1972 My First Fast Food Meal

In 1972, David and I lived on Jones Street in the Village in New York City.  We had just gotten our first "show" Afghan Hound puppy, Mandy (Alarickhan's Fortune Teller).

In May, I entered Mandy in the Trenton Kennel Club dog show, at the time the largest show in the country.  I went with my friend Hina, who bred and showed Irish Setters, but they were more field types than show types.  She never stopped ranting about how the conformation judges totally ignored the function of the dog in favor of coat and prettiness.  We went to the show in her old beat-up station wagon; Hina, me, Mandy, and 3 full-sized, energetic Irish Setters.   

Anne Rogers Clark "Annie"

The Afghan Hound judge was Ann Rogers Clark.  She was imposing at 6 feet 2 inches tall, but she was wonderful.  She gave me a handling class in the ring (which I am sure the other exhibitors really appreciated).  There were 15 puppies in the puppy class that day.  She told me to come talk to her after the judging, which of course I did.  She explained some things to me about stacking and show leads, etc.  Then she said that it was obvious I loved Mandy, but that if I was serious about showing, I should go look for a show puppy.     

On the way home, the car started to overhead so Hina pulled into a gas station not too far from the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.  She opened the hood and got a bucket of water, which she proceeded to throw on the engine.  It was a disaster, because apparently she cracked the block.  We were dead in the water so to speak.  All I wanted to do was get home.  I was tired and discouraged, and sick of listening to Hina ranting and raving.  But we were stuck.  

Across the street was a McDonald's, so we decided to walk over there.  It boggled my mind, there were so many people and it was so loud with people milling around, it was very confusing.  We ordered our food and sat down and it actually tasted pretty good.