Goldie's Big Adventure

When I was a child, we had a horse named "Goldie." Goldie's full name was "Golden Boy" and he was a beauty. He was a palomino appaloosa, which means his coat was a lovely golden yellow, with a snow white mane and tail and he had a "white blanket" with spots scattered across his rump. Like many of the horses we had back then, Goldie was given to our family. His history was unknown to us, but we were told he was blind in one eye. Because of his handicap, when riding him, my dad or brother would often have to act as his eyes to direct him toward the safest route.

In spite of his impairment, Goldie was quite adept at escaping from his stall. He would use his big soft rubbery lips to manipulate the latch on his stall until it opened. He would then stroll out, push the lid off of the grain bin and help himself to a tasty snack. As any horse owner knows, too much grain can be hazardous to horses and make them very ill. To curtail this Houdini - like behavior, we added an extra snap clip to his stall latch and the problem was solved. Or so we thought.

Through cupped hands, he shouted "Goldie, you come back here!!!!"

It was a hot, clear summer night. Everyone in our family slept peacefully in their beds. Through the open window on the second floor, my dad was awoken by what he thought was the sound of hooves rhythmically clip clopping by on the street below. Then the sound stopped. Thinking he was mistaken, my dad was just about to fall back asleep, when he heard the clopping begin again. "One of the horses is loose!" he thought. He leapt out of bed and galloped down the stairs. Flinging open the front door, he ran down the porch steps. He looked to his right and down the street and saw the retreating spotted hind quarters of Goldie glowing in the moonlight. Standing in street, clad only in a t-shirt and boxers, my dad did the first thing that came to him. Through cupped hands, he shouted "Goldie, you come back here!!!!" The clopping sound ceased abruptly. For a moment all that could be heard were the cicadas chirping in the warm night air. Then, slowly, the clip clopping began again increasing in volume with each step.

Goldie's golden form appeared through the darkness as he followed the street back to our house. My dad walked out to meet him. He took a hold of Goldie's halter and led him back to the barn and his stall. After securing the latch with the snap clip (apparently, my brother Stephen had skipped this step in his haste to come in for supper that night), my dad returned to his bedroom to try to get a few more hours of sleep. He was just about to climb into bed, when he heard a knock on the door. Peering out his bedroom window, he saw the unmistakable outline of a police car. Sighing, he quickly pulled on a pair of pants and some slippers and went downstairs to answer the door. He turned on the porch light and saw a young policeman returning his gaze thought the window of the front door. He opened the door and queried, "Hello officer, is there a problem?"

"We've had a report of a loose horse," replied the policeman. Without missing a beat my dad said, "I don't know anything about a loose horse." There was a pause, as the policeman eyed my dad levelly, digesting this response. Then he said, "Sorry to disturb you sir. Have a good evening."

BARN CAT

8x10 inches, oil on linen canvas, 2016

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A beautiful orange tabby cat basks in the sunshine while sitting in the window of a wonderfully, weathered barn. No doubt he’s scanning the area for mice.