The ball days

Hi all:
We're back from the ball days! I told you that on Sunday we left really
early with the car. Then we walked a bit, where I had to guide Chris,
and then we went on the train. We arrived at a train station I didn't
know well. Mom didn't either, so we had to walk in circles before Chris
pushed the suitcase into a door and locked it there. Then we went by a
train that goes in tunnels most of the time. We walked and walked along
a street and turned 180 degrees in the middle of the street. I didn't
see the use in that turn, so started dragging my feet. What *is* the use
in turning to go back the same route? Mom says the stupid people had
sent us into the wrong direction, and Chris had a good laugh about my
attitude. Of course, you gotta have one if you want to get anywhere in
Hapoo world!
Then we walked into a house with a desk, talked to the lady there and
left. Allright, whatever that was good for!
Back on the tunnel trains and stay on them forever!
When we finally got off, the weather was as sunny as before - it was
lovely to walk in. A lady greeted us - I sure had never seen her before.
Chris calls her the cousin - yet another one - how many cousins does one
human have?
The car ride was fun - the cousin had pushed the passenger seat way
back, so I could sit between Chris' feet and had plenty of space! We
arrived, and another lady gave the humans hugs and myself a pet on the
head.
That is a lady I remember from some time ago. Chris calls her the aunt -
yet another one. And then came the human food marathon! We spent the
following hours sitting around a table, the humans having plenty of food
and plenty of chats, and my shining self lying behind Chris' chair very
very quietly. Chris kept saying that the dreadful bath was only for the
aunt, so my beautiful loose Hapoo hair wouldn't fly all around the
place.
We finally, after the talks and the food were shifted to the outside
table, went for a really long walk! That was fun, because I met another
cool woofer, a Setter called Sammy. His mom had plenty of cookies to
share with both of us - yummmmmy! But he didn't want to play with me,
boring city dog! Already in the morning in a flower shop I had met
another woofer, a border kolly GSD mix - he was fun! I'm sure he would
have played, had I met him in the meadows. His name was Teddy, which
suited him, in Chris' opinion.
When we returned to the aunt's house, we were up for another human food
session, I didn't get a crumb, as usual!
Back on the tunnel trains, and into the house with the desk. No person
there, but we went and found a room where we could stay. So okay, this
was a hotel! The humans showered, I got my well-deserved food and went
to sleep right away.

Next morning after breakfast and the humans' morning routines, mom saw a
patch of park where Chris let me run loose, before I went in harness and
had to work all the way to the train station. And then something strange
started.

We sat down, and in front of us folks started hitting balls. Sounded
much like what Chris watches on TV when it's on, and is probably that
tennis stuff. Folks were clapping hands, a guy behind Chris described
the ball changes, and she says she had a lot of fun with that. The guy
knew what he was talking about, but he and Chris didn't have the same
favourite. Chris' favourite won, somebody called David from Spain. Then
we went to another big thing with loads of entrances. At one they told
us to go somewhere else. Chris said she didn't want to exchange the
seats she had paid for with something worse, but the man at that
entrance showed mom where we would be sitting, and mom said that was way
better!
So we waled somewhere else, and there were many people sitting in their
own chairs on weels. They were at my level, I could have given kisses to
all of them, if Chris had only let me! She placed me by a kind of a
fence or wall, and sat down behind me. She had brought her tape recorder
and her writing device, which she placed on the little roof above my
head. That roof was specially made for me, for it was very narrow and
just protected me from rain and sun.
And then the boredom began - people started hitting balls for hours -
the crowd was cheering or whistling boos at the players or the king up
on his throne, and even Chris talked sometimes. She says her favourite,
a German named Alex, lost, but she had a lot of fun with the match,
because she could hear so many things!
Well gimme a ball, I wanna chase it! No chance, not for me! She could
have picked me up and put me down on the other side of the fence, so I
would have run all across the place and jumped over the fence thing they
call net, and would've gotten the balls and play barked at the folks -
trust me, it would have been much fun!
Allright, I'll go sleep now, and Chris wants breakfast. More later, I
promise!
Cheers, Hapoo.