119 Stalkers?



Very convenient, park your horse and
go in for some refreshments.


    On another family excursion with the pair we rode with them to Norco California to watch one of their horses in an event.  We got a little more insight into Bobbies personality that day.  With time a factor they decided to make a detour to a deli that they both seemed to enjoy.  They didn't seem to be in a big hurry however as we entered the parking lot next to the arena Bobbie screamed, yes screamed, I don't think I have ever heard someone over the age of three scream in an enclosed vehicle.  Wait, yes I have.  It was 1965 Ruthie and I were riding in our 1955 Chevrolet (yup, wish I still had it.)  I had been working in Winona Minnesota while attending electronics school.  I had taken my fancy clip on tie off and laid it on the dash.  ( do they still make them?  Looks like a tie without the choker around your neck nor the inconvenience of tying a knot. Seemed practical at the time.)   We stopped and picked up Ruthies cousin Sandy.  Her and Ruthie had recently graduated from high school and had moved out to start their lives.  I cant remember where we were headed that night, maybe just driving around feeling our independence.  The sun had set as we headed down the highway, the only air conditioning in the sedan was the kind where you roll down all the windows and open the vents to get some air moving.  At some point the current from the dash vents caused my black tie to go airborne.  Its funny how some seemingly innocent event can cause such a commotion.  Perhaps the scream I heard back then is the cause of the ringing in my ears.  (Is it to late for a law suit?  Seems to be the thing to do these days.  I'll check into it.). Sandy's scream followed by "its a bat" caused quite the stir in the confines of the front seat.  Its hard to imagine the time frame of the next few events.  I was trying to navigate the car at highway speeds knowing that a small scary creature had flown in the window and was threating all of us.  I'm sure Ruthie was trying to protect herself however Sandy was the main event before I could pull to the side of the road and turn on the dome light she had propelled her body from the front seat to a fetal position in the back seat.  It took sometime for us to realize the innocent piece of my outfit laying beside her was the culprit.  We still laugh about it to this day.  Now back to Bobbie and her SCREAM, enclosed vehicle, air-conditioned, windows up, scream, not used to this, I think all of us in the backseat jumped.  The Don and Yoda must have been accustomed to this behavior.  Turned out she mistakenly thought she had missed her horse's event, a little unnecessary drama perhaps. 

.    Their horse didn't place as well as they expected and their was some criticism of their trainer and the judges on the way home.  We spent a little time exploring Norco, neat town known as a horse town.  Special riding trails thru town with places to park your horse outside of restaurants and taverns.  Pretty nice.  

A little practice backing up. 
Not a natural movement for a horse

     Besides training the young colts I was spending at least two sessions each day with the new foal.  Of course there were training videos to watch prior to this new task.  He was learning to respond appropriately to pressure and everything needed to be a safe social animal that would be safe to be around when he was grown.   I really enjoyed working with the foal as the learning curve was amazing and my employers seemed to be very pleased with the results. 

   
It was hard to get a handle on the time frame of events.  We were so busy with the horses, the ranch, "family outings" learning and seeing new things.   Not long after our arrival at the ranch Bobbie chased me down and said there was a Facebook freind at the gate calling to see me.  I think I heard her mention "crazy Bob".   I was a little apprehensive as they had already mentioned this was a working ranch and I was sure they wouldn't appreciate people from Facebook dropping by.  And besides I didn't know a "crazy Bob".    Bobbie said she had got the call from the gate and they were coming in.  I was a little anxious myself to see who had followed me to the desert.

Left to right, Just Bob, Vern, Sheri,
Ruthie, Barb with a sweatshirt? And Bruce!

     When the gate opened it wasn't only a single person, evidently crazy Bob had friends.  Turns out I didn't know Bob at all he and Sheri were friends of our friends Bruce and Barb from Rochester Minnesota.  I had commented on the forum when I seen Barb eating Hulu pie at the Cliff restaurant in La Quinta, she seen we were very close and together with Bob and Sheri had found there way to the ranch.   We enjoyed the visit, amazing really 2000 miles to touch bases.  Wonderful souls.