Riding @ MindSay

^{Sorry I have been so out of touch, but stuff has happened as it always does.}

^{I finally got my official Certification as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor from NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association)  I may be the first person to qualify as a Instructor with Multiple Sclerosis.}

^{Another example of what we can do when we really want it!}

 

 

I was introduced to 24-hour mountain bike racing over the weekend at the 24 Hours of Big Bear race held at Big Bear Lake Campground in West Virginia.  I didn't ride in the race, I just camped out with some friends who rode.  It's impressive!  The course was about 14 miles long over some very rough, rocky, muddy, wet terrain.  The team I was there with consisted of 5 people.  It works as a relay, and when the 5th person finishes, the 1st goes back out again.  Three of the riders rode 3 laps while the other two only got 2 in.  They go all night with headlamps and everything. 

 

I rode the course on Friday when we got there.  It was hot, and I hadn't ridden more than 8 miles yet this year.  It took me over 3 hours and I got severely dehydrated, to the cramping point (even after emptying my camelbak).  My buddy rode his third lap in 1:27.  Granted, he's been training hard, but that made me feel pretty inadequate, haha. 

 

The really amazing thing is the guys who ride the race solo... 24 hours with no teammates, and they're riding faster lap times than people on teams.  I guess that's why they're solo, but I just can't imagine doing that. 

 

I ended up being the "official" team photographer.  My new Canon 40D arrived the day before we left, so I had a blast.  I took 127 pictures and it gave me a chance to become nicely acquainted with the new equipment.  I'll post a few pics at some point.

 

One final note, I got stung by a yellow jacket.  It's the first time I've ever been stung.  It barely left a mark.  Nice to know I'm not allergic to stings!

 

“You lookin’ for something son, or just hopin’ to get lucky?”  My dad was a full blood Lakota Sioux, and seldom said anything that he didn’t want to talk about.   Now that will sound funny to you, but it means he never made small talk. He spoke to be heard and to get answers, and took particular delight in ambushing me, one of his favorite games. Sons were made for a father’s entertainment and he’d waited till late in life for me, so I was constant moving target.

 

My dad’s point was to get me to figure out if I was just hoping for an opportunity, get lucky, or if I had planned out what it was I wanted and was working towards it, not counting on luck.  Then he’d say that it was a good thing to always work, keep working when you didn’t exactly know, but never forget to ask yourself what was it you really wanted to get out of it.

 

My mother, always, had leftovers, perfect for snacks, there in the refrigerator. Cold ham and biscuits, or cornbread and beans, sausage patties, jello, cobbler . . . something.  I was 10 or 11 at the time and I’d come in and walked straight to the refrigerator, opened the door and was staring.  My dad was sitting at our kitchen table with an afternoon cup of coffee. Our table was light green vinyl top, with white swirls, chrome edging and legs, matching chairs. Common in those days, and popular “retro” remakes now days.

 

“I’m hungry“ I answered.  I was still looking, but I was “letting the cold air out” and the clock was ticking. I wasn’t too hungry until I saw sausage patties and drop biscuits. Now I was hungry. Now I knew what I wanted. I was lucky.

 

 

Rita and I walked outside from the dance floor, she just followed on my arm to my truck. “Let me have your phone”  She walked a few feet away and from the softness of her voice, I could feel she was happy and was making an arrangement or two to come with me.  She got in on my side and snuggled up. I was just barely smart enough to keep my damn mouth shut, and just put my arm around her.

 

The weather was changing and a cold front moved in, there was rain off the ocean, causing fireplaces to be lit all along the coast.  She had me pull in to Ralph’s Grocery and gave me a quick list of food to buy while she went over to the pharmacy next door. She came back, smiled (I smile back, clueless) and looked to see what I had in the cart.  She took me back, put some of the things back, got different brands and then we went to the meat counter and bakery.  She put in our order. I stood there. She left and brought back wine and patted me on the shoulder as I took the wrapped meat and paid.

 

I put the truck in reverse and turned my head to back out. I got a kiss I’d been wanting and just left my foot on the brake half way out into the parking lot, damned, if I was going to move. I got a second one, she put her head on my shoulder and 5 minutes later we were home. She had me build a fire while she put the groceries up. She told me which wine to cork while she went into the bathroom with her purse. (Never understood why women always did that??) 

 

The weekend passed in one long wonderful moment and three rainy days. I don’t really remember breathing regular.  Monday morning, and I couldn’t figure out . . . what.  So I helped cook breakfast.

 

I don’t remember what happened after that. I was in the truck, pouring coffee and found myself “down the road”.  I picked up the schedule and just began at the top. Not an easy client, but okay.  Days off take a toll on me and I don’t like getting back to work. I break things down to simple components; “get in the truck and arrive at destination”. Like a good workout routine, I start with simple stuff, basics and move on. 

 

My dad was a professional trucker, and drove every rig ever made. Before he met my mom, when he didn’t have a home, he tried logging trucks, oilfield rigs, explosives, military, even an ice highway.  What others found a simple back-and-forth existence, to him it was an adventure where he could make money to live on and eat good. That was “two out of three” and later when he provided for his family, that was “three for three”.  Throughout my career I’ve sought out things that I found challenging, frustrating, and there were more than a few times I thought, hopeless. But always things that I wanted to try and enjoy doing. I was that much like my dad.  

 

The rides were a good mixture of work and reward and I drifted, disconnected and enjoyed myself.  It was early afternoon the next thing I knew. The wind changed, the cold air settled in and I looked up to see if the moon had risen before sunset. If the moon rises before sunset then the bright side points west all night and if the moon rises after sunset the bright side points east. I was distracting my thoughts. It was the end of the day, shower, dinner and my mind was on rainy days, giggles to jokes (on me) that I didn’t get and a tenderness I’d forgotten.  

 

I decided to ‘think about it’ and go for supper at the Maverick, and ‘just see, what’.   I had set at the restaurant, my truck parked where it was easily seen, looking for a refill and still looking at the menu I never ordered from.

 

“You lookin’ for something, or just hopin’ to get lucky Hon?”  Jeanne come up and had the coffee pot poised. Right then the door opened and the cold wet air carried the aroma over to me as she poured.

“I’m hungry . . .”   Then from the other side, long fingers snatched the menu from my hand and Rita ‘plopped’ down in the chair on my left and put her feet up, tossed her braid back over her shoulder and shook water everywhere. Mostly over me.

“While he’s thinking. I’ll have fish and chips large order well done. Put the fries on a large platter, and extra tartar sauce . . . a salad, blue cheese, and some shrimp. Do you have shrimp? An order of shrimp . . . calamari if you don’t have shrimp, but that’s what I want. Large platter of fries.  He’ll have the chicken fry, cream gravy and fries. He likes coleslaw, biscuits  . . . even if they’re from this morning instead of the rolls.  Two iced teas, and I’ll have the cobbler after. Do you have berry? Or what?  Anyway the cobbler and I’ll let you know about a la mode, maybe. Butter, he likes butter. OH!  Ketchup, in a bottle. My own bottle. Not those damn waste-all-my-time-packets! Okay. That's it. 

 

"Wait"

 

Have you eaten since breakfast this morning?  She looked at me. Jeanne looked at me. The guys at the next table looked at me.

“no”

“Uhhh, two no three soft boiled eggs then and bring them with the shrimp . . . do you have shrimp or not?  Bring that as an appetizer while the order is getting ready. Bring the biscuits and butter now too. But if you don’t have shrimp then bring the calamari now. K?

 

“Yes, we have shrimp, and, I’ll put a few calamari in with them in the basket. Extra tartar sauce and the eggs will be here right after. Jeanne and Rita shared a smile, Jeanne looked at me and shook her head and took the menu with her.

 

Rita smiled, her eyes glowed. She reached over and took my hand and leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “I love that confused look of yours. It’s so, natural.” And I got another kiss on the cheek. Then the food arrived.   

 

I sat there, unbelievably thankful. I didn’t have to ask, or explain or put my foot in my mouth.  I just wanted to get a notion of where things stood. Was it one time or was it the start of something. Rita had caught me ‘lookin’ in the refrigerator’.  I didn’t know until that weekend, hadn’t thought about it. But once I did, I was hungry. And then I'd been asking  myself all day, what was it I wanted?

“I want to see where this goes.”  I said, courageously, and shutting up.

She settled it, nodding and smiling, just as the shrimp and calamari showed up.

“I’m starving! I’ve got a few things to do tonight. Arrangements and stuff. Why don’t you pick me up tomorrow night? Oooh, I’m so sore . . .

 

I looked up and Jeanne was staring at me, the guys at the next table were staring at me.  Rita took big bites, smiled and raised her eyebrows at me. "What?"

Yes, the internet legend is back. I've been so busy for a while that, unfortunately, I had to put my blog on the backburner.

A lot has happened since my last entry (not THAT kind of entry, ya smutty git!), the best of which is that I have acquired 2 new horses. Well, OK, they're ponies. There's a bay & a grey. We've called them Comet & Tango.

Comet is an absolute dream of a pony. He's got the most wonderful nature & he's great with the brats. Tango, on the other hand, can be a right bastard. He's as stubborn as hell and certainly lets you know when he's in a bad mood. The bugger catapulted me a few weeks ago! But he's a gorgeous little horse & I love him to bits.

I won't bore you with all the other stuff that's been happening, it's not that interesting for other people.

Anyway, I'll be trying to post more often again from now on so you can keep up to date with the adventures of the world's most famous beaver.