On my way home from Inn I often tune in to NPR and catch a few minues of the Diane Rehm show. I was listening to an interview with a writer, Cheryl Strayed. "She was in her 20s and facing a life crumbling around her so she decided to go on an 1,100 mile hike alone. She describes the brutal, physical and psychological journey in her new memoir titled "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail."
I tuned in when Diane was asking Cheryl about her mom.
STRAYED:
"...my mother got a horse named Lady. And she had always been a horse woman growing up. Horses were her religion she always said. They were her obsession. They were her greatest passion. And so it meant a lot to her to get this horse. And even though we really couldn't afford a horse, you know, she worked in exchanged for the horse's room and board and she worked out a deal even to buy the horse. And she bought this gorgeous, gorgeous horse named Lady. And Lady was a part of my life, you know, since I was five or six.
REHM:
"Describe her for us".
STRAYED:
"She was a beautiful 16-hand chestnut mare and she had this wonderful, elegant gait. And, you know, she was really my mother to me. And so after my mother died, Lady would be -- I would often go out into the pasture and just put my hands on her and I felt closer to my mom."
When I heard this it made me think of the strong parallels in my life with my horse Dancer-it was so comforting to hear that there were others in the world who were so passionate about horses in the same way I am. As I was driving, I entertained thoughts of how I might be remembered after I am gone....(not that I plan on that any time soon, mind you) but my wish is that my legacy will include horses, and how happy they made me.
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