For Women...

I was with some good friends today who sit on the opposite side of the political fence from me. We were talking about a home I was interested in buying. I mentioned that West Virginia, I believe, gives grants of maybe ten thousand bucks to first - time single female home buyers in the state. They said "well, people pay huge federal taxes for that stuff, sooooo....." and I said, "well, I don't feel bad about takin' it, because I been making seventy- five cents for every male dollar out there for twenty - five years, so I'm starting from behind to begin with."

Both of them said "oh, now, wait a minute, really, now if you work,. you can make as much......"

Have they no idea?


If the STATE of WEST VIRGINIA offers me ten thousand bucks to buy a home here, I deserve it. Women make as much as men in our business? Julie Krone could wish she did, and how good did she prove we can be?
Women in our business have to find a path that will cut through the dominant one. It's tough. If they (men) had to do it our way it would be equally tough for them, just as getting the kids in a divorce is. Men SHOULD have custody more often than they get it, but they don't.

Going bact to their advantage, though, they do have the good old boy network to help them get back on their feet, and we generally don't.

So I maintain; "I'll take it, along with all the other shit I've taken without complaint."

Well, it is now the 20th of August. I have to play catch up with what’s been happening.

Longstockings finished third in a turf stakes on Derby Day, and is now stakes- placed; Puff won his dash for 7,500 or 10 K whatever it was, and Lightfoot is improving after a layoff.

Quiet is being retired; he suffered a bowed tendon yesterday morning and had to be scratched from his upcoming race. The Hardheads have had bad luck all summer with their stock, I feel so bad for them. Then Hardhead himself got pneumonia because he is that sort of control freak who can't let anybody else do anything important. The humidity has been so bad that his lungs, a genetic weakness for him, couldn’t defend themselves.

On the morning of Derby Day (West Virginia Derby Day; last Saturday) I was guiding Mini- Cow to the track, and she dropped me. The good part is nothing appears to be broken, but the bad part is that it looks as though I have torn a ligament or two. I am currently on blocks myself.

It was one of those awkward moments: I was blissfully riding along, and Mini- Cow spooked just as we made the corner of Dale Baird’s barn. As she pivoted to the right, I corrected her to the left. I lost the right iron and was hanging on one side. She scuttled and leapt further, and the force and twisting motion turned my leg. My knee took the most of it, and I heard the popping sound I have dreaded to hear since I broke my knee twenty- four years ago. All I could think was ‘It’s over’, all the fun I have had doing this job. I was really worried for the first few days, but right now it seems as though it may not be nearly as bad as I originally feared.

The docs at East Liverpool City Hospital are known as the world’s worst around here. The x- rays were inconclusive on account of the knee being a general mess to begin with. They added a CAT scan to the mix and decided I had possibly two cracks on the tibial surface. I don’t think so, but anyway, once I got to Dr. Engle, the real doctor, she took new x- rays, determined a break was unlikely, and called for an MRI. Because the MRI was only available on Wednesdays, we waited until after the last appointment to get in. Charles was so kind to wait there with me. The result won’t comeback to me until probably Monday, since it’s Saturday now. The images have to be read by a specialist in MRI, and Dr. Engle has to wait for the report, because they don’t do the reading there; they take the reading to whoever they rent the Imaging Machine from.

So that’s the wrap on the news from my end of Mountaineer Park.

Hateya goes to the races

Hateya is Handed to the Pony Boy to be walked over to the saddling Paddock.

He must know he's racing now...

Hateya waits fairly calmly as he is saddled. He is getting used to the routine.

The race is over, and Hateya finished fourth. Hardhead must have been proud even though his piece of the purse was not very big. His comment on the race was "if only he could sustain that drive....He's got a nice little run..." Steve Goyditch, Hardhead's right hand man walks with Hateya for about forty five minutes, allowing him to have only a sip of water at a time until he is completely finished drinking.