Once a year, the animal lovers in our fair city come together to show their support for the local animal shelters and services throughout the Greater Birmingham Metro Area. The correct, and official name of the event is "Do Dah Days" but if you've ever seen what it looks like after everybody and their Shitzu has been there, it's quite easy to see why I affectionately refer to it as "Doo Doo Days". The odor of dog shit actually lingers in the bowl shaped park near my house for days after the event. In the beginning, this event took place only in Caldwell Park. But over the years, it has grown to include all 3 of the parks in the "Highland Parks" neighborhood, Caldwell, Rhodes and Rushton Parks. And they have recently added a walking parade from one park to the next and finally ending at Caldwell Park.
Here's the bad: I live very close to Caldwell Park, close enough that I could hit it with a rock from my backyard. I live in an old, two story, 1900's era Southside Home that has been divided into two separate units, Joy and I live in the lower half of the house and currently, the upstairs in empty. We have NO driveway so the only parking that is available to us is street parking. And that presents a problem. Because you see, we're now trapped in our home for the day and restricted to walking only because if we move our car from in front of our house, it will quickly be taken by the 1000's and 1000's of fools driving around for hours on end looking for a parking place, ANY parking place they can stuff their cars into. And when we attempted to return home later today, not only is our parking place now "taken", but so is EVERY parking place within 4 square blocks of our house. And I gotta tell you, after I lug in groceries from 4 blocks away, I'm pissed enough to take a baseball bat to whatever car is unfortunate enough to be parked in my parking place! And it's not any better for our neighbors with driveways as these mindless fools will happily park across your driveway unless your sitting where you can see them as they are doing it and walk out there with a baseball bat to "discuss" it with them. So, living near a city park is not always a "good" thing.
But here's the good: As a metal detectorist, this event will draw in excess of 50,000 two-legged bodies and twice as many four-legged bodies into these three parks and along the sidewalks that stretch between the 3 Highland Parks. And you know what that means! RINGS - EARRINGS - BRACELETES - NECKLACES - LOCKETS - PENDANTS - GOLD - SILVER - DIAMONDS - PLATINUM! Not to mention various dog tags and such too. As much "bad" as I can find to say about this miserable little city I live in, I will say that they do a hell of a job cleaning up these 3 parks after this annual event. Unless you are out there swinging your detector as they are breaking everything down, it will all be chopped, sliced and sucked clean by the time the sun comes peaking over the top of Vulcan's butt on Sunday morning. It actually looks like they use a giant vacuum cleaner to suck up every last cut blade of grass and piece of paper. So, I will sit captive, but patiently at the house today and wait until the event ends at 5pm and then I'll be on those parks like white on rice!
To scope out the "lay of the land", Joy and I usually walk over to the park and find us a nice shady place to sit and people watch and to enjoy the beautiful dogs that wander by. I'll look for the areas that are "holding" the people, see where the picnic blankets have been arranged, watch for the popular kiddie "play zones" and such just so I can hit these places first when the whistle blows at 5pm. If you come to Doo Doo Days today, I hope I see you, Joy, Elliot and I should be hanging out on the brick wall right in front of the Virginia Samford Theater at the back of Caldwell Park, look for the PINK, as we'll both have our Hot Pink Fisher and Teknetics Metal Detectors hats on! Don't forget the sunscreen too, and bring me a hotdog, please!
http://www.dodahday.org/
Here's the bad: I live very close to Caldwell Park, close enough that I could hit it with a rock from my backyard. I live in an old, two story, 1900's era Southside Home that has been divided into two separate units, Joy and I live in the lower half of the house and currently, the upstairs in empty. We have NO driveway so the only parking that is available to us is street parking. And that presents a problem. Because you see, we're now trapped in our home for the day and restricted to walking only because if we move our car from in front of our house, it will quickly be taken by the 1000's and 1000's of fools driving around for hours on end looking for a parking place, ANY parking place they can stuff their cars into. And when we attempted to return home later today, not only is our parking place now "taken", but so is EVERY parking place within 4 square blocks of our house. And I gotta tell you, after I lug in groceries from 4 blocks away, I'm pissed enough to take a baseball bat to whatever car is unfortunate enough to be parked in my parking place! And it's not any better for our neighbors with driveways as these mindless fools will happily park across your driveway unless your sitting where you can see them as they are doing it and walk out there with a baseball bat to "discuss" it with them. So, living near a city park is not always a "good" thing.
But here's the good: As a metal detectorist, this event will draw in excess of 50,000 two-legged bodies and twice as many four-legged bodies into these three parks and along the sidewalks that stretch between the 3 Highland Parks. And you know what that means! RINGS - EARRINGS - BRACELETES - NECKLACES - LOCKETS - PENDANTS - GOLD - SILVER - DIAMONDS - PLATINUM! Not to mention various dog tags and such too. As much "bad" as I can find to say about this miserable little city I live in, I will say that they do a hell of a job cleaning up these 3 parks after this annual event. Unless you are out there swinging your detector as they are breaking everything down, it will all be chopped, sliced and sucked clean by the time the sun comes peaking over the top of Vulcan's butt on Sunday morning. It actually looks like they use a giant vacuum cleaner to suck up every last cut blade of grass and piece of paper. So, I will sit captive, but patiently at the house today and wait until the event ends at 5pm and then I'll be on those parks like white on rice!
To scope out the "lay of the land", Joy and I usually walk over to the park and find us a nice shady place to sit and people watch and to enjoy the beautiful dogs that wander by. I'll look for the areas that are "holding" the people, see where the picnic blankets have been arranged, watch for the popular kiddie "play zones" and such just so I can hit these places first when the whistle blows at 5pm. If you come to Doo Doo Days today, I hope I see you, Joy, Elliot and I should be hanging out on the brick wall right in front of the Virginia Samford Theater at the back of Caldwell Park, look for the PINK, as we'll both have our Hot Pink Fisher and Teknetics Metal Detectors hats on! Don't forget the sunscreen too, and bring me a hotdog, please!
http://www.dodahday.org/
PIG - The Most Unusual Dog (Short Spine Syndrome)
You'll see it all at Doo Doo Days!
Plenty of "Drops"!
5PM... Here I come!
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