ANOTHER DOSE OF REALITY... getting better (Part 58f)

After feeding the horses at noon I took a deep breath and asked Will if he would feed my two horses later that evening and see that they had water as I wanted to go home to see my wife and children. He never batted an eye when he said, and I quote, “Ten dollars.” It upset me to hear it but I'd cleared it with Mr S to go home for the night as long as my horses were cared for. Since Will, supposedly, worked for Mr S as I did I really didn’t think it was fair. But I really wanted to see Elle and the kids so dug out $10 and handed it to him. There was no “thank you” or any words spoken at all. Strange...

I needed gas to get home and at that period of time almost everything was closed on a Sunday but restaurants. I had wanted to get gas on Saturday but with the arrival of Mr S and the preparation for the race that night I never got a chance. There was a large ESSO station just outside the gates to the track. I took a chance and pulled in although there were no signs of activity. I pulled up to one of the pumps and within a few seconds I saw a man in the doorway to the office waving me on. I knew what he meant but there was no way I was going to make it home and back with the gas I had. I got out and called to him asking if he knew any station that might be open. He walked towards the car and as he did saw the decal on the windshield that gave me entrance into the barn area. He asked if I was a horseman and when I said I was he started asking questions, all of them having to do with rumors that the races were “fixed”. I assured him that, in my experience, I had no knowledge of any “fix”. I don’t think I satisfied him but at least I was able to explain my need for gas. He turned on the pumps and filled my tank. As I paid him I saw a group of trucks parked against a fence to the east side of the building. I don’t know what made me ask but I asked why they were there. He said they were temporarily being stored there. That gave me the idea to ask if I could "store" my little trailer there. I got the normal “line” that trailers were not allowed in the county. I told him about my experience in Boston and how I'd “stored” it there. He smiled and I knew he got what I was leading to. He told me to bring it back the next morning.

I left it parked next to the trucks and went on to work figuring we could work out the details later. I came back at lunch and he told me to come back around 6pm. When I did I found it “buried” between the trucks. He told me that as long as there were no lights in the trailer and I was out of the trailer before six am and not back into it until after dark there shouldn’t be a problem. It would be a little inconvenient but it was better than sleeping in my car. As far as “rent” was concerned all he wanted was to know when a “fix” was in. I wasn’t sure I could deliver on that part of the deal but I told him I would.

My next exposure to being involved with a “horse celebrity” came on Wednesday when a few reporters showed up to watch Super Steve train. One of them was a guy named Tony and I recognized his surname as he covered harness racing for one of the area newspapers. In fact, he had interviewed my grandfather over ten years earlier. After each of the four training sessions he would come up to me and ask how the session went and would ask me if the time on his stopwatch matched mine. I’d never seen or heard of this before.

That contrasted with my training sessions with the other two horses the next day. No one was around, not even Will. I had to do everything myself and that made for a long, long day as I was finally finished around 5pm, a 12 hour day. Antney had asked if I could help him out in the paddock that night as he had five horses racing and there were conflicts with warm up sessions. As tired as I was it meant that I would have the opportunity to be out on the actual race track (as opposed to the training track) and I'd be able to look up into the grandstands and see thousands of race fans as I circled the track. It was great thrill as well as financially rewarding as Antney gave me $5 for each of the three warm up trips that I made for him.

I was able to get both of the horses that I was taking care of and training entered to race that Friday. It created a bit of a problem since I was the groom for both but could only take care of one in the paddock. I’d become friendly with a few of Antney’s grooms and offered them a chance to make a little extra money. Mr S showed up just in time for the first one’s race. That, in itself, was another problem as I had to warm the horses up as well as to care for them. I was a bit upset but remember reminding myself of how much more money I was now making. Mr S owned both horses and he was pleased to get a 2nd and a 3rd for finishes with them. I wasn’t expecting any extra money since neither horse won but as he left for the night I found an extra $10 in my weekly pay envelope. I was glad I didn’t complain.

Saturday night was a repeat of the prior one as far as working with Will was concerned. However, the results of the race were different as Steve nosed his arch rival, Adios B, out for a win. I remember Mr S strutting around the paddock like a banty rooster after the race. I also remember getting another $20 bill when he left for the night. In spite of Will I was really liking the job... and Mr S in spite of his “ways”.

I had to pay Will again when I left for home Sunday afternoon. I was confident enough that the job was going to work out that I decided it was time to move the trailer from Dan's farm. I had my father do some research on local trailer parks and he’d found one that he thought would be suitable for Elle, I and the kids. As soon as I said “hello” to Elle we were off to see it for ourselves. It was located in the same town where my grandparents lived and I knew that would please them. We drove around the whole park and decided to go ahead. Both of us were excited with the thought of being back on our own. Elle, although she appreciated all the help her mother gave her with the kids, was ready to leave home. I was just looking forward to seeing Elle without worrying where her parents were whenever we were alone.

To be continued...