15 minutes of fame

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone that has left me comments of support and good wishes. When you're feeling down, it means a lot. Today, I thought I'd share a story about Otis and his 15 minutes of fame. I had season tickets for several years for the Phoenix Coyotes. Absolutely love hockey! The team had a contest for ticket holders to submit photos showing why they were "real fans". On the day before the deadline I submitted this picture. We had taken a bunch for Christmas cards and this was an extra. I was never meant to be in the picture at all. I was only trying to get the dogs situated. In fact, I was pinching Otis in the butt to stay still. It was also a coincidence that I had on a Coyote sweatshirt that day. Well, they picked us to be on the season ticket along with others. I was interviewed by both local newspapers, and we made the front page of the sports section for each paper. The Coyotes asked me to bring the dogs to the arena for a pre-game ceremony on opening night. At the time, I was recovering from knee surgery, and I was nervous about walking out on the ice with two big dogs. Plus, can you imagine maneuvering them through the crowd? As it turned out, we did just fine. Wayne Gretztky even spoke to us and called the dogs "stars of the show". I didn't slip and fall, and it was a fun experience. The other dog was my Lucy. She was Otis's partner in crime until we lost her a few years ago.

Waving to the crowd.