part of the gang

It’s a busy week for the Healthy Pet Surgical Suite and your 2009 student coordinators!  After finishing up in Ingham late Saturday evening, we packed up the trailer and took off for the Sanilac County 4H fair on Sunday morning.  Fortunately, we left the rainy weather behind in mid-Michigan as we made our way to “the thumb”.  Unfortunately, we were met by the ferocity of the famous mid-August Michigan heatwave that never fails to bring high temperatures accompanied by even higher humidity levels!

That being said, one of our first stops was at the local supermarket where we stocked up on water and sport drinks to stay well hydrated and feeling our best for the Sanilac County fair-goers.  (With the excessive presence of liquids, this might be the very first fair where Christina avoided spending money on that oh-so-delicious fair lemonade.)

It turns out that our first day in Sanilac was also opening day for the Sanilac Country 4H Fair.  So the HPSS was there for the crowning of the Sanilac 4H Queen, the assembly of the ferriswheel, and the final warm up for the Sanilac Shining Star (similar to American Idol) contestants.  We set up next to the petting zoo, just downwind of the pigs and across from from the port-a-johns.  It was an ideal location for a couple of sweaty student coordinators and our lovely smelling pathology specimens.

However, the odors of the fair did absolutely nothing to deter you from coming to check out our exhibit!  We even caught up with a few carnival friends from earlier fairs this summer, including the pirate (who is always an excellent source of enthusiasm for the HPSS)!  Whether or not it’s a good thing (we think it is), the student coordinators are really starting to feel like a part of the carnival gang now!

Once again, we really liked the way fair-goers learned from us and then came back and taught friends – you were excellent teachers!  It was really great to learn with you and hear your stories as well.  We especially noticed an interest in the anesthesia machine, and thought it was very cool and very impressive when you asked such insightful questions.  Thanks to Sanilac for another memorable fair, and good luck to the girl’s softball team (we hear you made it to the World Series!) – the HPSS is behind you all the way!