A Different Kind of SPRING BREAK FROM THE EXECUTIVE EDITOR EMERITUS Joseph Neil McGinnis III IT’S A QUESTION I’VE PONDERED FOR MANY YEARS: Do Dog Fanciers get enough time away to really appreciate who we are and what we do? I’m not just talking about time away from actual shows, because it seems we can easily spread our dog activities in action and conversation to cover 24/7. But doing something else? We just never seem to have enough time. And yet I feel it’s imperative to balance our drive and enthusi- asm for this sport with some down time whether it be outside the confines of the show circuit or to simply spend a day or two as a wide-eyed spectator, not a dueling participant. And so it was with shock I noticed five days on my calendar with nothing sheduled. Nothing. For a man who hasn’t had an actual vacation in twenty-seven years, that’s pretty un-nerving. What on earth was I to do? Granted, much of my travel involves pleasure, but all of my travel is work-related. So seeing an empty space, I immediately rummaged around to see what I could get into, in my spare time. And lo and behold those dates bracketed the weekend which I like to call I § LI: Ladies Kennel Association’s two shows and Long Island KC’s Sunday extravaganza all on the same site and featuring special events not often seen elsewhere. It’s also the core nucleus of a group of people whose company I enjoy greatly and I was fairly itching to fly to Long Island and simply hang out for three days with nothing to do but enjoy the dogs and the people there, Plane tickets and hotels and dinner plans intact, I made ready for a wonderful trip. And trip I did. (Actually, I fell.) After incurring a fairly serious set of injuries in a household accident I found myself immobile and disgusted. My long-time motto, If you can’t add anything positive to an event, at least do not de- tract, kicked in. Without serviceable ankles and knees I figured I’d be about as much fun as a broken three-point major, so I detracted myself from the fun things planned and tried my best to heed the advice of medical personnel who recommended rest. Which I hate. Luckily I’m a dog fancier and in between this job which I was still able to do, and various other information sources, I was able to keep in touch with my friends and their dogs. One who loomed large during this period was Jere Marder, not just because we have an interview with her in this issue,
but because she’s always been an inspiration to me in how she balances a very full life with her extremely successful hobby: dogs. I used to marvel when friends, visiting Chicago’s Gold Coast for the first time, would catch a glimpse of one or two or three—and one time four!—stunning looking Old English Sheepdogs walking proudly with their owners and say “Good grief—that’s as good as most you see in the ring.” I was happy to share that Jere lived a block away and quite surely they were from her bloodline.(They were all in full coat, too. In Chicago. Jere knows how to train her puppy owners.) Jere’s one of many of us making her mark on our world— on the world—by doing what we do and doing it right. And keeping everything in perspective. I dusted off this twenty-five- year-old photo of us dancing at one of the first ShowSight West- minster Parties because it says a lot: It shows the spirit most of us spread around as much as possible. It doesn’t mean we’re not serious, but it means we have it all in balance.
Well, except for me; balancing alone, much less dancing, is off the calendar pro tem. Now going on five weeks without being fluidly mo- bile gives me great admiration for those who deal with problems like this full-time. I just can’t wait to get out of this (or any) chair. Spe- cial thanks to Barbara Miller, Susan Sprung, Viola Burgos and Michael Canalizo for helping me make and then un-make my plans which are now on hold for next year. By then I’ll be ready to boogie and I hope you will be, too. I will see you there.
14 • S how S ight M agazine , J une 2018
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