March Marathon

We live on a marathon route, so every March we get to watch thousands of people run in front of the Happy Haus. This year the four of us took a walk down the sidewalk paralleling the race. In the background of the above picture you can see a few of the 9,000 people who participated this year. It takes a few hours for the whole group to pass by. I have so much admiration for people that have the drive and ability to run 26 miles - although my knees cringe at the thought of doing it myself.

All along the route people cheer the runners on in their own way. One of our neighbors down the street was playing a hammered dulcimer. The music was absolutely gorgeous. Our unintentional contribution was our dogs. Katie had an especially strong impact on a lot of runners. When they saw her their faces would light up and many of them would say "cute dog", "what kind of dog is that; she's so cool", "looks like a cuddly bear", "beautiful dog" etc. For a minute or two Katie would take their minds off of their weary legs. A few people actually stopped running for a minute to pet her. One guy, who was dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt with mismatched pants and a Jimmy Buffet parrothead on his head, said "I love your dog." Gary replied that he liked the guy's parrot hat. The parrot guy said "Do you want to trade?" We simulanteously said NO as we were laughing. Afterward the thought popped into my head that if someone offered me a million dollars for Katie I would say no just as quickly as I did to the parrothead.