MadMup.com

I have a long, deep-seated fear of horses. I can trace it back to one of two things.

First, we had a pony when I was a kid. His name was Sonny (Sunny?), and he was as mean as a snake. I remember that it wasn’t too long after he threw my brother and ran away as far as the corner of County Road J that we put him up for sale. I don’t think I’m too far off when I say this pony was eager to eat children my size.

Second, when I was in 6th grade I had a friend that lived on a farm. I stayed over at his house occasionally, and one time we were in the barn and he was showing me his sister’s horse. By “horse” I mean “animal I assumed was a horse because it sort of looked like one, only larger, like an elephant tied to a Boeing 747” and by “showing me” I mean “laughing evilly while backing it up towards me while I was up against a stone wall.”

Along with these are the standard warnings you always get with horses: “If you feed him a carrot/apple/sugar cube, make sure your hand is flat or he might eat your fingers.” “Don’t stand behind him.” “Don’t look a gift one in the mouth.”

So I have a healthy fear of horses.

I bring this up because I just got back from seeing Seabiscuit. Lots of horses in that movie. Lots. But it was a very good movie in spite of all the horses. (In case you’re wondering, Spider-Man does make a good jockey, even if he is a bit over-sized.) It was definitely a feel-good movie, and it’s neat to think that it’s based on a true story. I honestly don’t understand the appeal of horse racing, but the movie was about so much more than horse racing. “Was it about the triumph of the human spirit?” you ask. Yes, it was. And the equine spirit as well. Good flick, and highly recommended by me.

On a side note, I had the entire theater to myself. It was great. I laughed out loud several times and made the occasional comment, and no one looked at me askance or told me to shut up or even rolled their eyes. Fun! However, I will say that coming out of the theater by myself was no fun. There was no one behind the counter, even, and though there were 3 other cars in the parking lot, I didn’t see a single person. A little sad, really. Weird, too. But mostly kind of sad.

I’m off to bed.