This page is set aside for the beautiful things that
inspire me - poetry, animals, etc. If you have poetry you've written and you'd like to share it, I'd love to post
it. Send it on! This piece was written by my (then) 12 year old son. It was an English Class exercise; everyone in the class had
to write an "I Am" poem. James is an excellent student but he's never shown much interest in writing.
He wrote this in tribute to one of his favorite TV shows, "Band of Brothers". It was his first try, and
it literally blew every body out of the water. We were all astonished. At 12 years old, James saw and
felt more than we give most kids credit for. It still makes me choke up every time I read it. He's got the
soul of a wise old man. See if you don't agree. I Am War | I am War Death follows where I have traveled I am the repeat of rifles and magnums beyond
a bunker I am the warrior beside another I am the bayonet of surrender I sit beside a fallen comrade, my brother I am the trigger no longer pulled I am the cartridge held at hand before he
passed on I am War
James
Le Veque Age 12 |
Although I have approximately 120 novels listed on these pages and consider myself an experienced writer,
nothing I have ever written comes close to the beauty and raw truth of this simple poem. This was his one and
only poem, by the way. He hasn't written anything since.  I ran across this Latin saying a little while ago. I'm a horse fan and the saying pertained to a race
horse that broke down on the track at Belmont Park, on national TV in 1991, and had to be put down right there on the track
in front of everyone. It was just horrible; she snapped her right front foreleg in half on the clubhouse stretch but still
tried to finish the race. Unbelievable. If you want more information about this beautiful animal, her name was "Go
For Wand" and she was a stunning runner - a true winner and a true goddess. She did not deserve to die the way she did,
but this Latin text said everything about her, in life and in death. October 27, 2006 will be the 16th anniversary
of her death in front of a live audience. Here is a picture of her (below), just because she is so pretty.
See the girl riding her? That is the trainer's wife. She loved that horse so much. What a heartbreak. Et Vera incessu Patuit dea
- "And her stride revealed she was a true goddess". Yes, it surely did. Updated September 2007: I found the video of her breakdown on You Tube. If you are interested in seeing it, go to www.youtube.com and run a search for "Go For Wand 1990 Distaff". Not for the faint of heart, but the
person who posted it did it with taste so that it's more a tribute to her memory than the glorification of her gory
end. So tragic, yet you get to see just what a magnificent competitor she was, even to the end. But I will warn you
- it's the most graphic breakdown in racing history, so be prepared.
| Go For Wand |
|
Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go
gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail
deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men
who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its
way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Here's another poem. This is from Lord Byron. He was kind of a wild child for his time, with emotions spilling
out all over the place, andt he wrote some really beautiful stuff. Here's an excerpt from one of my favorites: So we’ll go no more a-roving So late
into the night, Though the heart be still as loving And the moon be still as bright. For the sword outwears its sheath, And the soul wears out the breast, And the heart must pause to breath, And
love itself must rest. Though the night was made for loving And
the day returns too soon, Yet we’ll go no more a-roving By the light of the moon.
|
| Gimpy Barbaro with bad ankle |
A tribute to my boy, Barbaro. Here he is with his cast removed after breaking his ankle in
26 places. His joint is fused and the ankle is twisted at an odd angle, but at least he's walking.
So many great horses never got the chance he did (Ruffian, Go for Wand, this year's Pine Island). He's an amazing
animal. We can all learn lessons from his courage and quiet strength. He's still the best in my book. Go Barbaro!!! January 10, 2007
- Barbaro's left hind foot, which you'll notice in the above photograph as looking very strange, was stricken
with Laminitis, an often-fatal hoof disease. They have been working since July to heal the horse's hoof, but the
case was so bad that it's been stubborn to heal. Today, it was announced that Barbaro had suffered a significant
setback in the healing of that foot. It looks like it's getting worse and they've put him back in his sling in ICU
to take the pressure off the hoof. This is critical. We are praying for Barbaro today because he could easily go south on
this. Think good thoughts for this majestic boy. He's a fighter and deserves every chance to live. We love him! January 29, 2007
- I'm very sad. Our boy lost his battle today. The last few days had been so rough for him, bless his heart. Dr.
Richardson (the guy in the photo) said that his initial injury did not contribute to the decision to put him down; rather,
the lamintis in his left foot was so bad that Barbaro refused to stand on it, causing a bad bruise on his right ankle. The
bruise led to a nasty abcess. Then, because both of his back feet hurt so bad, he put undue pressure on both front feet,
so both front feet were stricken with laminitis in the past few days. Barbaro had a horrible night last night and Dr.
Richardson said he just knew that the time had come. The horse was in too much pain to go on. So, they fed him his morning
grass, gave him an overdose of anethesia, and he went to sleep. Good night, sweet prince, as flights of angels sing
thee to they rest.... Here's a poem written by an unknown author that I found
on a Barbaro Blog. I couldn't even get through it without tears in my eyes... you're going to love this... Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When
an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There
are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There
is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All
the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong
again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The
animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left
behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one
suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run
from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You
have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted
again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting
eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then
you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... Wow... are your eyes tearing up yet?!
|
| Gorgeous George |
Another tribute to a race horse that died on October 27, 2007 running
the Breeder's Cup Classic. Let me introduce you to George Washington... His nickname was Gorgeous George, and he was truly a beauty. This picture hardly does him justice. George
was a champion turf runner from Ireland and the Breeder's Cup Classic was only his second start on dirt. There's
a big difference between turf runners and dirt runners. Anyway, he had just come out of retirement and his owners were
hoping to ease him back into the racing world with a prestigious race. Old George, here, was a fiesty colt. He
was known for acting up going into the starting gate and just generally being a real pistol. But he was very, very much
loved. All of Ireland just revered this American-bred horse (hence his name). In fact, he was bred by the same
people who owned Barbaro. So old George came out of the starting gate
and really kept his own against the dirt runners - Hard Spun, Awesome Gem, etc... he was even ahead of the eventual winner,
Curlin. But as he came around the home stretch, he took a bad step (a la Barbaro, Go For Wand, Ruffian...) and snapped
his right front ankle. Bad break. But being the classy boy he is, he stayed up. Didn't fall and dump his jockey.
He hobbled to a stop as people went running to help him. They were very kind to him but he could not be saved.
As Curlin went to the winner's circle to accept his blanket of flowers, Gorgeous George was put down on the track and
hauled into the horse ambulance. All of this was done behind raised tarps so no one could see the horror. But we knew
what was going on. I cried for an hour that day... perhaps he and Barbaro have
met up at the Rainbow Bridge and are running in green meadows forever. RIP, beautiful boys.......
| Baby Lentenor! |
|
Want to see something wonderful? I found a picture of Barbaro's
baby brother and Barbaro's mother. In fact, Barbaro and his two brothers have the same dam and sire, so basically
the same gene pool. Isn't the baby cute?!! Nicanor, the middle brother, is a yearling and has just
started his training. He was named after a foxhound on an heirloom 18th century painting that Barbaro's owners have in
their home. Barbaro was also named after one of the foxhounds. The remaining names (and potential names for the
youngest Barbaro brother) are Calypso, Sereno and a couple of others I can't remember off hand. I like Calypso! He looks like his oldest brother, doesn't he? Good luck, baby Calypso! :)
UPDATE:
Prior to Derby week 2008, there was a lot of interest in Barbaro's two full brothers. Nicanor is doing very fine
with his training and looks great. But the baby in the picture has grown up and he is GORGEOUS. He has a beautiful head
and eyes and looks very strong. But they did not take my suggestion to name him Calypso - they have officially named
him Lentenor. Another nice, exotic name. You can find video
of him if you run a Google search for Lentenor.
All eyes are on Nicanor and Lentenor!
|
How's this for family resemblance? Here's our buddy, Barbaro....
|
And Nicanor.... definitely a gorgeous boy....
|
And finally, baby bro Lentenor... what beautiful brothers!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Everybody always asks
where the Jackson horses get their names. It comes from 18th century woodcuts. Here are Marcano, Sereno,
Lentenor and Nicanor, in that order. There's another cut that has Barbaro and a bunch of other dogs on it as well. So
these sad-looking dogs are the namesake for these magnificent horses. Woof!!
|
|
|
|
Now, I just have
to show you this picture. This is Barbaro as they were saddling him up for the Kentucky Derby. Full of spit and vinegar!!
I think he had a little bit of energy that day. Look how everyone is trying to hold on for dear life...and here comes trainer
Michael Matz to save the day!! Funny! This is the Barbaro I love to remember, not that crippled horse we became familiar
with. This is the true essence of Barbaro and, I think, racehorses in general. They are definitely spirited animals....
|
|
|
| Eight Belles |
|
5/3/08 - Another death that has come to another spectacular race horse – meet the filly EIGHT BELLES… Wow, what a beauty she was. Gun metal gray all over and BIG – 17 hands high, which is a very tall horse. She
was a big, beautiful girl. I’m sure most everyone has heard about her tragedy.
It’s been all over the news. PETA is coming out swinging at the horse racing industry and
God Bless PETA for all of the good things they do, but in this case, I must back off from supporting them. This
was not a case of animal abuse. It was a horrible accident. Put simply, Eight Belles
was a big girl, and clumsy. You know how teenagers can be when they grow too fast and their coordination
doesn’t catch up with them for a while? They’re clumsy. As Eight Belles’ trainer put
it, the filly was known to drag her feet clumsily when she was slowing down from a race. She had a tendency
not to lift her hooves up high like some horses do. So she’s slowing down like she normally does,
kind of clumsily, and she ended up tripping over her own big feet and snapped both her front ankles. How
horrible is that? It’s beyond tragic to me. She had such strength and such a wonderful
future. It took all the joy out of the Kentucky Derby for me. PETA
is concerned that racehorses are mistreated. I have been following horse racing for many years and I can
tell you that these horses are the most pampered, spoiled animals alive. Humans should be so lucky to be
treated the way most of these horses are. I’m not saying that there isn’t any abuse in the industry, but it’s
so regulated and so scrutinized that a trainer or owner would have to be totally stupid to mistreat an animal like that. Moreover,
they pay so much money for them, so why would you mistreat such a big investment?? Moreover, lest we forget
that these horses are bred to run. They LOVE it. They are natural competitors and they thrive on that. So
Eight Belles died on the track. It was horrible. But how many of us can say that we went out doing what we loved to do?
Even her trainer said she loved to run; she loved it! She suffered about two minutes of
pain before she ended up over the Rainbow Bridge running with Barbaro, George Washington and Ruffian. And
she left a trainer and his crew behind, weeping because they never got to say good bye to their friend. To
watch her trainer at the press conference crying because he never got to say good bye to her was almost as heartbreaking as
watching her death. We’ve all had pets we wished we could have said good bye to. He was very attached
to the horse. And how’s this for ironic? In nautical parlance, "Eight Bells" is the
end of a four-hour watch. It's also a nautical euphemism for the death of a sailor: his watch is over, eternally.
So is hers. RIP, lovely girl.
| My hero Curlin |
|
Breeder's Cup at Santa Anita! How exciting is that?? Since I live in Southern California, I grew up around Arcadia so I know the track
well. I can't tell you how excited I am about this year's field for the Breeder's Cup Classic. That's
like the World Series and the Olympics of horse racing. Only the best of the best of the best. Unfortunately,
Big Brown hurt himself and has been retired. What a match up that would have been against Curlin - I guess now we'll
never know who would have won. But I've watched both of these horses since their careers started and it's my
take that Curlin would have beaten Big Brown without question. Big Brown was only all-powerful when he was on his steriods,
unfortunately. Look at his record and see. Not to diminish him at all, but that seems to be the pattern.
Curlin is just in a league of his own - put him with Secretariat, Sea Biscuit, Affirmed, Forego, John Henry... horses that
are all heads above the rest. But this year's Breeder's Cup Classic is going to be spectacular anyway - there
are at least 6 horses racing that are the creme de la creme, and I do mean FANTASTIC horses. In my opinion, it's
a six horse race: Curlin (goes without saying), Commentator
(undefeated 7 year old), Casino Drive (Japan's answer to Curlin), Colonel John (an amazing horse to watch - a stalker,
will close fast), Henry the Navigator (Europe's top earner - wow!!), and Mambo in Seattle (could be a threat if he's
feeling good). Here's a link to a horse racing site that has the scoop on these babies. http://www.horse-races.net/library/bc08-previewcl.htm Cindy Pierson Dulay is the horse person I always go to when I want
to know something. She has a great website. Check out these horses and make your own determination about who will win,
but I'll bet right now it will be Curlin. He's just too good. But most of all, I just want everyone to be safe.
No injuries, no deaths. Just safe and whole is my biggest wish. October
25th is the day to watch! Update: Saw the race in person that day.
Saw the horses come out of the tunnel right in front of me as they made their way to the track - Curlin was definitely
the rock star of the group. He had his own body guards! Imagine that! And he knew he looked good, 'cuz he did. He's
a magnificent animal. So while everyone was fawning over him and calling his name, right behind him (#9) came this unassuming
chestnut named Raven's Pass. No fanfare, no accolades - the horse was totally obscured by Curlin's glory. No
one even really paid any attention to him and he was totally calm, just kind of walking along checking out the crowd....
so it really was sweet justice in the end when this nice, basically unknown horse, ran past Curlin at the end to win the Classic.
Ah, an upset of the biggest magnitude! How cool for Raven's Pass and that's the last time we will ignore him!!!!!
:) Want to see something gorgeous? I took this picture in Yosemite Valley on
December 27, 2008. This is some little stream in some snowy field. I can't even tell you where it is. But Yosemite
- and the Tahoe/Truckee region are, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful areas on earth. I've been a lot of places
but I don't think anything compares with this beauty. It's just surreal. So enjoy the picture and Happy New Year!
| Magnificent Yosemite |
|
Yes, I am a softy. I couldn't resist sharing this with you.
The latest additions to my family... Panda and Spike. My 'indoor' cat, Lola, escaped one night and... guess
what?! She gave us two little gifts 60 days later! Well, I can't get too mad because these little guys are too, too cute.
And, of course, she had them in one of my sweater storage boxes. Great. (That's a sarcastic 'great'). I have a
lot of clothes washing to do when they get bigger.... Anyway, enjoy my babies!
|
Little Panda. He's got orange-outlined ears. Really strange but
beautiful!
|
Baby Spike. The cutest kitten I've ever seen. Go ahead
and make cutsy baby noises at him; I do.
|
|
|
|
 Moral
of this story: NEVER judge a book by its cover.... Okay, how cool was this year's Kentucky
Derby? That little pipsqueak of a horse, Mine that Bird, blew past the field like they were all standing still to win by the
second greatest margin EVER. I was laughing my head off as I watched that little horse streak past the leaders. He was
on his game and he was feelin' good as the big boys tried to slug it out with each other. No one even noticed him slip
in and take the lead. Ha!! What a brilliant little horse. What a brilliant ride by Calvin Borel. It's races
like Saturday's Derby that make people love horse racing. It had all of the excitement and drama that you could ever want;
better than a movie! Plus, a happy ending. I was just thrilled to watch it. Congratulations to Mine That Bird and his jockey.
A truly great Kentucky Derby 2009!!
And am I the only one who noticed he's wearing Barbaro's
Kentucky Derby number, #8?? Old lucky number 8. I think Barbaro was watching from above and gave Mine That Bird just
a little shove...!
We are witnessing greatness in the making...
This is Rachel Alexandra. She's the best 3 year old filly in
the nation, if not the world, right now. I was first turned on to her earlier this year when she began kicking everyone's
butt in her first few races. I kept hearing the name Rachel Alexandra and how good this girl was so I finally paid attention
to what she was doing. I saw her run the Preakness and blow the boys away. Then she ran the Mother Goose and won by
19 lengths. She just won the Woodbine and broke a track record set in 1975 by my favorite horse of all time, Ruffian.
Now... that's really saying something. Nobody beats Ruffian. Nobody.
I guess you have to understand my history with fillies. Back in
1975, I was a horse freak like you've never seen. I was 10 years old and had Beyer model horses all over my
room. I wanted to grow up to be a jockey (now I'm 5'5 so I don't think that would have worked out too well). Anyway,
I was a Fan-a-tic. So one day I'm watching NBC where Ruffian, my favorite horse to end all horses (because she reminded me
of the horse in my favorite book, Black Beauty) run against the Kentucky Derby winner from that year, Foolish Pleasure. God,
I was sooooooo excited. I was planted right up in front of the TV when the race started. I watched those two horses battle
it out. I knew Ruffian was going to win; no doubt in my mind. I watched her pull slightly in front. I was thrilled. Then I
saw her stumble and sort of do this run/hobble thing. I didn't realize until the NBC cameras zeroed in on her that she had
snapped her right foreleg and her jockey was struggling to pull her back. That filly broke her leg, the bone was sticking
out, and the bone was what she was running on as she fought her jockey against stopping. She didn't want to stop. She
didn't want to lose. When it dawned on me what had happened, I must have started howling. I don't really remember. All
I remember was that mom came into the room and shut the TV off. All I remembered was that that magnificent Black Beauty had
snapped her leg right on national television. I was sick for days. They had to put her to sleep. So...
it took me years to get up the nerve to watch horse racing again. Just about the time I was really getting into it again,
I was wathing the breeder's cup distaff 1988 and watched the graceful, gorgeous Go For Wand snap her leg on national television,
too. Only she was worse; she ran aimlessly towards the stands with that leg flapping until they corralled her, laid
her down on the track, and euthanized her right there in front of everybody. I didn't watch horse racing again until
about 2005. It took me that long to get my nerve up to watch it again.
 So this is Ruffian. What a gorgeous animal. It always makes
me cringe when they compare fillies to her because of her tragic ending. I don't want to see something like that happen again,
not ever. But Rachel Alexandra seems to be quickly reaching that status. She's a gorgeous animal, too, and well worth
watching. I wish her all the luck and good health in the world. I think we're witnessing greatness in the making with
her. Stay tuned....
|
|
|
|
Secretariat c.1973 taking off in the Preakness. This was the race
where he was called a 'tremendous machine'. That horse was a monster; in a league of his own. Without a doubt, the best racehorse
who has ever lived. End of story.
|
This is Rachel Alexandra c.2009 taking off in the Mother Goose,
I think. Similar position to Secretariat in that she is 'leaping' to the lead. Is she truly as great as we think she is? Time
will tell. Secretariat and Ruffian were in a league of their own. Lovely RA is fast on her way to making a name for herself,
too. Godspeed, Rachel Alexandra.
|
|
