Santa Anita Handicap, the Navy, Old Neighbors

This Saturday, 8 May, the Santa Anita Handicap will be run for the 77th time.  The race is 1 and a quarter miles on the dirt track; this year the purse is worth $750,000; and Fox will show the race live.  This year, there are 8 entries for the race - and the "top three" are incredible horses.  Game On Dude, the winner of the Big 'Cap in 2011 and 2013, will face the first and second-place finishers of the 2013 Breeders Cup Classic (also 1 and 1/4 miles on the dirt) - Mucho Macho Man and Will Take Charge.  This year's Handicap should be as memorable as the ones in which Seabiscuit competed. ...  Also, rain and high winds cancelled today's "Under Tack Showing" at the Ocala Breeders' Sales; the showing has been rescheduled for tomorrow.
   We had a good time discussing family history at my nephew Mike's condominium after our dinner Tuesday night.  Kathy told the story about how Dad played cards with his friends from the Philippines and Puerto Rico and some of the African-American enlisted men each Friday night.  Dad's CO called him in, and offered him an advancement in becoming an officer - but it would mean that Dad could no longer play cards with his friends, also enlisted men, on Fridays.  Dad declined, and stayed an enlisted man.  He knew very well that the boost in pay, as an officer, could be used at home; he came home that evening, and told Mom that he had turned down the appointment, and why.  Mom cried.  But then she wiped her eyes, and told Dad, "Honey, I'm very happy you stood by your friends.  Friends are better than  money any day."  Mike asked why Dad had decline the promotion, if the pay was so much better.  Kathy told him that "the Officer's Club was lily white."  Poor Mike; we had to explain that if Dad joined the OC, he couldn't speak to anyone of color, unless it was to relay an order.  -  And, I'm very happy that we live in a time when we had to explain that.
  I received sad news yesterday.  We moved to Gainesville, Florida in 1961, and bought the house on 50th Street.  Our next door neighbors were a couple from North Carolina, who had a single daughter, a few years older than Kathy.  Their names were Avaree and Hubert Spurlin; and they were my neighbors for 23 years - until Dad died and Mom sold the house.  A few houses up the street lived the Clevengers - Bud and Molly, and their daughters, Linda (Kathy's age) and Elaine (my age.) Avaree passed away in 1999, as did Bud Clevenger.  Molly and Hubert became good friends, best buddies, and, finally, a couple.  Molly passed away last year.  Hubert passed away yesterday, at the age of 92.  Elaine, my school friend, passed the information along on Facebook.  It certainly brought back many memories.

Wondering

I'm going to try to complete my "things I'm wondering about" blog that was interrupted Monday afternoon. I'm still wondering about Jimmy, Black Caviar's brother, in Australia.  The vets' still say he's in "stable condition" and that he appears to be making progress.  His pain medications are being slowly decreased, and he ate well over the weekend.  Considering the amount of care he has been given, I hope that the colt will make it to the breeding shed, even if he doesn't make it to the track.
   Here it is Wednesday, and I'm still wondering about the newspaper headlines Monday morning that described Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning as "hobbled."  Peyton had extra bracing, padding, and tons of tape around his high right ankle strain.  It looked thick and ungainly.  But, during the entire game, Cris Collingsworth was watching Manning's movements, and he only made one comment about the quarterback seeming to be hampered by the sprain and the extra support.  And, really, "hobbled?"  I have hobbled horses many times in my life, and Peyton Manning was not moving as if he had a pair of hobbles around his ankles. Hobbles can vary widely in materials they are made of, in width around the "ankle," and in the length of the strap/chain/rope that determines the size of step a horse can take.  Peyton Manning was not hobbled in any way, shape, or form.
  I'm still wondering about the five children in the care of the couple in Monroe, Union County, North Carolina.  Their Foster Care license expired in 2010 - three years ago.  They lived in Union County, but the children were supposedly under the supervision of a neighboring county's Social Services.  It turns out that the children were home schooled, and this is why no teachers, counselors, or administrators were aware of their plight.  No social worker had visited the family in more than three years.  What still astounds me is that the female of the couple was the Director of Social Services in Union County, where they resided.  It still blows my mind.
   I'm wondering about the laws of our country - the man who attacked the woman next door on Monday afternoon was released from jail Tuesday afternoon.  The only reason I know this is because two men, who didn't live in the building, came walking down the hall this morning, looking for names on door plates.  (I think there are six apartments out of 80 that actually have a name posted.)  I asked if I could help them find someone, and they said they were Boulder PD detectives, and wanted to see Britta and Ted, the folks next door.  I told them that Britta had walked her bicycle out the front door less than 3 minutes earlier, and that ted was in jail. That's when they told me that Ted had been released Tuesday night, and wanted to know if I had seen him....  They left their card on her door, with a request that she call them.
   The other reason I'm wondering about the laws is because of George Zimmerman. He was found "not guilty" of second degree murder in the killing of an unarmed youth in Florida.  Since he was exonerated by the jury, he has been stopped for speeding in Texas and given a warning; he received a $256 ticket for speeding in Florida a month later; in September, police in Florida arrested both Zimmerman and his wife for a domestic dispute, but released both without any charges, because both stories seemed plausible, but both were also contradictory, and they had no evidence; George Z was arrested again in Florida this past Monday for a felony charge of aggravated assault and misdemeanor domestic violence battery and criminal mischief.  He was released today on a $9,000 bond - after claiming he was indigent, had no fixed address, and was currently in debt to the amount of $2.5 million.   ....  More tomorrow.

Snow?

The day began without a cloud in the sky, but now the clouds are starting to roll in... Today's local newspaper says to expect between 2 and 4 inches of snow this afternoon and evening... It's certainly chilly enough for it, and we're supposed to get some of the moisture from the California snow storm over our area; but it hasn't arrived yet. I am still coughing from my bronchitis, but it's now occurring a lot less frequently than before. I visited the store this morning, and purchased more crunchies for the kitties and cereal for me, plus a couple of oranges. I plan on using my 50% off coupon today to purchase a large pizza - that will give me three full meals for $6, so I can't complain.
  My friend Geary managed to be home in New Orleans for Mardi Gras - he sat on his Auntie's porch in the French Quarter and watched the parades and crowds go by. He also loaded up on Cajun cookin', and he says he'll have to diet for the rest of the month to get back to his normal weight. I am currently reading jack Whyte's Uther, which is only 917 pages... the first 100 have been riveting, and I haven't wanted to put the book down. And I'm a little concerned for my next-door-neighbor: the lease for my apartment states that I can't run or operate a business from here, and I'm sure that's in all the rental agreements. Chris and his friend and partner just got a SBA loan to start up their own business, doing mirror etching. For the last week, they have been working on their patio, making the etchings in the mirrors. I'm afraid that the maintenance man and/or the building owner will see their set-up (it covers the whole patio) and they'll get kicked out. Chris is one of the nicest neighbors I've ever had, and I'd be sorry to lose him...

Jack Pascoe is Missing

Jack Pascoe has been missing since August 25.  He and his brother were checked in to be shipped by American Airlines from JFK in New York to their new home in California.  Both boys are too large to be able to fit comfortably under an airline seat, so the baggage area was the only other option.  Ten minutes after the owner left them at the AA baggage area, she was called and told that Jack was missing.  She went to the area, double checked on the other cat, and then called for Jack in vain until she had to run for her plane.  Jack has not been seen since his check-in, and 5 days have passed, including the closure of JFK for Irene's passage.  Where is Jack?  His human is distraught!

I have arrived home and will be sleeping in my own bed tonight. I am happy.  -  While I was checking my e-mail and my usual information and news sites, I was being blasted by music.  The bass was extremely loud, and it sounded to me as if the Friday night concert and party at the Harvest House was occurring tonight - right up against the privacy fence.  I walked out onto the patio, because Lovey and Nedi kept running in and out, as though they were being frightened by something.  (I couldn't hear my TV on it's usual setting due to the loud music....)  Guess what?  The music was coming from my new neighbors!  Chokie, who complained about the bird and squirrel feeding, is gone.  I now have a size 4 white-blonde who wears very short dresses (and her as-yet-unseen boyfriend) for my new neighbors.  And she happily informed me that she had "just got a new kitten, that holds onto my feet when I walk, and just slides all over the tile floor..."  She wanted to know if Lovey would bite, and I told her that she might - I wouldn't guarantee it one way or the other.  Nedi, meanwhile, was hiding behind the curtain, hoping not to be seen.  At least the volume on the music was turned down within 10 minutes of our meeting - and I never said a word about it....  But I might be moving my bed again!