SheSue Experience

One is from Chicago, another is from Virginia and the third, is from Alabama.

All three go with a White House official to examine the fence.

The Virginia contractor takes out a tape measure and does some
measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well,” he says, “I
figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew
and $100 profit for me.”

The Alabama contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then
says, “I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my
crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Chicago contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to
the White House official and whispers, “$2,700.”

The official, incredulous, says, “You didn’t even measure like the
other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?”

The Chicago contractor whispers back, “$1000 for me, $1000 for you,
and we hire the guy from Alabama to fix the fence.”

Nicotine is one of the most notoriously addictive drugs in the world, right up there with alcohol, opium and cocaine. More than 75% of smokers who try to quit wind up relapsing. Many times over in fact.

For reasons unknown, women seem to have a harder time than men. Scientists guess that the weight gain is the reason. Smoking is horrible for every part of your body except your metabolism. Smoking forces your body to expend extra energy trying to detoxify itself from the chemicals being inhaled. When you quit smoking, that unused energy turns to fat.

Two great resources for those of you determined to stop smoking. One put on the by the US government simple titled Smoke Free. This site offer information, tips and resources. The other site is from the American Cancer society. They go quite extensively into the who, what, where, when and why of smoking. It offers great sections on the benefits of quitting, why it’s so addictive, what it does to your body and tips for finding help. Check out this Guide to Quitting Smoking.

Along the third wall are 6 judging booths. Each booth has about 10 or 12 cages (see photo here) where the cats are brought waiting to be judged. In the center of the booth is the judging table with a platform on which the cat is displayed. Then there 3 rows of chairs for you to sit and enjoy the judging. Each cat is judged in all 6 booths. They are judged by category such as breed, long hair, short hair, kitten, household or alters (a cat that can no longer have babies).

The entire center of the room is filled row upon row of cats in their houses set on tables with their owners standing (or sitting) by. Here they wait their turn to be called to a judging booth. As a spectator, you are welcome to wander down the aisles and talk to the owners. Some are eager to share their cats with you, others are more quiet.

There were 39 breeds in all. Some you’re familiar with like Siamese, Persian, Manx or Abyssinian (the cat with basically no hair). There were also cats with beautifully exotic coat patterns, cats with no tails, cats with bob tails, cats with folded ears. Some of the cats were even for sale. At the front of the room was a display of a local animal shelter who offered a small variety of cats you could take home. Please note the wild haircut on this cat who belongs to the shelter. Apparently he loves to have his hair cut.

As you wander among the tables, an owner might be grooming their cat for judging. Lots of hair to comb. Some use a spray to control static or give the cat’s coat a sheen. As the cat comes back from judging, they are given bites of baby food as a reward. I was amazed at how relaxed the cats seemed. They were draped over the owners shoulder or lounging in their arms.

Each judge looks at each cat and ranks them per their breed. The judge gives points for color, coat, fur pattern, alertness, playfulness and structure. After the judge has seen all the cats for a particular breed, they will ‘call back’ what they feel are the best 10. Then they look at the cats again and rank the cats from 10 to First place. Each cat has 6 chances of getting a first place ribbon (1 from each judge).

The cats earn points for the ribbons they earn. These points are posted nationally. If you attend lots of shows and your cat earns lots of ribbons, they can go on to regionals and eventually nationals. Many of these folks attend cat shows once a month or more. They spend a great deal of money on travel expenses just to show off their cats. Many own and show more than 1 cat. I talked to people from Reno, Seattle, Maupin and Portland.

There is no money earned for ribbons. These cat owners are here because they love and respect their cats. Some have other agendas. For instance one lady raises Japanese Bobtails because she feels they make excellent pets. She just wants to spread the word about these fabulous cats. Another lady was there from a Seattle cat shelter. She wants to spread the word about her shelter. Her cat, to the left, was my favorite. A beautiful, huge cat names Mocha. Mocha is a kitten, can you believe it. He was rescued from an abusive situation. He loves doing the shows and preens like the best of them even though he is very new to the game. He is already on his way to being the best kitten in the household division.

Now shop owner Harvey was a big fan of the movie “Harvey”. The movie with Jimmy Stewart is about a 6-foot imaginary rabbit who keeps him out of trouble. Harvey the shop owner decided to put a rabbit head on the attendant statue in honor of the movie.

After some major cosmetic surgery, the 26 foot bunny man statue was erected in front of Harvey’s marine supply store. He became an instant hit. In fact he’s become so famous that he’s used as a landmark for giving directions. At the holidays, the bunny man is known to celebrate with a Halloween pumpkin, Christmas tree, Valentine heart, Thanksgiving turkey or an American flag in his giant hand.

When it’s time to begin, the music is turned up and the lights go down. Since they cater to a young crowd, the music is loud rock and roll. Some of it I actually recognize. Instead of the regular overhead lights, they have on black lights with all kinds of strobes. I liked that my shoe laces lit up under the lights.

I thought bowling was more difficult under the lights. I am no pro, my average score is just above 100. With no lights and all these fancy strobes, trying to find my arrow to aim the ball at was pretty difficult. You figure out pretty quick, that that’s not what’s important during cosmic bowling. It’s all about getting together with friends and having a good time. Some were bowling backwards, some like a child between their legs. One kid was throwing the ball like a baseball. (Not sure that was good for the floor).