Pocket guide…

Any kind of fishing provides connection with the whole living world…

It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed,

turning back into yourself in a good way:

a form of meditation,

and communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary…

When I am fishing alone,

as I come out of it,

I find I can’t speak properly…

I can’t form words…

— Ted Hughes in Savage Gods Silver Ghosts by Ehor Boyanowsky

Litte Gem has been persistent,

in her demand,

for math lessons,

so last Sunday,

the three of us,

spent the afternoon,

on the concrete,

of Hastings Racetrack…

I don’t know,

exactly whom,

or what it was,

that pulled me there,

so strongly,

but staying home,

wasn’t an option,

and my assistants,

were game,

for this novel experience…

Starshine placed her first,

$2 Exactor Box,

on horses four,

and five,

and won…

She made one choice,

by listening,

to an eight year old boy,

with jockey sense,

and the second,

through gut instinct…

Three races later,

she was ahead,

dollar wise,

because she knew her limit,

and played within it…

The other evening,

Little Gem asked me,

What’s a lease???

in relation,

to a horse…

After I’d explained,

she said,

I don’t think,

I’d like to be,

in that situation…

Then I spoke,

of a complex memory,

in which,

due to circumstances,

beyond my control,

I’d been,

on loan,

as a wife…

She wondered when,

and then figured it out,

all on her own…

I was thinking back,

to the beginning of last Summer,

and how I couldn’t see,

how things were ever,

going to get better,

for the Vancouver Canucks…

And as the weeks went by,

Hamhuis,

Malhotra,

and Torres,

were still merely,

question marks,

in an unanswered season…

Looking back,

on the President’s Trophy,

I couldn’t have seen,

what happened,

coming,

and looking forward,

gives new meaning,

to a Torresian split…

I’ve been asked,

by agent orange,

Are you now going to become THE fan of Phoenix???

The only thing I know,

for sure,

in relation,

to that particular inquiry,

is,

I’ve always been partial,

to Coyote,

and all of the things,

she says,

about stable management…

After her first horse ride,

on a Morgan mare,

what started as,

pounding hammers,

inside her head,

turned to a burning fever…

But by morning,

when it broke,

Little Gem woke to say,

Thank you so much,

for giving me the chance,

to learn to ride,

all by myself...