I had a lot of fun when I didn’t really expect to, last Saturday night.
Of course, I never expect to have “a lot of fun,” no matter what, when I’m doing what passes for work. But, I usually surprise myself.
The Hot Springs Rescue Squad was holding a fundraiser for training expenses. It was a “duck race.” I wasn’t even quite sure what a duck race was – I feared, perhaps, a lot of cacophonous quacking. But no.
In this annual event, folks can buy cute little rubber ducks – pink, blue, and yellow. Then, all those duckies are put into a big tub or two, and dumped into Hot Springs Run. The numbered ducks begin a quick float down the run, and the one that crosses the finish line first wins. And wins big. First prize is $300, second is $200 and third prize is $100. There’s even a consolation prize for the poor schlub whose duck comes in dead last – a free dinner. Is it a duck dinner? I am not sure.
By race time Saturday, almost 800 – 800! – ducks had been sold. They needed two tubs to hold them all. They had to hold two races, not just one.
A big crowd turned out for the race, for the food, for the dancing, for the band. The band was very good – the Thomas Taylor Band from White Sulphur Springs, WV. They performed a lot of standards that even I knew the words to!
There was also a table full of luscious-looking cakes. That meant one thing: A Cake Walk. This is such an old-fashioned idea – I think country folk have been holding cake walks for more than 100 years. I’ve never taken part in a cake walk, and there’s one good reason: What would I do with a whole, delicious cake? The answer is: Well, I’d stop off at the house of my friend and her husband and force half the cake on them, and then, I’d take the rest home and eat it all myself! This does not bode well for what passes for my waistline these days.
Back at the duck race, excitement was mounting. There were throngs of adults and kids who were antsy for the ducks to begin. It was hilarious, really, when hundreds of brightly colored rubber duckies were dumped into the creek and began their race to the finish. There was a bright blue duck in the lead for some time. He was going sideways, listing to starboard, if you will, but it seemed no other duck could catch him.
The finish line was so packed with kids that I could not see which duck won, but I don’t think the blue sideways duck took first prize. And, as soon as the first “heat” finished, another big tub of ducks was tossed into the water and began their competition. It was all very amusing. There was no one, among at least 100 people there – big and small – who didn’t have a big smile on their face.
The rescue squad folks gathered up all the ducks and put them back into the tubs after the race, so don’t expect to find a pink rubber duck floating down the Jackson any time soon.
What a smart, fun way to mount a fundraiser. And to turn what seemed as if it might be a ho-hum work assignment into a very enjoyable evening. I gotta love that!
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.