ONE TRICK PONY, MAYBE TWO

I rode this horse three times a week, sometimes more, for two months.

Her name was Fancy and she let me know how important horses are.

A retired Air Force sergeant owned Fancy and Roxy and he rented them on one condition:

You had to ride them the way he wanted you to ride.

It wasn’t a video experience.

At the time, early 1975, I was in San Antonio, Texas going to the Army medic school.

My pal said we ought to do more than sit around the canteen and drink beer and charm the ladies after hours.

We walked around downtown and got the lay of the land.

If I had been a better sports fan we would have gone to a Spurs game.

Since the other guy had joined up from NYC, he wasn’t impressed by San Antonio.

Seemed like a nice enough place to me, but then what?

If it were me and my wife today we’d be all over the ‘food scene’ there like we did in Santa Fe, New Mexico a year ago.

We went on food exploration trips where we learned that a James Beard Award goes to a place for more than the food.

No that the food wasn’t up to standard.

 

It might be a stretch to call the food at Restaurante Rancho De Chimayo miraculous, but many people will agree that it may just well be divinely inspired.

The restaurant has culled a world renowned reputation for some of the very best traditional and contemporary New Mexican cuisine in a spectacular, tree-lined setting since 1965. 

In fact, Restaurante Rancho de Chimayo is probably most responsible for New Mexican cuisine being recognized as a distinctive cuisine than any other restaurant in the state.

 

So back in ’75 we rode horses before laying around the canteen drinking beer and charming the ladies after hours.

This is Fancy and I headed for the stable, or Secretariat warming up for the Preakness.

 

Pretty much the same thing once they make the far turn.

 

Learning Horse Sense

The retired sergeant who owned the horses rode along at first to make sure his horses were treated right.

 

Sergeant: If you let everyone ride them the way they want, then the horse gets a mush-mouth and won’t respond to the reins. Do like I’m showing you and we’ll all be better for it. 

Me: Like this?

Sergeant: You’ve got the right idea. What’s with the letterman jacket? 

Me: Southern Oregon varsity wrestler.

Sergeant: You going back?

Me: I don’t know.

Sergeant: You’d be the one to know. Figure it out sooner than later or the decision will be made for you.

Me: I’ll know more in a few months.

 

Most people don’t join the Army to ride in the horse calvary, but it was an exciting time to feel what the old days might have been like.

Like most things in life, so far, there’s a mix, an unexpected blending, of motivations and purpose.

The top shot in this section shows the world famous Los Angeles beaches where people come to frolic in warm ocean waters.

It also shows an industrial installation for oil and waste water, but you won’t see it when you visit.

I rented a place near the R in El Porto for a week with my wife who did all of the work and made all of the connections.

The dark line on the right is a high grass berm behind a chain link fence.

Party on the left, business on the right.

This is the hook, line, and stinker that made LA, LA.

 

 

Greater Los Angeles, Calif., holds the world’s largest urban oil fields, including some of the most productive fields in the United States, within one of the world’s richest oil-producing basins.

In 1892, what had been a small agricultural village became a boomtown nearly overnight when oil was first discovered by sinking a well with a pick and a shovel.

Since then, many more oil discoveries were made and the city grew up alongside the oil industry, embedding it into the urban environment.

The total cumulative production from the Los Angeles Basin amounts to more than 9 billion barrels of oil, mostly from multiple, stacked turbiditic sandstone reservoirs of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene age.

Today, many active oil wells remain in Los Angeles, located amid a population of more than 13 million people.

Storage tanks, refineries, pipelines, active rod pumps and a few oil rigs dot the metropolitan area, often hidden from sight by tall fences and false buildings.

 

You want something like a warm beach, and it comes with tankers and oil refineries and pipes?

It’s still a warm beach.

You learn to ride a horse in Texas, but you’re in the Army?

You’re still a Big O cOwboy.

 

Handed Down Decency

The rental apartment was on the left side of this picture with the beach off- camera the same direction.

It’s an uphill walk from the waterline.

People love it there, love to visit, want to live there.

But there are conditions.

 

Traveler: I’d love to live here but I won’t drive on the freeways.

California: Then you can’t live here.

Traveler: I’d move here but I need cleaner air.

California: Then you can’t live here.

 

In simpler times someone could live near their work and walk to the store and back.

Or, ride their horse.

Each small community served its population’s needs.

Some still do.

 

The sea air, rich in negative ions, is believed to enhance mood and overall well-being. Additionally, coastal communities often boast a strong sense of community, with residents sharing a common appreciation for the natural surroundings.

The calming sound of ocean waves can also contribute to reduced stress levels and improved sleep quality.

From recreational opportunities to a sense of belonging, the benefits of coastal living create a lifestyle that resonates with those seeking a harmonious blend of tranquility and vitality.

 

This is called putting your best foot forward.

Calm, relaxing, tranquil.

But it’s also hectic, anxious, and nerve-wracking.

Some can take it better than others, weeding out the negative, not ignoring it, and soaking in the positive.

If you hear someone complaining, bitching, and moaning, about this, that, and everything else without taking a breath, know what you’re listening to:

A practiced performance.

If you hear it over and over from the same person, you might start thinking they’re a one trick pony.

 

PS: Life is the whole remade of horses, not just one trick pony.

 

PS: When the trick pony grows wearisome, try teaching it another trick, or just jump on for the ride of a lifetime.

Be careful, it’s tricky.