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Saturday, Oct 17th. All in all, today was a good day. I slept in a little, showered, breakfasted and took the ‘boys’ on a little walk preparatory to leaving them home alone for the better part of the day. Then I donned shorts, pink-tie-dyed shirt and red shoes and set out for the City Park in Elko, the site of the Susan G. Komen ‘for the cure’ breast cancer walk. I joined up with 6 fellow first-year nursing students: Bri, Steph, Janice, Janene, Kathleen and Chuck (also his adorable wife, Carrie.) Somewhere Janene obtained a can of spray paint with the result that all of us but Chuck ended up with pink tie-dyed hair to match our shirts. When I spied the three second-years, each leashing a large canine (one was a large, gray mottled Great Dane!) wished I’d brought Rowdy and Murphy along. Carrie and Chuck did run home to fetch Barley, their beautiful and well-behaved Golden Retriever. The park was a sea of pink with all manner of unique costumes and running/walking gear. I wore an “In Memory of” safety pinned to the back of my shirt with Mommy’s name on it, and Bri wore a “Survivor” as a tribute to her recently diagnosed Grandmother. We also had the opportunity to write their names on helium balloons that we later released en masse; a spectacular site. There were bands, singing and several moving mini-speeches from Breast Cancer survivors. After group photos, we were off, following a pre-designated route through town. We were encouraged by a group of young cheerleaders, hydrated by volunteers handing out water and refreshed as we crossed through the balloon arches after our 5 K jaunt by offerings of water and fresh fruit.  Afterwards, the first-years agreed to meet for lunch at a local restaurant, where I had a bowl of delicious corn chowder.

Back Row: UltraMom, Janice, Steph, Chuck, Kathleen, Carrie, and Ashley (a second-year)
Front Row: Two second years with dogs (I don’t know their names), Janene, and Bri, who tie-dyed my shirt for me.

Meanwhile, I had further plans for the afternoon.  A couple of days ago, I had heard a radio advertisement for a local theater production of The Wizard of Oz. I called my friend, Debbie A. to see if she wanted to attend the matinee performance with me. She did on one condition; due to pain meds taken for a painful tooth removal she wouldn’t be doing any driving. So after lunch, I flew back to Carlin, let the dogs out and picked up my friend. We arrived at the Elko Convention Center, bought our $5 tickets and were in our seats (pretty good ones about 10 rows back, towards the left side) 2 minutes before curtain time. The play was fantastic with some amazing local talent. Dorothy was great, as was Oz, Glenda, the guard at the Emerald Palace, Scarecrow and Tin Man. The Munchkins were adorable and creatively costumed children. But as far as I was concerned, the showstoppers were the Cowardly Lion (later someone told me that the actor is a Presbyterian minister), the wicked witch/Miss Gulch (the program notes on her said something to the effect that ‘this role was a far cry from her previous role as sister (nun) so and so, but closer to her true nature, as her husband can attest!) and Toto, played by ‘Moose,’ a smart, good-natured and loveable Miniature Schnauzer. Most of the play followed the beloved movie line for line, but there were a few additions and variations. We were treated to the scene that was cut from the movie, the dance of the Jitterbugs, who caused our heroes to dance themselves in to a state of exhaustion so Dorothy and Toto could easily be scooped up by the Flying Monkeys (aka Acrobatic Apes, aka Simian Minions) and taken to her Evil Majesty. (aka ‘My Beautiful Wickedness.) Unfortunately, after the 3-hour play, as we were getting a bit to eat, my friend got some bad news about her 81-year-old mother in law who had surgery last week and is now in Intensive Care dealing with Respiratory Failure. Hope it turns out okay.
Today after church, one of my favorite sister in laws helped save me $60 by giving Murphy and Rowdy a haircut. They look (and feel, I’m sure) sooooo much better! And I finally heard from UltraDad, the hunter, who had been tent camping all week with Jimbo and Jessica. They had fun, but no deer. Jessica got to try out a couple of Dutch Oven Campfire meals, but was glad to get back to the land of showers!
I’m nodding off as I write this, but am determined to get it posted tonight. No pithy clever ending, just UltraMom and This Was My Weekend. Until next time…..