DENVER -- February 7, 2008

Dog about Town. Cultured Canine. Bookstore Hound. Theater Puppy. That's me. I do love an outing, and last week I went to two wonderful events.

First was the book signing at the Tattered Cover. This event was great fun because I got almost as much attention as the author, but she was very gracious about it. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that part of the reason I garnered so much attention was because I was wearing a jeweled pink tiara. Yeah, yeah, I know, but apparently it's required headgear for any Sweet Potato Queen gathering. And after all, I am secure in my masculinity. Besides, Marianne added some dog bones and paw prints to the tiara just for me.

Jill Conner Browne is the Boss Sweet Potato Queen and Marianne (and the other puppy raisers, the Kibble Queens) think she is The Funniest Human On The Planet. Mercy, you've never heard as much snickering, ha-ha-ing, and downright snorting as I did at the signing for Jill's new book, "The Sweet Potato Queens Guide to Raising Children for Fun and Profit."

Jill advocates the power of play in every day life, which the puppy rasiers certainly take to heart. They play so much it's amazing they get the really important things done, like buying dog food. I recently observed a puppy raiser make Marianne laugh so hard she spewed hot chocolate all over. I was MORTIFIED, let me tell you. It's a good thing I was already lying under the table, or I would have crawled there from embarrassment.

Still, we did have a lot of fun at the book signing, and Jill was very nice to pose for a picture with me. You can see the pictures on the accompanying slide show. I'm hinting broadly for a pair of sparkly sunglasses just like Jill's for my birthday.

I also met Nuclia Waste, Denver's most famous drag queen, who graciously agreed to my request for a photo. She had the most amazing hairdo and earrings I've ever seen! All in all it was a night to remember.

The next evening we went to see the Denver Center Theater Company's new play, "Plainsong." I got a lot of attention from people milling about in the lobby before the play started, and that's always nice. I like hearing Marianne and John talk about me and Canine Companions for Independence.

Then we went into the theater. It was my first play, and I found it very interesting. At first I curled up under Marianne's seat for a nap, thinking a play was like a movie. But I heard funny noises and realized there were real live people on the stage! I thought perhaps the actors might need a real dog up there with them and started to head that direction, but Marianne held on tight to my leash. Rats.

So I sat and watched the action. And then to my utter amazement, the stage changed! Furniture disappeared into the floor, walls moved, and other things popped up on stage. And then a few minutes later, it happened again! This time the furnture melted into the floor with the people still sitting on it!

Whoa - this simply does NOT happen in my house.

I was so fascinated that I settled in to watch. Even though the folks that were sitting in the row ahead of us knew I was there, they sort of jumped when I rested my head on their seats. Jeez, you'd think they'd never seen a dog watch a play before. I didn't drool or anything.

The evening flew by, and even though I didn't exactly understand everything, I could tell it was a great play. Marianne told me it was from one of her favorite books, and she said she was pleased that they'd adapted it so well to the stage. You should go see it. Really. Soon - it closes on Feb. 23rd.

Chow for now!

Parker

Here are some links you'll like:

Tattered Cover: www.tatteredcover.com

Jill's web site, where you can find all kinds of cool information and stuff like her books and sparkly sunglasses and tiaras and Mama's Knock You Naked Margarita mix: www.sweetpotatoqueens.com

Denver Center for the Performing Arts: www.dcpa.org

Nuclia's web site (you just knew she'd have one, didn't you?): www.nucliawaste.com