More on Characters at the Park...Food for Thought

Part 1

It was a few weeks before I saw this gentleman again. Actually, I had nearly forgotten about him when he appeared from out of nowhere. Unlike our previous conversation, which had been quite lengthy, this one was only for a brief moment. He handed me a card with the information about his daughter and a phone number.

As I took the card I told the man I wasn't really sure if I was in a position I could take on an apprentice at the moment. His response was, "That's OK, If it worked out, fine, if it didn't, that was fine too." His whole demeanor was that apologetic persona I'd recognized as myself so many years ago.

I got the impression he thought he was somehow putting me out by even asking me to consider the possibility of his daughter apprenticing with me. I felt sad for him in this instant and I wondered about his story. What made him this way? But the man was gone as quickly as he'd emerged. I was left looking down at a business card with most of the information on the printed side scratched off and handwritten information about the mother and daughter on the other side.

I didn't really even look at the information. I just glanced at the card enough to see it was a business card before shoving the thing in my pocket. I did make sure I put it someplace safe so it wouldn't end up on the ground somewhere instead of making its way to my house.

By this time I was intrigued at the prospect of maybe having some help with the horses. God knows I could use some still I had those reservations. Was this something that would work for me and for her? Or was it too much at a difficult time?

I must admit I also wondered what could be behind this man........and his child. There was just something about him that drew me. It was more than that reflection of myself so many years ago. A curiosity, I guess, about what made him that way. I took the card home and put it in my file still not sure if I could deal with this situation or not at the moment.

I have thought about that card many, many times since that day. I thought about having help and what that could mean. I thought about the liabilities and how I needed to protect myself before I made such a move. The other stressors in my life seemed to be building so taking time to figure out some kind of release seemed daunting. That definitely affected my lack of response. As a matter of fact, that right there was enough reason for me to keep putting off making any kind of a decision at all. I would think about it later.

I got caught up in the day to day and didn't think much about that card. Sometimes when it was was late at night or those other brief, fleeting moments when I got a chance to think of something else than my normal stressors, it would creep into my mind. I thought about it when I felt overwhelmed about not having any help but I still didn't act on it. I guess that's understandable considering all that I was dealing with.

About the time I got the card was just about the time that Solidare foaled. I'd gotten some flack on Facebook about the fact I'd even bred the mare. The cruelty of those comments had added considerable stress to everything having to do with Solidare.

Compounding that were the ignorant assertions that Solidare has DSLD and the implication I was an irresponsible breeder. My integrity as a person and as a breeder of Arabian horses is very important to me. The fact that such comments were made on Facebook was frustrating because they were not based on fact yet tossed out there with little regard to what kind of damage they might cause. I felt compelled to deal with the ignorance knowing full well that people will believe what they want to believe. It doesn't matter to some what the truth is only that they can throw stones. It was not a good time.

Then show season started and I was off to Daffodil Horse shows are their own kind of stress but this year there were more issues than showing added into the mix. Between the parties of the lawsuit and those Facebook commentors, I struggled with feeling like I was in enemy territory. Thankfully I managed to bump into a number of old friends and renewing those relationships helped ease my discomfort. Still there was not time to think about that card or the man behind it.

Next I was on to the Morgan show. I came home from there only to discover that financially we had slipped another notch. The pressure was on to cut down on the number of horses I own so Faye went off to Wyoming That was supposed to relieve some of my stress. Yet it turned out to be a source of stress I never would have guessed. Things just seemed to be getting tougher and tougher so that card stayed right where it was in my file. Still............I wondered about it from time to time.

To be continued.........................

The Discovery

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