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#42 – Attend a Hippie Festival
So, this wasn’t quite what you would first think for a hippie festival and our idea of a festival seems to grow more mild with age. Mister Molson and I attended Yogis take the park 2017. It is an annual yoga-based event in a local park coordinated by a long-time friend Nicole (the same woman who presided over Molson and Josie’s wedding ceremony).
The festival includes people converging from all over the area to attend free yoga classes in the park. But, neither Molson nor I were up for yoga, so we participated in other ways. Although, I think Molson did do a little downward dog when he stretched after standing up one time. When we first arrived, we were warmly greeted by the staff, who instantly recognized the famous Mister Molson and some old friends.
Molson even wore his official “Yogis take the Park” shirt.
We made our rounds visiting all the vendors. The place smelled amazing between all the natural foods, produce, herbs, oils, incense, and even baked goods. We even saw the women from Illuminated Soul Wellness Center, who gave Molson his massage on an earlier bucket list item.
Then, we visited the nice woman from M&M Farm in Glen Rock, PA who gave him a beef stick and even some liver to take home for dinner. She is a big dog person and we chatted for awhile about how awesome they are.
We also stopped at the Boy Scouts stand and grabbed a hot dog for Mister Molson.
We saw lots of other dogs there visiting too. They all did what dogs do when greeting each other for the first time (Chloe calls this the doggie friend request). Lots of inappropriate sniffing. I had to remind him to be a gentleman once or twice. After making our rounds we grabbed a nice spot in the shade and enjoyed the bands. We stuck around for two of the bands and one of the yogi prayer session bands (I’m not sure what else to call them. They had an accordion type thing, a bunch of bowls a guy rubbed with sticks, a hand drum, and a sitar). The bands were really good and included mandolins, guitars, banjos, washboards, bass, percussion, and a few other instruments. The one band, Kozma, had a nice long jam about pants pockets that kind of cracked me up.
On the way out, my buddy Domenic and his son gave Molson some more hot dogs.
Nicole asked several months ago if Molson could attend this year’s festival. I couldn’t promise her that he would still be here. But, he is hanging in there. We are trying to stay positive and make sure Molson is getting spoiled and surrounded by people who love him. It was a beautiful day with plenty of shade and a nice breeze blowing through the park. It was perfect for Molson. What dog doesn’t wanna spend a day hanging out in the park with friends, dogs, and food?
#41 – Have a Picnic
When Mister Molson’s story appeared on the local news, it reached a lot of people. I started getting contacted by strangers offering support and encouragement for his adventures. One family reached out to see if they could help. Lauren was watching the news with her 3 year old son when Molson’s story aired. Her son Damion asked if there was anything he could do to help. So his mom looked over the bucket list and found “Have a picnic.”
She contacted me to see if she and her son could take Molson out for a picnic. So, we found a local dog park and met up one afternoon. It turns out she loves dogs and even rescues other animals. She even saved a chicken with a broken foot and gave it a peg leg so it could still walk around. 
They were a nice family and even brought ice cream for Mister Molson. The kids started playing on the playground, blowing bubbles, and checking out the park. Several times, Molson wondered over to the tree line. I’d call him back and then a few minutes later he would wonder back to the tree line. I noticed a trail so I decided we should let him go and follow him to see what he was so curious about. Unsurprisingly, the trail led to a small stream and Molson was in it before we even rounded the last corner on the trail.
He enjoyed some time cooling off and even enticed the kids to get in.
We all splashed around a bit before returning to grab a snack on our picnic.
Lauren and Molson even shared a blueberry muffin.
Lauren and Damion took advantage of the opportunity to get Molson’s autograph as a memory of the adventure.
Mister Molson has shown me how many good people are in our community. These kind of people often go unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life because they are not the loudest. They are not attention seekers. Being a good person doesn’t typically make the news. But these kind of experiences should be a reminder to all of us that our communities are full of amazing people that make the world better. We just don’t normally hear about it.
Thanks to Lauren and Damion for everything you do for animals and for giving Mister Molson another great experience. Any day playing in a park, swimming in a creek, and eating ice cream is a good day for Molson. Heck, its a good day for humans too!
#40 – Become a Lifeguard
While we were at the beach, Mister Molson stopped by the Kill Devil Hills Ocean Rescue Station to make some new friends. All it takes is for someone to say the word “beach” to get Molson in a frenzy. Even at 12 years old, he jumps right up and starts wagging and making circles around us and the car trying to herd us along. He loves the beach! So, we thought he might want to meet the professionals that work the beaches everyday. We all picked up some lifeguard shirts to try to blend in.
It didn’t work very well. Between the pasty legs and incorrect lingo, they immediately figured us out. But, the real lifeguards were very welcoming and even offered Mister Molson a job. But first, he had to get acquainted with the equipment. They showed him around and then let him ride the 4-wheeler.
Then they let him drive the truck.
After getting familiar with the equipment, they assigned him a post.
Molson took his post and began to watch over the beach.
He enjoyed the view and the breeze as he sniffed the salty air and watched all the people and dogs playing and swimming.
Then an emergency happened. Elliot was playing in the ocean and got stung by a peanut butter and jelly fish.
Mister Molson quickly responded by cleaning up the peanut butter and jellyfish residue from Elliot’s leg. It’s one of his favorite treats. Just ask Larry Willis Jr. They share a PB&J sandwich everyday at work.
Elliot quickly recovered and Molson returned to his watch on the beach with his rescue can ready in case there was another emergency.
Luckily, the rest of his shift was uneventful. He returned at dusk just as a storm was approaching and the lifeguard crew got together to thank him for his help.
They even gave him a souvenir rescue can key chain and let him keep the lifeguard shirt.
Thanks to the Kill Devil Hills Ocean Rescue crew for letting Mister Molson work with you for a day. He loves water and especially the ocean. While he would have a hard time riding the 4-wheelers and jet skis, he would love being at the beach everyday. He can’t swim quite as long as he used to, but he probably still has a better chance of passing the swim test than me. Thanks to all the lifeguards that have our backs while we enjoy the OBX beaches, often without the full awareness of all the risks the ocean presents. We count on you and have a lot of respect for you!
#39 – Coach a sports team
A ball game is the perfect way to spend a summer afternoon. So, when an old friend reached out and invited Mister Molson to help coach the team, we were there. Growing up, I played baseball with Chad Rehmeyer for several years on many different teams. I even remember his dad pitching to us when we were in C-ball before they started letting the kids pitch. As we advanced, Chad became a pitcher and I was a catcher. I remember several times when his fastballs made my hand sting. He was also one of the first pitchers in our youth league that was able to throw a curve ball when we were kids. In school, my sister played softball with Dawn Klingenberg, who is now the assistant coach of the Windsor Fire team. It was really cool seeing them coach a kids team and share all that experience they have.
Windsor Fire is a girls under 10 softball team. Several of the girls go to school with Chloe and Elliot so we already knew some of the kids and parents when we arrived.
At the beginning of the game, the teams got together. Chad made an announcement that Mister Molson would be the Windsor Fire Honorary Head Coach for the game. He even presented him with an official certificate.
At one point, Mister Molson even took his position as 1st base coach with Chad while Dawn was at 3rd.
Coaching is hard work. So, Mister Molson spent a lot of time hanging out in the shade with the families and drinking lots of ice water.
He kept an eye on the team and gave Chad some advice from time to time. Some ideas were good, some were not. He told the girls to fetch when the ball was hit and when to run. But, Chad had to tell him that pitching a spit (or slobber) ball wasn’t allowed.
He wondered why the umpire kept reminding everyone that they were throwing a ball. Even Molson figured out what a ball was pretty quick even as a puppy. Yeah, I know that’s a ball. Chad started to explain it to Mister Molson but decided the ball and strike thing was a little complicated and just patted his head and said “I know buddy.” Here batta batta batta…..spring. No seriously, I’m thirsty. There must be a spring around here somewhere. This is a park right?
He did get caught sticking his tongue out at everyone from time to time.
Who has no thumbs and gets to be the head coach? … This guy!
Mister Molson even took a ceremonial trip around the bases.
The game ended in a tie and both teams enjoyed having him there.
Several families from both teams took advantage of a photo opportunity with this famous coach.
Thanks Chad, Dawn, and Windsor Fire for letting us come enjoy this game with you. Mister Molson may be the first dog the township ever let onto the softball field. They gave him special permission to attend since he was the coach. Once again the community pulled together to give Molson, our family, and the girls on the team another great memory.
After the game, an awesome summer shower rolled through to cool things off. Molson appreciated it after all of his hard work.
Ok. Who’s up for some post-game pizza and ice cream?