Most people will define me as a very personal kind of person, avoiding the lime light as far as I can , I am also not a conversationalist for that matter, but I can stand up to a challenge. Last Saturday I made an unusual exception to my rather solitary existence and Zorro and I enrolled for a look-alike dog competition. For various reasons I did not expect serious competition, as a matter of fact, I did not even expect more than 3 to 5 participants in my category. White River in Mpumalanga South Africa is a very small town where a majority of elderly people reside. In retrospect, this was my first mistake, to under estimate the sheer volume of entrants from White River and surroundings in my category.
Zorro and I dressed up to resemble the legendary Scottish detective hero, Sherlock Holmes, with my Scottish hat and scarf. I really expected at least, to be called to the podium. This was my second mistake, underestimating the competition.
As Zorro and I was preparing ourselves psychologically to walk the isle, all of a sudden....., out of thin air......, there he was!! The magnificent Batman and his look-alike who confidently and fearlessly strolled passed Zorro and me, displaying his fearless demeanor to every one in the competition in full view, clenching Robbin to his chest as if he was shielding him from potential unfair competition interference. After this exhilaration of being in the presence of one of my super heroes subsided, shock and shivering rushed through my body. I immediately succumbed to this intimidation and came to grip with the fact that I could only compete for second place.
A few moments later when Zorro and I reset our new anticipation to go full speed for second place, and the line-up for the look-alike segment began, Batman and Robbin, was the second contestant pair, walking the isle in front of Zorro and I, the third pair. One may think it is easy to walk the isle. No, for me, it was difficult. Zorro's hat was only attached on his head through two holes at the sides where his ears fit through. He did not like the feeling and kept on shaking his head violently causing the hat to slip off the ears and hanging under his jaw. I had to frequently bend down to re-set his hat on its correct place in stead of focusing on the judges. Although this might have caused us to loose a few marks, I was not concerned to move further down the podium.
I could not see any contestants behind me being third from the front, for it would be considered totally improper to openly and blatantly access the competition, however, I could manage to make an unobscured 25 degree turn to my right to scan the competition. About 15 contestants behind me and towards the back, I noticed an elderly amputee removing his prosthetic leg from just under his knee, and in this state, he remarkably resembled his three-legged look-alike. Whilst they were negotiating the isle I noticed that they both really struggled to walk. In retrospect I am not sure how much of this was self-imposed drama or real struggling. It was so difficult for the three-legged look-alike, that he had to be picked up and carried by a concerned onlooker, almost in tears! At the time I completely missed the psychological impact this benefit had on the judges. Not appealing this significant incident, was my third and final mistake.
The third price was announced, and as expected, neither Zorro and I, nor Batman and Robbin were called to the podium. I was underway to a well-deserved second place, so I thought, my goal for the day, but for the second time that day shock and shivering rushed through me like a tsunami when Batman and Robin was called to the podium to receive the second price whilst the first price went to the amputee and his look-alike.
We were all blindsided and absolutely no-one could believe what was happening! Batman, defeated by an amputee....? This happening was not even the faintest of possibilities on anyone's mind. Even Batman was caught off-gaurd as he turned to me with that well known stare and course voice, almost a whispering, saying " I guess he needs a win more than I"
As for future competitions, I will completely avoid the look-alike category where super heroes are not even sure of a first place and may consider the party trick category where skill is the deciding factor and I will train Zorro to stand and walk on his front legs only.
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