This for Jackie - Wordsmith.org

"I got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere"

http://www.derbypost.com/

Today is Derby Day, all right--the first Saturday in May, as always. Lots of festivities have preceded this day. We've had fireworks and an air show, a steamboat race, a rat race, a hot-air balloon race, bed racing, wine racing (this is called the Run for the Ros�, a cute play on the Run for the Roses: the Kentucky Derby), and the Pegasus Parade. Plus assorted public and private dinners, breakfasts, and parties. Yesterday was the Kentucky Oaks, sort of the Derby for fillies--3-year-olds, just like the Derby. Fillies can enter the Derby, but few do. Oaks Day has become known as Louisville's Day at the Races; I guess because so many out-of-towners come in just for the Derby, we consider this a day "just for us".

Strange, but as i read your post, Jackie, i realized, i associate the Derby with Kentucky, but Louisville with baseball bats!

and this is at least the second year its come up, i remember last year we discussed the derby, (and Jackie), the Preakness (and Bob Y) and the Belmont stakes (and me). while Belmont park is fairly close to me, i have no interest in horses or horse racing. i know there are many activities here too, before the race, but i never particapate in any of them.. NY has enough going on, that its easy for something like a big race to get lost in the shuffle.

The first Sunday in May is not a big day for horse racing fans in the Greater Seattle Area, but rather is the "opening day" of yachting season. On this festive day, thousands of pleasure boats pass through the Hiram Chittendon Locks and then through the University Cut between Lake Union and Lake Washington (to get from salt water to fresh water). The boats are decorated. The boaters are decorated. At night, many of the boats are lit. Well before night, many of the boaters are lit. A most festive occasion!

Thank you, Father Steve!

And a huge WELCOME BACK!

You have been missed! Good to see you back!

Rumor has it that it was a 6 month honeymoon.... say no more!

Honeymoon. "The month after marriage, or so much of it as is spent away from home; so called from the practice of the ancient Teutons of drinking honey-wine (hydromel) for thirty days after marriage." (E. Cobham Brewer 1810�1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.)

�It was the custom of the higher order of the Teutons � to drink mead or metheglin (a beverage made from honey) for thirty days after every wedding. From this comes the expression �to spend the honeymoon.�� (W. Pulleyn: Etymological Compendium, � 9, p. 142.)

"Honeymoon lasts not nowadays above a fortnight."
(Samuel Richardson (1689�1761), British novelist. Third edition, London (1751). Antony Harlowe, in Clarissa, vol. 1, p. 222, AMS Press (1990).)

honeymoon (HOLIDAY) noun "a short holiday taken by a man and a woman immediately after their marriage." (Cambridge International Dictionary of English)

Note the diminishing progression over history. We are intent on re-establishing a much longer period within which to celebrate and enjoy the newness of our relationship!

Blessings all around.

A huge welcome back, Padre.

Do you have a blessing of the boats, as we have in MD and, I believe, some places in New England? Usually, it's for workboats, not pleasure yachts.

Also around this season, there used to be the annual blessing of the hounds, which took place at a very picturesque Episcopal church in the horse-farm country just north of Baltimore, the members of the [fox] hunt dressed in their pinks, mounted on their horses, the rector in cassock & surplice with vested acolytes. A very tony affair. (Not inside the church, I should add for the benefit of anyone who might wonder -- it took place on the lawn in front of the church, beside the churchyard.) However, I believe the current rector put a halt to it. Probably too much flak from PETA and the SPCA, notwithstanding the fact that there is an abundance of foxes -- we even see them occasionally in my neighborhood just outside the city limits and my son has seen them in his neighborhood, which is well within the city.

Welcome back, Father Steve. You were just leaving as I was starting to get my feet wet here. I look forward to many lovely argum..., um discussions, concerning the relative merits of making the language fit the rules as opposed to making the rules fit the language.

It's very good to see you back with us Father S.

the practice of the ancient Teutons of drinking honey-wine (hydromel) for thirty days after marriage."
And I'm not sure whether your evidence really shows that the honmeymoon has diminished - on my understanding, the "ancient Teutons" would drink just about anything for a monthn on end at the slightest excuse.
I think they must be ancestors of mine .....

So here it is three days later and I don't know who won. I think that's a new record for me. Now if I could just do that for the Super[sic] Bow(e)l

i forget the name of the horse..but it was a long shot-- he paid 20 to 1! it was just purchased 6 weeks ago by some arab prince.. who was accused of buying the derby-- he countered buying the derby? buying the derby? do you think it would have been as easy to buy the horse if, for certain, they knew it would win? --no quotes because while he did say buying the derby twice-- i don't remember the exact words after that..
but the gist was, it was a horse race.. and he was just lucky..

I've been to the Oaks, but never the Derby. I have friends who went, but I never even thought about it myself.

That entire area around 3rd street and southern pkwy is ridiculous Derby day.

My grandma lived over on Lillian, though, and made some money every year by letting people park in her yard.

Are they still doing the gargantua fireworks thing every year? (I almost got my ass kicked once at that thing - by some famous UL basketball player - but not knowing or caring about basketball [sacrilege!] I can't remember who it was.) That's a pretty spectacular thing and pretty fun - except for the traffic and near riots afterward.

k

My grandma lived over on Lillian
Wow, it was rather a shock, seeing these familiar names! I used to work with a social worker who grew up on Lillian--Jerry somebody, I think. Liked to grope. And I grew up on Southern Parkway! My son helped his Scout troop park cars near the Downs on Friday and Saturday--they took in $1500.
Yes, we still have Thunder Over Louisville (the fireworks show). Pretty spectacular, indeed. One of the biggest in the country.

You have certainly proved yourself up to the job as Administrator, Jackie! Well done.

Errr, ahhh, ahem, out of loyalty to a former school chum and neighbor, Joan Beth Fuller (Mrs. Peter,) I must make note that Fuller's Runnymede Farm, right here on the N.H. Seacoast gave the world the 1968 Derby winner : Dancer's Image ! Then, in 1985 the winner Champion New York Filly Triple Crown was another Runnymede horse : "Mom's Command" !

I heard the name this morning.. War Emblam? Warrior's Emblam?

one of those.. and a big winner.. something like 2 lengths.

"I've got a horse right here, his name is Paul Revere!"

Well, thanks a lot, AnnaS .... I'll never get that tune out of my head now!
Now where *is that album of "Guys and Dolls" ....

War Emblem, V. Espinoza up, 2:01:13

never get that tune out of my head

While it's rolling around in your head, wow, see can you grab the names of the other horses when they roll by.

Seems like the proper thread on which to note the passing of an equestrian hero.

Capsule obituary -

Seattle Slew

U.S. Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the first unbeaten racer ever to win the Triple Crown (1977). In his racing career of 17 races, he won 14, was second twice, and fourth once. He was retired to stud in 1978.
(courtesy of Yahoo news)

Only seventeen races? My, my.

Only seventeen races? My, my.
There's a lot more money in stud fees...

There was a big article in our paper. The owners slept in the stall with him, the last couple of nights. There'll be a moment of honoring him this Saturday at the Downs.

stud fees

I saw one report (from his birthday March 27 I think it was) that said he had sired many hundred foals in his career - 900 or so, I think it was - and that the going fee was $300,000 per (yes, that's five zeroes). Also that at age 28 he was ninety or a hundred or so in human years. Also that last year he was bred six times and that four of the mares were carrying foals as a result.

But I'm still surprised that he only ran seventeen races before his career ended. Is that typical of thoroughbred horses? Even if they're Thoroughbred Horses like this?

he was ninety or a hundred or so in human years. Also that last year he was bred six times

my, what a promising outlook =) hmmmm, does it only work if you spend your life running in circles, but?

Mav, is nothing sacred?

this is an USn expression, if it loses something in the translation, let me know

Yes, there is an annual blessing of the fishing fleet in Seattle (as I suspect there is in most port cities where brave folks risk their lives upon the sea in order that we may enjoy the harvest of fish).

The blessing of the hounds became controversial in the Mother Country when a segment of the populace decided that such sport was evil, because they identified with the foxes, I guess. The present Prime Minister is of like mind and the whole glorious institution of foxes and hounds, pinks and cups, brasses and leather, is threatened with extinction ... which would be welcome by some (including foxes) and seen by others as a further sign that the end is near.

glorious institution...

and like those other 'glorious institutions', such as the Poor House, the Mad House, and the House of Lords - the sooner the bloody better! :p~

The present Prime Minister is of like mind and the whole glorious institution of foxes and hounds, pinks and cups, brasses and leather, is threatened with extinction ... which would be welcome by some (including foxes) and seen by others as a further sign that the end is near.

The present Prime Minister is of a mind to survive in power whatever the cost or the issue ... the fact that he (and therefore his party) is supporting the foxhunting ban has no meaningful relationship to whatever Tony Blair may or may not think about it.

and the whole glorious institution of foxes and hounds, pinks and cups, brasses and leather, is threatened with extinction ... which would be welcome by some (including foxes) and seen by others as a further sign that the end is near.

Oh goodness sakes alive ... hasn't anyone thought of the possibilities in organized re-enactments? Without a fox of course! Just the nifty "pinks" and the pretty posturings and the ab fab horses. AND - Would hate to see the demise of the stirrup cup.
Don't know about you but a stirrup cup calms my nerves delightfully when I am about to embark on a trip!

Yerrs, I bin known to spend time in the airport bar, too.

organized re-enactments?

This was one of the hot topics while I was over there and one of the girls in the class did her paper on entertainment and activites. She brought in an article about mock fox hunts in which a guy would run around with a little bag of poo dragging behind him.

Just before we get all teary-eyed and emotional over the foxes, consider this.

I was talking to a guy at work the other day who is a whipper-in (looks after the hounds) for the Cheshire Hunt when it's out. Sometimes he rides with the hunt as well, but he hasn't got his own horse and has to borrow one. The packs aren't as big as they used to be (100+ dogs) because they cost so much to look after.

Anyway, he's a country lad and his father's and neighbours' farms are currently overrun by foxes because the foot and mouth epidemic has effectively put paid to hunting for the past year or so anyway. So they trap them. Not live traps, gin traps. Nasty things. But the farmers lose too much livestock to them to leave them be and they're busy people so live traps and their consequences are just a waste of their time.

The hunt may sound cruel (and the end isn't all that pleasant when the fox or hare gets caught, of course) but my informant tells me that the fox actually gets away in over 30% of hunts. It's much more a social pastime than a deadly serious pursuit of animals these days. At least in the Cheshire Hunt you don't get the upper class twats doing the riding and drinking while the lower class scum make sure it all happens. Most of the riders are local farmers and their families and they appear to take turns doing the work.

In most hunts at least one or two people get carted off to hospital from falling off horses, heart attacks and from general stupidity.

Still, a century ago it was probably true when Oscar Wilde suggested that fox-hunting was "the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible".

teary-eyed and emotional over the foxes

Hardly. The consequences that I care more about are those which impact on people - any society that considers itself civilised ought not to have a problem abandoning such rudimentary nastiness as rape, murder, slavery, and the needless torture of animals (and in my book that includes factory farming).

Totemic? ~ well maybe, but symbols have an important social function.

teary-eyed and emotional over the foxes

rudimentary nastiness as
1) rape,
2) murder,
3) slavery,
4) and ... factory farming

Agreed -- but not necessarily of the same order of magnitude. And perhaps meriting differing degrees of concern and attention. Some sins are greater than others.

[couldn't help but note the spoonerism

]

as i travel, one place i always try to get to see is a local zoo. zoo's are a nice indicator of how a society treats animals. Nowday, some small older zoo's are undergoing renovations, recognizing the cruelty in keeping a lion or tiger caged in a 20 foot square room. Others are modifying there collection.. even as child, i hated that the bronz zoo didn't have panda's or kangaroos, but the zoo felt they could not provide the right habitate. In the 1950's, they started to reform the zoo, getting rid of cages, and replacing them with habitates, that sometimes made it harder to see the animals, but was great for the animals themselves. I am rather proud of the zoo, and how it treat the animals..
(one fall, an early cold snap froze one of the zoo's small lakes/ponds. on several connected island in the middle of the pond there was a gibbon "cage" (gibbons do not enter standing water if they can help it.) the gibbons, smart as can be, scampered across the ice, and made a get away! about 10 escaped before the thin ice cracked.. open cages do have some disadvantages.)

factory farming (there was a very candid article by Michael Pollan last month in NY Times Magazine.) is a form of cruelty to animals.

societies that practice cruelty, to animals, are half way to doing it to humans.

half way to doing it to humans

prezackly. and what is almost worse, are already affecting the way society thinks about what it is to be human, and what constitutes morally acceptable behavio(u)r.

Perspective: If you could do so by a wave of your magic wand, which would you rather eliminate: rape, or foxhunts?

I think it was Cleveland Amory who said (paraphrasing) :
Show me how a race treats its annimals and I will tell you what degree of civilisation it has attained.

If you could do so by a wave of your magic wand, which would you rather eliminate: rape, or foxhunts?
That's like the old question "Do you still beat your wife?" There is no answer that will satisfy.

WARNING -- Reminds me of a story though!-
Seems that Israel was having a big problem with the increasing incidence of rapes. The legislature (Knesset) suggested a remedy might be to impose a curfew requiring women to stay indoors after nightfall.
Gold Maier , then Prime Minister, said she thought the curfew was a good idea but that it would be more effective if it required men to stay indoors after sunset.
The Knesset dropped the idea!

Hmmmmmm could it have been that the legislators were predominantly men?

[red]WARNING -- Reminds me of a story though!- [/red]

Or the one about Joan Baez upon being challenged for her pacificist stance, being asked what she would do if she had a gun and someone was holding a gun on her grandmother. She asked if she was a good shot and was told that she was. She replied that then she would shoot the gun aut of the attacker's hand. When told she wasn't that good a shot she said that she wouldn't shoot, "Might kill Grandma."

organized re-enactments?

Trouble with these could be that a real fox might cross the scent and attract the hounds.

I live in a country town and have seen hunts at a distance and on one memorable occasion saw several hundred hounds running around a show ring in a joyous riot with a couple of dozen huntsmen among them to prevent complete mayhem! I read somewhere that hounds are no use after three years of age and are then put down as they do not make good pets. Does anyone know if this is true? It is not a point that I have heard presented elsewhere in the debate in the UK. If true then it seems to add a further negative aspect to the pastime � I have trouble seeing it as a sport.

So....a spectacle certainly, but still cruel...very mixed feelings, but on balance I am anti fox-hunting, or any hunting with hounds. We do seem to have too many foxes in the area and I see them all the way from home right up to Barnes, which is within the edge of truly urban London. So how do we deal with the problems that they create by attacking livestock and pets and scavenging in bins and bags? I don't believe hunting can be a particularly efficient means of culling. But after reading the above comments on trapping I don�t know what the alternative should be.

To get this on to something kind of word-related -

A poem:

Can-can (the second of: �Two Songs from Fox-Trot� by John Fuller)

The hounds are breathing at my tail, the hunt behind is in full cry,
Grimly grim.
The Master knows he will not fail
To see his tiring quarry die,
Horrible him!

Another fence won�t keep them back.
They have the panic scent too strong,
Grimly grim.

The Master close behind the pack
Knows that now he can�t go wrong,
Horrible him!

Now I am running for my life.
The hunt�s upon me in a rush,
Grimly grim.
The Master holds a little knife
With which to amputate my brush,
Horrible him!

John Fuller.

We do like to anthropomorphise don't we!