Shocked!

I opened my email this afternoon to find what I thought was the strangest email ever! With permission of the author, I'm posting it here: Gaylen I apologize that your experience with regard to the Seafair Pirates was not an enjoyable one. I must apologize on behalf of the Pirates for our part in that, but I would also like to explain. First, I will tell you most of the Pirates are pet owners and you will never go to the Pirates office without seeing at least one dog and a bird in attendance. We are animal lovers too! Because of this, we have a long standing policy which is printed and sent out with each application and/or press information packet regarding the distance between our ship and any units with animals. This is sent to each and every Parade committee. The Seafair Pirates were founded in 1949 and we have attended over 240 scheduled functions in 4 countries last year alone. Because of that, we are what some would consider experts in the Parade Business. On Saturday, when we arrived in staging, I was informed that we were goi ng to be number 16 which put us only five units behind the Basset Brigade. I specifically inquired about our placement out of my concern for your group. I requested that we be moved and agreed on number 33 A, which would have created a much better cushion between our cannon and your dogs. Unfortunately, this was overruled by someone on the Parade committee. At this point, I do not know who but have every intention of finding out. Once we determined that we could not change our position within the parade, we improvised the best we could. We created a significant space between ourselves and the unit ahead of us and we reduced the amount of powder in the cannon to decrease the noise without disappointing the rest of the spectators. Additionally, after the Reviewing stand, we did not fire at all - observing a no blast zone purely out of consideration for your group. It is my hope that you will forward this on to the organizers of your group. When this event is in its planning stages next year, I would be happy to be there to give our input. We firmly believe that all who attend community events should enjoy the experience. That is our goal. We understand that not all people can be pleased, but we do have a responsibility to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. This is not a difficult fix. I was present at the first All Fools Day Parade as were the Pirates and have been a Woodinville resident for 25 years. I hope this gives you a different perspective and understanding we are on your side. Piratically Yours, Mark J. Director of Public Relations/Promotions Seattle Seafair Pirates I responded to Mark with the following email Thank you so much for your response. I'm not really upset with the Pirates that's what pirates do and the canon did sound quieter than it does at say the Lake City or the Brier Parades. We attend both every year. Lake City without Dogs and Brier with. More I was just commenting on what a big baby my big dog is. Beau - the poor guy who was so scared - is a 3.5 year old bloodhound who weighs in at 105 pounds. When scared and trying to run, there's not alot I can do to stop him. Would you mind if I posted your reponse to my blog. I think it's wonderful that you thought it important enought to email me about. Thank you. To which Mark finally responded: Gaylen I'm glad to hear that all is OK. . . . . Feel free to post the original response and if Beau ever gets the he doesn't have to listen attitude feel free to use the pirates to threaten him with. Thanks hope to see you at Lake City. Wasn't that a wonderful dialog. I'm still just shocked that he would (1) see the reference to the SeaFair Pirates on my blog and (2) to actually care enough to send me a message making sure my boy was okay. Now - back to regularly scheduled sewing.