Name:
Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

What you have here is an old guy. In education for 30 years, started teaching elementary, ended as library and media director of community college. I've enjoyed mountain climbing, sports car rallying, was pipe major of a bagpipe band, played guitar and sang during the folk revival, walking and hiking later in life. Now fairly sedentary. Enjoy reading, esp. mysteries and fantasy, but my reading is pretty eclectic. Enjoy movies, giving Netflix a workout.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Emerald Downs

This is my 200th post. I'm not the talkiest person in the world but I'm quite amazed that I've come this far. Shall we shoot for 300?

Ah, the best part of the year. The ponies are running again. Emerald Downs, our local race track opened for the season on April 20. The season will consist of ninety-one race days. We’ve been four times already. The early part of the season is made up mostly of 5 and 5½ furlong races but as the horses round into racing shape there will be longer races. Last week saw the first mile race of the season. The ushers who work the grandstand welcomed us back. One of them, a special ed teacher originally from Georgia, works this as a second job. She is pretty knowledgeable about the horses at this track. Week nights there isn’t a huge crowd and most of them are downstairs in general admission. Evidently few want to pay the extra cost of the grandstand. So we have time to talk. She’s introduced us to some regulars and one owner, this latter when I wanted to be assured I was reading the pedigrees right. Turns out that not many pay much attention to pedigree but I do. Anyway, we’re having a grand time and so far are ahead in the betting. The weather has been good. Racing is only three days a week this early, Friday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Maybe no trips this years, just lots of days at the track.

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Fun at the track, and you're even ahead in the betting. Sounds good to me.

5:21 AM  
Blogger The Electric Horseman said...

Geez, I almost feel ROBBED !!

I guess I could never tell the difference between your solid intellect and wide variety of appreciations AND a direct interest in racing.

Although, I do have to admit that if you sit up in the paid reserved seats (where noooooooooooobody sits) then you sorta deserve the complete isolation that you (um, paid for).

Grrrrrrrrrrr, I still can't figure out how I never randomly chanced upon you at the track, and I can't imagine that we wouldn't have instantly recognized and been drawn toward one another.

Laugh - it really DOES feel like having been robbed!

Where else could I hope to indulge myself in someone who both had the intellect (and maaaaaaaaybe the attention span) to follow all of my far-out-at-first analogies and then gain from (finally) figuring out my opinions and perceptions about racing?

(taking deep breath, trying to change subject)

I am not one to sift through lots of action internet "blogs"... so I don't know that I ever should have found you here randomly... While I can appreciate "blogging" in some sense, and while my own attention span for (babbling on) is perhaps enough to fill a "blog", I just don't think I have enough to write that others would care to hear. Nor do I imagine I could organize it efficiently to where it would make sense.

Geeeeez, lets arrange to meet at the track one day soon!

- G.

12:47 PM  

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