Ah, the fair, animals, considerations and contemplations...

On this, the last day of September 2011, the State Fair of Texas opens and life is good.
If you’ve never been to the State Fair of Texas, you’re missing an extravaganza.
Yeah, it’s changed a little from the era of the film Rodgers & Hammerstein’s State Fair -- different stuff is fried! Nobody in 1961 would have though of "fried bubblegum" or "fried cheesecake on a stick."
But, good grief, that movie was filmed at the 1961 State Fair (released in 1962 -- kids from the Dallas schools got to be extras, you know).
Long time ago. That filming was, let’s see, taking off my socks...ummm. Fifty years ago? Holy smoke. Time flies. (Yep, that's a State Fair photo of iconic Big Tex, the 52-foot tall Midway cowboy -- look for TV stories reporting on his past as the Santa Claus in downtown Kerens. Swallows to Capistrano, reporters to Big Tex's past -- annual events.)
If you want to see an even earlier look at Dallas Fair Park than the '61 film, you can still get a copy of the Gene Autry movie “The Big Show,” released in 1936 and filmed at the brand-spanking new art deco fairgrounds during the Texas Centennial. Yep, you get to see TWO singing cowboys in that movie – Gene Autry [of Tioga, Texas] AND, in the backup band, young Ohio fellow, Roy Rogers. Check it out on Youtube. [FYI: Entertainment at this year’s fair includes those famous singing cowboys K.C. & The Sunshine Band and The Bangles – go to www.bigtex.com to get the daily schedule.]
And, by the way, if you like books – and people still do – the great former public relations legend with the Fair, Nancy Wiley, wrote The Great State Fair of Texas: An Illustrated History.
I'm going out on a limb here and declaring that no other State Fair has inspired two motion pictures and at least one book that has been available for two decades. As the song goes, "Our state fair is a great state fair..."
The State Fair’s opening parade is in downtown Dallas at noon today – and a parade is nearly always fun, even if doesn’t include millionaires who play games in short pants ...but never mind the lack of a post-title Mavericks basketball season.
We mentioned earlier this month that DFW Rescue Me and Dallas Animal Services will operate an adoption booth in front of the Centennial Building throughout the run of the Fair.
What we haven’t mentioned is that at 11 a.m. on Saturday, right smack at Big Tex Circle at the entrance to the Midway, Mattress Firm will attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by creating the “Tallest Mattress Stack.”  I have written about the Fair for many years and I am going to go out on a limb here, but I believe this may be a first. I wonder if anyone will try planking or owling on the stack? (If you aren't aware of planking or owling, where have you been?)
TODAY’S CONTEST: Look carefully at these animals and let me know if you can tell us which local animal facility currently houses them. If you cannot immediately guess the venue, then we have three clues for you in a second. These are not clues, but the dog’s name is Tiger and not only is Tiger an Earhound, Tiger also has big webbed feet. That cat is Moe who came into the facility with siblings Larry and Curly – of course, it is more likely that the person who “surrendered” them to a kill shelter was the real stooge. Back to our game, here are your three clues:
(1) They have a roof over their heads for now.
(2) Neither of them is registered to vote in Loving County, Texas.
(3) For the third clue, you will be able to access a necessary fact only after you recite the names of Snow White’s seven Disney Dwarfs (or Dwarves)  into the “microphone key” on your computer and click HERE. Good luck with your guess and try to help.
ART AND THE ANIMALS: As you can see from the poster, Animal Rescue of Texas and The Wooden House are teaming for a special adoption event from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the store, 2003 N. Henderson, in Dallas.
Why am I mentioning this? A number of reasons: (1) I like to help people who are helping animals; (2) I like animals; (3) I’m making a blatant play for advertising from The Wooden House but, primarily, (4) in Cari Weinberg’s press release for ART she mentioned that one of the available adoptables is “a small, mellow crooner of a Chihuahua – Crosby, named for Bing Crosby.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here (yes, this is “Go Out On A Limb Day” at Readlarrypowell.com) and declare that never before in the history of Chihuahuas has one been named for Bing Crosby. Just a feeling. Buubuuububbbbaah. That’s my Bing Crosby impression. “Yap. Yap. Yap. Yap.” That’s my Crosby the Chihuahua impression. I kid the Chihuahuas and, of course, apologize wholeheartedly to our household Chihuahua, Rosie the Yapper, who also snores.
ABOUT PEOPLE AND ANIMALS: As mentioned above, one of the missions of Readlarrypowell.com is to help people who are helping animals and we also believe that there are good humans who may need help, too. So that’s why we are publishing this note about the big donation event that begins Saturday in Irving – it’s the Homeless Pets Help Homeless People Event. It runs from Oct. 1 through the 22^nd and is sponsored by the DFW Humane Society, the Irving Animal Care Campus and the Hope Fellowship Church.
Donations of non-perishable food items, blankets, jackets, backpacks and sleeping bags can be dropped off at the Animal Care Campus at 4140 Valley View Lane. These donations go to Irving Cares, The Poverty and Homeless Coalition and Hope Fellowship Outreach.
To close the drive on Oct. 22, organizers have scheduled a festival of food, music and the blessing of the animals.
More info is at the DFW Humane Society site HERE.
BUTTONS THE CAT: Regular Readers (I always cap Readers because you’re important to this mission – and we don’t need to conduct focus groups to know that)... restarting that sentence: Regular Readers of our humble website know that Edna Taylor of Houston is one of our ardent tipsters but even more of a cat fan. She’s always hustling to find a home for a cat.
That brings us to this one, Buttons, the Relax-o-Cat, apparently. Does that cat look comfortable or what?
Well, it's time for Buttons to get a forever home, Edna says. While Buttons is in the Scouts Honor Rescue program in Houston, Buttons is in Dallas. That’s where the current foster home is and Buttons has been in foster for three of her 11 years. That’s right. In foster for three years.
She’s named for her cute cat nose, Edna’s note explains. And she’s “an adorable, sweet cat with emerald green eyes.”
To ask about auditioning to adopt Buttons (and if you’re in Houston, transit from Dallas can be arranged), e-mail [email protected] or call 713-882-2011. See the Scout’s Honor adoption form on the website HERE.
One more selling point: Buttons loves to curl up on the bed with a human. Has to be a humon she likes, of course. Cats have higher standards than people.
DOG DAY AFTERNOON:  We mentioned Operation Kindness’ 17^th Annual Dog Day Afternoon already this week, but writing about it again gives me the opportunity to copy this photo off the Operation Kindness website and make another pitch for Saturday’s event. It’s from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Flag Pole Hill at White Rock Lake. Catch the details at www.operationkindness.org.
I don’t know the name of this dog, but he or she is in disguise, anyway. Probably a Hollywood star behind those Foster Grants.
IN SUMMARY: Current animal cases we’re wondering about: (1) The dead porch dog in West Dallas; (2) The investigation into the death of the little Maltese tossed out of the 19^th story window of a downtown Dallas building; (3) The beating of a pup on the parking lot of a Plano restaurant on Sunday.... Did I leave anything out other than the general mayhem leveled against local dogs and cats?
ONE MORE THING: While many in America work against the horror of dog-fighting, the Catalonia region of Spain has banned bullfighting. Depending on the story you read, this may have been more moral than business or more business than moral. You can read a British story HERE and a U.S. PBS story HERE. Spain still has matadors and bullfighting and America still has criminal dog-fighters and bullfeathers.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Some storm last night – knocked our electricity off for about a minute – I only had to recreate a few paragraphs. I don’t know if that little blackout helped the electric company manage the juice at the end of a 100-degree day. It was, after all, a naturally occurring unplanned rolling thunder blackout and not a calculated consumer-annoying brownout... OK, Dallas fans, this is a tough time in the Park Cities – do you root for the banged up Dallas Cowboys or for Detroit Lions quarterback, the former Highland Park Scot Matthew Stafford?  ... Weird last night not to have any baseball to listen to on the radio or watch on TV. Let’s hope we have big league baseball around here well on through the month of October and end the post-season with a happy parade. Arlington would have the Super Bowl and the World Series in the same year.  Is soccer's World Cup coming to Arlington next? I heard ambitious Arlington is trying to get the New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon on back-to-back weekends in 2012 -- the big airport is so close, maybe they can pull this off. Grand Prairie is working on getting the Kentucky Derby and the Winter Olympics.
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