- My oldest daughter, Jenny the Wall Street Journal Reporter,
called the other day to say that my grandchildren have been getting impatient
for more e-mail from their grandfather.
-
- "They especially want to hear more about the horses,"
Jenny said.
-
- So, I've been thinking about Huck the Spotless Appaloosa
and Elaine the Not So Wild Mustang. Specifically about all the ways they
interact.
-
- Almost 18 hands tall, Huck is a gelding but doesn't
know it. He's proud, smart, stubborn, possessive, playful and loving.
He's my brother, with whom I have long talks. Everything's a joke to Huck,
except his woman. To him, Elaine is serious business.
-
- A little slip of a thing barely more than pony size,
Elaine takes herself very seriously, too. She's a wild creature and as
wary as they come. The only activity Elaine seems to enjoy is hiding herself
in the trees. Look away from her for a second, and she vanishes like a
chameleon, perfectly camouflaged.
-
- Huck and Elaine have a solid relationship. They swat
flies off each other and share their hay. When one or the other needs space,
he or she gets it without argument. When one or the other feels selfish
and has the urge to take more than give, the other shrugs and stands back
and gives.
-
- It wasn't always that way.
-
- When Elaine came into Huck's life, he was a spoiled
4-year-old brat, the only horse on our property in Southern California.
He was a showboat, prancing and demanding and calling out so us for, "More
alfalfa! More water! And gimme some lovin', too!"
-
- I knew that even though he wasn't admitting it, Huck
was lonely for the company of other horses. So, when Gwen the Beautiful
and I found Elaine headed for the horse meat auction, we plunked down the
cash it took to save her and brought the crippled 13-year-old home.
-
- Elaine limped into Huck's life eagerly, squealing her
mare squeal. He snorted his almost-a-stallion snort and did what came naturally.
-
- Nipped her on the back of her neck.
-
- And got kicked in the head.
-
- They fought for weeks. Over food. Water. Attention.
-
- "This isn't going to work out," Gwen said
one day. "Maybe they need a break from each other. Some distance to
put things into perspective."
-
- I wasn't sure what she was getting at but certainly
was willing to give it a try. I put a halter on Huck's head. Snapped a
lead rope to it. "C'mon, big guy."
-
- Huck shot a look over at Elaine. "See? He's taking
me."
-
- I led him from the barren corral to a green pasture
on the other side of the house. Behind us, Gwen started to close the gate
so I could let Huck graze freely. But, just as she touched it, the longest,
most desperate cry I've ever heard came from the corral "Elaine!"
-
- To others Huck might have sounded like he was screaming,
but I knew he was calling his mare's name.
-
- He reared up, yanking the rope from my hand. Ears flattened,
nostrils flared, Huck whirled and galloped like a thoroughbred past the
house. All I could think of was that lead rope. Of him getting tangled
up. Crashing to the ground.
-
- Gwen and I raced after him. Found Huck standing at the
corral fence. On the other side stood Elaine, the two of them nuzzling.
They were so close it looked as though their heads were intertwined.
-
- The two of us stared. Automatically, we reached out
and held each other's hand. Watching as Huck and Elaine showed each other
their true feelings at last.
-
- After a few minutes, Huck turned toward Gwen and me.
"I think she likes me," he said. "I didn't even know."
-
- Elaine nickered at him softly. "Talk to me,"
she said.
-
- "You're interrupting!" Huck said to her. And
nipped her.
-
- Elaine nipped back. And off they went.
-
- Not long ago, I saw an article by the writer Nora Ephron
that included the following truism: "You can never know the truth
of anyone's marriage, including your own."
-
- Although I won't be going into that particular topic
with my toddler grandkids, I'm impressed by the practical wisdom of such
a big city writer. Not that this was a new insight to Gwen the Beautiful
and me. We were lucky enough to have been given a good look into life's
mirror about six years ago, courtesy of our brother Huck and our sister
Elaine.
- *****
-
- .
- Copyright C 2006 by Larry Brody. For permission to reprint
this column, please write to LarryBrody@cloudcreek.org .
- ******
- Author Larry Brody's weekly column, LIVE! FROM PARADISE!
appears on his website, www.larrybrody.com. He has written thousands of
hours of network television, and is the author of "Television Writing
from the Inside Out" and "Turning Points in Television."
Brody is Creative Director of The Cloud Creek Institute for the Arts, the
world's first in-residence media colony. More about his activities can
be seen on www.tvwriter.com and www.cloudcreek.org. He welcomes your comments
and feedback at LarryBrody@cloudcreek.org. Brody, his wife and their dogs,
cats, horses and chickens live in Marion County, Arkansas. The other residents
of the mythical town of Paradise reside in his imagination.
-
-
- *********************************************************
- Larry Brody
- TV Writer.Com
- http://www.tvwriter.com
- Better writing makes better TV!
- **********************************************************
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