Show’s still on!

Mike made some calls and we are still on for the parade, but we will be marching under Markland’s banner instead of the SCA’s.  Our friend Terri, the other long lost Marklander, in Houston is going to help get people together.  Anyone else is willing to join us as well.   Oh, and after trying my dress on tonight, someone might want to bring some duck tape.

Ok, now I’m upset

Well I just got word that there wasn’t enough SCA interest in the parade and we’re not going. I’m very disappointed. Its the parades I do this for. I cancelled going to the horse show for this, and I actually got my sewing out! It seems to me that’s the difference between the SCA and our old group Markland. For the SCA its just extra PR, for Markland that IS what we did – public entertainment. I’m about ready to say we just form our own Markland chapter here and march anyways. Lets just get all you friends together, we have enough garb to outfit you all, and we march anyways, and then we can be our old characters without anyone saying we didn’t earn our crowns. I don’t know who to talk to about staying in the parade, but I’m sure we could figure it out. Anyone want to help?

Happy Thanksgiving

A little late, I know. Maggie’s been keeping me on my toes and by the time she’s in bed Mike’s hogging the computer so I haven’t had time to do anything productive here in a while. I need to add an art page, but that involves taking some pictures of my stuff and I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

There’s a Christmas parade in Benton on Saturday. There’s also a horse show I had hoped to enter, but riding in the parade sounds more fun. Mike volunteered us to dress up and ride for the SCA and I was suprised that they said yes, because we haven’t really qualified for anything with them. I am not even sure they will like how I dress, because I like to play a little more to the fantasy side than the historical. I think it is what most of the audience wants to see and I like to play to the audience. Mike wants to ride Rhiannon so we are going to cross our fingers and hope she behaves (don’t worry we are going to have ground crew just in case), so I get to be the princess on the white horse as long as he is sound that morning. I made a quick outfit for Rhi, but I don’t have anything for Phantom. I just like that he is white, I wouldn’t want to cover him up with anything too gaudy. I wish I had a sidesaddle. If he is quiet enough, I may swing my leg over his neck and fake it, but then I would have no balance if he acted out. A real sidesaddle holds you in place and is actually very safe. Not everyone rode sidesaddle back then anyways, that’s more of a proper Victorian thing. And Arwen didn’t ride sidesaddle in the movie. I will have someone take lots of pictures.

On the lighter side…

Ok, time for something less depressing on the top again. Although nothing really exciting to say. MomMom was sick on Friday so Maggie came to work with me for a little bit. Everyone thought she was sooo cute. We didn’t stay long of course, just long enough to check in on what I had running, then we stayed for lunch and came home. I went to a dressage horse clinic on sunday to meet new friends at Holly Hill Farm. I would like to start showing again and it was good to get some contacts. There was a horse there that was just like Ponti with the whole hyper head tossing, it gave me some hope for her after all. Course this horse probably wasn’t 19 already and stuck in her ways either. Whatever, I love Ponti anyways.

The horse rescue and racism

I recieved this letter from the horse rescue. They were donated a property and then forced out, a big part of the problem being racism from the black community, and it demonstrates why I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for some people down here. I know its long, but it states the problem well.

“Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue Organization (HHERO) needs a Hero!
 
Would you welcome a horse rescue facility to your neighborhood?  It seems that you would in this day and age as long as it was an asset to your neighborhood.  As long as it was kept up and the horses were cared for, what would be the problem?  Well, it seems that at a community meeting at Mount Olive Baptist Church on Highway 169 in Shreveport, a select few residents of the Rolling Ridge Area have a real problem with it. 
 
When Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue started moving the facility in, they were so excited to have a 5 year lease donated to them where they could bring the horses to a beautiful established pasture land.  They were also excited to have a facility that would educate school children on animal abuse.  They were looking forward to having 4H children and Scouts could come and earn horsemanship badges.  They were excited to bring something to a neighborhood that would benefit from the rescue’s presence.  A place they would be proud to have in their community and for their children to come to.  They were proud to give back to a man that loves horses and has given numerous community projects the chance to enjoy his retirement with his wife and sit on the porch and watch the horses graze in the evening sunset as they so enjoy to do.  They were proud to have a presence of law enforcement more involved in a neighborhood that has been in the past and still is riddled with crime and drug abuse.  Neighbors were telling us they were so glad to have the presence of law enforcement show more of an appearance in their neighborhood.
 
Never did they have a clue that a neighborhood would become so divided between themselves and accuse the rescue of dividing them.  Why would they turn on a man who plowed their parents gardens and who helped them when they needed?  Now he wanted to put something nice in their neighborhood.  Their parents would have been shocked to see how their children were acting if still alive.  Who would think a few select people would stand up in a church and call a non profit organization that has worked in the parishes feverishly to give a haven to abused horses liars and accuse them of pulling the wool over the eyes of the people and not be bringing in abused and neglected horses, but sick and diseased?  They also were called a money making scheme.  These words come from ignorance. Evidently from those who have no knowledge of what goes on in outside communities. 
 
Who would have thought that two self -proclaimed community advocates would not want something to benefit their neighborhood and community?  If Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue were a money making scheme, they would not work 7 days a week for no pay themselves but accepting donations to pay vet bills to revive these horses and make them able to have a safe and loving home. Hopeful Haven is an all volunteer organization, and I would like to know how it is a money making scheme?  This is a group that sits for four days a month on a chair at Canton Trade Days educating people on animal abuse with no pay.  That sits in courtrooms for hours on end with no pay awaiting a defendant to go to trial.  That hauls horses to veterinarians taking up half their days and then some. Again with no pay. This shows just how ignorant some people can be.  That they don’t know what the word charity means and think everything has to have a price tag with it.  These self proclaimed advocates told Debra Barlow that “These people up here don’t all have an education, and they need someone to open their eyes to these things and speak for them”.  I don’t care how uneducated you are, you are always able to learn something new every day.  You don’t need someone to speak for you.  If you are going to be the representative for your community, at least be educated yourself and not show the ignorance that has been shown here.  Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue is a very well respected organization and will continue to be respected as such. Many parishes request their presence for animal cruelty investigations and many other neighborhoods will welcome their presence. If you had knowledge of the organization and their works or took the time to find out before you condemned them, you would know that.   For someone to not want progress in their area, and wants to stay regressed, makes me question their motives. One of these advocates had the nerve to say “What’s in it for me?” That just shows their mentality and thinking.  A person like that only thinks of themselves and no one else. 

The other said to me, “What if I, a black man, came to your neighborhood and put this in your neighborhood?” I was shocked.  Being from up North, this was my first real experience with color being an issue.  My response was,  “I don’t care what color you are.  If you came to my neighborhood with something good for my children and the animals I would welcome you with open arms.” To me, color is only what you make it.  My adopted son is Black, Puerta Rican, and Mexican.  I never see his color.  I see my son.  His response to all this is if that is how they want to act, I don’t want to claim that part of my race.  I want my son to be proud of who he is and all the races he represents.  I don’t want him to see color as an issue as I didn’t when I took him as an infant into my arms. I don’t want him to follow that frame of thinking and continue the cycle.  I am sad that in this day and age, people still want to hang on to their prejudices.  That is why our area can’t progress.  That is why some neighborhoods have nothing and will never have nothing except the crime and drug dealing.  For the self proclaimed advocates who have a problem with the badge I question your motives and why you really don’t want us in there.
 
There are many different divisions of law enforcement.  There are coroners, animal control officers, investigators, and a variety of law enforcement that carry the star on the doors of their vehicles so they are easily identifiable at a site where their presence is required.  I for one am very proud to carry that star on the door of my truck.  It says what it says.  It represents law enforcement of animal cruelty laws. If you have a problem with it, then it’s your problem.
 
One dear lady, Dorothy Voltaire, stood in front of all the people in the church and stood up for what she felt was right.  She said the horses don’t bother anybody and she liked looking at them.  She lives right next to the pasture.  She stated that the issue of flies was in the neighborhood before we came.  (Hopeful Haven uses fly control pellets in their feed). She asked how many times does HHERO have to apologize to anyone they may have offended by moving in first and then telling them what they were putting in there.  She also stated that this needs to stop and everyone needs to get along and work together.  During her speaking, she was chastised, ridiculed, and laughed at amongst those in the room.  Those in the room mumbled among themselves to drown her out. All of this disrespect in a church. Once again, I was appalled.
 
What has happened in our society, or in this neighborhood, that people don’t have the right to express their opinion without fear of retaliation.  How sad that in the house of the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, the creator of horses and humans that people don’t recognize this land is only ours for a moment.  This is his land and he designed it for all of us to share. There is nothing in it for you except the borrowed use of it to survive.
 
After this neighborhood meeting, this self proclaimed community advocate came up to me and shook my hand and said “I’m sorry.  It was not supposed to be like that”. But to me, actions speak louder than words.  If you are going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. As the community leader that started all these problems and controversy, I told him he had the chance to stand up and be a hero here.  He had the chance to turn this around since he had such a strong voice in the community and be a leader, and say, “Let’s welcome these people and the animals and give this a chance before we make a decision”.  “Let’s do what we can to help and make this a good thing in the community.” “Let’s not let this divide us, but unite us, and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.” He had a chance to change the stories he invented and make this right. Maybe this meeting was called in the Lord’s house for a reason.  Maybe he’s giving someone a chance here to change these prejudices of the people carried down from generations past, educate them, and be a true hero.  Sadly, that was not the case.
 
Colonel John Dremesi’s wife Vicki said it well when she said “Do special needs medical conditions apply to our disabled veteran’s as well?”  Are we not to welcome our soldiers home with open arms because they return neglected, abused, sick, or diseased? Or is it just a handshake and “ I’m sorry, it wasn’t supposed to be like that”?
 
On Tuesday, Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue was asked to close operations at the land for the fears of the people.  People spoke of tires being slashed and sugar being put in gas tanks if we continued operations or asked them to speak on our behalf at zoning.  These people have to live in this neighborhood after the sun goes down.  How sad that we have to let these people down and leave. How sad that those who were for us being there have be intimidated for their views to the point they can’t afford to say anything.  This is not a high income neighborhood.  These people can’t afford to replace tires or motors in their vehicles.  How can you prove who did it?  Who’s going to step up and testify against another?  It is cowards that have to resort to these methods.  They saw they didn’t intimidate me, so they intimidate the neighborhood residents.  Cowards I say!!!!!
 
 But everything happens for a reason.  I believe that the Good Lord has something better for us somewhere. Another door will open for us and someone will let the horses be rehabilitated on their land.  Somebody will welcome us into their community with open arms and be a hero here.  If you have at least 25 acres you would be interested in leasing to us for a fair market value tax break in the Stonewall, Keithville, Keatchie, Four Forks, Greenwood, or Springridge area, please call Debra at 318-286-3116.  This will be a facility you will proud of being a part of and having in your community.  Help us to fight the crime of animal cruelty to horses and to progress your community.  Please help us find the Hero in all of this.

Respectfully yours,

Debra Barlow
President &
Animal Cruelty Investigator

P.O. Box 17763
Shreveport, La 71138
www.hopefulhaven.com

Phone numbers:
318-925-4272 home
318-797-6043 fax
318-286-3116 cell (MAIN NUMBER)
318-7977464 work tues & thur 9-3
 
“If ever a horse needs a helping hand, Please God, Let it be ours” “

And they told me he was nasty…

 I didn’t pose this, I came in and found the two of them like this.  And when I tried to “rescue” him from her he swated at me.   What a strange kitty, either that or Maggie’s some kind of animal whisperer.  Wouldn’t be suprising, kinda runs in the family.

Fall Fun