Horsing Around With the Hodgepodge

Saddle up! Put your feet in the stirrups, secure your cap, get your crop ready, and listen for the sound of the starting gun.

Well, actually, it's neither that complicated nor that exciting to be a jockey here at my Hodgepodge today.  But I do hope you "jockey for a position" in front of your screen and keep reading!

Thanks, Joyce, for once again charming us with your veritable Chex mix of questions. 



1. How many students were in your high school graduating class? Did you know most, if not all of them?

I think it was about 300, and no, I did not know most of them. I  had switched from a small Christian school to begin my junior year (just because I wanted to go to a prom). At that school, I knew everyone. But not so for my public school graduating class.  I knew most of the seniors, some of the underclassmen.  Of course everyone belonged to one clique or another.  Jocks, preps, potheads, nerds, brains, and a vague unlabeled group of people. That was my group.  

2. What was the last thing you photographed?

I took a picture of my youngest child receiving his Excellence in Art award yesterday. (And no, I am not his art teacher!)  His teacher said he has a natural gift for art, is good at following directions for the project, but then excels at making the project uniquely his.  Oh, wait. The wasn't the last thing I photographed. He spent two  hours making a huge Soccer Championship MVP trophy out of cardboard and aluminum foil. He took it to school and at recess yesterday, presented it to a classmate who scored two goals and had one assist. I was really proud of his thoughtfulness, perseverance,  and creativity. The boys in his class are very competitive, but have a keen sense of fairness and terrific camaraderie. They were all very jubilant when the boy who deserved the (homemade) trophy actually won it. They didn't argue about it.

3. Pickles-love 'em or loathe 'em? If it's love,  what's something you eat that needs a pickle?

Hmm. I neither love nor loathe pickles.  I have to be in the mood for a pickle, and when I am, I  crave them. Bread and butter pickles straight out of the jar remind me of my grandma's canned pickles.  A dill spear is the perfect accompaniment to a grilled cheese sandwich, and I love chopped sweet pickles in tuna salad.  

4. What's a stereotype you seem to perpetuate without meaning to?

Women drivers.  I sometimes drive "in a daze," cut people off as a result (not on purpose), parallel park a good thirty inches from the curb and forty feet from the car behind me. (My depth perception rots.)  

5. Ever been horse back riding? If so is it something you enjoy? If not, do you have any interest? Did you watch the Kentucky Derby? Will you be watching the last leg of the Triple Crown this weekend? 

     My dad, Ben, and Sarah atop Brandy

I love--or should I say--loved (past tense)--horseback riding.  When I lived in Kansas, my favorite horse belonged to a boy named Darren. The horse's name was Chocolate and we got to ride him about once a month or so in the summer.  My friend Barb and I also "borrowed" a couple of Shetland ponies from a mutual friend one Sunday afternoon and took them for a trot through the cemetery when my parents were napping. (I had told them I was just going over to Barb's to play, which was fine with them. I knew they wouldn't be fine with me doing what we'd really schemed up to do.)

If you've  never trotted a wild pony over 102 gravestones on a Sunday afternoon with a very loose saddle, then put it on your bucket list. But put it last. It could be your last day alive.  Sure felt like it might've mine! I mean, if the ride didn't kill us, my folks surely would, and right back to the cemetery we would go. "Here she lies because she lied."

When I was 12, I took riding lessons for a couple of years, and my parents bought us a horse named Brandy (a Thoroughbred-Morgan) who lived for 26 years. She was primarily my sister Andrea's horse (the natural blonde in this picture). Andrea has always been the "horse person" and animal whisperer. This picture was taken when my aunt and little cousin came for a visit when my folks still had the farm, my sister was fresh out of the Air Force, my prepubescent son wasn't fearful of straddling a horse bareback, my daughter was just as precious as ever, and I had colored my hair for the second and last time ever.

About the races: I watched replays of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and plan to watch the Belmont.  I am so praying for I'll Have Another to win the Triple Crown.  So much excitement! I think our nation needs something to get worked up about other than politics. Give us equestrian ecstasy, I say, and this country will be on the right "track' to reform.  That said, I'll have another Republican President for a change, thank you. 

6. What's your favorite 'wedding' movie?

The Wedding Singer was pretty darn funny.  Most wedding movies are too cheesy for me to sit through.

7. What is one 'tourist attraction' in the USA that you'd like to see in person?

Mount Rushmore. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

May I share three random thoughts? Sure, I can. It's my blog.



1. We're getting a new (old) dog on Thursday. More on that later. 

2.  My sister will be visiting us from TX on Friday. 

3.  We must be nuts.