Today I found out a good friend of mine had a pony when she was a little girl. A pony! And, my Mary, also had a horse when she was a girl. They both say they loved those animals.
I did not have a horse. Or a pony. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like growing up on a farm. With farm animals. As a kid! That would be like some sort of Nirvana, or something. The closest thing I had to a farm was a Fisher-Price Little People set that looked like a barn, and the door mooed when you opened it wide. There was a little figure of a horse, as I recall. Among others.
We were not allowed to have pets. We finally wore Mom & Dad down, and talked them into a cat. Fritz the Cat. But she had to stay down in our basement, or outside. It wasn’t like I could snuggle up with my cat at night, or teach her stupid pet tricks. She was a prisoner to the basement, like some hostage in an episode of Criminal Minds. So it goes.
I think having a pony might not have been such a good idea for the likes of me though. I got in plenty enough trouble on my bicycle. With a pony, I probably would have been all over the neighborhood, with a little black mask on… shouting “Hi HO Silver, and Awaaaaayyyyy…..” at all hours of the night.
Miss Beeman would’ve been calling the cops on me for that. Yessss…. our neighbor Miss Beeman. She was an angry sort. Pinched up. Her house was about 5 feet away from ours, to the west. The Wicked Witch of the West. She frequently called the police about the little-ruffian-pack next door. Anytime we would be shooting hoops out back at our garage, she would throw a complete conniption. Miss Beeman would bang pots and pans out her window, or crank up her little turquoise radio. Elevator music, as big as you please. God forbid the ball ever went into her yard. I never saw a 98-year-old woman sprint after a basketball like that. She was like greased lightning.
One time she accosted our ball, and kept it. For an extended time. We finally told Dad, the PeaceMaker, and he went next door to talk with her. She hollered at him, and threatened him, with a broom. My Dad! The mildest guy on the planet. Like I said, Wicked Witch of the West. Bless her heart.
We finally had to buy a new ball.
All of this. Growing up. In the city. Without a pony. Hi Ho.
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“Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens”
― Tony DeLiso, Legacy: The Power Within
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“It all made perfect sense, and at the same time, nothing seemed to make sense at all.”
― Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember
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“To do better is better than to be perfect.”
― Toba Beta
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