How to starve the beast and ridicule Limbaugh at the same time….have you heard the one about Limbaugh giving his guide to success in male/female relationships? Wasn’t quite a laced up corset, but almost. If you even need an emetic….
Since we’re talkin’ extinct species…I was going to use the 1880s bison metaphor in the last thread but scrambling way behind and this one is up new, so, here goes:
Are people really saving these days? Back in the 1880s, the story goes, the huge buffalo hunts made the buffalo disappear. Up north they went, insisted the know-nothings of the times. They moved to greener pastures. Alberta or something.
Of course we know the buffalo were nearly wiped out on the great plains. It’s taken decades and dedication to bring back even a representative example.
So when somebody tells me there’s no money in the marketplace because everybody’s bein’ bad boy savers, I say, whoa. There’s no money in the marketplace because there’s no money.
Same metaphor can be applied to Republicans. The species of genuinely reasonable Republicans is endangered. (In our neck of the woods, think Elmer Andersen, Bill Frenzel et al.)
I looked at the list of things the rethugs consider “wasteful” in the stimulus bill. Among them: long-delayed MS river flood control measures, highway/bridge safety-related improvements, and rural poverty alleviation… if these things are “wasteful” then we really shouldn’t bother to have a government at all. Then I looked to see who was objecting? Limbaugh. Limbaugh’s 54% infrastructure, 46% tax cuts “bipartisan” BS plan.
In Arizona, the moderate Republicans are now Democrats, the wingnuts didn’t just push them out, they went after them with Mack trucks and took them out. Actually, some of these former Republicans are very progressive and populist, become active in the Democratic party and even run for office as Democrats……
If Rush Limbaugh is the de facto head of the Republican party by fiat then bring that shit on!
That Ahole needs some serious pushback and has for years. Time for a little Whack-A-Mole for the Repubs.
Stick yer head up and … well you know the rest.
CNN has a Democratic Senator to discuss the stimulus bill ….. OF course it is Kent Conrad who says as the bill is now he would not vote for it. OF COURSE….
Where is the someone who says that all the bellyaching is about 3-4Billion when 800-900Billion are on the table…… OMG pennies for X OMG….. but Kazillion for tax cuts is GREAT….
Suggest you make a “Blog Help” file as I’ve done, then bookmark there-in the link foothillsmike has kindly supplied at #25. That would be one of the only ways to survive on the toobs, except for the many other kind souls here and about. As it is, ’tis a handy way to appear the expert when travelling elsewhere. ;->
Unfortunately, as a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities details, while state deficits are projected to be $350 billion over the next 30 months, the House recovery plan just approved includes only about $150 to $155 billion that can be used to address those shortfalls, meaning that 55% to 60% of projected state deficits will remain.
In perris fashion, I’ve updated my diary about Daschle to note that Nancy Kellifer has withdrawn. Not enough, guys, Nancy’s small potatoes in the scapegoat category and it won’t save Daschle.
May make things worse for him in fact, if one uses the Lily Ledbetter standard. If the woman’s accountable, then the man must be, too.
OMG, Shame on BOTH of us! You for offering, and me for clicking on that link! Haven’t laughed so hard in ages. Hilarious, addictive stuff.
hee hee hee. Sellers was a treasure. Still is, as his memory lives on.
Seriously, Thanks. That and the sun outside today will cure the frumps around here for the day and more! *snerk*
Limpballs leading the GOP is really good news, ya know. As the Obama Administration moves forward and we re-enter an age of knowledge and common sense, they all are looking totally like the knuckle draggers that they are. Limpballs and Palien leading them fits and highlights their lunacy like nothing else ever could. It’ll work for the educated and/or common sense oriented masses everywhere.
hehe
Please DO shamelessly plug anything your heart desires, any time, any place. I like readin’ yer stuff. Helps the rusty old wheels grind proper in this feeble old brain. ;->
OT? Does McConnell indulge in face-peels, or is he REALLY a walking, talking member of the wax museum?! I keep wanting to light a candle for humanity nearby and see if his ‘tox melts. forgive me, i call it as i see it. have no use for the creep in the senate. would that he considered retirement ASAP. they can live on the missus’ gummint lucre, more or less. one would think KStreet’s out. would YOU take his advice on anything under the sun???! eewwwww. s
Per the NYT headlines, Obama’s nominee for Chief Performance Officer has withdrawn over not paying taxes on household help and Holder promises no “witch hunt” to go after crooks on Wall Street. I am so surprised.
No problem. You should’ve seen the hostility I got over at HuffPo when I ran the headline “Limbaugh Pwned by Huckabee.” People were furious.
I once had someone devote an entire blog post giving me shit because I used the acronym “BFF” without explanation. FDL was dismissed as too insider, too cryptic, to obscure for intelligent people to follow.
I guess some people haven’t heard of Paris Hilton.
Barney Frank ragging on bank CEOs. Bonuses. Being stupid. Gosh. Wonder why. Saying Paulson made mistake re how TARP administered. Eight CEOs at Frank committee’s hearing next week. Addressing public anger about all of this. Now taking questions.
Have a good day selise. Thanks for your sharp eye and swift pursuit. Among the pack at the Lake, you’re the champ sight-hound. Think Suluki, fast as lightening, and missing nothing.
Your prowess and determination simply cannot be beat. Woo Hoo!!! ;->
If ya put aside the Shovel, it can really be a lot of fun … did just that with my kids last week, after a huge snowstorm and had Hot Chocolate with marshmallows after …
Well, the good news is: I put aside the shovel, and the sun shines down on the walk.
The bad news is: the “snow” is now 2-3′ ice, and all I was able to do was use a big-daddy garden shovel to chop off 10lb chunks to heave, one by one, off to the side outta the former front sidewalk, so maybe the ice underneath can be zapped by the sun. I guess that’s more productive than heaving shoes at luckyducks.
My 1st thot was correct. This was not fun. After about 70 lb, I promptly managed to think of something else to do with my valuable time, heh. So, here I am.
I hope you are having a grand day today.
I’m having a hard time behaving myself as I watch one person after another who’s far more sensible than I find one bloomin’ thing after another with which to thwack Obama, apparently for not doing what they thought they hoped he definitely should have done once upon a time. Lessee, goin’ on 2 weeks. What IS wrong with that man?
Counsel of the day: Stop at the edge of the woods, be quiet, listen. Then proceed. Same as yestidie. But that’s just for me, the lowly bird-watcher with my head in the clouds.
I find it instructive that Palinoxious the Grate found herself compelled (by others’ advice, critique in the tabloids, her own muse?,?,?) to shut her yap and quietly sneak up the back stairs to the Alfalfa-sprout Pate over the weekend. What does it all meannnnnnnnnnn? I don’t have to know. I have people who do that. heh.
mmmmmmmmm hot choc. & marshmallows! It’s been years!
All us smart people milling around…. Git yer hot chocolate and marshmallows from Petro and have a seat in a circle around the campfire, folks. All are welcome.
Once, at the end of a horse show which went on much longer than anyone imagined it would, we were confronted with cranky beasts (and that’s just the parents!), lots of medium size kids and an equal number of hot, tired, and hungry ponies and horses plus and an hour and a half ride along country roads in the dark, back from the fairgrounds to the home barn.
All of a sudden, the grand handsome, thoroughbred in the crowd yelled, “Enough!” and started throwing a tantrum. He and I knew each other pretty well, so there was just barely enough mutual respect and understanding from which to extract a smidgeon of cooperation from the beast, once I got a leg up. My own horse went home in a trailer, and the farm owner had pointed me to the rearing, snorting bad-boy, who demanded to go first or not at all. At first he was going to do it all backwards – go figure. After he got that out of his system, me cooing at him and stroking his neck, and he backing in circles, threatening to rear and squash sundry items including me, he noticed I wasn’t yelling at him and we agreed, he and I, that we could join forces after all.
All the ponies and horses were lined up behind this seeming maniac of over-wrought horseflesh, and we started off toward home, me on the supposed nut-case in front, responsible advanced riders also at the middle and at the end of the line, and younger riders tucked into the line between. That hot-headed leader settled right down immediately. We hit the road and walked in single file, riding just barely on the berm. When we hit a crossing-place, everyone was told to turn and wait, then cross at once, so-as to lessen chances of having anyone caught in the road if a car might be coming. Such a tactic was made simpler by the fact that it was now dark, and we could see oncoming headlights.
All those equines and kids, all quietly doing exactly what they knew made sense, cooperating. No one was ordered to do anything. The only instructions made were explained, and people cooperated even more – end and middle giving a shout out when they had cleared an obstacle of concern, etc. It became even darker, and I asked all to trust their steeds and simply lie down on their necks without even trying to steer, so they wouldn’t be hurt by low-hanging branches. This group of 20 or so young people and tired, formerly cranky animals worked as one, each quietly following that immediately in front. Not all the trip was along the road. Some was on narrow trails through the woods and fields. Thank heaven it was all level ground.
The most impressive point of the trip for me was when that wonderful, over-stressed thoroughbred came to a cross-way where the trail split. I didn’t tell him a thing, didn’t steer him, and didn’t even urge him onward. He lowered his head, sniffed the ground and checked over the ground at one trail, then paused and looked just as carefully at the other. He then started off again, with obvious confidence in his choice of the correct trail which took us all safely home, at a nice careful pace safe enough for the smallest pony and rider. “Canterbury”, the thoroughbred “terror”, brought us home all by himself, except that he and I enjoyed each other’s company immensely on the trip. He showed infinite patience when I needed to stop him a few times to wait so the whole group could stay together.
“Canter” and I both wanted to go home. He knew how. I did not. He and I cooperated to get the whole gang home, children into their parents’ arms and equines to their warm stalls. Hard to forget things like that.
How to starve the beast and ridicule Limbaugh at the same time….have you heard the one about Limbaugh giving his guide to success in male/female relationships? Wasn’t quite a laced up corset, but almost. If you even need an emetic….
arggh… It’s awfully early for that kind of thought!
Nitpick du jour: Headline repair?
Since we’re talkin’ extinct species…I was going to use the 1880s bison metaphor in the last thread but scrambling way behind and this one is up new, so, here goes:
Are people really saving these days? Back in the 1880s, the story goes, the huge buffalo hunts made the buffalo disappear. Up north they went, insisted the know-nothings of the times. They moved to greener pastures. Alberta or something.
Of course we know the buffalo were nearly wiped out on the great plains. It’s taken decades and dedication to bring back even a representative example.
So when somebody tells me there’s no money in the marketplace because everybody’s bein’ bad boy savers, I say, whoa. There’s no money in the marketplace because there’s no money.
I must be slow on the uptake, but I can’t make any real sense of the posting title as it is written.
All your base are belong to us
DIGG is open
Hey, Jane, thanks. I really enjoyed!
Same metaphor can be applied to Republicans. The species of genuinely reasonable Republicans is endangered. (In our neck of the woods, think Elmer Andersen, Bill Frenzel et al.)
It’s a play on the old web-meme All your base are belong to us.
And it’s twoo, so twoo!
The grammatical error in the headline is deliberate. I’ve seen it often but would like someone to explain the origin.
I would sure love to see someone with photoshop put Limpballs head on a Budda statue.
doh! beat me to it!
{blush} nitpick retracted. I think.
Sooo glad you could explain it; I thought it was merely a W quote.
Thanks, Dusty. Now….back to lurkin’.
that’s because you were kind enough to type out the explanation.
Me, too!!!
Don’t insult the statue.
Oops. Thanks, Eliott. Never said I was very thorough at lurkin’.
Follow my lead. *g*
An insult to Mastodons.
And that *g* thing’s always been a mystery, too. Anyone?
I looked at the list of things the rethugs consider “wasteful” in the stimulus bill. Among them: long-delayed MS river flood control measures, highway/bridge safety-related improvements, and rural poverty alleviation… if these things are “wasteful” then we really shouldn’t bother to have a government at all. Then I looked to see who was objecting? Limbaugh. Limbaugh’s 54% infrastructure, 46% tax cuts “bipartisan” BS plan.
I’m disgusted.
Goodness, you must be enjoying all this much-a-dooo, Jane.
RevBev! Bravo! That’s the best guess I’ve ever seen.
We have a ‘puterjunkie in the household, so I was spared, heh.
Luv the ‘toon!
*g*
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=*g*
Indeed. harumph.
*smooch*
Have seen that usage time and again and *never* knew origin.
In Arizona, the moderate Republicans are now Democrats, the wingnuts didn’t just push them out, they went after them with Mack trucks and took them out. Actually, some of these former Republicans are very progressive and populist, become active in the Democratic party and even run for office as Democrats……
Like Chance the Gardener says: “I like to watch!”
R leaders: Limbaugh, Palin, and Joe the Plumber.
If Rush Limbaugh is the de facto head of the Republican party by fiat then bring that shit on!
That Ahole needs some serious pushback and has for years. Time for a little Whack-A-Mole for the Repubs.
Stick yer head up and … well you know the rest.
Thanks, foothills. I’ll have to bookmark that site. Loved your countdown to inauguration, by the way. Now, seriously, goin’ back to lurkin’.
shameless off topic plug on my latest diary;
team Obama might release torture memos!
Awwww, we will miss you + I’ve got to get outta here…SD was already way ahead on me. Cheers, folks.
CNN has a Democratic Senator to discuss the stimulus bill ….. OF course it is Kent Conrad who says as the bill is now he would not vote for it. OF COURSE….
Where is the someone who says that all the bellyaching is about 3-4Billion when 800-900Billion are on the table…… OMG pennies for X OMG….. but Kazillion for tax cuts is GREAT….
Suggest you make a “Blog Help” file as I’ve done, then bookmark there-in the link foothillsmike has kindly supplied at #25. That would be one of the only ways to survive on the toobs, except for the many other kind souls here and about. As it is, ’tis a handy way to appear the expert when travelling elsewhere. ;->
from the Progressive States Network:
In perris fashion, I’ve updated my diary about Daschle to note that Nancy Kellifer has withdrawn. Not enough, guys, Nancy’s small potatoes in the scapegoat category and it won’t save Daschle.
May make things worse for him in fact, if one uses the Lily Ledbetter standard. If the woman’s accountable, then the man must be, too.
lol…me too.
I posted a link the other day, I’ll try to find it, rush is hated almost as much as bush
will be back with link
OMG, Shame on BOTH of us! You for offering, and me for clicking on that link! Haven’t laughed so hard in ages. Hilarious, addictive stuff.
hee hee hee. Sellers was a treasure. Still is, as his memory lives on.
Seriously, Thanks. That and the sun outside today will cure the frumps around here for the day and more! *snerk*
well, darn it, if the shoe fits…. throw it!
Yer link busted. *g*
all your base are belong to us
it’s from a really old video game.
Our counterpart: Voinowhichaway…. if it costs a dime, it ain’t worth spit.
he pretends uncle georgie, but acts scrooge, to the exact lining up of the pennies and hoarding like a packrat.
conveniently for us, he plans retirement. can’t come soon enuf!
we want dean!
Limpballs leading the GOP is really good news, ya know. As the Obama Administration moves forward and we re-enter an age of knowledge and common sense, they all are looking totally like the knuckle draggers that they are. Limpballs and Palien leading them fits and highlights their lunacy like nothing else ever could. It’ll work for the educated and/or common sense oriented masses everywhere.
hehe
Please DO shamelessly plug anything your heart desires, any time, any place. I like readin’ yer stuff. Helps the rusty old wheels grind proper in this feeble old brain. ;->
GREAT movie, one of my favs!
lol
Thanks!
I used to think I liked Conrad. Seemed sober and thotful compared to r’s during the early bushco run-up to total insanity.
The Rad hath lost his luster, I fear. Too much the cold, iron-clad banker. Too little breadth and heart.
u made my day adie, thanx!
I think we should really push the idea that Rush is leading the Rs. Ms. McConnell and the other R elites in Washington will hate it.
Good Morning Jane and Firedogs -
am way behind here, has everyone seen Labor backed Americans United for Change is expanding their
‘Rush’ to Failure ad campaign ???
sweeeeet
Have you run across Sharon Marko in your Dem life in AZ?
OT? Does McConnell indulge in face-peels, or is he REALLY a walking, talking member of the wax museum?! I keep wanting to light a candle for humanity nearby and see if his ‘tox melts. forgive me, i call it as i see it. have no use for the creep in the senate. would that he considered retirement ASAP. they can live on the missus’ gummint lucre,
moreor less. one would think KStreet’s out. would YOU take his advice on anything under the sun???! eewwwww. sSchumer is on cnbc pretending he’s listening to voters.
OMG, Peter Sellers. Loved Chance.
Obama’s about to come on to announce the Gregg nomination. Why???? I absolutely do not get this.
pray, kind sir. whut be this “u” of which u speak?
PLOP! oops! this is a “tell”, isn’t it?! *g*
Obama’s on TV pretending that his bipartisanship isn’t getting in the way of passage of a stimulus bill.
“Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die . . . .”
hahaha!
i’m not sure schumer shouldn’t be put in the same category as phil gramm.
I always require that my advisors have a chin. :)
He got preempted by Obama.
makes perfect sense if i consider that obama’s politics are close to the republican’s than to mine.
hush child *soothing fevered brow with cool hands*
wait by me at the edge of the woods and listen awhile before plunging on. Maybe we’ll learn sumpthin.
nailed it! u absolutely nailed him. but then, he’s a bloated target.
Coffee kicking in. Random thinking ramped up. Anyone seen Punaise?
a jutted, quivering jaw, faintly applied, won’t do?
come stand by me and we’ll enjoy the spectacle before it melts in the spring sun.
best I could do on short notice. http://www.lindysgraphics.net/rushbud.jpg
no. and he’s needed all over this land. so many punables to be wrung from the cloistered fools in the well of the chamberpox.
Barney Frank on C-SPAN re his committee’s work.
Per the NYT headlines, Obama’s nominee for Chief Performance Officer has withdrawn over not paying taxes on household help and Holder promises no “witch hunt” to go after crooks on Wall Street. I am so surprised.
nah. thick, lunk-headedness doesn’t trump flat-out nasty-mean.
Molly said so, way back when…. *sigh*
Mike, I did one and put the link up, but I guess it’s in moderation.
could it be he’s making it clearer to MSM and the huddled masses that “he tried”?
priorities. entitlement reform is much more important.
not fair to Buddha? i could understand that.
thanks, mods. ;->
you don’t think schumer qualifies as flat-out nasty-mean?
aw, Adie :(
Thanks That is great
okay. i gives up. which one is limp#alz, if u please….?
so many #%$&, so few letters in the alphabet…. *groan*
punaise sighting on jan 30.
Booyah! Thanks, selise.
HEY! U peeked!?! Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!
No problem. You should’ve seen the hostility I got over at HuffPo when I ran the headline “Limbaugh Pwned by Huckabee.” People were furious.
I once had someone devote an entire blog post giving me shit because I used the acronym “BFF” without explanation. FDL was dismissed as too insider, too cryptic, to obscure for intelligent people to follow.
I guess some people haven’t heard of Paris Hilton.
Barney Frank ragging on bank CEOs. Bonuses. Being stupid. Gosh. Wonder why. Saying Paulson made mistake re how TARP administered. Eight CEOs at Frank committee’s hearing next week. Addressing public anger about all of this. Now taking questions.
If I’m what passes for a whistle-blower around here, everyone’s totally safe.
They done’ come much libruller. Faint/feint not. Jest call me “useless lutefisk”.
Paris Hilton…?
Heh. More shades of W. Obama put someone in charge of Commerce who voted to abolish it.
OMG! That’s why we loves u so, ONE of the many reasons anyway.
((((((Jane))))))
Nevah!
thimk deeply. then exhale.
hugh – if you are still here….. michael greenberger to testify on derivative regulation today at house agriculture committee hearing 1pm.
Guess they never heard of Teh Google.
one doesn’t need to know paris hilton – google will do.
lol – owe you a drink!
Hot tea. Snowing here. How about by you?
punaise be just too dang bizzy! Doth he not surmise we be wantin’ some powerful punnin’ just to survive in the trenches here?
pun pun Pun Pun PUN PUN PUN PUN PUN! PUN! 123456oops PUNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
Pretty good article at Truthout. Far as I can tell.
sooooooo, O’s either stoopid as a stump or [?????]
I still be listenin’ at the woods edge.
No need to nudge. I be awake, thankee.
just going to make my last cup of coffee in a sec… snowing here too.
Beats me. The whole Gregg appointment is a mystery.
thanks – that does look good! will read it later today (have to head out the door in a few minutes).
Thanks.
Go Barney Go!
Seriously, you know Wayyyy more than a whole satchel of the rest of us here.
Please keep us posted. Much appreciated.
frank just said we should spend less on the military. finally the obvious.
Have a good day selise. Thanks for your sharp eye and swift pursuit. Among the pack at the Lake, you’re the champ sight-hound. Think Suluki, fast as lightening, and missing nothing.
Your prowess and determination simply cannot be beat. Woo Hoo!!! ;->
bring the potential foe into the tent???
i know nothing. just throwing spaghetti at the wall & making mush mixing metaphors. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Who is she, again?
Fantastic eye, barbara. Thank you! Looking fwd to analyais by eCAHN, selise, et al. What an incredibly tangled web – no surprise? Yikes.
ya know those little “dust-bunnies” that randomly appear in dark corners?
*hands mop thru the toobz*
Have a good day doggies. I gotta go romp in the sunny snowdrifts with my trusty shovel.. less fun than it appears, but must be done…
Adie !
If ya put aside the Shovel, it can really be a lot of fun … did just that with my kids last week, after a huge snowstorm and had Hot Chocolate with marshmallows after …
Great response to your political cartoon, Jane. Let’s have more, huh?
Thank you for standing firm despite all the bashing; you’re one tough lady and I speak for lots of us (all?) here when I say “We appreciate you!”
Hey! Good Afternoon Petro!
Well, the good news is: I put aside the shovel, and the sun shines down on the walk.
The bad news is: the “snow” is now 2-3′ ice, and all I was able to do was use a big-daddy garden shovel to chop off 10lb chunks to heave, one by one, off to the side outta the former front sidewalk, so maybe the ice underneath can be zapped by the sun. I guess that’s more productive than heaving shoes at luckyducks.
My 1st thot was correct. This was not fun. After about 70 lb, I promptly managed to think of something else to do with my valuable time, heh. So, here I am.
I hope you are having a grand day today.
I’m having a hard time behaving myself as I watch one person after another who’s far more sensible than I find one bloomin’ thing after another with which to thwack Obama, apparently for not doing what they thought they hoped he definitely should have done once upon a time. Lessee, goin’ on 2 weeks. What IS wrong with that man?
Counsel of the day: Stop at the edge of the woods, be quiet, listen. Then proceed. Same as yestidie. But that’s just for me, the lowly bird-watcher with my head in the clouds.
I find it instructive that Palinoxious the Grate found herself compelled (by others’ advice, critique in the tabloids, her own muse?,?,?) to shut her yap and quietly sneak up the back stairs to the Alfalfa-sprout Pate over the weekend. What does it all meannnnnnnnnnn? I don’t have to know. I have people who do that. heh.
mmmmmmmmm hot choc. & marshmallows! It’s been years!
Oh dawg, another story.
All us smart people milling around…. Git yer hot chocolate and marshmallows from Petro and have a seat in a circle around the campfire, folks. All are welcome.
Once, at the end of a horse show which went on much longer than anyone imagined it would, we were confronted with cranky beasts (and that’s just the parents!), lots of medium size kids and an equal number of hot, tired, and hungry ponies and horses plus and an hour and a half ride along country roads in the dark, back from the fairgrounds to the home barn.
All of a sudden, the grand handsome, thoroughbred in the crowd yelled, “Enough!” and started throwing a tantrum. He and I knew each other pretty well, so there was just barely enough mutual respect and understanding from which to extract a smidgeon of cooperation from the beast, once I got a leg up. My own horse went home in a trailer, and the farm owner had pointed me to the rearing, snorting bad-boy, who demanded to go first or not at all. At first he was going to do it all backwards – go figure. After he got that out of his system, me cooing at him and stroking his neck, and he backing in circles, threatening to rear and squash sundry items including me, he noticed I wasn’t yelling at him and we agreed, he and I, that we could join forces after all.
All the ponies and horses were lined up behind this seeming maniac of over-wrought horseflesh, and we started off toward home, me on the supposed nut-case in front, responsible advanced riders also at the middle and at the end of the line, and younger riders tucked into the line between. That hot-headed leader settled right down immediately. We hit the road and walked in single file, riding just barely on the berm. When we hit a crossing-place, everyone was told to turn and wait, then cross at once, so-as to lessen chances of having anyone caught in the road if a car might be coming. Such a tactic was made simpler by the fact that it was now dark, and we could see oncoming headlights.
All those equines and kids, all quietly doing exactly what they knew made sense, cooperating. No one was ordered to do anything. The only instructions made were explained, and people cooperated even more – end and middle giving a shout out when they had cleared an obstacle of concern, etc. It became even darker, and I asked all to trust their steeds and simply lie down on their necks without even trying to steer, so they wouldn’t be hurt by low-hanging branches. This group of 20 or so young people and tired, formerly cranky animals worked as one, each quietly following that immediately in front. Not all the trip was along the road. Some was on narrow trails through the woods and fields. Thank heaven it was all level ground.
The most impressive point of the trip for me was when that wonderful, over-stressed thoroughbred came to a cross-way where the trail split. I didn’t tell him a thing, didn’t steer him, and didn’t even urge him onward. He lowered his head, sniffed the ground and checked over the ground at one trail, then paused and looked just as carefully at the other. He then started off again, with obvious confidence in his choice of the correct trail which took us all safely home, at a nice careful pace safe enough for the smallest pony and rider. “Canterbury”, the thoroughbred “terror”, brought us home all by himself, except that he and I enjoyed each other’s company immensely on the trip. He showed infinite patience when I needed to stop him a few times to wait so the whole group could stay together.
“Canter” and I both wanted to go home. He knew how. I did not. He and I cooperated to get the whole gang home, children into their parents’ arms and equines to their warm stalls. Hard to forget things like that.
Thank you for this beautiful horse story, Adie. The harmony between a horse and human cannot be described, only experienced. Been there.