Perish the Thought ~

I can't say it hasn't been fun ------ because it has! 

I'm boarding up my space on AOL in a week or so (gads, I really AM a pack-rat) and will ride out my cyber-daze (oops -- days) on another connection ....

Fun, fun, fun -- loads of laughs, trying and sighing times were had, no regrets (okokok -- a couple -- but who's counting, eh?), a passle o' good memories, a few tears over the years and many acquaintances (new and renewed) who will forever have positive thoughts sent their way!

And if AIM ever decides to park those zooming car ads in the margin of the screen and delete those blasted pop-ups, I'll likely be around for an occasional IM or two ....

^v^         Fly by http://perishthethought.blogdrive.com sometime (I know -- AOL doesn't like to load it and will probably send you to an "error" page, so you may have to refresh....).   That wild and wicked poker crowd be posting there occasionally!

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Several years ago, I watched a race in which another race horse suffered a leg injury. 

The jockey also stopped the horse, jumped from the saddle and held the horse's front foot until assistance arrived .... That touching scene of rider-tending-to-his-horse has remained with me all these years.

What has remained with me also is the memory of an adopted horse named Brandy.  I met Brandy as I rode through the mountain backroads one Saturday afternoon....  I watched in horror as a drunkened farm-hand was hitting her across the back with a shovel.  I recall turning sharply off the road into a hay field, blowing my horn to distract the drunk.   Obviously disconcerted by a car roaring toward him at full speed, the bastard threw down the shovel and ran. 

Long story shortened -- the police did nothing to the man.  Brandy's owner, unable to care for her, willingly signed her over to me. 

We bonded quickly .... We played "ball" with empty milk jugs hanging in her stall.  She followed me around the paddock like a puppy, never needing a lead, and would turn to nuzzle me during her water treatments and massages ... There was amazing progress, but three months of daily treatments and medication could not stave off the arthritis that developed in her battered body.  Brandy now runs freely and proudly through the meadows at The Rainbow Bridge .... We will meet again.

If you were watching the race Saturday evening and witnessed the horrifying incident when Barbaro's ankle shattered in stride, you likely experienced the anguish and tears shared by millions. 

I'm not a true fan of horse racing, but there are few scenes more elegant than that of a marvelous athlete in full stride (sans whip), gliding toward an imaginary finish line -- not necessarily to win -- but because it is his nature! 

To see that stride "break" because of an injury is a pain that literally rips through your heart. 

All day I have checked the news feeds, praying that this marvelous animal would survive -- not to become a breeding machine for posterity -- but because he deserves to live, to roam at will the pastures and paddocks of the farm he has so proudly represented. 

I continue to pray that the repairs to Barbaro's ankle and leg are sufficient to allow him a full and deserving life of leisure.  He has more than earned his keep.

An athlete "let out to pasture" .... How fitting.   

image from AOL news:  Barbaro post-surgery. 

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An un-favorite image of one of the most controversial pro athletes is of (T.O., aka, Totally Obnoxious) Terrell Owens strutting on the Dallas "star" after scoring a touchdown. 

Now he will play there. 

Applying football terminology (which connotes the physical  violence within the sport and not a wish for physical harm to the individual), somebody shudda re-arranged that guy's head long ago.  Maybe then we wouldn't have to endure his mouth, which, coincidentally, is large enough to accommodate his over-sized cleated hoof.

But I digress.

Will Totally Obnoxious survive in Dallas? 

Can Bill Parcells mold the ego-driven Owens into a team player? 

Will T.O.'s propensity to pass his incompletes to others shatter  Dallas decorum?

I predict that by season's end, Parcells will give owner Jerry Jones an ultimatum:  the Dallas mid-field star ain't big enough for a control-freak coach and a mouthy man-child who catches footballs. 

::::humming::::: 

Take me out to the brawllllll game.
Take me out -- make it loud --
Feature a coach and receeeeever,
But hide the gun and the cleaver!

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 Wait.  Just wait.  Give them time to think of something....

The moonbats will soon be showcasing an out-take of the Prez being zinged by a high school kid tossing a [tennis] cricket ball. 

Possible Headlines/Captions:

President Hit by Object in Pakistan
Bush-Leagued in the Middle East
Bush Takes Hit from the Left
President Hits Pakistani Youth
Bush Battered
Pakistan Thows Bush a Soft Ball
Bush Swings from the Right
Bush Beaned by Bumper ....
Bush Blasts a Googly
Googly THIS, Mr. Bush!
Bush Spins a Sweep

Enough already.  You get the picture ....

Deliver us, however, if Gore takes the stump and declares himself an all rounder who actually invented the game of cricket!

from: GabbyGoat at the GoatGazette posting at Perish the Thought

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A must-read for those who continue to question how main stream media reported the aftermath of Katrina:

                                       What Went Right

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