Magical Moment 17, "Life's a Long Hard Ride"

I strained my brain for something to do on my husband’s birthday. While Franklin, NC is a beautiful town (where he’s attending a 3 month course), it’s not a very busy town. We had done just about everything in the area; dinner, movie, tree aboretum, folk art museum, even karaoke where Eddie sang his favorite of all time hit, “North to Alaska” by Johnny Horton. I sang Patsy Cline and we even went for a Loretta and Conway duet, which I think somehow I ended up singing Conway’s part and Eddie ended up singing Loretta’s.

Anyway. The one thing left to do was horse back riding. We loaded ourselves in the car with our flannel, plaid shirts and worst pair of shoes and drove to the Nantahala National Forest. You may think that a Nebraska girl would be a little more outdoor savvy. I’m not. The last time I was on a horse was probably 20 years ago at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo. I made sure our guide gave a very specific lesson of the most basic how to’s – go, stop, and turn. I carefully mounted the horse recalling all his instructions.

Once I was on the horse, I almost felt like I knew what I was doing. And then the horse started to move. By himself. Each step my horse took caused me to rock and bounce in my saddle. He knew the trail well enough that I barely needed to control him, but when I went too long without giving him some direction, he would grow lethargic and start walking me into trees and branches (leaving me with a scratch on the side of my face!). Eventually I got the hang of it and me and Luke (my horse) were like 2 peas in a very bouncy pod.

Because trail rides are least popular during the winter months, Eddie and I (and our guide) had the entire trail to ourselves. We had the freedom to trot and ride next to each other rather than in single file like at youth camp. We walked through streams and brooks and allowed our horse to gulp from the sparkling, clear water.

Although the winter months had caused the abundant trees to go bare and the grassy landscape to go brown, the scenery was still breath taking. We rode on the side of cliffs over looking miles of valleys full of trees, streams, and snow. It really was a beautiful ride.

By the time our trail had come to an end, my muscles began to ache. My daily morning run was no comparison to the beating my leg muscles took riding that horse through the bumpy terrain. And long into the next few days, they suffered the consequences of bouncing up and down and contracting in and out to stay steady in the saddle.

After I said goodbye to Luke and thanked our guide, we got in our car and drove back to city life. I flipped on the radio and Eddie and I smiled at the irony as we listened to the song that played by Randy Travis:

“Don't ever sell your saddle

Never owe another man

Watch where you spit on a windy day

Don't use words you don't understand

Find the Lord before you need Him

And never lose your pride

Don't ever sell your saddle

'Cause life's a long, long ride.”

http://chunkygalstables.com/

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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