Clever, clever, clever! Click on this for some smiles: Play! It’s Good for You. Dog Goldberg Machine by Beneful.
The Last Meow
What? I thought dogs were definitely not allowed on this blog. HMMMM? What’s up with that?
Oh. once in a great while? Oh. Okay. But only ONCE. in. a. GREAT. While! Hear me now?
Meow for now. =<^;^>=
Small cities have big imaginations, and Ocean City, NJ (OCNJ) is no exception.
To launch its summer season, OCNJ holds its Annual Doo Dah Parade the first Saturday after Tax Day in April. It’s a ridiculous fun event not to be missed. We celebrate because taxes have been paid, and summer is just around the corner. “Hallelujah” from us beach lovers.
Doo Dah Parades have a history in other areas of our country (Pasadena, Columbus), but they don’t quite measure up to the Ocean City parade.
The Ocean City spectacle parade always has several lowpoints highlights. The first is the appearance of a nationally known celebrity as Grand Parade Marshall. In past years, Carol Channing, Mickey Rooney, Larry Storch, Captain Kangaroo, and Soupy Sales have been our esteemed parade leaders. This year, Chuck McCann, TV and stage actor and vocal artist, did the honors.
Abbott and Costello, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Jack Benny, and Lucille Ball regularly appear in the parades. Okay, so they are impersonators, but who knows the difference?
The second, but most important feature, basset hounds, garbed in their tax season finery, strut their stuff. Well over 400 of these floppy-eared, waddling doggies entertain the crowds as they meander huff and puff wobble down Asbury Avenue and the Boardwalk. Some bassets sport humiliating outrageous costumes that make them want to run and hide their owners think are cute. Others, rigged up in more sartorial splendor, reign with an air of pomp and cirumstance, all the while looking down their snouts at those lesser-dressed, riff-raff, tag-a-longs. Take a look.
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
“Here comes the bride. See how she waddles from side to side.”
I don’t know about you guys, but I just wanna play around with da chicks. (Chick magnet, get it?)
Honest now. Would you wanna waddle in a parade wearing this ridiculous hat? I wouldn’t wear this even for a high-falutin’ society wedding.
I. Will. Not. Go. One. More. Step. And. You. Can’t. Make. Me!
This parade is just so much excitement. I just can’t handle it all. Lucky I have a slave owner to carry me when I get tuckered out.
Here’s the deal. If you flop down and refuse to walk, someone will come along and give you a lift. Got it?
Here’s another possibility. Kiss up to the Grand Marshall and get to ride in comfort and style in the limosine parade golf cart.
Of course, any parade with 400 to 500 dogs is bound to be a bit chaotic at points, and this fiasco procession does not disappoint.
And, don’t forget. There are awards: “The Golden Hot Dog” award for local tri-state (NJ/PA/NY) participants and The “Double Doggy Doo Dah Glutton-for-Punishment Award.” How do you get the 4DGPA? Participate in another Doo Dah Day Parade somewhere in the country, and the honor is all yours besides, no one else wants it.
And there’s more. People Furry fellows and felines of all shapes and disguises flounce in this parade, too. Every year Sir Rapid T. Rabbit sponsors the annual furry (and a few feathers) critter consortium in the parade.
Rapid. T. Rabbit of Delaware’s (The Furst State) Furry Forum, leads frolicking furry freaks friends down the OC Boardwalk
Marching bands and vocalists Riding bands and musical groups roll up the Boardwalk throwing out sounds and love to the crowd. Sometimes they throw Schriver’s, Fralinger’s, and Steele’s Ocean City Salt Water Taffy to the sticky-fingers eager hands of candy-eaters freeloaders parade guests.
Here’s Jan’s sister trying to horn in on a classy musical performance
If you can’t afford wheels, you just have to do it the old-fashioned way and walk.
And when the parade’s all over, you get to have pizza at Manco & Manco. Okay, so there’s a line. What did you expect? It’s a warm, sunny Saturday in April. There’s been a parade on the Boardwalk. And people are out on the beach sticking their toes in the water. Of course, there’s a crowd…and a line. The wait is worth it.
What kind of pizza do you want?
Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. Dogs are not allowed on the Boardwalk.
Oh well, I guess that once you’ve paid your taxes, anything goes! Besides, for those lovable basset hounds, OCNJ will just look the other way.
Want to read more posts about Ocean City? Click here, here, and here.
YOUR TURN:
What’s your favorite kind of parade?
Data: 430,802 bloggers wrote 964,269 posts today on WordPress.Com. Add all the new posts on Blogger.com, and you have an overwhelming number of blog posts to read.
Who has time to read them all?
Freshly Pressed by WordPress features excellent posts of the last day or so, and mash-ups by individual bloggers help to identify other good ones. Here is a Saturday sampling of my own blogosphere wanderings this week.
Humor: Leave it to Wana112 groupie, Laird Sapir, to find some off-the-wall humorous oddity to write about. In this post, she writes about Party Rats. Read her tongue-in-cheek post to learn how you can use these little critters for night blogging. http://www.lairdsapir.com/2012/07/lets-party-rats/
Writing: Barbara Forte Abate reviews the true meaning of some common expressions we use in everyday speaking and writing. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag by telling you which expressions she writes about; just take a look-see for yourself. I think you’ll enjoy reading her comments at http://barbaraforteabate.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/hair-of-the-dog
Luca the Wonder Dog
Dogs: Speaking of “Hair of the Dog,” here’s a post by Cassandra Heck (my stepdaughter) about her dog, Luca. Luca is a comedian in canine wrappings. This 90-pound behemoth wraps his owner and family right around his little toe. He gives lots of love in return, so the trade-off is worth it. Read about him at http://cassandraheck.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/this-crazy-thing-called-luca/
Culture and Literature: Jacqui Talbot, storyteller extraordinaire, writes down memorable Choctaw tales as told to her by her grandfather. This particular tale tells about great waves crashing down on Choctaw land and destroying everything. One survivor, who had predicted a catastropic flood, had built a raft in the mountains and survived. This tale is mesmerizing. http://justjacqui2.com/2012/07/
Parenting: How do blogs and parenting connect? “Homemadekids” suggests a number of ways bloggers can help parents, from passing on recipes to sharing ideas about how to bring up children to become thoughtful adults. http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/focus-on-parenting-blogs/
Photos: I lived near San Francisco for a number of years and always loved going over the Golden Gate Bridge. Sometimes it was in fog, and sometimes it was in the clear; either way, it was always beautiful. This particular photograph is spectacular. http://ilikephotoblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco/
Travel: “Where’s my backpack?” writes about the Franciscan Monastery of Mount St. Sepulchre in the Brookland neighborhood in northeastern Washington, DC. The Franciscan Order, established in the 12th century, was charged with caring for all Christian shrines in the Holy Land. The buildings and grounds of this monastery, built later to provide “a taste of the Holy Land,” features replicas of those shrines and chapels in the Holy Land.
This monastery is on my list of things to see before I travel (I hope) to Israel in December. “Where’s my backpack?” does a great job giving descriptive detail, historical background, and photos of this site. Read both posts. http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/07/25/catacombs-and-old-byzantium-i/ and http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/07/25/catacombs-and-old-byzantium-ii/
Zucchini Tart (after dinner)
Recipes: Panini Girl has an obsession with Italy and with food, two of my favorite topics. Recently she posted a recipe for a tomato tart (July 6, 2012), and this week she put up a recipe for a delicious-looking zucchini tart. I went out today, bought all the ingredients I needed, and made one up for dinner. It’s as delicious as it looks! The recipe for the zucchini tart was posted on July 26, 2012. Here’s a picture of my attempt.
Recipes: What to do with those extra blueberries? You have more than enough to make my easy-peasie blueberry tart (recipe here), so why not make this blueberry…umm…casserole pie found on the Three Clever Sisters blog on July 26, 2012. This is a great pie for a big family gathering.
Cats: And finally, no mash-up of mine would ever be complete without the feline connection. Cats just make me happy. Last week on Saturday Silliness, I posted “Where do cats sleep?” Andmycat.com posted a collection of delightful kitties here: http://www.andmycat.com/2012/07/todays-featured-kitties-july-27.html
YOUR TURN: What was your favorite blog this week?
One of my daily favorites is the email announcing a new #dogpic on the NoRuffDays blog.
The tag line for NoRuffDays is, “I hope to make a good day better and a ruff day good.”
It’s a bit of cheer that arrives in my inbox, a message I open as soon as I see it.
Now doesn’t today’s picture of an Australian Terrier just make you smile?
An inspiration thought or amusing comment for the day appears along with the promised dog picture. Today’s comment:
And the sign said, “Long-haired freaky people need not apply.”- FIVE MAN ELECTRICAL BAND.
Klout says that I am influential in dogs and cats. I guess you can see why. I retweet NoRuffDays on a regular basis. Just trying to spread the cheer!
Have a great day.
YOUR TURN
Do you have a dog? What does your dog do that makes you smile?
Janice Hall Heck 