...quiet, about a lot of things...

Thanks to Kay...for offering a solution for writers block.

The challenge: Reach for the nearest book. Find page 123 and copy the fifth sentence.

Well ok...except..it's me...so OF COURSE...The first book I reach for, does not have 123 pages. Hum? meaning? I'm not sure...

OK, on to the second on the pile...and yes I am a pile of books by my bed kinda gal. Good. This one is a nice and thick book. A big Girl book...

So here it is.

"I'd spent the afternoon making hay,really lending a hand to a farmer making hay, and after a few hours in the midday sun hoisting and throwing fifty-pound bales onto a hay wagon, I hurt."

WOW! You REALLY are what you read!

Quote is from The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

The short and sweet book that topped it...sadly was not Pat the Bunny....or Goodnight Moon..as those days have past, for now. It was The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra....subtitled: One Hour of Wisdom.

Sometimes lately, I am so distracted...I have, like, one MINUTE. Which may be the reason why so often I come up a little short on Widsom..huh?

My new horse should be categorized as an elephant...if one is to judge by the equation: size of manure production directly correlates to size of animal on a 1:1 ratio. (All this DESPITE her strict adherence to the Jenny Craig plan for horses.)

Which is to say she, produces great mounds of manure.

So she is an elephant...and her stall mate is a pig. Not so much it the production department. But careless, even hostile in the placement. If Roux, my gelding, was a man,he would DEFINITELY leave the seat up...and pee all over it while he was at it.

Odd subject matter, Wendy, you may be saying right about now, and of course you would be right. But this, folks, is part of my life. Housekeeping for farm animals.

Farm animals. If they could speak, I know that both of my horses would not be happy with that moniker. If I still had my grey mare, Callie...Well, she would have slapped me hard right across my face. Farm animals indeed! Pleasure vehicles is more like it.No.... HIGH END Pleasure Vehicles!is even better...

But, whatever they may be named, I pick up after them..a lot.It's strenuous work. It's dirty work. However, it's also some of the most spiritual work I do.

I read Eat,Pray,Love over vacation. I'm very late to this party I know, but I finally read it. While on a spiritual mecca in India, along with chanting, the author was given WORK to do. Hers was scrubbing floors. Mine is scooping poop.

Same thing. It's service work. It's lowly work. By this I do not mean it is beneath me. Just the opposite. I just mean that it is work that does not feed the ego. It is repetitive, physical, and necessary. It's also something that will never win much recognition.

And yet, if neglected, things quickly become a real mess. Now here's the service part for me. They become a real mess for my horses, who again, if they could talk..would probably say That they don't care a rats behind whether their stall is clean..(sorta like my teen aged daughter...but I digress.)They probably don't even notice as I drag four huge muck buckets of dung out of their pen everyday.

Still, this is what I do. I humble myself to them...The same one who sits on their backs and trys not to bark the orders too loudly.. The one who points them at obstacles and demands they actually JUMP them....The one who insists on molding their necks and dictating their tempos..at the end of it all, it is that same one who picks up the fork and tends to them.

Where is God in all of this? He is in the ebb and flow of power. He is in the rush and fall of leadership. He is in the humble strength of submission. He is in us both, as we give service to one another.

He is in the pride of a simple, sweat producing job well done. He fills my heart with purpose, as I survey they pristine pen; my fork tine having made quiet marks all over it like a large sand zen garden. I am peaceful.

He is also in my horses...as one of them always seems to meet my eye...and then proceeds to leave a little..shall we say, FLOURISH...to finish my masterpiece. One new pile in the tranquil space. One new pile that represents the NOW.

God is in that Laughter, too.

My husband LOVES to tell trail guides at horse for hire establishments, that I am an expert rider. I always say that I am very far from that. He always says..that compared to the common man..I am indeed an expert.

He tells them this...thinking that this tid bit of information, will assure that we will get the fastest horses they have in the barn. He just doesn't get it. His need for speed over rides his logic every time.

You see what this gets me, is a pissed off wrangler.. and the rankest..or greenest horse in their string. Thanks Michael. Really appreciate that.

This time, there were quite a bunch of us going on this trail ride in Waimea. 6 in our group and around 5 other... plus 2 cowgirls..(one with a LOT of attitude...)Still, this is some of the prettiest ranch land I can think of..with Maui floating like a..well like an island, as a backdrop. We set off on a two hour tour.

I was mounted on a blood bay pony sized Spanish mustang mare. These exact words out of the wranglers mouth..."She can be a bit of a..spit fire...not at the walk..but she likes to take over at the trot and canter. Just put you foot down..and that will be that...oh and she's just had her baby weaned..so going out will be a bit...um...sticky. But you ride..so....." G R E A T.

Mona...yes that was her name, was part mustang...and all bitch. At first, I found my ego was up in arms. I was PAYING for the pleasure of trying to kick a horse to death to walk forward. This fine point of the humiliation was not lost on me. It's been a long time since I have had to "kick" a horse around.

You see, riding..is a subtle language. The more you "YAHOO", the less skill you have.
Girlfriend with the cowboy hat knew that..and was poking me with her sharp stick. At one point she asked if I rode "English?"..When I responded yes... She just trotted by and sniggered.."Thought so."

Sigh. I was in hell, though my girls were enjoying my humble decent. Glad to be of service there. My husband, who was just sulking because he figured out we were not going to run the whole time...assumed I would be really ticked off. I assumed I would be too.

But, strangely I was not. In an instant...I just decided NOT TO TRY IMPRESS this random cowboygirl. Screw her..and her judgement of me. I started to ride the horse I was on..(which by the way is awesome all around advice....)

I started to try to speak mustang. Cowgirl circled back twice to correct me. Finally I told her that I was fine...hatred in my eyes. She trotted back off..smirking, sure she would have to come back to rescue me.

I waited till she was over the crest, picked up my very long cowboy reins and smacked that little mare HARD on the neck..twice. Two little protest bucks later..we were thinking about moving our feet. First side to side...then, at last...forward. Good. I patted her neck...We,now at least, were on speaking terms.

To make a long trail ride shorter..we had a fine time. By the end, I had the little horse circling around, leaving the group...coming back...and not stepping one foot on the track everyone else was using.She did not eat on mouthful of grass. Her mouth became quiet and her head was still. I was talking and she was listening..

It was a great ride. For me...and, I think, for her. Cowgirl didn't say much as I dismounted. That was just fine by me.

See, I let go of trying to show off for her..and just started to ride...for me and the little mare. After all, it was her back that was carrying me. In the end, we were friends. It was quiet and simple. Communication at it's best.

One other thing...A sign reminded us to "pat our horse..and tip our guides" at the end of our ride.

I did pat my little horse.

The plane to the Big Island was late...tiny ..and smelly. Walking out on the tarmac, I noticed an older native woman wearing a lovely wreath. She boarded the plane, with her friend before I did. I found a seat behind my girls.

Just then a young boy came to sit down next to me, his dad right behind him. I could tell he was autistic by his blinking..( a sign of stress). He told me his dad said he had to sit next to me. His dad reassured him he would be right behind him.

I waited, made eye contact with the dad...and told him he could have my seat. I smiled at him so at the boy, so he knew everything was OK.

Sometimes God just clears the way.

This was how I found myself sitting across from the woman with the lovely head dress.
After chatting a bit,I found out that they had been celebrating her birthday in Honolulu. I complimented her on her wreath..which she had made herself. wow.

As the plane landed, her friend tapped me on the shoulder..and gave me the wreath. She placed it on my head...and said Aloha.

She fixed it just right ..."to compliment my beautiful eyes." I am sure that I blushed. I was really touched. A random act of kindness.

Sometimes God just clears the way.

Just a quick little STAB at myself.

After the aforementioned martinis, I retired to my penthouse...(now there is something I don't get to say..um... well,EVER!)

I deftly inserted my high tech key thingy in to the door...and received a RED LIGHT!
Tish tosh, I thought....and tried again, and again, and again.

**Here I must insert that the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over, fully expecting a different result. But,forgive me, I digress.

At the height of my frustration...or the pinnacle of my despair..just the thought that "the People" had figured out that I do not have any business in the penthouse.....After all, I mean REALLY, I'm not the Penthouse type...much more a Playboy kinda gal...(forgive me..I digress.....again)....I FINALLY thought to look up...and realize that I was feverishly trying to gain entrance....

....to the Broom Closet.

So the morale ofthe story today is... Don't panic... Just observe what is going on...and act accordingly...

or if the key doesn't fit...maybe you have the wrong door.

Oh yeah, and perhaps, just perhaps, two Cosmos..is one Cosmo too many!

Aloha!

Just a quick note of clarification.....No, I haven't lost my mind and run away from home or anything....The girls are joining me tomorrow...and we will be flying to the Big Island...with two of their friends. We accomplished this all on miles...so I had to fly separately..getting 5 free tickets ANYWHERE..on the same flight is nearly impossible.

Michael, of course, has a business trip...so will be joining us later. A perfect illustration of my quandary with him. It is because of his hard work..and miles in the air...that I am here in the first place ( The "pro" side of the argument). It is because of his addiction to his work, that I am unable to even schedule a family vacation..the WHOLE family...anymore. (The "con" side)

So now on to the quick story for the day.

It's been a long time since I have sat at a bar by myself. The last time I can remember, I did not have any rings on my left hand. Like I said, a long time.

I did not go to a hot spot..pick up joint...just the bar in the lobby. Lovely happy hour. Martini's for $5.00. A beautiful thing.

They had a singer..who had his Ukulele out for some of the songs. How I love Hawaiian music..really..almost makes me cry. Simple, lyrical, unassuming. Just what I aspire to be.

So I sidled up to the bar..and ordered a lemon drop.And then I had to sit there and drink it. By myself. I rarely drink, much less alone.Thank God it was a good lemon drop.

And then before you knew it, there were two men sitting separately, at a right angle from me.Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Now I'm not saying this to be conceded, just to point out the same theme as the penthouse.

When you have no need for something, you seem to be able to come upon it...in abundance.

The rest of the evening was spent trying to avoid eye contact...just enough not to seem like a cold bitch. That's how much I think of what people are thinking of me. Sad really.

Next up, a Pomegranate Cosmo. Yummy....and Then it was quickly back to my room...just as the bartender was striking up a conversation....

I think tonight...It will be room service for me.

So...Aloha. I'm in Hawaii..For two days by myself...


And only as my luck would have it..they upgraded me to the PENTHOUSE!!!! I kid you not....So if anyone is near me...come on over...we'll party on the roof...




'Til then... I'm off for a martini...and then to bed.

Penthouse for one, please.