1 4 = 5 |
Ml
4 U
|
F- |
That afternoon , as Helen came in with a cup of hot tea Lonny propped up in bed and admitted that he was nrettv lucky not to be hurt anymore than he was . A badly bruised shoulder and a cracked collar bone was bad enough though ! Helen said , as he adjusted his pillow , “ Honev vou still shouldn ’ t have been so rough on Little t » “ Well dam ’ it .” he shouted , “ If I ’ ve told him once I ’ ve told him a hundred times to always watch where people are around horses and not spook any of ’ em . This is just like the time he came busting around the corner with that damn fool hound of his and got me run slap into the other end of the barn ”. As Helen tried to explain that Little Joe does the best he can , the phone rang . ‘ Hello ”, Heien said , “ Lonny Barnes ? Yes sir , just a minute ”. Lonny answered the phone and gestured to Helen that it was one of the three men who had come to see him last fall . “ Yes sir , I remember you ”. |
IN QUEST OF OF A BLUE by Charles Barry Sanderson
A hard freeze had come last night and Lonny was worried about the water pipes in the barn . “ Little Joe ”, he said as he stepped into the hall , “ did the water freeze up last night ?”. “ Naw . suh . . . he replied from one of the stalls he was cleaning at the far end of the barn . “ I learn long time ago dat water don ’ t freeze efn its running an I let ’ it running las night ”. “ Good for you ”, said Lonny as he opened the stall door and looked over a black stud coit that he was breaking . “ OP buddy ” he said , “ you may feel like today ain ’ t your day , but I am going to ride you NOW .” As Lonnv returned with a halter , the colt turned his heels toward the door and lowered his ears . “ Whoa boss . Whoa ”, he said ., trying to speak in a calming voice . “ Nobody is going to hurt you ”. The colt moved away from him as he entered the stall . From side to side he moved as Lonny tried to reach his head . Remaining cautious and careful of his rear end , Lonny put his hand on the colts rump . The colt quivered and made a lunge for the far corner . “ WHOA ” . . . said Lonny , as he moved with him , trying to stay fairly close to the colt in order to prevent getting kicked from across the stall . As Lonny eased up toward the colts head and reached for his head , little Joe came busting through the stall door and said , “ Mista Lonny , I . . . ” WHAM !!! the colt bolted toward the door , knocking Lonny headlong into the corner under the feed box . As he turned , Little J . oc jumped to get out of the way and in a fit of confusion the colt climbed the : wall just over Lonny , striking him on the left shoulder with his far front hoof . Lonny , with sawdust flying , rolled toward ' the door and into the hall on his back , holding his shoulder with his right hand . Little Joe closed the stall door and leaned down over Lonny . “ You alright , Mista Lonny ... I sure didn ’ t meant to spook dat colt none ”. Lonny was pale . He didn ’ t answer as he slowly got to his feet and limped into the office . A smear of blood was obvious on his shirt front and he tried to find out whether it was his or the colts . Without saying a word , Lonny lay down on the couch and breathed deep . After a personal check of his condition he couldn ’ t find where he was cut but he knew he had hurt his shoulder pretty bad . Little Joe was on the phone by this time saying , “ Miss Helen , you better get down he ah . . . . Lonnv been hurt ”.
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After a fifteen minute discussion with Mr . Alex Bartlet , Lonny hung up with a smile on his face . “ Well how about that ” he said , “ I explained to him about my shoulder and that I wouldn ’ t be riding for a few weeks and he said he could fix me up to judge the Walking Horse Classes of the “ Florida Festival Horse Show ”. Helen butted in . . . “ Why Lonny , that is one of the first big shows of the 1967 season . Are you Sure ?” “ That ’ s what he said ,” replied Lonny .
Three weeks later , Lonny and Helen pulled into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn in Sarasota , Florida . “ It sure is a fancy place ”, said Helen . “ It sure is ”, he replied . After checking at the desk and finding out that they really did have reservations , Lonny and Helen went to their room and got settled . They had both traveled a lot in the horse business , but they had never really gone first class and Helen could not help but check everything in the room . “ Look over here Honey , a coffee maker right in our own room . And this bed has got some kind of a relaxer shaker on it . Have you got a quarter ?” Helen was having a ball !
About that time the phone rang . It was Mr . Bartlet . “ Yes sir ”, said Lonny . “ Everything is just fine ”. After a few minutes Lonny hung up . Helen could tell that Lonny was puzzled about something that Mr . Bartlet had said . He turned to Helen and told her that Mr . Bartlet and some more men were coming up to see him and that one of their wives was going to take her shopping . “ I wonder what that is all about ”, said Helen .
In a few minutes , Helen answered a knock on the room door . “ Hello , come on in , Lonny will be with you in a few minutes ”. After a brief introduction all around , Lonny and Helen found themselves as the center of attraction of a mid-afternoon cocktail party . “ Come on Lonny ,” one of the men said . “ I know you don ’ t drink on the job , but the show doesn ’ t start until tonight ”. Helen , thinking about the Christmas party , cast a knowing eye toward him as she left with the wife of one of the men . Lonny , not wanting to appear ungrateful consented to one small drink of bourbon and a mixer .
( Continued on Page 37 )
VOICE of the Tennessee Walking Horse