My door prize! But not the big Grande Prize. Which I also got, along with everyone else.
This isn't what it looks like. I am just trying out the system of editing, moving and deleting photos that Dowser taught me. Go to Louisville to get Smarter!
I really wanted Dowser's rocks but I got the next best thing. You will never guess what it is. Pictures are worth a thousand words, but they can lie. Nope, I didn't get the rocks but I got something so much more solid and substantial. But later.
For the souvenirs and door prizes at the 2011 Louisville VineMeet Dowser had everything packaged. Not only could you carry a large number of items without spillage, the packaging reduced the chance of breakage. Nor was it just plain packaging. Every effort was made to be as artistic and pleasant to the eye as possible.
Of course some of the men just had to have the bottles of Kentucky Bourbon that were among the gifts. Theirs didn't last long in most cases. Good choice if you were riding home on a motorcycle with no saddle bags. It so happens I had a big empty van along but I still couldn't bring my prize home with me. Oh, I got the door prize home but not the really wonderful, once in a lifetime, valuable prize I thought the most of.
If you have read this far you are probably thinking I have a punch line or surprise ending for this little ditty. It should be no surprise to anyone attending that I am writing about Dowser, our Marsha. Talk about Belle of Louisville, Dowser is my Belle of Kentucky! Of course, the family wouldn't let me bring her home but she was the Grande Prize for us all.
My door prize was a solid oak replica of the Belle of Louisville and all the paraphernalia that go along with it. I missed the actual ride but in spirit I was right there with the gang.
All during the writing of this article I kept thinking of all the prizes and gifts we all received. Oh, my, oh my, oh. Did we ever receive. Let's see, we got a beautiful vacation from whatever. We relaxed and enjoyed. We learned and in turn gave of ourselves. We found family we didn't realize we had. We found what open hearts and open minds and a willingness to care can achieve. We also placed a solid base beneath the many and various relationships that began on Newsvine and have come out to explore and expand our worlds.
For many of us all these prizes and gifts and fulfillment might not have been ours except for a family in Louisville that gave its efforts and time and love into bringing us all together.
Dowser is my Grande Belle of Kentucky and she and her family are ever in my heart.
