The Jetsons

McCain came home the other night and said he had no brakes in his car, “but I can stop using the emergency brake.”  Just what every mom wants to hear.  So today he took my Durango to work and I unhooked the trailer so I could drive the new truck.

When I got in the truck this morning and turned the key (which I recently learned you don’t have to hold while it cranks – it just does it), the dashboard illuminated the message “OIL CHANGE DUE”.  I hate to say that if the truck wouldn’t have told me, it wouldn’t even have crossed my mind.  A quick look at the odometer told me it was probably right.  It’s bad enough to have one car down.  Now this one is telling me it needs work!  Just like the kids; always wanting something. 

So as I’m driving into town, I picked up my phone and asked “Siri” to call the local Dodge dealership so I could schedule an appointment.  Just wanting to drop it off, the service department said the first courtesy car would leave at 7:30 so I had about 20 minutes to get there which was more than enough time.

When I pulled in, they immediately directed me to the service bay.  The technician said I was the first in and he could have it done in ten minutes if I just wanted to wait.  I watched while they lifted the truck high above their heads and several men went to work.  I had just finished my last move on Words with Friends and just as I was contemplating a cappuccino from their galley, they called my name.  (Incidentally, I hadn't even given them my name; they must have pulled it from the VIN.)  They swiped my debit card and I followed the 7:30 courtesy car out of the lot.

I couldn't help but think how we are living what we used to see on the Jetsons.  Oh, sure.  I don’t have that robot to clean my house but you can have cappuccino while getting your oil changed.  I play Scrabble on a handheld device that also not only makes phone calls for me but reminds me at 6:00 AM not to forget we are having a jean day at work.  I can plug this same device into my smart truck and listen to an audio book or any genre of music that I am in the mood for at that moment.  All these gadgets and toys to make life much easier and interesting.

I remember when Dad would have to call the service station (on our rotary phone) to make an appointment to have the oil changed (two weeks from Tuesday).  Those doing the service (most likely the station owner) would either jack the car up or go into a pit below .  And each quart of oil (in a tin can) would be opened with two holes in the top, one after another,  and poured in through a metal funnel. 

My truck was done in ten minutes!  I'm easily entertained.

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So Close But Yet So Far Away

When I was loading up the mares after our stay at the ranch, John made some comment about Fancy in comparison to Ginger as he was closing the trailer door.  I think he mentioned how much she looked like Ginger.  I didn’t catch it all and didn’t ask him to repeat it.  Although he said it out loud, it wasn’t really spoken to me.  It was his moment and I left him with his thoughts.




When I was going through my photos from the weekend, this picture of Fancy caught my eye.  It wasn’t necessarily a good picture; her ears were half-cocked among other things.  But when I saw it, I knew exactly what John was talking about that day and started going through the archives of the pictures on my hard drive.  




This picture here was what I was searching for.  Oh, you could pick it apart.  Their heads are different shaped; Ginger had a star and a snip where Fancy has a star and a strip.  Not shown in this picture, Ginger had a sock on the back foot where Fancy just has a little white on the front coronary band.  Fancy is close to 15.2hh where Ginger stood only 14.3hh.  Although Ginger and Fancy are both sorrel and in certain pictures taken at a distance, I sometimes have to look at the date to tell which one I am looking at, up close and personal I didn’t think there was much resemblance.  Until now.  Did I know what I was looking for when I found Fancy?  I think so.  I think we both did.


No.  I didn't try to clone Ginger or memorialize her with another horse.  Their natures are much different.  Ginger was kind of like Sally Field in Norma Rae;  short, tough, pretty but a fighter.  Fancy is more like Olivia Newton John in Grease.  Willowy, graceful, beautiful but strong.  You’d have to see the movies to understand.  I think we just knew the traits we liked about Ginger and saw a glimpse of them in Fancy.  We may not have even known then how close they really were, but yet so very different.




I know John misses the fire he had with Ginger but on the same token, he is appreciating riding a horse that is not quite so hot and offers strength in other ways.  I don’t think a ride goes by that we don’t think of Ginger and miss her terribly.  But I think we made a good choice with Fancy.  We once again have a pretty red mare in the pasture; nothing like her predecessor but yet so much alike in so many ways. 

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