Henny Penny was right. The sky is falling. Everyone saw her as being just a dumb cluck, but she was a chicken ahead of her time. She wasn’t, as some say, an alarmist, but rather a visionary. She saw what was coming. This may at the time have just been storm related. But what became of her prophecy is now a metaphor. And the metaphor endures.

The sky is falling. Politically and otherwise. I have often thought that if things get really bad politically, and the US becomes a police state in which those who disagree with what some consider to be the norm, that my computer, with my dispatches, which consist of very liberal leanings, will be ceased. And what will become of me? I will be tied to my horses and drawn and quartered. Not yet. But we have to brace ourselves for what’s to come because it is starting to feel as if the political sky is falling.

Alys and Raudi heading to the playground of higher learning

There is no campaign finance reform. The candidate with the most money is going to win. We see it happening. Big business is supporting fascism.

As for me – my sky is falling. I’m trying to remain upbeat about my physical condition, but the reality is, I am not getting any better. The chiropractic visits are not doing me any good. I am going to have to get an MRI (aren’t these prepackaged meals?) and see an orthopractic surgeon. Then what? I can’t see beyond the approaching storm clouds.

Today Pete and I rode (respectively) Tyra and Raudi to the end of Buffalo Mine Road. The weather was perfect. Temps were in the 60s and it was slightly overcast. The horses were glad to get out.

Raudi is pacey – the feeling one gets in riding a pacey horse is a swaying back and forth movement. Not good for the hips. And, if say, she falls behind another horse, she paces. This has always been hard to sit, and harder given that my hip and now lower back are sore.

I tried, on the return trip, raising my stirrup leathers because they are too long for my legs when I trot. Bad move. Pete moved off at a trot and I felt a searing pain in my back. Then, our neighbor Karen went flying by on her bicycle and Raudi bolted. I wasn’t ready – this resulted in more pain.

Good, trotting up Murphy Road before the turn and then after, cantering for an extended distance. I got off Raudi and my hip was fine.

I went to the chiropractor. He gave me a message and then adjusted me. Went to the hotel. I started to categorize books – I lifted some out of a box. Oh oh. A short while later, at a BLBP meeting, my hip seized up. Getting into the car, I had what I call an 11 on the pain scale.

So, I will do what I must do. I will withdraw from the Competitive Trail Ride and make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. Maybe I can hold the falling sky up with my hands. Maybe. We’ll see.

Next: 194. 7/16/24: I Pause