Monday Again!?

Laryngitis plagued me at the beginning of the week, but Covid tests continued to register negative. Loss of voice was my only symptom, but made for a difficult couple of days. Tuesday evening we went to Stages, in Kirkwood, for Million Dollar Quartet, a musical about a real life night in December, 1956 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash all got together for a session at Sun Records. Poor Jane, who also has season tickets with us, missed the best show of the season, being over in England. It was a memorable show and a lot of fun. Luckily, Corinne was able to benefit from Jane’s absence.

Wednesday brought rain, at last! And Linda and Ted for a visit, at last… Linda has been a friend for a long time. She was the Hunter / Jumper instructor at William Woods University in Fulton for many years (having also been a student there). Now, she is married to Ted, a publisher and storyteller and a genuine, kind, and interesting friend who lives in Michigan. We miss their proximity, but enjoy their visits when they are in Missouri. Ted has inspired Linda to express herself in art and words. And she continues to teach horsemanship clinics. We loved catching up to the sound of rain gently falling outside.

Thursday, I had coffee with Hillary, who has been a friend for almost half her life. I met her when we both worked at The Tack Trunk. I rarely see her these days, since she is an assistant trainer at KEE West, in Wildwood, and they show mostly elsewhere. It was a treat to catch up.

On Friday, we had an early lunch with Cherie, one of my oldest friends. We met 63 years ago. Those ancient friendships cannot be replaced. After lunch, we hightailed it to Fulton, a stressful drive westward on Interstate 70 at any time, but worst on Fridays. Linda was giving a talk at William Woods, and Gayle Lampe had invited us. Luckily, the weather had changed to cool autumn at last, so Weedy was able to travel with us. He loves to see new people and new places.

Linda’s talk was delightful, replete with old memories, laughter, and tears. Linda welcomed us, in the audience, and spoke eloquently of her visit to Harry’s latest creation in the studio here. I wish I had recorded her words. I have never heard a better description of Harry’s art. It was fun to see old equestrian friends. Jacque got the distance prize, I think, traveling all the way from New York. It was a special treat to see her. The whole weekend, celebrating William Woods University’s 50th year of Equestrian Studies, sounded like great fun, and Linda was being honored at the Gala on Saturday evening. We are too old, though, to stay up late and drive home, alas, so we attended Friday’s talk, and loved being even a small part of it.

Gayle Lampe, a legendary Saddleseat instructor at William Woods, has always been on a pedestal in my mind, so it was particularly special to get to know her a bit better as a result of this William Woods weekend. Gayle, as she tells me to call her (she has always been “Miss Lampe”) turns out to have a side I never knew about. She is partially retired now, but still very much involved in the equestrian program. I commented on the beautiful ducks on the small lake, mentioning I wanted to get a picture of them, and Gayle lit up with joy. She is a great lover of ducks, extremely knowledgeable about them, and wanted me to see them up close. Off she went to get some bread and treats. I was the one in for a treat!

When Gayle called the ducks, they hurried to her. She had all sorts of exotic varieties I don’t dare try to recall. It was information overload, but has inspired me to learn more about ducks. The individuals all had names – Bonnie and Clyde, the pair of Muscovy ducks that had flown in; Goofy, the Indian Runner, a breed that stands tall and walks like penguins; Lucky, the Rouen, a domesticated breed raised primarily for meat.

Gayle went all the way to Waverly, Iowa, to a swap meet that sold ducks, in order to create the beautiful flock on William Woods’ lake. And that was only two weeks ago! Already, the ducks are tame and very happy. She went with a list of ducks to buy, and a Rouen duck was not on the list. But when she saw a Taiwanese woman planning to buy and cook a magnificent Rouen duck, she swooped in and bought “Lucky” out from under her.

The weekend brought a Happenstance horse show, where I tried to catch up on the local horse gossip, but there was just too much. A maelstrom of changes around here, so I am waiting to see what settles. It was fun to see friends on a beautiful day, and there was some fun reminiscing about the very long ago old days, with much laughter.

We have lived here for twenty years and never had crows near the house until this year. Harry and I both love them, with their raucous clamor, and thuds as they land on the porch railing. I took some pictures this week.

In the studio, Harry’s assistant, Megan, is not just a talented artist, but an interesting, kind person with a beautiful laugh.

We are careening onward, grateful for every day, as the outside world seems to be devolving in chaos.

Be safe, be well. Slava Ukraini! Peace.