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January 10, 2015: The Best Laid Plans

I have a long ways to go. I was once told that I’d be a late bloomer. Problem is, it’s getting late and have not yet bloomed. And I may never bloom. Some people don’t. Some people do. In the great scope of tings, all our lives are incredibly short. Read a writer’s entire life work, and this becomes woefully apparent. It takes a lifetime to develop a particular style. Give a writer two lifetimes and they would most likely feel at liberty to veer off into unexpected directions. Few do, mainly because of the perceived time constraints. Given that this is a truism, art in general needs to be looked at collectively. So and so wrote this, and so and so wrote that. Everyone



contributes what they can to the collective conversation.

I have considered other career options, and at times have veered off the writing path. For instance, a few years back I took an introductory math course, thinking that in time I might go on in veterinary medicine. Dumb idea, for as I later realized, it would take me twenty plus years at the rate I was going to get the required math and science courses out of the way. It was best I then decided, to write about others struggling to understand math concepts. Not all was for naught – I did come up with a few good math related poems, this after discovering that the language of mathematicians is central to how we think.

I am still interested in teaching riding, knowing full well that I could also write about it. But what happened today indicated to me that this isn’t the time to pursue this option.

I’d agreed to work with a friend, an older male, on his horsemanship/riding abilities. I decided in short order that now isn’t the time to hang out the proverbial shingle.

This fellow was to come over yesterday at 1 p.m. I then came up with a plan, and even put together an outline. We were to first do some groundwork using the agility course, then go inside and do some body work, then go for a short trail ride. He showed up three hours later. In the meantime, I worked with my horses.

When finally, this guy did show up, the afternoon lesson had to be abbreviated. In defense of this fellow, a very good friend, he was late because he was having truck troubles. I could tell that this and other matters had caused him to be preoccupied – so much so that he had to borrow a hat and gloves.

He was very receptive to my ideas because he has so much going on that I didn’t have his full and undivided attention. Plans is plans. He, his horse, and I went a bit too fast through the agility course. His mare was very cooperative but I could tell by looking at her eye that she was mystified by the concept of groundwork. Plus, she had not been introduced to our horses.

We next prepared for and went for a short trail ride. On the walk to the trailhead, I talked about doing half halts on the ground, while focusing on one’s breath. Again, this man was receptive, and in fact tried doing this. This, I now realize, was on my part a brilliant idea.

The trail ride turned out to be a bust. The man’s horse moved out, and our horses got all excited. I who have terrible night vision decided to turn back, which I did.

Once back at home, I dismantled the still intact agility course. It then occurred to me that I’d been inundating this poor guy with information. I then decided to relax and enjoy the rest of his visit. He, Pete, and I went inside and the guys drank his home brews. And we all ate his wife’s homemade muffins.

I’ve decided that I’ll continue to work with this guy if it’s something that he wants to do. I suspect that because he now has a lot of things to tend to that I won’t hear from him until spring, if even then. I realized after that in terms of students, that I inadvertently picked a really tough nut to crack. And I don’t have a pair of nut cracker large enough to do the job. So I’m going to wait and see what happens. Best for now to keep working on If Wishes were Horses.

Next: 11. 1/11/15: Organization

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