memories of so many others who have passed on reminds me how important each day
should be for us.
This month we lost one of our bitches, (Magic Marker), and I thank everyone
who reached out to me to say how much she meant to the breed. I do appreciate
it.
We got home about 10:00 last night, and I learned that I am too old for that
much driving. I couldn't get away on Friday, so we drove to Sacramento
Saturday morning then home after the show Sunday. It was a four show weekend,
so we left Sacramento about 4:00 pm. It is a seven hour drive if you eat in
the car.
Then a couple of weeks ago we took a new young male to a show to see what he
looked like in the ring, and Sharon Newcomb took him all the way from American
Bred to Best of Breed. The last time Sharon judged in California, she finished
a young male called Kierkegaard. Then yesterday after getting up at 2:00 am to
drive to Sacramento I got to see another group of friends. It was so good to
see Gary Szymczk and I got to talk to Patty for a while. Charley Mardez is
always fun to talk to, and he gave me some new thoughts about judging. We had
judged together in Canada, and he always has some new ideas. I did get to
spend some time with Kate, and she always has something funny to say. LanaLee
always does a good job and that show was the same. Seeing her reminded me of
the days in the ring when we both handled.
Then in the forth show, Bob Drescher pointed to Kisses Sweeter Than Wine for
her second major. I even got to take Kisses back in the ring for Breed, a high
point of my trip. It reminded me how much I loved to be in the ring, and also
why I am no longer there. It was a tremendous group of judges and they all did
a fine job.
I called this "reflections" because more than the wins, or the points, I am
reflecting on the sorrow and joy of this sport. We have the losses of not only
our friends, but even those who we didn't know, but still appreciate, for what
they have contributed. As with our dogs, they give to us without asking
anything in return, and we need to act the same to them.
As normal, we now move to a new month, and never know what it will bring. It
will have wonderful moments, disappointment, happiness, and losses.
Be sure to take a minute to say hello to those you see as old friends, take a
minute to make new friends and those you want to meet, and always remember
what this sport has to offer. Joy, sorrow, happiness, hope, and always just a
bit of luck to take a point now and then.
Thanks you for sharing time with me to read this rather long post.
Evan
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