A CHANGE IN THE OFFING?... Hope, at least (Part 57b)
My life suddenly had some normalcy to it, or about as much that someone in the business could have. Elle and I were getting along better (in all ways) than we had since she’d moved to the farm. Dan was treating me with some respect, although his demanding personality was always right there. Jean Paul and Marie were the perfect neighbors and I was enjoying my life for a change.
I knew my friends, Eugene and Faith, lived nearby and I was actually able to make contact with them. They seemed to be genuinely pleased to hear from me and we set up a date to meet on the upcoming Sunday. They arrived for lunch and then Elle and Faith decided to go out to the beach with the kids. Faith, like Elle, loved the water and the beach so she was really excited about that. Eugene and I used the time to get caught up. The harsh Winter had put him behind like Dan and I were and he’d decided to skip the opening of the season and to focus on the opening of the track at Wilmington. I was disappointed as I’d been hoping that we’d be able to spend time together at the first meet. As most people do when they haven’t seen each other in a while we let time get away from us. It seemed like Elle and Faith had just left when they and the kids walked back in. Elle handed me the baby and disappeared into the bathroom. When I looked at my watch I knew the reason why. It was well over two hours since they had left the apartment. When Elle reappeared she had on a different skirt. We didn’t have enough food to invite them for dinner and, thankfully, they had to leave anyway. We promised to get together before shipping out.
After they were gone I asked Elle what had happened. Knowing that I got a “thrill” out of her wetting she was willing to describe it to me. Simply put, the kids were happily playing in the sand and she and Faith were talking. She never gave a thought to time and, while sitting there on the sand, all of a sudden felt a warm feeling on her butt. There was no way to make it back to the apartment so, knowing that Faith was aware of her “problem”, just relaxed and peed right there in the sand. When they decided it was time to go back to the apartment Elle admitted what had happened. I was hard a a rock as she told me about it. I remember lying in bed picturing the scene and wishing that I had been there.
Other than a coastal storm that postponed training for a day, the following week went well. Dan had set up a schedule for which horses he wanted to train when he was to be at the track and as a result of it I was given a group of horses that were pretty much mine to train. I was really getting used to being an “associate” rather than an employee.
That Sunday was Easter. As I’ve mentioned before, Ocean City was a Summer destination and the activity didn’t really begin until the approach of Memorial day. However, having said that, the local churches had gotten together a few years earlier and offered an ecumenical sunrise Easter service on the beach. Some seasonal merchants, seeing the increase in people, decided to make Easter weekend the unofficial opening of the season. The year before they had come up with the idea of hosting an Easter Parade out on the boardwalk. To induce families to participate they offered each child, 10 years old and younger, a silver dollar when accompanied by an adult. Elle and Marie had heard about it and wanted to do it. Jean Paul and I didn’t really want any part of it. You already know who lost in that deal.
None of us took part in the sunrise service but at 12 noon were were out on the boardwalk with Jean Paul and I wearing a very unfamiliar article of clothing... a tie. Of course Elle wanted our oldest to look good and that meant a new dress and that, of course, meant a new dress for herself. I was in no position to complain as she hadn’t gotten much in the way of new clothes and certainly not a nice dress since we’d been married. She looked great, enhanced by a hair cut, another thing that hadn’t been done since before she left for her senior year in college.
It was a perfect day weather wise. As I remember it, clear blue skies with no wind at all and the temperature around 70 degrees. There were probably about 250 couples there for the parade. Just before we made it to the place where they were handing out the dollars, Jean Paul’s oldest decided to act up. He had to pick him up and carry him off. Marie was embarrassed and upset and Elle tried to comfort her. As soon as their youngest got his dollar she headed back to the apartment. After my girls got their dollars we started back as well. When we got back to where the path back to the apartment was located Elle surprised me and suggested that we walk down to the water’s edge. We had to leave the carriage and stroller on the boardwalk. After taking off our shoes we headed towards the water. I had to carry the baby. Normally, the prevailing wind created waves that washed up on the shore. But on this day there were only gentle swells. We went right to the edge, daring the water to reach us. The older girl thought this was a great game... that is until one caught her and Elle. Ocean water, in April, is rather cold, somewhere in the high 40 degree range. When it happened it scared her and, more or less, shocked Elle. As the water retreated Elle spread her legs and I watched as she proceeded to pee into the sand. Even though I was holding the baby I could feel a bulge starting. She, naturally, wasn’t happy but a quick look around showed no one in sight. At that point she smiled one of those “forced smiles” and said something along the lines of ”happy now?“. I was and the bulge proved it.
To be continued...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
A CHANGE IN THE OFFING?... Hope, at least (Part 57a)
I wanted to call Elle but waited to see the apartment first. Jean Paul took me to meet his wife, Marie, another French Canadian. You could faintly hear the ”French“ when Jean Paul spoke but with Marie it was pronounced. She was what I would call ”plain“. Thin with long, straight almost black hair, she looked tired. They had two sons with the oldest about to turn three and the other four months old. The older one was running around in a diaper which told me that he wasn’t toilet trained, just like my oldest. I knew how much extra work that entailed. They showed me their apartment and told me that the empty one mirrored theirs. It was of good size with two bedrooms. When Jean Paul told me the rental price I thought he was kidding. He explained that since the area was a Summer destination the Winter months made it like ghost town. The owner felt it better to rent for the minimum than to either winterize it or pay to keep the heat on. I knew immediately that it wouldn’t be any problem to make the rent. When I called Elle I told her to start packing. She wasn’t overly happy but really couldn’t say much. At least we'd all be together.
Dan and I got all twelve horses trained by Saturday and we then left for the farm. It was good to see Elle. I’d been planning on a nice ”homecoming“ but found that she had her period. Sunday morning I loaded most of the things we thought we needed into the little trailer. I say ”loaded“ but it was more like just tossing the stuff in. We said our ”good byes“ to Jeanne and then Dan reviewed the instructions for what I was to do on Monday and Tuesday and then we took off. I was so excited that I was going to be on my own that I don’t remember much of the trip itself. I remember it being late in the afternoon when we arrived. Once up the stairs (it was on the third floor) we were greeted by Jean Paul and Marie as if we were royalty. They insisted that we come right into their apartment and to have some dinner. The table was all set for us to join them. They promised to help us unload and to get our apartment set up when we finished eating. I was hungry but Elle, who was wearing a ”package“, needed a change as did our oldest. Elle, not wanting to mention her own need, tried to get out of it by pointing out our daughter’s wet diaper. Marie said it wasn’t a problem as Elle could use one of her son’s diapers and plastic pants. I tried to help her out by saying that we really needed to get our things unloaded so I could get the trailer off the street. Both Jean Paul and Marie protested mightily with Marie saying that she’d made extra food just for us. Elle, who was holding the baby gave me a look that said ”I give up“ and handed me the baby. Then she nodded for Marie to come over by where she was standing. Jean Paul’s oldest was making a bit of a fuss and he went over to him to calm him down. I saw Elle whispering to Marie and then, much to my surprise, saw her turn her backside towards Marie and point to two wet spots on her butt cheeks. Marie was somewhat shocked but nodded for Elle to follow her down the hall.
When they returned Elle was still wearing the same clothes. I’d assumed that Marie was going to give Elle some dry clothes but remembered that Marie was as thin as a rail. What Elle had was a bath towel folded over a number of times which she discreetly placed on one of the chairs around the table. Elle promptly sat down and we all joined her. It was a nice meal and really appreciated in spite of the circumstances. When we finished, as promised, both Jean Paul and Marie helped me unload the trailer. I remember being thankful that the apartment was as big as it was. I also remember wondering how we’d accumulated so much stuff.
Morning came way too soon. Jean Paul had suggested that he ride to the track with me so Marie could show Elle around and to help her get food and supplies. I remember thinking that maybe the change in location was going to be a good thing. Dan’s approach to me had changed for the better and meeting up with Jean Paul and his wife had been a blessing. For the first time in a long time I had a positive feeling. When I got back to the apartment that night I found Elle to be almost as happy as I was. Other than some minor difficulties with language translation Elle had a good time with Marie. After eating we all got together again and had an enjoyable evening. It had become increasingly clear to me that Jean Paul and I were made from the same mold.
The rest of the horses arrived Tuesday afternoon and Dan was back that night. Everything had gone well for me and Dan seemed pleased. He stayed until all of the recent arrivals had had their turn on the track. Chit had arrived with the new batch of horses and as soon as Dan left I found that he actually had a ”voice“. I found that his name was actually a shortening of his surname. I also found that he had worked with harness horses since before WW II and with Dan since Dan began racing on the Grand Circuit or for about eight years. Without Dan around he was actually a different person. He had a real good ”feel“ for horses and I was surprised that he’d never had any desire to go off on his own. I decided to try to take advantage of his experience as I moved forward.
To be continued...
I wanted to call Elle but waited to see the apartment first. Jean Paul took me to meet his wife, Marie, another French Canadian. You could faintly hear the ”French“ when Jean Paul spoke but with Marie it was pronounced. She was what I would call ”plain“. Thin with long, straight almost black hair, she looked tired. They had two sons with the oldest about to turn three and the other four months old. The older one was running around in a diaper which told me that he wasn’t toilet trained, just like my oldest. I knew how much extra work that entailed. They showed me their apartment and told me that the empty one mirrored theirs. It was of good size with two bedrooms. When Jean Paul told me the rental price I thought he was kidding. He explained that since the area was a Summer destination the Winter months made it like ghost town. The owner felt it better to rent for the minimum than to either winterize it or pay to keep the heat on. I knew immediately that it wouldn’t be any problem to make the rent. When I called Elle I told her to start packing. She wasn’t overly happy but really couldn’t say much. At least we'd all be together.
Dan and I got all twelve horses trained by Saturday and we then left for the farm. It was good to see Elle. I’d been planning on a nice ”homecoming“ but found that she had her period. Sunday morning I loaded most of the things we thought we needed into the little trailer. I say ”loaded“ but it was more like just tossing the stuff in. We said our ”good byes“ to Jeanne and then Dan reviewed the instructions for what I was to do on Monday and Tuesday and then we took off. I was so excited that I was going to be on my own that I don’t remember much of the trip itself. I remember it being late in the afternoon when we arrived. Once up the stairs (it was on the third floor) we were greeted by Jean Paul and Marie as if we were royalty. They insisted that we come right into their apartment and to have some dinner. The table was all set for us to join them. They promised to help us unload and to get our apartment set up when we finished eating. I was hungry but Elle, who was wearing a ”package“, needed a change as did our oldest. Elle, not wanting to mention her own need, tried to get out of it by pointing out our daughter’s wet diaper. Marie said it wasn’t a problem as Elle could use one of her son’s diapers and plastic pants. I tried to help her out by saying that we really needed to get our things unloaded so I could get the trailer off the street. Both Jean Paul and Marie protested mightily with Marie saying that she’d made extra food just for us. Elle, who was holding the baby gave me a look that said ”I give up“ and handed me the baby. Then she nodded for Marie to come over by where she was standing. Jean Paul’s oldest was making a bit of a fuss and he went over to him to calm him down. I saw Elle whispering to Marie and then, much to my surprise, saw her turn her backside towards Marie and point to two wet spots on her butt cheeks. Marie was somewhat shocked but nodded for Elle to follow her down the hall.
When they returned Elle was still wearing the same clothes. I’d assumed that Marie was going to give Elle some dry clothes but remembered that Marie was as thin as a rail. What Elle had was a bath towel folded over a number of times which she discreetly placed on one of the chairs around the table. Elle promptly sat down and we all joined her. It was a nice meal and really appreciated in spite of the circumstances. When we finished, as promised, both Jean Paul and Marie helped me unload the trailer. I remember being thankful that the apartment was as big as it was. I also remember wondering how we’d accumulated so much stuff.
Morning came way too soon. Jean Paul had suggested that he ride to the track with me so Marie could show Elle around and to help her get food and supplies. I remember thinking that maybe the change in location was going to be a good thing. Dan’s approach to me had changed for the better and meeting up with Jean Paul and his wife had been a blessing. For the first time in a long time I had a positive feeling. When I got back to the apartment that night I found Elle to be almost as happy as I was. Other than some minor difficulties with language translation Elle had a good time with Marie. After eating we all got together again and had an enjoyable evening. It had become increasingly clear to me that Jean Paul and I were made from the same mold.
The rest of the horses arrived Tuesday afternoon and Dan was back that night. Everything had gone well for me and Dan seemed pleased. He stayed until all of the recent arrivals had had their turn on the track. Chit had arrived with the new batch of horses and as soon as Dan left I found that he actually had a ”voice“. I found that his name was actually a shortening of his surname. I also found that he had worked with harness horses since before WW II and with Dan since Dan began racing on the Grand Circuit or for about eight years. Without Dan around he was actually a different person. He had a real good ”feel“ for horses and I was surprised that he’d never had any desire to go off on his own. I decided to try to take advantage of his experience as I moved forward.
To be continued...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56i)
Surprisingly, Dan joined me for the trip and was driving the pick-up. He left Chit to supervise the loading of the horses and to oversee the care of the remainder of the horses. When we pulled out of the driveway I heard him curse. This was the first time he’d driven the pick-up with the trailer hitched up and both fully loaded. The tongue weight on the trailer was too heavy and the springs on the truck were too light so the front end of the truck was pointed upwards and the tires were hardly on the road. I hated driving it that way but had become somewhat accustomed to it. Dan drove but a mile before pulling over. It wasn’t that I hadn’t told him about it because I did but he had chosen to ignore my complaint. After stopping he told me to drive since I ”had some idea what the truck was doing”. My experiences with the rig were on back roads with little traffic. The trip to the “shore” was on well traveled highways with much traffic. We were about halfway there when I had to hit the brakes hard. Without firm grip of the front wheels on the road surface and the weight of the trailer behind us we started to “jackknife”, but didn’t hit anything or do any damage to the truck. It was frightening as we slid in front of a tractor trailer who missed us by inches. Dan was as white as a ghost. I asked him if he wanted to drive but he declined.
Once at the “shore” track, Dan and I unloaded the straw into the stalls that had been assigned to Dan and prepared them for the horses. It was the first time I’d actually seen him do manual labor. We had twelve stalls ready when the truck with the hoses arrived. We got the horses squared away and set about putting up windbreaks since the barns were of the open style designed for Summer weather. By the time we finished up it was well after dark. I’d had nothing substantial to eat since the previous night. I wasn’t worried about where I’d sleep. I was too hungry to think that far ahead.
I was pleasantly surprised when Dan told me to get in the pick up truck with him. We left the track and found small diner still open. He asked the owner of the diner if he knew of a reasonable priced place to stay. The whole area was known as a Summer destination and “dead’ in the Winter. The man told us of a rooming house that he thought was open for tenants. Dan got the directions and we were off. It was, indeed, open and the owner was pleased to see us. The only ”catch“ was that we had to pay for a week. I could tell Dan was tired because his blustery personality was much muted and he paid without trying to make a "deal". There was little conversation between us and he was asleep in minutes.
As I lay awake it dawned on me that I was no longer in ”solitary“. There were other horsemen at the track to mix and mingle with. It’d been five months since I’d talked with others in the business. With that thought I was suddenly fully awake. I had no idea who the other horsemen were but I knew I was going to find out as soon as possible. I couldn’t help but fantasize about finding another job. When I finally fell asleep that was the thought on my mind.
Morning brought another surprise. Dan drove us back to the diner and while we were eating he divulged his ”plan“. Because planting time was imminent he was going to have to spend time at the farm. While he was gone I was to be in charge. As soon as he could hire someone I would no longer be taking care of any horses. It took a minute or two for it to sink in... I was actually going to be the assistant trainer, the position I thought I’d been hired for. I remember not knowing what to say. It was truly unexpected.
My biggest problem was what to do about Elle. She'd finally gone to the doctor to find out what he suggested. Bethann and Jeanne had helped her out. He told her that it was a relatively simple procedure but without me there she wouldn’t commit to it. Dan had told me that we’d both be going back to the farm Saturday afternoon and it would be a good idea to find a place to stay so I could bring her back with me. There weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I was excited about the future but I had to survive to get there.
The first contact I made was with a young French-Canadian named Jean Paul. We ended up sitting next to each other at the cook house. We briefly exchanged backgrounds and found we were basically the same age and both with two young children. He was what was known as a ”contract“ trainer, training horses for only one owner. The owner was from New Hampshire and the Winter there had been particularly harsh forcing him to head South with the horses. He’d been at the track for a few weeks and had recently brought his wife and kids down. Hearing that, I asked where he was living, telling him that I needed to find a place for my family. That news really excited him and he told me the apartment right across from him was vacant. He told me his wife was really homesick and lonely and thought that if she could connect with someone her age and with young children it would solve a big problem for him. For me it was a start and, after telling him I was temporarily without transportation, he said he’d come by the rooming house after supper. Before we went back to work he described the apartment and I was immediately concerned that the cost would be out of my reach.
To be continued...
Surprisingly, Dan joined me for the trip and was driving the pick-up. He left Chit to supervise the loading of the horses and to oversee the care of the remainder of the horses. When we pulled out of the driveway I heard him curse. This was the first time he’d driven the pick-up with the trailer hitched up and both fully loaded. The tongue weight on the trailer was too heavy and the springs on the truck were too light so the front end of the truck was pointed upwards and the tires were hardly on the road. I hated driving it that way but had become somewhat accustomed to it. Dan drove but a mile before pulling over. It wasn’t that I hadn’t told him about it because I did but he had chosen to ignore my complaint. After stopping he told me to drive since I ”had some idea what the truck was doing”. My experiences with the rig were on back roads with little traffic. The trip to the “shore” was on well traveled highways with much traffic. We were about halfway there when I had to hit the brakes hard. Without firm grip of the front wheels on the road surface and the weight of the trailer behind us we started to “jackknife”, but didn’t hit anything or do any damage to the truck. It was frightening as we slid in front of a tractor trailer who missed us by inches. Dan was as white as a ghost. I asked him if he wanted to drive but he declined.
Once at the “shore” track, Dan and I unloaded the straw into the stalls that had been assigned to Dan and prepared them for the horses. It was the first time I’d actually seen him do manual labor. We had twelve stalls ready when the truck with the hoses arrived. We got the horses squared away and set about putting up windbreaks since the barns were of the open style designed for Summer weather. By the time we finished up it was well after dark. I’d had nothing substantial to eat since the previous night. I wasn’t worried about where I’d sleep. I was too hungry to think that far ahead.
I was pleasantly surprised when Dan told me to get in the pick up truck with him. We left the track and found small diner still open. He asked the owner of the diner if he knew of a reasonable priced place to stay. The whole area was known as a Summer destination and “dead’ in the Winter. The man told us of a rooming house that he thought was open for tenants. Dan got the directions and we were off. It was, indeed, open and the owner was pleased to see us. The only ”catch“ was that we had to pay for a week. I could tell Dan was tired because his blustery personality was much muted and he paid without trying to make a "deal". There was little conversation between us and he was asleep in minutes.
As I lay awake it dawned on me that I was no longer in ”solitary“. There were other horsemen at the track to mix and mingle with. It’d been five months since I’d talked with others in the business. With that thought I was suddenly fully awake. I had no idea who the other horsemen were but I knew I was going to find out as soon as possible. I couldn’t help but fantasize about finding another job. When I finally fell asleep that was the thought on my mind.
Morning brought another surprise. Dan drove us back to the diner and while we were eating he divulged his ”plan“. Because planting time was imminent he was going to have to spend time at the farm. While he was gone I was to be in charge. As soon as he could hire someone I would no longer be taking care of any horses. It took a minute or two for it to sink in... I was actually going to be the assistant trainer, the position I thought I’d been hired for. I remember not knowing what to say. It was truly unexpected.
My biggest problem was what to do about Elle. She'd finally gone to the doctor to find out what he suggested. Bethann and Jeanne had helped her out. He told her that it was a relatively simple procedure but without me there she wouldn’t commit to it. Dan had told me that we’d both be going back to the farm Saturday afternoon and it would be a good idea to find a place to stay so I could bring her back with me. There weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I was excited about the future but I had to survive to get there.
The first contact I made was with a young French-Canadian named Jean Paul. We ended up sitting next to each other at the cook house. We briefly exchanged backgrounds and found we were basically the same age and both with two young children. He was what was known as a ”contract“ trainer, training horses for only one owner. The owner was from New Hampshire and the Winter there had been particularly harsh forcing him to head South with the horses. He’d been at the track for a few weeks and had recently brought his wife and kids down. Hearing that, I asked where he was living, telling him that I needed to find a place for my family. That news really excited him and he told me the apartment right across from him was vacant. He told me his wife was really homesick and lonely and thought that if she could connect with someone her age and with young children it would solve a big problem for him. For me it was a start and, after telling him I was temporarily without transportation, he said he’d come by the rooming house after supper. Before we went back to work he described the apartment and I was immediately concerned that the cost would be out of my reach.
To be continued...
Thursday, June 17, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56h)
It was right after that when Dan had a local veterinarian come to ”worm“ the horses. Because there is no way to treat what horses eat they are plagued with parasites, more commonly called ”worms“. Periodically they are treated for this. It entails having the Vet slide a hose down a nostril and into the horse’s stomach and the medicine to combat the parasite is then fed down the tube. It’s a tricky process and the Vet does it by ”feel“, meaning that the resistance pressure he feels once inserted tells him he’s in the right place. Some horses are calm during the process and others resist making it harder for the Vet to get the hose placed right. Dan had 24 horses treated that day and by the end everyone, including the Vet, was tired. I remember just slumping down in my chair when I got home. I was too tired to eat. I don’t know how long it took me to fall asleep... three, maybe four minutes. The next thing I knew there was a terrible pounding on the side of the trailer. Elle opened the door and there was Dan, bellowing for me to ”get my ass down to the barn!“
By the time I got my coat on and out the door he was gone. When I got to the barn all the men were standing in front of the stall of one of the horses I was caring for. It was a two year old colt that Dan had purchased for his big owner and paid big bucks for. From what I was told it was the most money Dan had ever expended for a yearling. I got to the open stall door and saw the horse was down. Chit told me that he was dead. As soon as he did Dan came roaring into the barn and came right up to me demanding to knowing what I’d fed the horse. Actually, I’d not fed any of the horses as I’d been assisting the Vet. Dan had been gone all afternoon and didn’t even know that the Vet had been there. After knocking on my trailer he’d gone to his house and called the Vet who walked in a few minutes later. He and Dan chatted and then Dan disappeared. The rest of us just stood there and watched as the Vet looked over the horse. About 20 minutes later Dan returned telling us we had to get the horse out of the stall and into the horse trailer. He’d contacted the University of Pennsylvania school of Veterinary Medecine to do an autopsy... that night. It was around 8pm and by the time we’d all tugged, pushed and crammed the dead horse into the trailer it was close to 10pm. By the time we (Dan, Chit and I) got to the campus it was close to 11pm. I didn’t watch the actual autopsy being performed but I got to see the result of what had happened. The Vet had missed putting the tube into the horse’s stomach and put it into the lungs. I was handed a piece of the lung and it was like it was frozen without being cold. The trip back to the farm was quiet but I didn’t sleep. It was 3am when we arrived and I don’t think I slept at all. It was a terrible experience.
By the early part of March the ground started to thaw. That was the next crisis. Once it did the track was muddy but useable. The problem with deep frost is that when it finally thaws it creates what is known as ”frost heaves“. What happens is that the ground will heave upwards making for very soft and muddy conditions. The ”heaves“ made the track totally unusable. Dan made a bad situation worse by ordering a truckload of stone dust to be spread over the track to try and firm it up. The dump truck barely made it out onto the track when it was, for lack of a better description, ”swallowed up“ in the mud. The wheels were buried up to the axels. On top of that the truck was blocking the only entrance to the track. We were dead in the water as far a training was concerned.
I thought it was chaotic when the potato crisis hit but Dan outdid himself in this situation. He had a screaming fit, yelling at everybody in sight but especially at the truck driver. He, in turn, was screaming back at Dan and at one point threatened to sue him. All we could do was to just stand there.
I don’t know how long it was before Dan reappeared. When he did he was in rare form... arms flailing, yelling at all of us to get busy and start packing up. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a clue as to just what he wanted us to do. When Dan disappeared again Chit explained that we were probably moving the horses to the ”shore“. That didn’t mean anything to me and most of the others. He went on to explain that the ”shore“ was a race track located in Ocean City Maryland, right on the ocean. I’d heard of it through my friend Eugene who had told me he lived not far from the track. Chit went on to say that even though there was no racing, the track remained open through the Winter as a training facility. I was trying to take it all in when Dan was back screaming at us to get to work. When he calmed down he told Chit and I that a truck would be there to pick up a dozen horses by 10am the next day. Then he told me that I was to load up as much straw as the horse trailer and pick-up truck would hold and to leave at daybreak. I figured out that since he was so cheap he’d already paid for the straw and he wanted to use it. I finished up with packing the stuff for my three horses and set out to load the trailer. Thankfully, some of the other men had finished and joined me in the loading process. My back was in decent shape but I was worried about how it would be when I had to unload at the ”shore“.
Dan still hadn’t told us of his plans. I didn’t know what to tell Elle when I went for supper. She had questions but I had no answers. Her questions made me realize that if we were going to relocate to the ”shore“ that I’d have a lot of expenses that I didn’t have at the farm... rent, electric, gas for the car, additional food expenses. It wasn’t good news. I knew once the racing season started that I’d have to face them but I wasn’t prepared right at the moment.
To be continued...
It was right after that when Dan had a local veterinarian come to ”worm“ the horses. Because there is no way to treat what horses eat they are plagued with parasites, more commonly called ”worms“. Periodically they are treated for this. It entails having the Vet slide a hose down a nostril and into the horse’s stomach and the medicine to combat the parasite is then fed down the tube. It’s a tricky process and the Vet does it by ”feel“, meaning that the resistance pressure he feels once inserted tells him he’s in the right place. Some horses are calm during the process and others resist making it harder for the Vet to get the hose placed right. Dan had 24 horses treated that day and by the end everyone, including the Vet, was tired. I remember just slumping down in my chair when I got home. I was too tired to eat. I don’t know how long it took me to fall asleep... three, maybe four minutes. The next thing I knew there was a terrible pounding on the side of the trailer. Elle opened the door and there was Dan, bellowing for me to ”get my ass down to the barn!“
By the time I got my coat on and out the door he was gone. When I got to the barn all the men were standing in front of the stall of one of the horses I was caring for. It was a two year old colt that Dan had purchased for his big owner and paid big bucks for. From what I was told it was the most money Dan had ever expended for a yearling. I got to the open stall door and saw the horse was down. Chit told me that he was dead. As soon as he did Dan came roaring into the barn and came right up to me demanding to knowing what I’d fed the horse. Actually, I’d not fed any of the horses as I’d been assisting the Vet. Dan had been gone all afternoon and didn’t even know that the Vet had been there. After knocking on my trailer he’d gone to his house and called the Vet who walked in a few minutes later. He and Dan chatted and then Dan disappeared. The rest of us just stood there and watched as the Vet looked over the horse. About 20 minutes later Dan returned telling us we had to get the horse out of the stall and into the horse trailer. He’d contacted the University of Pennsylvania school of Veterinary Medecine to do an autopsy... that night. It was around 8pm and by the time we’d all tugged, pushed and crammed the dead horse into the trailer it was close to 10pm. By the time we (Dan, Chit and I) got to the campus it was close to 11pm. I didn’t watch the actual autopsy being performed but I got to see the result of what had happened. The Vet had missed putting the tube into the horse’s stomach and put it into the lungs. I was handed a piece of the lung and it was like it was frozen without being cold. The trip back to the farm was quiet but I didn’t sleep. It was 3am when we arrived and I don’t think I slept at all. It was a terrible experience.
By the early part of March the ground started to thaw. That was the next crisis. Once it did the track was muddy but useable. The problem with deep frost is that when it finally thaws it creates what is known as ”frost heaves“. What happens is that the ground will heave upwards making for very soft and muddy conditions. The ”heaves“ made the track totally unusable. Dan made a bad situation worse by ordering a truckload of stone dust to be spread over the track to try and firm it up. The dump truck barely made it out onto the track when it was, for lack of a better description, ”swallowed up“ in the mud. The wheels were buried up to the axels. On top of that the truck was blocking the only entrance to the track. We were dead in the water as far a training was concerned.
I thought it was chaotic when the potato crisis hit but Dan outdid himself in this situation. He had a screaming fit, yelling at everybody in sight but especially at the truck driver. He, in turn, was screaming back at Dan and at one point threatened to sue him. All we could do was to just stand there.
I don’t know how long it was before Dan reappeared. When he did he was in rare form... arms flailing, yelling at all of us to get busy and start packing up. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a clue as to just what he wanted us to do. When Dan disappeared again Chit explained that we were probably moving the horses to the ”shore“. That didn’t mean anything to me and most of the others. He went on to explain that the ”shore“ was a race track located in Ocean City Maryland, right on the ocean. I’d heard of it through my friend Eugene who had told me he lived not far from the track. Chit went on to say that even though there was no racing, the track remained open through the Winter as a training facility. I was trying to take it all in when Dan was back screaming at us to get to work. When he calmed down he told Chit and I that a truck would be there to pick up a dozen horses by 10am the next day. Then he told me that I was to load up as much straw as the horse trailer and pick-up truck would hold and to leave at daybreak. I figured out that since he was so cheap he’d already paid for the straw and he wanted to use it. I finished up with packing the stuff for my three horses and set out to load the trailer. Thankfully, some of the other men had finished and joined me in the loading process. My back was in decent shape but I was worried about how it would be when I had to unload at the ”shore“.
Dan still hadn’t told us of his plans. I didn’t know what to tell Elle when I went for supper. She had questions but I had no answers. Her questions made me realize that if we were going to relocate to the ”shore“ that I’d have a lot of expenses that I didn’t have at the farm... rent, electric, gas for the car, additional food expenses. It wasn’t good news. I knew once the racing season started that I’d have to face them but I wasn’t prepared right at the moment.
To be continued...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56g)
As I helped unload the hay I just prayed that this would not be another one of Dan’s late work nights. I didn’t want to give Elle the panties and then be called back to the barn. I’d hidden the bag with the panties in my coat pocket and kept glancing at both the clock on the table and my coat, praying that there would be no knock on the door. I’d learned that it was never really ”safe“ but once 9pm came and went that it was unlikely that he’d have a project.
Elle was in a good mood and the kids went to bed without any trouble. We had what I called a ”comfortable chair” and if I sat in it for more than five minutes I’d fall asleep. I found things to do while Elle picked up just so I wouldn’t fall asleep. When she walked back into the living room I took her by the hand and led her over to the chair. I sat down and pulled her down to sit on my lap. I was always thrusting my hand in her crotch to check to see if she was wet. Being home all day she’d been able to visit the toilet at will and any wetness was from “dribbles”. When I put my hand in there I was somewhat surprised that it was fairly wet. I remember her turning to look at me and asking “happy?” Of course I was and let her know it. But, with her sitting on my lap my “bulge” was very uncomfortable. I nudged her to stand up so I could readjust myself. While she was standing there I unbuttoned her pants and she didn’t resist. I pulled them down and saw a pair of fancy white panties. I knew all her fancy panties were size 5 and the fact that she was wearing a pair told me that her weight loss efforts were working. I immediately thought of the new panties and being size 6 but I was so excited about the feel of them that I asked her to hand me my coat. I pulled the bag out and told her to put her hand inside. I watched as she pulled a pair out. She had a puzzled look on her face and I asked her what was wrong. She replied by asking what the panties were made of. I sort of smiled because she had almost the same reaction as I did when I first felt them. I took them from her and pulled the “Narcissa’ tag of and had her step into them. She didn’t want to because she was wet and they were brand new but I insisted. As soon as she had them up to her waist I stood up and pressed my hand into her crotch. I know it’ll sound weird but that material, when wet, was an incredible turn on for me. I stood there, gently rubbing, and had to fight coming in my pants.
We went into the bedroom and I undressed her with the exception of her panties. After stripping my clothes off I lay down on my back and gently pulled her over to me indicating that I wanted her to straddle me. She did and, as usual, started ‘‘riding” me... but not for long. I came within seconds. We were both disappointed. But I knew that if I could keep her from going to sleep that I’d “recover“ and that the love making would be fantastic.
Recovery for me was usually about an hour. As we lay there. side my side, I kept running my hand over her pantied butt. I don’t know how long it took but I know that it wasn’t an hour and I was ”ready“, for sure. She insisted on using the toilet and I asked if she’d pee through one pair and then pull the other pair up and over. She gave me a "look” but did as I asked. I wanted her to straddle me again but after my “blow-out”, as she called it, she lay down beside me. I “plugged in“ but she was still leery. I prevailed and and enjoyed myself for a few minutes before moving on to fully satisfy us both. The only downside was that we never set the alarms to wake Elle up and she did end up wetting the bed. It wouldn’t be the last time.
The weather continued to stay very cold which meant that the snow stayed around longer than would be expected in this part of the country. The ground, including the track, was frozen but Dan had managed to scrape off enough dirt and had added some sand to give a ”cushion“ to the track so that we could at least use it. By February 1st Dan had calculated that we were almost two weeks behind on our training schedule. We couldn’t afford more problems and still be ready for the opening of the racing season. I’m sure you’re familiar with Murphy’s Law... ”if it can go wrong, it will“. It seemed like that described this whole operation.
Two more snows in early February added to our woes. The first made Elle postpone her second visit to the Doctor concerning her incontinence. The delay didn’t help Elle’s mindset. Even though Bethann had continued to encourage her there was still some doubt on her part. Outwardly, I was encouraging her to proceed but from a money standpoint I had some doubts. I still owed the doctor for the delivery of the baby.
On top of that Dan found that he had miscalculated the amount of potatoes he had stored. He was committed, by contract, to provide a certain amount of potatoes to this one distributor. In order to avoid a penalty he ended up ordering a tractor trailer load of bagged potatoes from a contact in Maine. His plan was to just re-bag them into his own labeled bags. To save money he found the cheapest trucking company to bring the potatoes down from Maine. That turned out to be another disaster. The trailer was not insulated and the potatoes that were stacked against the front of the trailer all froze. Dan didn't know this when they were unloaded. Unfortunately, as the bags were unloaded, they all got intermixed. When the frozen potatoes thawed they turned rotten. As the rotten ones touched good ones it damaged them as well. When Dan discovered this it was panic time. Everyone involved at the farm, in any way including wives and children, found themselves at the potato barn sorting potatoes. Rotten potatoes smell... really bad. It was hard not to be sick to your stomach. From noon until midnight, for two days straight, we all sorted, graded and bagged potatoes. Elle was the only one to escape. My clothes smelled so bad I had to undress outside and leave them there. After showering I still smelled of rotten potatoes. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I thought things couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong.
To be continued...
As I helped unload the hay I just prayed that this would not be another one of Dan’s late work nights. I didn’t want to give Elle the panties and then be called back to the barn. I’d hidden the bag with the panties in my coat pocket and kept glancing at both the clock on the table and my coat, praying that there would be no knock on the door. I’d learned that it was never really ”safe“ but once 9pm came and went that it was unlikely that he’d have a project.
Elle was in a good mood and the kids went to bed without any trouble. We had what I called a ”comfortable chair” and if I sat in it for more than five minutes I’d fall asleep. I found things to do while Elle picked up just so I wouldn’t fall asleep. When she walked back into the living room I took her by the hand and led her over to the chair. I sat down and pulled her down to sit on my lap. I was always thrusting my hand in her crotch to check to see if she was wet. Being home all day she’d been able to visit the toilet at will and any wetness was from “dribbles”. When I put my hand in there I was somewhat surprised that it was fairly wet. I remember her turning to look at me and asking “happy?” Of course I was and let her know it. But, with her sitting on my lap my “bulge” was very uncomfortable. I nudged her to stand up so I could readjust myself. While she was standing there I unbuttoned her pants and she didn’t resist. I pulled them down and saw a pair of fancy white panties. I knew all her fancy panties were size 5 and the fact that she was wearing a pair told me that her weight loss efforts were working. I immediately thought of the new panties and being size 6 but I was so excited about the feel of them that I asked her to hand me my coat. I pulled the bag out and told her to put her hand inside. I watched as she pulled a pair out. She had a puzzled look on her face and I asked her what was wrong. She replied by asking what the panties were made of. I sort of smiled because she had almost the same reaction as I did when I first felt them. I took them from her and pulled the “Narcissa’ tag of and had her step into them. She didn’t want to because she was wet and they were brand new but I insisted. As soon as she had them up to her waist I stood up and pressed my hand into her crotch. I know it’ll sound weird but that material, when wet, was an incredible turn on for me. I stood there, gently rubbing, and had to fight coming in my pants.
We went into the bedroom and I undressed her with the exception of her panties. After stripping my clothes off I lay down on my back and gently pulled her over to me indicating that I wanted her to straddle me. She did and, as usual, started ‘‘riding” me... but not for long. I came within seconds. We were both disappointed. But I knew that if I could keep her from going to sleep that I’d “recover“ and that the love making would be fantastic.
Recovery for me was usually about an hour. As we lay there. side my side, I kept running my hand over her pantied butt. I don’t know how long it took but I know that it wasn’t an hour and I was ”ready“, for sure. She insisted on using the toilet and I asked if she’d pee through one pair and then pull the other pair up and over. She gave me a "look” but did as I asked. I wanted her to straddle me again but after my “blow-out”, as she called it, she lay down beside me. I “plugged in“ but she was still leery. I prevailed and and enjoyed myself for a few minutes before moving on to fully satisfy us both. The only downside was that we never set the alarms to wake Elle up and she did end up wetting the bed. It wouldn’t be the last time.
The weather continued to stay very cold which meant that the snow stayed around longer than would be expected in this part of the country. The ground, including the track, was frozen but Dan had managed to scrape off enough dirt and had added some sand to give a ”cushion“ to the track so that we could at least use it. By February 1st Dan had calculated that we were almost two weeks behind on our training schedule. We couldn’t afford more problems and still be ready for the opening of the racing season. I’m sure you’re familiar with Murphy’s Law... ”if it can go wrong, it will“. It seemed like that described this whole operation.
Two more snows in early February added to our woes. The first made Elle postpone her second visit to the Doctor concerning her incontinence. The delay didn’t help Elle’s mindset. Even though Bethann had continued to encourage her there was still some doubt on her part. Outwardly, I was encouraging her to proceed but from a money standpoint I had some doubts. I still owed the doctor for the delivery of the baby.
On top of that Dan found that he had miscalculated the amount of potatoes he had stored. He was committed, by contract, to provide a certain amount of potatoes to this one distributor. In order to avoid a penalty he ended up ordering a tractor trailer load of bagged potatoes from a contact in Maine. His plan was to just re-bag them into his own labeled bags. To save money he found the cheapest trucking company to bring the potatoes down from Maine. That turned out to be another disaster. The trailer was not insulated and the potatoes that were stacked against the front of the trailer all froze. Dan didn't know this when they were unloaded. Unfortunately, as the bags were unloaded, they all got intermixed. When the frozen potatoes thawed they turned rotten. As the rotten ones touched good ones it damaged them as well. When Dan discovered this it was panic time. Everyone involved at the farm, in any way including wives and children, found themselves at the potato barn sorting potatoes. Rotten potatoes smell... really bad. It was hard not to be sick to your stomach. From noon until midnight, for two days straight, we all sorted, graded and bagged potatoes. Elle was the only one to escape. My clothes smelled so bad I had to undress outside and leave them there. After showering I still smelled of rotten potatoes. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I thought things couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong.
To be continued...
Thursday, June 10, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56f)
As the snow stopped it became very cold. I don’t remember how cold it actually got but the water line into the trailer froze. I caught it before the line broke but I remember lying on the frozen ground under the trailer with an old fashioned blow torch worried that I might end up burning the trailer down. When I got back inside it took me quite a while to get warm. When I climbed into bed Elle wouldn’t let me get close to her because my body was still ”radiating cold“.
Once the county cleared the roads Bert was able to make it to the farm. An accomplished welder, he fashioned a plow by cutting up an old water tank and welding it to the tractor. Dan was able to make a path around the track so we were able to get the horses outside and moving. We finished up right at dark and after getting a bite to eat we were off to grade potatoes... until after midnight. Elle desperately needed food for the baby and was quite upset when I got back. I didn’t have an answer for her. The next morning I got up around 4am to dig out the car so she could go downtown. When I had a path made I went to start the car but nothing happened. I lifted the hood and saw nothing but snow, packed into every nook and cranny under the hood. The fan couldn’t move because of the packed snow so that was the reason. I told her she’d have to wait until later. I asked Dan about borrowing his pick up and he said I’d have to wait until he got back, not telling me where he was going or how long he’d be. Remembering Jeanne’s offer to Elle about getting her to help if Dan got too difficult to deal with I told her to run up to the house. It solved the immediate problem but created a new one for me. I was now on Dan’s shit list, for sure.
It didn’t come to light until after most of the snow melted. We’d gone through almost all the hay we had in the barn. I’d been making one trip a week to the farm where Dan had made some sort of ”deal“ to get both hay and straw from this one source but the farmer found someone who was willing to pay more. This so infuriated Dan that he went looking for another source. We were located on the fringe of the Amish country and Dan had found he could make some ”deals“ that were very favorable to him on any number of things. He went out and found this Amish farmer who was willing to sell his hay if Dan would buy the whole barn full. I remember Dan making a gloating comment about how he could turn around and sell it at twice what he paid for it. But, we needed it. That’s where I came in. After finishing up with the horses I had to hitch up the two horse trailer to his pick up and drive 40 miles to get the hay. Dan was aware of my bad back so he also negotiated a deal with the farmer to have his sons load me up. The problem with that was that I had to wait until they got their regular farm chores done and sometimes that meant they wouldn’t start with me until after it was dark. I’d made a number of trips (one a day) when, on this particular night, it was almost 8pm when I finally left to return to the farm. I had to drive right through the center of the nearby town and, because it was so late, I just had to get something to eat. The town had set their parking up so you drove in at an angle which made it difficult for me with the trailer. I found a gas station the was closed for the night and pulled in and walked back to this little luncheonette that was located next to the movie theater. After eating and walking on my way back to the truck I saw something in this store window that caught my attention... panties displayed on a half manequin. I made note of the location of the store so that on my next trip I’d be able to stop and take a good look at them.
I think that was my total focus on the next trip. I came through town around 4pm and, with difficulty, found a place to park. I remember walking into the store and thinking back to when I would buy the Carter’s Spanky Pants for Elle at the little dress store in my grandparents town many years before. It was very similar in what they offered. If it hadn’t been for the manequin in the window I would never have known they sold panties. The lady, probably in her 60’s, was nice and although it was obvious that she was curious as to why a man would be buying panties, she didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I asked to see the panties in the window and she brought out a wooden drawer. She asked about size and, although Elle was working on loosing weight, I asked to see size 6. They were nylon and plain with no lace or any other embellishments. What caught my attention was the feel of the material. It was so satiny soft that I actually started a bulge right there. There was a tag attached to the waist elastic that read ”Narcissa“, the name of the material. I also liked the width of the crotch. That reminded me of the heavy cotton Nazareth panties that Elle used in her ”package“. The name on the label read ”Plymouth“ and I also noticed there was a little tab over where the waist elastic was bound together. I'd never seen that done before. When I asked the price I know I was a bit shocked when she said 69 cents. With the way they were made and the luxurious feel of them I figured that they would be at least $1.00 a pair. Not wanting to put myself short of cash I figured three pair would be enough to find out if both Elle and I liked them. I knew I’d be coming through town many, many more times. As I walked out I couldn’t wait to get home.
To be continued...
As the snow stopped it became very cold. I don’t remember how cold it actually got but the water line into the trailer froze. I caught it before the line broke but I remember lying on the frozen ground under the trailer with an old fashioned blow torch worried that I might end up burning the trailer down. When I got back inside it took me quite a while to get warm. When I climbed into bed Elle wouldn’t let me get close to her because my body was still ”radiating cold“.
Once the county cleared the roads Bert was able to make it to the farm. An accomplished welder, he fashioned a plow by cutting up an old water tank and welding it to the tractor. Dan was able to make a path around the track so we were able to get the horses outside and moving. We finished up right at dark and after getting a bite to eat we were off to grade potatoes... until after midnight. Elle desperately needed food for the baby and was quite upset when I got back. I didn’t have an answer for her. The next morning I got up around 4am to dig out the car so she could go downtown. When I had a path made I went to start the car but nothing happened. I lifted the hood and saw nothing but snow, packed into every nook and cranny under the hood. The fan couldn’t move because of the packed snow so that was the reason. I told her she’d have to wait until later. I asked Dan about borrowing his pick up and he said I’d have to wait until he got back, not telling me where he was going or how long he’d be. Remembering Jeanne’s offer to Elle about getting her to help if Dan got too difficult to deal with I told her to run up to the house. It solved the immediate problem but created a new one for me. I was now on Dan’s shit list, for sure.
It didn’t come to light until after most of the snow melted. We’d gone through almost all the hay we had in the barn. I’d been making one trip a week to the farm where Dan had made some sort of ”deal“ to get both hay and straw from this one source but the farmer found someone who was willing to pay more. This so infuriated Dan that he went looking for another source. We were located on the fringe of the Amish country and Dan had found he could make some ”deals“ that were very favorable to him on any number of things. He went out and found this Amish farmer who was willing to sell his hay if Dan would buy the whole barn full. I remember Dan making a gloating comment about how he could turn around and sell it at twice what he paid for it. But, we needed it. That’s where I came in. After finishing up with the horses I had to hitch up the two horse trailer to his pick up and drive 40 miles to get the hay. Dan was aware of my bad back so he also negotiated a deal with the farmer to have his sons load me up. The problem with that was that I had to wait until they got their regular farm chores done and sometimes that meant they wouldn’t start with me until after it was dark. I’d made a number of trips (one a day) when, on this particular night, it was almost 8pm when I finally left to return to the farm. I had to drive right through the center of the nearby town and, because it was so late, I just had to get something to eat. The town had set their parking up so you drove in at an angle which made it difficult for me with the trailer. I found a gas station the was closed for the night and pulled in and walked back to this little luncheonette that was located next to the movie theater. After eating and walking on my way back to the truck I saw something in this store window that caught my attention... panties displayed on a half manequin. I made note of the location of the store so that on my next trip I’d be able to stop and take a good look at them.
I think that was my total focus on the next trip. I came through town around 4pm and, with difficulty, found a place to park. I remember walking into the store and thinking back to when I would buy the Carter’s Spanky Pants for Elle at the little dress store in my grandparents town many years before. It was very similar in what they offered. If it hadn’t been for the manequin in the window I would never have known they sold panties. The lady, probably in her 60’s, was nice and although it was obvious that she was curious as to why a man would be buying panties, she didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I asked to see the panties in the window and she brought out a wooden drawer. She asked about size and, although Elle was working on loosing weight, I asked to see size 6. They were nylon and plain with no lace or any other embellishments. What caught my attention was the feel of the material. It was so satiny soft that I actually started a bulge right there. There was a tag attached to the waist elastic that read ”Narcissa“, the name of the material. I also liked the width of the crotch. That reminded me of the heavy cotton Nazareth panties that Elle used in her ”package“. The name on the label read ”Plymouth“ and I also noticed there was a little tab over where the waist elastic was bound together. I'd never seen that done before. When I asked the price I know I was a bit shocked when she said 69 cents. With the way they were made and the luxurious feel of them I figured that they would be at least $1.00 a pair. Not wanting to put myself short of cash I figured three pair would be enough to find out if both Elle and I liked them. I knew I’d be coming through town many, many more times. As I walked out I couldn’t wait to get home.
To be continued...
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56e)
We’d had warmer and better weather than normal from the time I arrived at the farm. Dan was well ahead of the rock picking schedule he’d set up and the new barn was completely fitted out. The only problem we’d had was that the new training track wasn’t firm enough. Dan, as I discovered, wasn’t one to spend money if he didn’t have to. When he graded out the track, moving dirt from one side of the hill to the other to make the track level, he failed to put in a solid base of crushed stone. He also failed to add sand to help with drainage. It would take two days after a rain for the track to dry out enough just to get on it. Since we had to keep the horses moving Dan measured out a mile on the roads within the boundary of the farm. It was bizarre. We’d start out in front of my trailer and go down the hill to the back gate. The back of the new barn was about a half mile and that’s all we had to go on.
Elle and I were invited up to Dan and Jeanne’s on New Years eve. We delayed until both the kids were asleep and then carried them on up to the house. Bert and Bethann were there as well. It was obvious when we arrived that they’d had a head start on the celebration. Bethann was especially animated. She was wearing a dress and I had a chance to see the ”magic triangle“ a couple of times which helped my attitude. By the time midnight came she was really drunk. Bert had told her to ”calm down” and they had a bit off a tiff. She went into the kitchen and the rest of us watched the ball drop in NYC. Both Elle and I, used to going to bed around 9pm, made ready to leave right after. When we went into the kitchen to leave we saw Bethann asleep. She was sitting on a stool with her upper body on the counter. But what I really saw was the puddle under the stool. I don’t know why but I pointed it out to Elle. Normally I would’ve kept it to myself. Walking to the trailer Elle made a comment to me along the lines of “I’m sure that made you happy". Maybe it was the alcohol in me but I remember admitting that it did. As we went to bed I was in first and was really surprised when Elle climbed in on top of me and her panties were wet. I stopped worrying about what would happen if Elle was ”fixed“ right then and there.
Unfortunately, the new year did not get off to a good start. I don’t remember which day it was but I woke up to find blizzard like conditions as I made my way to the barn to start the day. It was another day lost as we had to just walk the horses in the area in front of the stalls. At about mid morning Dan rounded us all up to go down to his potato storage barn which was on the other side of town. Bert had a station wagon so we were all able to go either with Dan in his pick up truck or with Bert. We had a hard time getting to town as most of the rural roads in that area were anywhere from one to four feet below the farm fields that lined both sides of the roads and, with the wind blowing the snow, it filled the roads making them almost impassible. When we got to about 1/2 mile from the storage barn we found the main highway blocked with a large snowdrift. There was no indication that any snow removal equipment had come through up to that time. I was with Dan in his pick up and he was ready to explode, cursing the highway department... and the weather. We had no choice but to return to the farm and what should’ve been a 15 minute trip took about 45 minutes. What really had him mad was that there was no real work for us to do under those conditions and he had to pay us anyway. I thought it was funny.
It snowed the rest of the day and into the night with the wind blowing the whole time. When I woke up the next morning I couldn’t see anything of my car but a part of the back window and a small part of the trunk. Just the way the wind had been blowing and the location of two small buildings created a snow drift that buried my car and continued on out into the driveway to the barn. As I made my way to the barn I found myself in snow up to my waist. The door to the barn had a drift halfway up the door. I couldn’t even budge it and didn’t have a shovel of any kind. It took me about 20 minutes to make my way back up to Dan’s house where I knew there was a shovel. By the time I got back to the barn I’d been outside for almost an hour and hadn’t really accomplished anything. It turned out to be a very, very long day, spent mostly trying to move snow. We didn’t realize it at the time but we were to be ”snowed in“ for the next four days, not able to do anything with the horses but walk them around inside the barn. Dan had me and the others dig the snow out of the road in front of the driveway so that he could drive his big tractor over to the farm field on the other side. Once able to do this he drove it across the field with me and Chit standing on the power take off bar and towards town. The wind had blown most of the snow off the fields so other than the roughness of the fields it was a relatively easy trip. Our goal was to get needed staples (milk, eggs, bread etc) for those of us back at the farm. The trip back was interesting with Chit and I trying to hold onto the tractor aa well as our our purchases. We made it without incident but I remember my legs being ”shaky“ for quite a while afterwards.
To be continued...
We’d had warmer and better weather than normal from the time I arrived at the farm. Dan was well ahead of the rock picking schedule he’d set up and the new barn was completely fitted out. The only problem we’d had was that the new training track wasn’t firm enough. Dan, as I discovered, wasn’t one to spend money if he didn’t have to. When he graded out the track, moving dirt from one side of the hill to the other to make the track level, he failed to put in a solid base of crushed stone. He also failed to add sand to help with drainage. It would take two days after a rain for the track to dry out enough just to get on it. Since we had to keep the horses moving Dan measured out a mile on the roads within the boundary of the farm. It was bizarre. We’d start out in front of my trailer and go down the hill to the back gate. The back of the new barn was about a half mile and that’s all we had to go on.
Elle and I were invited up to Dan and Jeanne’s on New Years eve. We delayed until both the kids were asleep and then carried them on up to the house. Bert and Bethann were there as well. It was obvious when we arrived that they’d had a head start on the celebration. Bethann was especially animated. She was wearing a dress and I had a chance to see the ”magic triangle“ a couple of times which helped my attitude. By the time midnight came she was really drunk. Bert had told her to ”calm down” and they had a bit off a tiff. She went into the kitchen and the rest of us watched the ball drop in NYC. Both Elle and I, used to going to bed around 9pm, made ready to leave right after. When we went into the kitchen to leave we saw Bethann asleep. She was sitting on a stool with her upper body on the counter. But what I really saw was the puddle under the stool. I don’t know why but I pointed it out to Elle. Normally I would’ve kept it to myself. Walking to the trailer Elle made a comment to me along the lines of “I’m sure that made you happy". Maybe it was the alcohol in me but I remember admitting that it did. As we went to bed I was in first and was really surprised when Elle climbed in on top of me and her panties were wet. I stopped worrying about what would happen if Elle was ”fixed“ right then and there.
Unfortunately, the new year did not get off to a good start. I don’t remember which day it was but I woke up to find blizzard like conditions as I made my way to the barn to start the day. It was another day lost as we had to just walk the horses in the area in front of the stalls. At about mid morning Dan rounded us all up to go down to his potato storage barn which was on the other side of town. Bert had a station wagon so we were all able to go either with Dan in his pick up truck or with Bert. We had a hard time getting to town as most of the rural roads in that area were anywhere from one to four feet below the farm fields that lined both sides of the roads and, with the wind blowing the snow, it filled the roads making them almost impassible. When we got to about 1/2 mile from the storage barn we found the main highway blocked with a large snowdrift. There was no indication that any snow removal equipment had come through up to that time. I was with Dan in his pick up and he was ready to explode, cursing the highway department... and the weather. We had no choice but to return to the farm and what should’ve been a 15 minute trip took about 45 minutes. What really had him mad was that there was no real work for us to do under those conditions and he had to pay us anyway. I thought it was funny.
It snowed the rest of the day and into the night with the wind blowing the whole time. When I woke up the next morning I couldn’t see anything of my car but a part of the back window and a small part of the trunk. Just the way the wind had been blowing and the location of two small buildings created a snow drift that buried my car and continued on out into the driveway to the barn. As I made my way to the barn I found myself in snow up to my waist. The door to the barn had a drift halfway up the door. I couldn’t even budge it and didn’t have a shovel of any kind. It took me about 20 minutes to make my way back up to Dan’s house where I knew there was a shovel. By the time I got back to the barn I’d been outside for almost an hour and hadn’t really accomplished anything. It turned out to be a very, very long day, spent mostly trying to move snow. We didn’t realize it at the time but we were to be ”snowed in“ for the next four days, not able to do anything with the horses but walk them around inside the barn. Dan had me and the others dig the snow out of the road in front of the driveway so that he could drive his big tractor over to the farm field on the other side. Once able to do this he drove it across the field with me and Chit standing on the power take off bar and towards town. The wind had blown most of the snow off the fields so other than the roughness of the fields it was a relatively easy trip. Our goal was to get needed staples (milk, eggs, bread etc) for those of us back at the farm. The trip back was interesting with Chit and I trying to hold onto the tractor aa well as our our purchases. We made it without incident but I remember my legs being ”shaky“ for quite a while afterwards.
To be continued...
Thursday, June 03, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56d)
While we were doing that good deed, the three women got to talking. It wasn’t a subject that Elle really wanted to discuss but, basically, she was a ”captive“. It had to do with post pregnancy incontinence. Bethann had suffered through it and after a few years finally found a doctor who had a solution. Elle, after a while, relaxed and opened up about her condition. The other two women worked on Elle to at least go visit Bethann’s doctor. By the time Dan, Bert and I returned to the house their conversation was over and I was not aware of it until Elle and I went to bed. There was some irony to it as the good time we’d all had led to the first intimacy that Elle and I shared since back in August when she went home to her parents. The aftermath of that was a discussion concerning Elle going to see Bethann’s doctor. Even though our monthly expenses were greatly reduced and my income was up, I still owed money to the doctor who had delivered the last baby and had to cover the cost her current check up visits. I also knew that Elle was suffering with the wetting situation. With the birth of the baby, Elle’s attempts at potty training the now 18 month old had been interrupted and she was still pretty much in diapers. If Elle had diapers to wear she would’ve been in them as well. I told her that it was OK to go and kind of held my breath about the possible cost.
Following our ”intimate moment“ of Thanksgiving night I tried to find a spontaneous moment to give her the Vanity Fair panties I'd bought for her back in Boston. I was glad that I’d purchased the size 6 panties as Elle was still about 15 pounds over her normal weight. She got on the scale each and every day but would never let me see what it read. It was a few days after Thanksgiving on a rainy day when Dan sent me off to deliver potatoes. I stopped at the trailer to tell Elle that I wouldn’t be home for lunch. When I walked in she’d just stepped out of the shower and was about to put on a ”package“. She’d volunteered that the wetting situation had improved to the point that she was now able to last about an hour before ”leaking“. I immediately thought about the Vanity Fair panties and told her to wait a minute to continue dressing. In doing the cleaning of the trailer I’d discovered that if I removed the built in drawers there was a lot of unused space in behind them. I'd moved some of my ”stash“, including the new Vanity Fair panties, into that space. It only took a minute to retrieve them and I walked into the bedroom holding them up in front of me. She smiled and reached out for the pair I was holding. (See Part 55c to see them) The feel of them was a lot more silky than the other nylon panties she had and she picked up on that fact right away. The lace panels down the side was another touch that she commented on. The final thing was the brushed nylon in the crotch. I was somewhat shocked as she’d never said much when I’d surprised her with panties before. But... she didn’t want to put them on and ”ruin“ them with pee. I pleaded with her to at least put them on so I could see her in them before I left. As she did I was, again, congratulating myself on picking a size larger than normal. I liked what I saw and was really unhappy that I had to leave.
Later on Elle saw me return with Dan’s pick-up truck and when I walked into the trailer, there she was, holding the baby in her arms and wearing nothing but her bra and the new panties. I knew she was teasing me and all I could do was hope that Dan didn’t have a job for me after supper. In my mind things were almost back to ”normal“ between us and just the thought of that made the situation with Dan more tolerable.
It was Christmas week that Bethann set up the doctor visit for Elle and both she and Jeanne went with her to babysit the kids and to offer encouragement to Elle. Bethann had described the procedure she had and claimed that it solved her problem 90%. Elle, knowing that her problem started way before either pregnancy, wasn’t all that excited but had told me that if she could get back to where she was when she was in college (going 2 to 2 1/2 hours between bathroom visits) she’d be happy. By then Elle and I’d gotten back to our old ways. I’d always liked and enjoyed Elle’s wetting as long as it didn’t embarrass her. If she wasn’t ”into the moment“ she would let me enjoy myself, ”plugged into“ her wet pantied crotch. I’d thought about what might happen if this doctor was able to ”fix“ Elle completely. Selfishly, I hope it would only be a partial fix. )4)
Elle returned with no concrete news but with some hope. There would have to be tests and examinations which, to me, meant money. Christmas was going to be lean with emphasis on the now 19 month old. She was old enough to at least have a basic understanding of Christmas and we focused on her rather than on each other. Dan had been in a ”relaxed“ mode the whole month and, at the same time, I’d adjusted to the job he expected me to do. He gave us a nice ham for Christmas and Jeanne provided some nice presents for the kids. I got an unexpected present from my grandfather in the form of a small Polaroid camera. There was one caveat. He’d given the racehorse that I’d been driving in races to an Amish farmer to pull his ”go to meeting“ wagon. We’d been nursing his ailing leg for at least three years and AJ felt that he’d reached the end of his racing career. So, my grandfather wanted me to go visit the horse and to take some pictures of him. And... also a few of the kids. It was a nice camera and all but I’m not sure he understood how expensive the film was.
To be continued...
While we were doing that good deed, the three women got to talking. It wasn’t a subject that Elle really wanted to discuss but, basically, she was a ”captive“. It had to do with post pregnancy incontinence. Bethann had suffered through it and after a few years finally found a doctor who had a solution. Elle, after a while, relaxed and opened up about her condition. The other two women worked on Elle to at least go visit Bethann’s doctor. By the time Dan, Bert and I returned to the house their conversation was over and I was not aware of it until Elle and I went to bed. There was some irony to it as the good time we’d all had led to the first intimacy that Elle and I shared since back in August when she went home to her parents. The aftermath of that was a discussion concerning Elle going to see Bethann’s doctor. Even though our monthly expenses were greatly reduced and my income was up, I still owed money to the doctor who had delivered the last baby and had to cover the cost her current check up visits. I also knew that Elle was suffering with the wetting situation. With the birth of the baby, Elle’s attempts at potty training the now 18 month old had been interrupted and she was still pretty much in diapers. If Elle had diapers to wear she would’ve been in them as well. I told her that it was OK to go and kind of held my breath about the possible cost.
Following our ”intimate moment“ of Thanksgiving night I tried to find a spontaneous moment to give her the Vanity Fair panties I'd bought for her back in Boston. I was glad that I’d purchased the size 6 panties as Elle was still about 15 pounds over her normal weight. She got on the scale each and every day but would never let me see what it read. It was a few days after Thanksgiving on a rainy day when Dan sent me off to deliver potatoes. I stopped at the trailer to tell Elle that I wouldn’t be home for lunch. When I walked in she’d just stepped out of the shower and was about to put on a ”package“. She’d volunteered that the wetting situation had improved to the point that she was now able to last about an hour before ”leaking“. I immediately thought about the Vanity Fair panties and told her to wait a minute to continue dressing. In doing the cleaning of the trailer I’d discovered that if I removed the built in drawers there was a lot of unused space in behind them. I'd moved some of my ”stash“, including the new Vanity Fair panties, into that space. It only took a minute to retrieve them and I walked into the bedroom holding them up in front of me. She smiled and reached out for the pair I was holding. (See Part 55c to see them) The feel of them was a lot more silky than the other nylon panties she had and she picked up on that fact right away. The lace panels down the side was another touch that she commented on. The final thing was the brushed nylon in the crotch. I was somewhat shocked as she’d never said much when I’d surprised her with panties before. But... she didn’t want to put them on and ”ruin“ them with pee. I pleaded with her to at least put them on so I could see her in them before I left. As she did I was, again, congratulating myself on picking a size larger than normal. I liked what I saw and was really unhappy that I had to leave.
Later on Elle saw me return with Dan’s pick-up truck and when I walked into the trailer, there she was, holding the baby in her arms and wearing nothing but her bra and the new panties. I knew she was teasing me and all I could do was hope that Dan didn’t have a job for me after supper. In my mind things were almost back to ”normal“ between us and just the thought of that made the situation with Dan more tolerable.
It was Christmas week that Bethann set up the doctor visit for Elle and both she and Jeanne went with her to babysit the kids and to offer encouragement to Elle. Bethann had described the procedure she had and claimed that it solved her problem 90%. Elle, knowing that her problem started way before either pregnancy, wasn’t all that excited but had told me that if she could get back to where she was when she was in college (going 2 to 2 1/2 hours between bathroom visits) she’d be happy. By then Elle and I’d gotten back to our old ways. I’d always liked and enjoyed Elle’s wetting as long as it didn’t embarrass her. If she wasn’t ”into the moment“ she would let me enjoy myself, ”plugged into“ her wet pantied crotch. I’d thought about what might happen if this doctor was able to ”fix“ Elle completely. Selfishly, I hope it would only be a partial fix. )4)
Elle returned with no concrete news but with some hope. There would have to be tests and examinations which, to me, meant money. Christmas was going to be lean with emphasis on the now 19 month old. She was old enough to at least have a basic understanding of Christmas and we focused on her rather than on each other. Dan had been in a ”relaxed“ mode the whole month and, at the same time, I’d adjusted to the job he expected me to do. He gave us a nice ham for Christmas and Jeanne provided some nice presents for the kids. I got an unexpected present from my grandfather in the form of a small Polaroid camera. There was one caveat. He’d given the racehorse that I’d been driving in races to an Amish farmer to pull his ”go to meeting“ wagon. We’d been nursing his ailing leg for at least three years and AJ felt that he’d reached the end of his racing career. So, my grandfather wanted me to go visit the horse and to take some pictures of him. And... also a few of the kids. It was a nice camera and all but I’m not sure he understood how expensive the film was.
To be continued...
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
FROM BAD TO WORSE... life in Hades (Part 56c)
I got a break the next morning as both Elle and the baby were still asleep when I left for the barn. I got another when Jeanne, Dan's wife, called on Elle to see the kids. She was the only girl out of six children and had desperately wanted to have a girl but got two boys instead. The visit went well as the two women hit it off right from the start. The 17 month old, normally very shy around strangers, ended up sitting in Jeanne's lap. The most important part about the visit was that Jeanne explained that Dan was very difficult to work for and that Elle was welcome to talk with her at any time if she saw or heard that things were deteriorating for me with work. Elle did not immediately tell me about that part of the visit. Jeanne, seeing the tiny washing machine we had also volunteered to let Elle use her washing machine. Whatever Elle's initial thoughts about the farm were tempered by Jeanne and her visit.
The baby had weighed almost 9 pounds which helped explain why Elle seemed bigger during this pregnancy. It was only a little over three weeks since the baby was born and she still looked heavy. I could remember after the first one that she was back in her old clothes within a month. I'd noticed that she was still wearing her maternity pants. I felt that wasn’t good. As far as us communicating, general conversations were pretty normal. As far as bed was concerned we didn’t exactly ”snuggle“ but I no longer had to put up with her back all night long. I called it progress.
I think it was at the end of that week when Elle asked why I was working so hard. I lied and told her that Dan was short handed as it was hard to get people to work out at the farm. That was partially true but those that did were treated fairly well. Dan had built a dorm-like room for up to six men to live in along with a small kitchen and bathroom with a shower. Elle had been looking forward to the Winter as it meant I wouldn’t be out at night as I was during racing season. It wasn’t happening. I’d eat supper and then head out more than likely to grade and bag potatoes. Sometime in early November Elle mentioned the hours I was working to Jeanne. She then told Elle that if she needed me for something and I wasn’t there or if I told her I had to do something for Dan then she (Elle) was to come get her. Either she’d take care of it or would see that I was freed up to do it for Elle. Elle didn’t mention it to me until after the first time it happened and that gave me some much needed information as far as Dan was concerned.
Jeanne would stop by about mid morning to pick up the wash. On some days she would also hang it out to dry for Elle. The wash lines were directly behind the trailer and, unless it was raining, I’d come home for lunch and see wash, mostly diapers, out on the lines. One day I saw a whole batch of panties blowing in the wind. Elle, ashamed of her wetting situation, would cull her wet panties out from the wash she’d hand over to Jeanne. The two of them were getting along so well that Jeanne would just step inside the trailer and pick up the wash basket and head back home. On this day, for whatever reason, Elle hadn’t pulled the panties she’d worn the day (and night) before when Jeanne stopped by. When I walked into the trailer Elle was really upset about it. I told her that her wetting problem, although not all that common, was just like any other affliction that a person might have and that there was no reason not to discuss it with Jeanne. She didn’t say yes and she didn’t say no.
We’d been at the farm about four weeks when I saw Elle show signs of homesickness. There was talk about Thanksgiving and what we were going to do to celebrate. Even though it was a national holiday, the horses still needed attention so there was no way for us to think about going home. Jeanne picked up on Elle’s melancholy and invited us to join her family along with her brother and his wife and all their son on Thanksgiving. Elle thought it was a great idea but I had my doubts. It turned out to be a very good day... for both Elle and I.
Jeanne’s sister-in-law, Bethann was a thinner version of Jeanne... very ”bubbly“ and very upbeat. She and Bert had a 5 year old boy to go along with Jeanne and Dan’s 14 and 12 year old boys. Needless to say, our two girls were a big hit with the women. Jeanne and Bethann put on an unbelievable feast. Everything was homegrown, including the turkeys. When we were all through eating, Jeanne had Dan, Bert and I take the leftovers to the barn for the men down there to eat. It was the first time I found myself being comfortable around Dan since I’d arrived at the farm. While at the barn Dan told me that he’d heard that AJ, my old boss, had lost all the horses that he and the owner had gone to Kentucky and Pennsylvania to buy at auction. He went on to say that it was one of the ”old line“ trainers that had gotten them in a sneaky way. It left me feeling a bit strange. My first thought was that it was a good thing that I’d left AJ even though things weren’t all that good with Dan. But I also felt vindicated in that I’d never really liked that owner. I’d never been comfortable around him although he seemed to like me. I'd mentioned it to AJ a time or two and he just dismissed it. Of course I felt sorry for AJ. I knew he’d put all his efforts into pleasing this one owner to the detriment of other owners. To the best of my knowledge it meant that AJ had but 6 or 7 horses left and that included the one horse my grandfather owned.
To be continued...
I got a break the next morning as both Elle and the baby were still asleep when I left for the barn. I got another when Jeanne, Dan's wife, called on Elle to see the kids. She was the only girl out of six children and had desperately wanted to have a girl but got two boys instead. The visit went well as the two women hit it off right from the start. The 17 month old, normally very shy around strangers, ended up sitting in Jeanne's lap. The most important part about the visit was that Jeanne explained that Dan was very difficult to work for and that Elle was welcome to talk with her at any time if she saw or heard that things were deteriorating for me with work. Elle did not immediately tell me about that part of the visit. Jeanne, seeing the tiny washing machine we had also volunteered to let Elle use her washing machine. Whatever Elle's initial thoughts about the farm were tempered by Jeanne and her visit.
The baby had weighed almost 9 pounds which helped explain why Elle seemed bigger during this pregnancy. It was only a little over three weeks since the baby was born and she still looked heavy. I could remember after the first one that she was back in her old clothes within a month. I'd noticed that she was still wearing her maternity pants. I felt that wasn’t good. As far as us communicating, general conversations were pretty normal. As far as bed was concerned we didn’t exactly ”snuggle“ but I no longer had to put up with her back all night long. I called it progress.
I think it was at the end of that week when Elle asked why I was working so hard. I lied and told her that Dan was short handed as it was hard to get people to work out at the farm. That was partially true but those that did were treated fairly well. Dan had built a dorm-like room for up to six men to live in along with a small kitchen and bathroom with a shower. Elle had been looking forward to the Winter as it meant I wouldn’t be out at night as I was during racing season. It wasn’t happening. I’d eat supper and then head out more than likely to grade and bag potatoes. Sometime in early November Elle mentioned the hours I was working to Jeanne. She then told Elle that if she needed me for something and I wasn’t there or if I told her I had to do something for Dan then she (Elle) was to come get her. Either she’d take care of it or would see that I was freed up to do it for Elle. Elle didn’t mention it to me until after the first time it happened and that gave me some much needed information as far as Dan was concerned.
Jeanne would stop by about mid morning to pick up the wash. On some days she would also hang it out to dry for Elle. The wash lines were directly behind the trailer and, unless it was raining, I’d come home for lunch and see wash, mostly diapers, out on the lines. One day I saw a whole batch of panties blowing in the wind. Elle, ashamed of her wetting situation, would cull her wet panties out from the wash she’d hand over to Jeanne. The two of them were getting along so well that Jeanne would just step inside the trailer and pick up the wash basket and head back home. On this day, for whatever reason, Elle hadn’t pulled the panties she’d worn the day (and night) before when Jeanne stopped by. When I walked into the trailer Elle was really upset about it. I told her that her wetting problem, although not all that common, was just like any other affliction that a person might have and that there was no reason not to discuss it with Jeanne. She didn’t say yes and she didn’t say no.
We’d been at the farm about four weeks when I saw Elle show signs of homesickness. There was talk about Thanksgiving and what we were going to do to celebrate. Even though it was a national holiday, the horses still needed attention so there was no way for us to think about going home. Jeanne picked up on Elle’s melancholy and invited us to join her family along with her brother and his wife and all their son on Thanksgiving. Elle thought it was a great idea but I had my doubts. It turned out to be a very good day... for both Elle and I.
Jeanne’s sister-in-law, Bethann was a thinner version of Jeanne... very ”bubbly“ and very upbeat. She and Bert had a 5 year old boy to go along with Jeanne and Dan’s 14 and 12 year old boys. Needless to say, our two girls were a big hit with the women. Jeanne and Bethann put on an unbelievable feast. Everything was homegrown, including the turkeys. When we were all through eating, Jeanne had Dan, Bert and I take the leftovers to the barn for the men down there to eat. It was the first time I found myself being comfortable around Dan since I’d arrived at the farm. While at the barn Dan told me that he’d heard that AJ, my old boss, had lost all the horses that he and the owner had gone to Kentucky and Pennsylvania to buy at auction. He went on to say that it was one of the ”old line“ trainers that had gotten them in a sneaky way. It left me feeling a bit strange. My first thought was that it was a good thing that I’d left AJ even though things weren’t all that good with Dan. But I also felt vindicated in that I’d never really liked that owner. I’d never been comfortable around him although he seemed to like me. I'd mentioned it to AJ a time or two and he just dismissed it. Of course I felt sorry for AJ. I knew he’d put all his efforts into pleasing this one owner to the detriment of other owners. To the best of my knowledge it meant that AJ had but 6 or 7 horses left and that included the one horse my grandfather owned.
To be continued...
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