A close call for a dear old friend:

I received a phone call last week that my dear old horse might be dying. He is 28, after all, but the phone call struck me with a grief I didn't know I had. The good news is that for right now, the coast is clear. It looks like Blue is going to hang in there for a while, but awhile is relative at this point. Thinking about the end of Blue's life has brought up so many amazing memories, I had to share them, and an amazing letter from Elizabeth, in response to my teary voicemail.

As many of you know, I have had my horse, Blue, since I was 13. When I moved from Chicago to Tennessee for college, I sold him to what I thought was another Sarah, another horse-crazy girl that would fall in love with him. After only a month of school in TN, I received a call from the family that the little girl tired of horses, and was on to ballet.

At the time, I only knew my dearest friend Elizabeth as an acquaintance, and when she heard the news- she recommended a wild and crazy scheme: She offered for me to hop in her car THAT MINUTE, drive to her parents farm outside of Nashville, TN, pick up her parents horse trailer and truck, drive to Chicago, rescue Blue, and bring him to a new life in TN. Anyone who knows Elizabeth knows it only takes a few hours to be nuts about her- but after a 30 hour turn-around trip, we were fast friends. And my life has never been the same.

Since then, Blue has been a dear friend, even weathering a summer as my camp horse, as Elizabeth and I ran the ranch camp at Camp Pinewood. He is now in retirement at Innis Free Farm with his friend Lad (pictured above) and his toothless girlfriend Maggie. If you're a horse lover, or just know the love of a pet, say a quick prayer for Blue that when his end does come, that it's peaceful- he deserves nothing less.

Here's a letter from Elizabeth that sums up our life with Blue:

Hey, lovely –

I did talk with Ann the other night. It was funny because I at first had the same reaction – I was reasonable and rational. We’ve known Blue is old for a long time and had some stellar joint issues to overcome along the way. But when I got off the phone with Ann, I started thinking about what Blue really stands for in my life.

I have him to thank for you.

Of course, this is when I started laughing and sobbing all at the same time. If it weren’t for Blue, we likely would have never bonded as we did. We would have never taken that historic road trip North – dying to pee on the interstate in Chicago traffic, stopping in Joliet when I first met Grandpa Wiley and Grandma Shirley, rescuing Blue from that shitty-ass little punk of a girl, and then laughing all the way back to Tennessee. I was leaving a bar in East Nashville when it all came crashing down, and I also remembered when we first left with Blue in the trailer, how excited we were. And we put on U2’s “Beautiful Day” and blasted it loud enough so “Blue could hear it” as could probably anyone in a mile radius of where we were. I found that same exact CD in my car and blasted it all the way back across town. That really was an insanely beautiful day and beautiful trip – it was ultimately the beginning of the E I am today. And I have Blue, and you, to thank for it.

So needless to say, you are more than welcome to stay with me - anytime. I will be with you to make that decision if you need me. And I will be with you, and Blue, until the very end – whatever may come, whatever may need to be done. I’m actually house sitting in West Meade until Monday, but there’s plenty of room in my bed for you. It’s quite plush and has a fine pool for us to sit around and eat chips and salsa. Just call me or email me with your plans. I’ve asked Ann to keep me in the loop as well.

I’m anxious to hear what the vet has to say – who knows, he may just be getting to feel his age (finally!) J.

I love you so much.
E