Uncontrollable Laughter #2

The Texas State Fair is a special place full special people and special things to see. If you’ve been to the state fair, you know exactly what I mean when I say “special”. If you have not been to the state fair, there are no words I could use to properly explain it to you. Not surprisingly, my most recent fit of uncontrollable laughter happened at this special place just yesterday. When you think “state fair,” you probably envision corn dogs, rickety trill rides, fried everything, and lots of camo. What you probably wouldn’t think of is a dog show. Well that's exactly what my $17 general admission ticket to the infamous Texas State Fair gave me access to- a dog show. Obviously, I had seen glimpses of dog shows on TV, but I would have never imagined myself actually attending one. Thankfully, I did go. This dog show, however, was not the classy act you see on animal planet with dogs that are more well kept than you are. This dog show was catered to the likings of state fair enthusiasts. So, what does that mean? It means that I got to witness a 50 something year old woman in a red and gold sequined pantsuit perform a choreographed routine to “Gangnam Style” by Psy with her dog. Please, let that sink in. If you’re having trouble picturing this, don’t fret, I saw it in the flesh and am still not really sure I believe it happened. Within the first five seconds of the performance I was laughing uncontrollably. That dog can dance better than I can. The dog and its owner were rolling, jumping, hopping, and grooving all over that floor.  First, she did the Gangnam Style dance with the dog between her legs. Then she proceeded to roll over repeatedly in sync with the dog. The dog zigzagged through her legs and even jumped over her while she held a bridge position on her elbow and toes. At one point she “Simba-ed” her dog, meaning she held him up in the air and spun him around. Animal cruelty? No way. I’ve never seen a dog look so happy. Dogs can in fact smile and that was the biggest dog smile I’ve seen to this day. Honestly, it’s a miracle I managed to see the show through the tears of laughter. I was with three other friends who all had similar reactions. By the end we were all clutching our stomachs and breathing like we’d run a marathon. The best part is, I haven’t even gotten to the finale yet. For the grand finish, the lady in the sequined pantsuit had something extra special planned. Right on command, her dog leapt onto her back piggy back style and stayed there while she continued to Gangnam Style. I have opposable thumbs and I don’t think I could have hung on during that dance. That dog was on her back like that for at least 15 seconds of constant movement. At this point I couldn’t breathe through the laughter, but that still wasn't the end. For their very last trick, the dynamic duo had two more dogs come onto the floor and they formed a conga line to exit. All three dogs were up on their hind legs leaning on each other and hopping off of the floor while connected to the woman. It was the ultimate finish to what was potentially the weirdest thing I have ever seen. None of us stopped laughing throughout the entire show. In fact, it took us at least 5 minutes after the show to stop laughing and finally catch our breath. As far as our class in concerned, I think the Incongruity Theory would best explain why we laughed at this little performance. I’ve never seen a dog do anything like that my life. I’ve never seen a 50 something year old woman do anything like that for that matter. For as great as I like to think my imagination is, I couldn’t have made that up in my wildest dreams. And with that, I hope you sleep better tonight knowing that there is a woman out there who dedicated a significant amount of her time to teaching a dog how to Gangnam Style.