Turning the page

I changed my "page a day" horse calendar to JAN 7 today and looked at the quote for the 6th, "It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity," Mahatma Gandhi. I would sure be in trouble if that's what pleases God. And it's not very Biblical and would only apply to certain tasks. Just think of all you do where quantity matters; then which work needs the top quality. The best. Think about wiping a sick child's nose. Will you let that poor little snot covered face just fester because you can't do it perfectly and only once ? Or the 5" of snow I'm looking at outside my window. Individually the flakes might all be perfect, but frolicking together they surely are massively magnificent (as long as you don't need to go to the grocery store). I understand the thought behind the quote--do your best, merit matters, excel even in the smallest job, nothing is too small, etc.--but I know that God is pleased with the imperfect effort if done with a loving heart

Telling horse stories

 Our 12 year old neighbor was sitting on the porch talking to Bob when I got home from a nutrition lecture (no one can eat that many fruits and vegetables).  He loves horses, and rides a pony that belongs to someone else, but now is getting so tall he needs to find a horse.  Bob told him I had a horse at his age, so I told him the stories--mostly disaster type, since my horse wasn't well trained, I tied him in our back yard to graze or paid to board him at a farm and then had to catch him in order to ride.  I told him about the trail rides and tying a red ribbon to his tail to let others know not to get too close.  I told him about his unusual, teeth jarring gait, and how he'd expand his belly so the saddle would slide under when we rode him.  Mostly bad memories--I hope I didn't discourage him too much. He fell on me the first week I had him, and I've had back troubles ever since.  He now knows more of my horse stories than my kids. My mother and her sister had horses too one summer when their family visited their farms in Montana (?) or Kansas.   We didn't take a lot of photos in those days (1952); this may be one of the few I have.  I saved my babysitting money to purchase him but the upkeep was pretty stiff for a 12 year old--something like $10 a month for me to board him at a farm near Camp Emmaus. It certainly didn't turn out like the horse stories I'd read as a kid.

This time next year we'll be laughing; a memoir by Jacqueline Winspear

 Our book club met yesterday (via Zoom) to discuss Jacqueline Winspear's memoir.  She is the author of the Maisie Dobbs series, that my husband loves and has read every title on the list.  I've only read a few of them.  Because it was on our 2021-2022 list and he loves her, I bought the book for him as a Christmas gift so I could read it! https://jacquelinewinspear.com/books/this-time-next-year-well-be-laughing/

I didn't find the memoir all that compelling, but what I enjoyed were those memories with which I could identify although I am 15 years older and grew up "across the pond." She is British (now lives in California) and grew up with WWII stories told by her parents and I lived in northern Illinois hearing my parents' stories of the Great Depression.

Two chapters (the book is not linear and each seems to stand alone as if she had written them for a class, and maybe she did) resonated for me--horses and neighbors.  Young Jackie loved horses and wrote about her first encounter in her long relationship, even to this day, with horses.  Sort of like mine.  I remember the day (although not the date) I fell in love with horses.  I think it's memorable because when our family was living on highway 64 in little Mt. Morris I probably never saw a horse except in the movies or in a parade.  My grandparents lived on a farm between Franklin Grove and Ashton, but there were no horses.  When we moved to Forreston in 1946 to a small farm house on the west edge of town there was a fenced 10 acre field right at our back yard that had several horses. I was fascinated; I fell in love. From that day forward I wanted a horse, I dreamed about owning a horse, I drew pictures of horses, I began reading all the horse series like Black Stallion and Marguerite Henry. When I finally got a 2 wheeler bike, it became a horse, at recess during play time I WAS a horse, and when in 1947 we moved to a better home, I became acquainted with the Ranz men, Charlie and Raymond, father and son horse and cattle dealers who had a barn--with horses! When I was old enough to earn my own money, it was saved quarter by dime in my "Marathon" bank (my dad delivered fuel oil for Marathon). How much money can an 8 or 9 year old earn to save for a horse?  By delivering the Rockford Morning Star through the snow and rain, and by babysitting by age 10, apparently a lot. We moved back to Mt. Morris in March 1951, and that summer I babysat for $5/week (a magnificent sum for an 11 year old). Like Jackie's parents, mine had made a promise--I could have a horse if I had enough money. By the time I was in seventh grade I had saved $100.00--about $1,000 in today's value.  I counted several times a week. One day I came home from my babysitting job and there on the railing of our house on Hannah Avenue was a leather, western saddle (not sure about the bridle).  My dad got my old friend Raymond Ranz to look at a horse I wanted--a lovely roan mare my friend Mary Ann owned. He declared her "unsound"-- she had a hip problem which is probably why Mary Ann was selling her. Then dad found a chestnut and white pinto gelding owned by the Orr family who lived a few miles away on the road to Dixon.  I had never seen the horse, but he was bought sight unseen by me, and my dad rode him to our house on Hannah (how he went back for his car I don't know).  And my happy story ends there, because if you ever want to fall out of love with horses, just own one and try to support their upkeep on what a 12 year old can earn!

One of the other stories in her memoir was about her neighbors at the Terrace, one of the places the Winspears lived.  There were the Martins and Jenners who took her to Sunday School (may be the only mention of church in her memoir), Elsie who took care of her own mother, two nosy sisters, the interesting Polly who apparently was a prostitute, Auntie Marion and Uncle Bryn, and Pat and Ken, teachers who had no children of their own. So I immediately wandered back to my old neighborhood on Rt. 64, with the Aufderbecks on one side and the Crowells, Ruth and Earl, on the other. Further down the street were the Ballards, my great grandparents, and the Potters. Behind us were the Rittenhouses, the Zickhurs, the Balluffs, and the Leopolds, plus some others whose names I've forgotten. Mike and Tommy and I would ride our tricycles up and down Hitt St. and around the corner to Mike's house. But I seemed to wander in and out of the houses of the neighbors--don't remember anyone telling me I couldn't. 

 Ruth and Earl had a box of toys that were charming--much more desirable than those I had to share with my siblings.  Ruth made two cloth dolls for me, Blue Doll and White Doll, and I still have White Doll. Earl would actually play with us in the back yard--casting his fishing line for us to catch, although no one could. One of our neighbors was a chicken hatchery, and we were free to walk in and look at the baby peeps, who were just about eye level for a five year old. The Burkes lived across the street and also owned a filling station and auto repair shop.  So I knew women could have careers because Minnie ran the station and repaired cars. Although I didn't know this until she died and I read her obituary, Minnie's brother was married to my Great Aunt. So we were sort of shirt tail relatives.  When Tommy's dad (they lived next to my great grandparents) went hunting or trapping, I'd go down and inspect the skins nailed to boards in the garage.  Tommy's dad had been a famous baseball player, Nelson Potter, so everyone in town knew him. When we grew up Tom was the valedictorian of our class and I was the salutatorian, so we sort of remained friends until his death a few years ago.  He became a professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Thomas_Potter_Jr.  He may have been the smartest man to ever leave our little town.  Ruth died in 1950 when she was about 49 from heart problems--I was devastated, and remember to this day that phone call. Earl died in 1965 and I remember waving to him as I walked past the campus where he sat every day with the other old men when I was in high school.  In 1949, my great grandfather died, and we came from Forreston to attend the funeral.  I met people I'd never seen before--all members of my grandmother's family.

 

White Doll in center 

STORY OF HOPE AND HEALING, UNBRIDLED OPENS IN SELECT CITIES JANUARY 18

UNBRIDLED will open on January 18, 2019. UNBRIDLED tells the powerful story of an abused girl who teams up with an abused horse on a journey of healing. A full list of January 18 opening cities is below; learn more at unbridledtickets.com. ABOUT THE FILM Sarah (Tea McKay) is a 16-year-old girl who is abused, emotionally abandoned and written off as just another hopeless causality of this world. Karen (Dey Young), her single mother struggling with alcoholism, looks the other way when her abusive boyfriend Roger (Eric Roberts) secretly involves Sarah in an illicit sex traffic ring. Meanwhile, Roger toys with Mitchell (TC Stallings), the detective assigned to his case, who is himself desperate to find the missing daughter he believes may be involved in the same abusive circumstances. Convinced she is beyond redemption and unworthy of love, Sarah is sent away from the house that defined her horrors when Roger is finally arrested. At Unbridled, an equine therapy academy where young women like her find hope and healing, Sarah meets Dreamer, a horse who has also suffered abuse and lost all trust in humans. Together, Sarah and Dreamer walk the difficult road to healing as Sarah gets her life back on track. But when Roger is released, he tracks her down at the academy and threatens to derail it all. In the face of every hardship and terrifying obstacle, Sarah finds redemption through the family she rebuilds around her, ultimately learning that love is the most powerful force on earth. Drama / 115 minutes / PG-13 / www.unbridledtickets.com         Cast: Eric Roberts, T.C. Stallings, Dey Young, Tea McKay, Director: John David Ware [member of our church] Screenplay by: Bonné Bartron Story by: Christy McGlothlin, Bonné Bartron Produced by: Christy McGlothlin Executive Producers: Gerald McGlothlin, Troy Buder OPENING THEATERS | January 18 Tucson, AZ — Galaxy Tucson | 100 S. Houghton Rd, Tucson Los Angeles — Galaxy Mission Grove | 121 E. Alessandro Rd, Riverside San Luis Obispo, CA — Galaxy Colony Square Atascadero | 6517 El Camino Real, Atascadero Colorado Springs, CO — ICON Colorado Springs | 1818 Spring Water Pl. Chicago — Emagine Frankfort 10 | 19965 La Grange Rd., Frankfort Detroit, MI — Emagine Royal Oak | 200 N. Main St, Royal Oak;      Emagine Hartland | 10495 Hartland Sq., Hartland St. Paul, MN — Emagine White Bear | 1180 County Rd. EE, White Bear Township Minneapolis — Emagine Lakeville 21 | 20653 Keokuk Ave., Lakeville;      Emagine Rogers | 13692 Rogers Dr., Rogers; Reno — Galaxy Victorian | 1250 Victorian Ave., Sparks Las Vegas — Galaxy Cannery | 2121 E. Craig Rd., North Las Vegas Austin — Galaxy Highland | 6700 Middle Fiskville Rd. San Angelo, TX — ICON San Angelo | 2020 N. Bryant Bl. Filmmaker John David Ware, producer Christy McGlothlin and select cast members are available for interviews; a screening link as well as press kit, images and poster, are available upon request. Contact Lisa Trifone (lisa@11thstreetlot.com or 317.362.5378) for materials, interview availability and screener access.  ABOUT CINESPOTS Founded in 2005, Cinespots is a Silicon Valley-based film-distributor that delivers content that allows exhibitors to serve their local communities. ABOUT MOVING VISIONS ENTERTAINMENT Founded by UNBRIDLED producer Christy McGlothlin & Gerald McGlothlin, Moving Visions Entertainment is committed to creating and distributing visually appealing, emotionally captivating and utterly unforgettable feature films with wholesome, uplifting messages. ###

Robert Bruce wins the Arlington Million

  My Canadian cousin reported this in her Christmas letter.  I didn’t know there was such a horse and this was reported in Bloodhorse magazine.  https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/229006/robert-bruce-rallies-to-arlington-million-victory?

Inside library story. We used to get a subscription to Bloodhorse at the veterinary library at OSU where I was the librarian, but didn't catalog it. One day to clear the shelf I put about 2 years on a small table outside the library with a sign, "Free to a good home." Someone put all the magazines on the floor and took the table.

They were wrong about the horse

At one time the horse was a machine essential to truckers and transportation, farmers and taxis. 100 years ago it was predicted that the auto would replace the horse, and it did as a draft animal, but there are over 9 million horses in the U.S. now, up from the approximately 3 million in 1960, but down from the 25 million 100 years ago. At the turn of the last century it was predicted that the auto in 100 years would be cheaper than a horse--now that didn't happen.

http://www.americanequestrian.com/pdf/US-Equine-Demographics.pdf

http://www.theequestrianchannel.com/id3.html

Bubba visits Karen in hospice

       

Karen Krahn of Cudahy, Wisconsin joined the Madison Police Department in 1995 after earning her bachelor's degree in Biology at UW-Whitewater, and in 2002 was promoted to Sgt. In Dec. 2011 she was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that attacked her lungs and bones, but fought back and returned to work in July. On May 9 she retired, and is now in hospice. I am sure this visit from Bubba was thoroughly enjoyed. (info from the Madison Police Blotter concerning an award she was given)

Bubba is an 18.1 hand high 2,000 lb Percheron/Clydesdale who works in the Madison Police Mounted Horse Patrol.  These horses have a small, but mighty volunteer group that posts about their activities on Facebook which is where I got the photo.

http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/blog/?Id=1018

Friday family photo—my horse

Not mine—but cute.

              

Just me and my horse, 1952, on a trail ride.

Listen, Sparky. . .

Little ones in the news

What would you have named the baby Clydesdale from the Super Bowl ad? Budweiser got over 50,000 suggestions. Winning name is HOPE. Her mother is Darla who was taking over the photoshoot (baby was sleeping).  Somewhere I saw that this ad was designed to grab women; I think it worked, that and the farmer/ Paul Harvey ad are the only ones I hear my friends talking about.  I’ve still never had a beer.  Smells awful.

Noticed a story on Fox News about a 6 year old girl who took her mom's car so she could visit her dad, who she missed. Hit a few cars and bushes (lots of snow on the narrow streets). No comment from the talking heads on the parents who apparently weren't together nor paying attention to visitation requirements. Actually, that and not car theft by kids, is the big break down in our society.  It was a Mercedes, so maybe mom was a baby momma of one of the NFL players.

World health rankings are distorted (and often used for political purposes, IMO). Infant mortality, for instance. "Doctors in the U.S. are much more aggressive than foreign counterparts about trying to save premature babies. Thousands of babies that would have been declared stillborn in other countries and never given a chance at life are saved in the U.S. As a result, the percentage of preterm births in America is exceptionally high—65% higher than in Britain, and about double the rates in Finland and Greece."

Wall St. Journal article

Ten Ways To Get In Shape To Own A Horse

I don’t own a horse, but saw this on the Facebook page of someone who has three.

1. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don’t pick it up right away. Shout “Get off,stupid! Get off!”
2. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice “Relaxing into the fall”. Roll lithely into a ball, and spring to your feet!
3. Learn to grab your checkbook out of your purse/pocket and write out a $200. check without even looking down.
4. Jog long distances carrying a halter and holding out a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you’re doing.They might as well know now.
5. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling it to a halt. And smile as if you are really having fun.
6.  Hone your fibbing skills. “See hon, moving hay bales is fun!” and ” I’m glad your lucky performance and multi-million dollar horse won you first place - I’m just thankful that my hard work and actual ability won me second place”.
7. Practice dialing your chiropractors number with both arms paralyzed to the shoulder, and one foot anchoring the lead rope of a frisky horse.
8. Borrow the US Army slogan; “Be all that you can be’…(add) bitten, thrown, kicked, slimed, trampled.”
9. Lie face down in the mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself: “This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience,…”
10. Marry Money!

The Tennessee Waltz

This song, the B side of Boogie Woogie Santa Claus,  is forever associated with Patty Page, who died New Year’s Day.  Page was the top-selling female singer of the 1950s with more than 100 million records.  It tells of a love lost to a friend, who danced the Tennessee Waltz with the singer’s lover.  It was written by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart in 1946, but was made famous by Page in 1950.

In 1950, I wasn’t listening to too many pop tunes, although I’m sure I heard them in the background on radio.  But I do remember hearing Tennessee Waltz around 1950 when riding in the horse truck with Charlie Ranz.   He sang it. Silly me.  I wanted to actually hear the Tennessee Waltz, not just a song about the Tennessee Waltz, and asked him if he knew THAT song.

 

Summer 1950 on a gray pony with Charlie Ranz with his truck in the background. Sweet memories of a dear man.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57561785/patti-page-remembered-by-george-jones-charlie-daniels/

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/01/02/tennessee-waltz-singer-patti-page-dies-at-age-85/

The All American Quarter Horse Congress

Here in Columbus we can visit/see a spectacular event for the next three weeks that brings in millions to our economy--the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As of mid-September  the 2012 Quarter Horse Congress had a 9 percent increase in regular entries over 2011, with 18,268 entries, compared to 16,742 at this time last year. This number doesn’t account for late entries made during the event.

It's almost laughable to imagine what would have happened to this money maker begun in 1967 by a small county horse organization if the federal government had imposed on it the subjective ideas of "distributive justice" or "sustainability" or "affirmative action." Yes, it is subject to probably thousands of rules from codes for barns and food safety to labor laws, but the government didn't build it, can't build it, but Americans working together can. Load up the car--the ticket price is per carload.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/10/05/saddle-up.html

                     

Northstar

We watched a horrible story on 10TV tonight about a horse that had deliberately been set on fire. He’s being treated at the OSU vet clinic and an anonymous donor is paying for his care and many people are making donations. The video was just awful. Did you know that fetuses are burned this way until dead so they can be aborted? Some are dismembered, removed piece by piece and struggle to live until they are stabbed in the brain. And you support abortion at anytime for any reason like our President?

Question: What was your favorite book growing up?

Norma: Any book with horses. I loved the Marguerite Henry books--especially the illustrations by Wesley Dennis. I still have my King of the Wind, with the book cover intact. I could put myself right on those ponies or horses. However, for cuddling with mom in a big easy chair, it was Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House series) hands down. She was a great reader, and I could also picture myself in Laura's life. Like this author, I didn't own any Wilder books (used the public library in Forreston and Mt. Morris), nor was I a fan of the TV series. It was a wonderful surprise in the 1990s when I was doing my research for publication on women and farm journals to discover her life as a newspaper columnist.

Leave a comment or send an e-mail, and I'll add your favorite (without your name if you prefer).

My caballo is prettier

Their "caballo" (art horse)


My caballo (horse art)

From Dick Blick web catalog

"Made of oak and handcrafted in the USA, the Caballo is a bench and an easel in one. It folds easily for travel or storage — its attached wheels and poly straps make it easy to move anywhere.

When you're ready to paint, just unfold the Caballo, and you've got an instant studio space complete with a place to sit, a supply drawer, a storage compartment, and a sturdy easel for sketching or painting.

Perfect for working on location, it's also a great space saving solution for anyone who has to share "studio space" with the rest of the family."

It's new notebook time

I've loved my Barnes and Noble lined 6 x 9 journal, with a sewn binding and a cover photo by Mark Barrett. He must be one of the most fabulous equine photographers in the world. I began this notebook on November 1, All Saints Day, and today turned over the last sheet.

Stock Horse Photography Library

Update on Pinky

I've now added Pinky's photo sent by a member of his family to this entry, which updated this entry. Pinky the pony taught several generations of children how to ride.

Pinky and the Sauerkraut Queen

About two years ago in one of my Monday Memories posts I wrote about how horse crazy I was as a child. In that story, I told about Pinky, a fat white pony who was blind. I've now heard from two other women, a bit younger than me, who knew Pinky. Luann found the blog because she was the last Sauerkraut Queen of Forreston, Illinois in 1960 (which I had blogged about), and Carol, because her family owned him. Carol writes:

Pinky was not an albino, he had brown spots. You probably don't remember but he had a spot on his back about the size of a saddle. He lived to be about 30 years old. He was the BEST. I'm glad you are making him famous, he deserves it. Many children learned how to ride on him. My folks got him when I was a year old and use to turn him loose in the house yard with me on his back. He was my babysitter.

Luann, the last Sauerkraut Queen, also learned to ride on Pinky. A great horse with a big heart. I'm hoping someone has a photo.

Update: Here's a photo of Pinky babysitting Carol.



Here's Pinky with a load of kids.

The weather outside is. . .

Snowing in central Ohio. Grab a camera. I've just been browsing Weather Underground and the superb photos posted there. I think you join, and post weather related photos. The horse photo was posted after the December 13 ice storm, and the barn in Missouri earlier by idzrvit (I have no idea who that is, but I just liked the photos). In the search window enter, "ice storm." With some 300,000 people without power don't talk to these folks about global warming.