Sunday, April 5, 2020

March 11, 2016- Wrangler Day- Part 1


I almost didn’t go into the city to see Wrangler on his last day at the “Today” show yesterday. He will now be starting his formal training as an assistance/guide dog.

    I kept coming up with reasons not to do so- my head hurt, driving and social anxieties, not wanting to deal with the noise and crowds, feeling ugly and like too much of a loser to be out in public, and the thought that “It’s just a dog- I don’t really need to see him” (that is what my brother says even though he likes Wrangler too.)

   My desire to take a mini-break from my family managed to overpower all of this which was pretty surprising to me.

   I only wish that this had happened sooner. I was up by 4:15 and settled into my normal early morning routine of watching TV while eating my breakfast. It was after doing this that I quickly got ready for my adventure. I didn’t even brush my teeth or wash my face.

   I arrived at the Plaza by about 6:55. There was already a good sized crowd there so I wasn’t able to get close to the area where the hosts briefly do the show 2 times during the 8:00 hour. It was disappointing that I would not get to be close to Wrangler.

   Carson did bring him swiftly around the whole Plaza area for a victory lap so I got to see him a bit then. Only a couple of my photos of this adorable pooch came out good. One was from a distance; the zoom on my camera isn’t that good. My 3 shots of Roker came out better. I would rather have more great shots of Wrangler!

   An employee was handing out standby tickets for the “Meredith Vieira Show”. I don’t usually watch that but I liked her when she was on the “Today” show. I was lucky enough to get one. This was after I had moved up closer to the broadcast area.

   Sally, the girl who had been standing next to me earlier but was now in a different spot, had also gotten one. I met up with her again as I was walking to 30 Rock. We hung out together then. I hadn’t really said much to her before this.

   We were not able to get into the first taping but were told to come back and try for the second one. Sally wanted to go to the Disney store so I showed her where it is. We went to the bagel place that she said was voted the best in the city afterwards. I got one to take home since I had brought my lunch with me.

   I am fairly certain that Sally is from Ohio and is originally from upstate NY, somewhere near Albany. I hate that I have such a craptastic memory. She has an English Springer spaniel named Lucy. I told her that I love spaniels and used to have a cocker named Buffy Willow.

   Often I feel some sadness when seeing doggies because this makes me think of her and how she would have been in our lives longer if only we had taken better care of her and had gotten a second opinion about that damn steroid allergy med. She wouldn’t have had 12-15 months of such suffering also.

   I told Sally that I like country music. She said that she enjoys some of it too, including Rascal Flatts. I think that she also mentioned that her daughter used one of their songs at her wedding reception.
Wrangler

Al Roker
 

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...