tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post2377140712758183358..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Contest results---not reallyJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-90928278992270506852016-02-08T23:54:49.134-05:002016-02-08T23:54:49.134-05:00Craig, that's definitely not where I thought t...Craig, that's definitely not where I thought that story was going. Yeesh. <br /><br />It's funny, I didn't have too many problems with temperamental horses while I was riding (god I miss it), but both times I fell off could've gone horribly wrong. <br /><br />The pasture I'd practice in had one of those giant electrical towers in one half of it. We'd ride around it, and the grass had a path down the middle, where the tall arches were, but not the other way because the side arches were low enough that you'd hit your head even riding a pony--which I was. Baby Blue and I were cantering around the tower when something spooked her. My trainer was in the barn at the time, so what it was will be a mystery to all but lil Baby, but she darted straight for the side of that tower. <br /><br />She was a little pony, I was a little teenager, and the bar came exactly throat-level at gallop speeds. I half jerked myself out of the saddle in time to miss the bar, hung there sideways for another couple beats, then landed right under the tower while Baby ran off without me. I talked to my trainer, got back on, and the rest of the lesson, Baby was fine. <br /><br />The next horse I rode was an ex-racehorse, and Eddie was a fraidy-cat diva. Get him in the saddle, and he'll freak out about anything you let him. "What's that by my hoof? IS THAT A DANDELION? GET IT AWAAAAY." Of course, he stands next to the damn things every day while chowing down, and they don't bother him none. Wuss. <br /><br />In particular, he shied away from anything we asked him to walk over, like poles. My trainer gave me some advice that because I <i>expected</i> him to freak out, he did. So, I had to act like the poles were just blank ground, and he'd ignore them, too. I tried it, and the next thing I knew, he reared in panic at the sight of it and I was on my back looking up at hooves bigger than my face. I didn't remember falling. And I couldn't figure out how I'd gone from sitting on top of a horse to being on my back on the ground, and what was wrong with Eddie? Again, I didn't get hurt, but this time it was only because my trainer was standing right there and yanked me out of harm's way. I decided to avoid poles for the rest of that lesson. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-23855793029028289772016-02-08T16:27:58.617-05:002016-02-08T16:27:58.617-05:00"So...did you live?"
Classic!
Fun sto..."So...did you live?"<br /><br />Classic! <br /><br />Fun story, Craig. Well, fun once you got to tell it. I imagine for a few hours "fun" was the furthest thing from your mind.John Frainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01702305890462479118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-90374536701584173922016-02-08T15:49:23.859-05:002016-02-08T15:49:23.859-05:00Craig,
Well, I'm sure that got your blood pum...Craig,<br /><br />Well, I'm sure that got your blood pumping. What a great story. Thanks for sharing. So...did you live?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-22498520678949484742016-02-08T15:47:22.259-05:002016-02-08T15:47:22.259-05:00E.M.,
Stormie is a quite the little cowgirl. She&...E.M.,<br /><br />Stormie is a quite the little cowgirl. She's already barrel racing and roping, but I hated to see Snickers go. He was such a sweet pony. My oldest son's two kids have horses, but they are small Quarters, almost ponies.<br /><br />It's a shame you didn't get your dream. I would have liked to have shown. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-6574991076981717362016-02-08T15:33:19.936-05:002016-02-08T15:33:19.936-05:00
Craig....wicked pissah story.
Thanks for the sha...<br />Craig....wicked pissah story.<br /><br />Thanks for the share, made me chortle.<br /><br />cheers Hank<br /><br />(So where are your Buccaneers?) an old joke.french sojournhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262858704848580714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-75097507214956613662016-02-08T15:18:56.313-05:002016-02-08T15:18:56.313-05:00nightsmusic: "what kind of marks it would lea...nightsmusic: "what kind of marks it would leaf"?<br />Thanks for the chortle this morning!Kae Ridwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10356868531870405990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-53314637529303050472016-02-08T14:52:37.428-05:002016-02-08T14:52:37.428-05:00I changed tactics and went straight up the side an...I changed tactics and went straight up the side and onto the top. I made it about seventy feet when there was a massive crack and the truck dropped about a foot. The ice on top had pulled all of the water from the clay. There was absolutely no way I could get the truck out without help.<br /><br />I made my way off the landfill and started walking. Old equipment was buried her because phosphate is slightly radioactive and machinery builds up a charge of it. It was about five miles northwest of nowhere. I started walking because the nearest cell tower was thirty some miles away.<br /><br />I staggered about a mile before looking back. On my trail was a panther. I turned to start walking again and saw another on a low ridge to the side. I turned a corner and there was a third in that direction. An old battery shed left from when a Dragline dug here was between the two on either side. The smell of old sulfuric acid almost denied me entrance but I got inside.<br /><br />Through the ventilation slats I could see that the panthers were hanging around. They didn’t get too close to me or each other. I settled in to freeze to death if the acid fumes didn’t get me first. About three hours later I was awaked by the sound of a vehicle. It was Game and Freshwater Fish Commission truck.<br /><br />A week before they had brought a dozen panthers from Texas. They had put them here so they could get acclimated to Florida before they moved them down to deepen the gene pool of the inbred Florida Panther<br />Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-78788696965846475152016-02-08T14:51:53.088-05:002016-02-08T14:51:53.088-05:00Four score and a dozen Stupor Bowls ago the Tampa ...Four score and a dozen Stupor Bowls ago the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a brief foray into respectability and made it to the Big Game. The party that was the whole block I lived on didn’t really start until the once and future Yucks beat the Raiders back to the Stone Age.<br /><br />But this is a story of aftermaths, not celebrations.<br /><br />I was in the environmental business at the time and I had two industrial landfills to monitor starting in the morning. The problem was that those landfills are within spitting distance of Georgia and I live in Tampa.<br /><br />I started scaling back on the alcohol around 1. At 2 I drank a couple of gallons of water. 3 o’clock began coffee. At 4 I started the truck and headed north. The temperature wasn’t bad but Florida is a different world.<br /><br />At Ocala the temperate had dropped by 10 degrees. It dropped twenty more at Gainesville and another ten at Lake City. It was in single digits north of White Springs.<br /><br />I drove onto one landfill to find the compressor I needed to run an air lift pump was frozen. I moved on to the second landfill where a battery operated pump could work. I could not get the truck to go around the edge of the landfill. It was too icy and the truck kept sliding down toward a swamp.Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-39038133538160618742016-02-08T14:17:44.422-05:002016-02-08T14:17:44.422-05:00FYI: Janet has posted the results:
http://jetreid...FYI: Janet has posted the results:<br /><br /><a href="http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/02/orphan-x-contest-results-yes-this-time.html" rel="nofollow">http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/02/orphan-x-contest-results-yes-this-time.html</a><br /><br />Congrats to another worthy winner! :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-32319570909357286812016-02-08T13:36:01.621-05:002016-02-08T13:36:01.621-05:00Julie- your granddaughter must be so precious and ...Julie- your granddaughter must be so precious and precocious. Wow! <br /><br />I wanted to ride in rodeo. My mom and my aunt had delusions about turning me into a proper Southern lady. My aunt trained riders for horse shows- jumping and prancing in fancy costumes- all English saddle - yuck. Not my thing. My aunt said it would teach me discipline, posture, confidence, and all that. I am sure it would have, but horse shows bored me. Horses, however, I loved. Even the ones I was afraid of. <br /><br /> My dad took me to my first rodeo when I was about six. After that, well, my aunt's pretty, refined horse shows seemed decidedly underwhelming. <br /><br />I never did get to ride in a rodeo and probably just as well. Most of the time I can stay in the saddle as long as horse doesn't make any unexpected moves. This is why I am so fascinated by our Julie Weathers and other cowgirls that frequent this blog. Also, it's why I can't wait to read everything Julie writes. E.M. Goldsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387494005655553037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-50724643691708425792016-02-08T13:25:30.880-05:002016-02-08T13:25:30.880-05:00This is the happiest place I know of on a Monday m...This is the happiest place I know of on a Monday morning, even if we're all just waiting around for contest results. Woodland creatures really are a cheerful lot. =)<br /><br />Hope your Monday is going well, Janet. Hope everybody has a wonderful week.Christina Seinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18411040428007697691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-66214343434635418012016-02-08T13:23:09.178-05:002016-02-08T13:23:09.178-05:00Loved your Quarter mare story, Julie! Not sure if ...Loved your Quarter mare story, Julie! Not sure if I've told this one before, but a friend of mine thought Shetland ponies were quarter horses because they were a "quarter of the size."Karen McCoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02640324898284007337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-71598090126686293472016-02-08T13:12:54.513-05:002016-02-08T13:12:54.513-05:00E.M.
I remember a friend had someone drive throug...E.M.<br /><br />I remember a friend had someone drive through their front window. The car wound up in the living room barely missing killing her son who was playing in the floor. Once the mother realized the boy was OK, she started screaming at him, why wasn't he outside playing like he should have been? Adrenalin I guess.<br /><br />My son bought his little girl the cutest little pony who adored the little girl. Snickers followed Stormie everywhere. Stormie wouldn't have anything to do with Snickers, she would only ride Greta, the Quarter mare. Stormie was four so her legs pretty much just stuck straight out on the mare, but that's what she wanted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-77233482917476426062016-02-08T13:07:34.551-05:002016-02-08T13:07:34.551-05:00Wordwacker/Celia - I got a mention with my first s...Wordwacker/Celia - I got a mention with my first story, although I kinda cheated because it had a shark in it. <br /><br />Craig - yep I wanna read your SB day-after story. <br /><br />Lucie - funerals are hard. My prayers are with you. <br /><br />Dena Pawlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444683810125395220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-61488264319332664682016-02-08T13:04:20.719-05:002016-02-08T13:04:20.719-05:00You know, Colin, I can think of a really good use ...You know, Colin, I can think of a really good use for some wet Kale right now...and food isn't the use...<br /><br />*taps wet kale leaves against thigh...*<br /><br />*wonders what kind of marks it would leaf...*nightsmusichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05984119792540771870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-21049292774404125382016-02-08T13:02:33.430-05:002016-02-08T13:02:33.430-05:00nightsmusic: Oooo... great suggestions! kale, lima...nightsmusic: Oooo... great suggestions! kale, lima, bean, ptuiii, traitor.<br /><br />Wow--you think "diddy" was hard, using "ptuiii" would be nigh-on impossible!<br /><br />:DColin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-41516994108213661622016-02-08T13:01:17.196-05:002016-02-08T13:01:17.196-05:00Julie- I was very afraid of that horse. No doubt. ...Julie- I was very afraid of that horse. No doubt. Always preferred geldings after for reasons that probably have no bearing in fact. My dad told me the trainer saved my life. When I fell into the stall, I was disoriented, wouldn't have defended myself if trainer had not pulled Annie away from me. And she was a big girl. <br /><br />The rest of the horses never bothered me although I preferred the ponies at that age. Annie was a big quarter horse and I was undersized as it was- all knees and elbows as the saying goes. I think my aunt understood the danger - she just wanted to toughen me up a bit, and make sure that never happened again. At least that's how I saw it. My aunt and the horse had approximately same personality in a way. <br /><br />My aunt often says things that sound looney, trying to get the proper result. And I would have worried more about the horse than me. It made me feel guilty, and made me a heck of a lot more cautious in the hayloft after. <br /><br /> My aunt had always told me to stay out of the stalls unless a trainer was with me. I just fell in that day. And I reckon it scared my aunt. Both she and my mom get a bit crazy when they're scared. They both just start yelling and snarling like a cornered beast. I just felt stupid at the time. I was old enough to know better- 14 I think, but I looked about 11. And I do think, if I had been killed, my aunt might have put Annie down or sold her, and it would have killed her to do it. Oh, I don't like to think about that. E.M. Goldsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387494005655553037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-56089727614698906532016-02-08T12:58:38.493-05:002016-02-08T12:58:38.493-05:00Colin! NO! Nonononononooooooo. No. More. Kale!! Ug...Colin! NO! Nonononononooooooo. No. More. Kale!! Ugh. Ptuiii, ikka, ewww...no. <br /><br />traitor...nightsmusichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05984119792540771870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-41047533607568833822016-02-08T12:53:32.029-05:002016-02-08T12:53:32.029-05:00Janet: I think nightsmusic is asking for the words...Janet: I think nightsmusic is asking for the words "kale" "lima" and "bean" to be in the next writing contest. :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-89065508285905890662016-02-08T12:32:28.168-05:002016-02-08T12:32:28.168-05:00E.M.
Your aunt was wrong. Horses, even accidental...E.M.<br /><br />Your aunt was wrong. Horses, even accidentally can be dangerous and a child is probably not going to hurt them. Someone I used to do stories on had a lovely stable of horses. Her nine-year-old daughter went out to look at a new baby before she had to go to school. The girl didn't come back in, so Mom went out to the mare barn. The mare had kicked her in the head and killed her. They looked at video tape later and the mare was just kicking at a fly and the little girl bent down at the wrong time. She was still just as dead.<br /><br />Mom told the trainer to load up every horse on the place and haul them to a sale.<br /><br />Your aunt's trainer needed an attitude adjustment. What you needed was another horse to build your confidence back up. Bullying a child does nothing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-74859618087768130932016-02-08T12:31:00.756-05:002016-02-08T12:31:00.756-05:00R.E. that pissy glare on Maximus;
When we were gr...<br />R.E. that pissy glare on Maximus;<br /><br />When we were growing up in Brunswick, Maine...longer than I care to recall, my sister Sabrina "acquired" a retired sulkie horse. (Maybe you know em as Harness racers.) Brilliant horse, and as stubborn as their long eared cousins.<br />He knew how to manipulate the door handle of a 60's VW bug, in order to get the grain stored in the back seat. <br /><br />One winter morning, Sabrina came tearing into the house screaming. We thought the worst and raced out to the converted garage, stall.<br /><br />There covered with a half inch of snow, stood Lawrence Brewer (The Horse) with it's lips frozen to the garage's door knob. Ears back, sulking at being caught after raiding the VW's grain stash. After a few cups of warm water all was fine.<br /> <br />A few years later, in the winter, we discovered it standing upright in the pasture, dead from a heart attack. We buried it in that spot. (My stepfather ran a construction company, so a huge back how was dispatched.) The apple tree still stands there marking his final resting spot. <br /><br />But that was the look!french sojournhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262858704848580714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-51915970553088994232016-02-08T12:25:48.821-05:002016-02-08T12:25:48.821-05:00Okay, sort of OT but really? I get probably 6 reci...Okay, sort of OT but really? I get probably 6 recipe blogs in my RSS that I peruse once a day if possible, but today? Out of the 15 recipes listed amongst all of those blogs...THEY'RE ALL KALE!!! Seriously? Can we please get past the Kale fascination now? It's way worse than spinach ever was. It's pervasive. It's insidious. It sneaks in and attacks when you least expect it. And it appears to be sticking around for the long haul. <br /><br />I hate Kale. I really do...<br /><br />nightsmusichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05984119792540771870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-89164768972625043102016-02-08T12:12:52.987-05:002016-02-08T12:12:52.987-05:00And Craig, do share your story. I am in a bit of a...And Craig, do share your story. I am in a bit of a stupor bowl today so I could do with a good tale. E.M. Goldsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387494005655553037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-254549283029717542016-02-08T12:11:55.971-05:002016-02-08T12:11:55.971-05:00Lucie- big hugs for this week. Funerals are never ...Lucie- big hugs for this week. Funerals are never easy. <br /><br />Julie- my aunt had a horse like that- by the name of Annie, the pride and joy of my aunt's stable. I used to muck out stalls for her when I was a kid. One day, got surprised by a snake in the hay loft and fell into Annie's stall. Dang mare kicked me. <br /><br />One of the trainers showed up in time to stop Annie from trampling me. I ended up in hospital with a concussion and some cracked ribs. My aunt fussed at me for being so clumsy (and I was). She railed that I might have hurt the horse. Well, I think the horse did more damage to me than I would have ever done to her. And what's more, Annie knew it. I swear that mare giggled every time I was near from then on. <br /><br />Annie glared like a thing possessed whenever I approached her. I think it delighted the trainer to see me start shaking when she'd tell me to saddle Annie on up after that. Ah well. I suppose there was some lesson learned there. When the mare died, I think more people showed up for thar horse's funeral than most of my relatives funerals. She was an ornery old nag, but I don't think my aunt loved anything more in her whole life than that beautiful chestnut mare. And she was a thing of beauty. E.M. Goldsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387494005655553037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-17285171664131804072016-02-08T12:09:53.402-05:002016-02-08T12:09:53.402-05:00Craig,
Of course we want to hear it.
JulieCraig,<br /><br />Of course we want to hear it.<br /><br />JulieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com