The Doctor

It was the strangest thing - I'd struck up a conversation with this fellow about how the faire could use another mead booth, and he started telling me about his "devastatingly hot" sister. I thought it more than a little odd for him to be telling me about his sister, so I bid him good day and went on to the Queen's Pub. There, I started talking to Jib, and it all went downhill from there....

I'm OK. Not doing handsprings yet, but I think I'm OK. :)

Thank you all, my dear friends, for bringing mirth and good cheer to a weekend that would otherwise have me deep in sorrow. You are why I keep coming back, again and again, to revel in the past. Bless you all!

Thank you, my fellow equestians. I am graced to have known and shown Apollo. He taught me so much, and we won so many classes together! He was, in my mind, the perfect Arabian horse. Intelligent, skilled, and talented. I could say that it shouldn't have happened this way, but I don't know any other way it could have happened. He passed quickly and humanely. I closed his eyes and mouth, and gave him Last Rights in Spanish; the grooms broke down in tears, mourning the passing of "El Caballo Rojo Magnifico". An era has ended. Long live Apollo!

We're having Chicken Tortilla Soup tonight. With the passing of Apollo, Janelle wants only comfort food for the next few days, and I'll oblige her as she wishes. :)

Christine, love... thank you. You know how dear to us Apollo will always be. Caper, thank you. But to call Apollo a "pet" is to damn him with feint praise. He was our child, my teacher, and my friend. I won more on that horse that I'd ever imagine I would. He taught me excellence and humility. How to persevere and carry on, no matter what a bunch of half-blind judges might think. He taught me compassion, real strength, determination, and unconditional love. I mean no disrespect, mate. Perhaps, in time, you'll truly understand. I wish everyone here could have know Apollo the way Janelle and I do. The clown, the klutz, the champion, the intimidator, the indominatable spirit that was Apollo. He will live forever in our hearts. Godspeed, Apollo. We'll be together again, and I'll be bringin' a big ol' bushell of sweet Braeburn apples, your favorite. We love you, Apollo. Forgive us if we take too long to say goodbye.

Janelle and I are heartbroken over the passing of our eldest horse, Apollo. He was a gleam in Janelle's eye before he was a gleam in the mare's. He taught me everything I know about riding and showing. I'm gonna go get really drunk now. Pardon me if I'm not around for a few days.

Sabers Apollo /+, son of Saber Bey and Gamarief, passed away this evening due to complications from colic, at the age of 22. Rest in peace, our beloved son.

Merry grabbed my butt. Does that count?

Well, I damn near pissed myself laughing...

Aye, and we'll drink a toast to "Quamba"! Ian and I have been talking... :)

wedgie

Live like you'll never die, and love like you can't be hurt. It's all a bloody great feast, mate. Take it in big bites! Moderation is for monks. :) Myself, damn... My head's still spinning with my new job. But unlike my last job, where politics have torn apart everything I spent years perfecting, I'm in a place where I can use my knowledge and talents, and really make a difference. My old manager tried to yank me back to basically oversee the gutting of what I'd done before, and my new manager told him which orifice(s) to pound lots of sand into. I like my new team. :)

Sorry we couldn't make the parade, Jib. Janelle's MS flared up in a most frightful way (she could hardly walk, and couldn't stand straight), so we had to leave. She's as right as rain now, thanks to her meds and a damned good chiropractor. We'll see you this Sunday!

Yes, thank you! That's her; my dear, darling, long-suffering, wonderful wifey-person. :)

Jack sits on a cypress stump and shakes his head, smiling. "My, my... Only the enigmatic Tai Dalma could bring Iron Bess out to play, yeah? All these role-playing threads, and you choose this one. Well met, love. I'll leave you to it." Jack places his hands over his eyes, and dissolves into the mist.

While Merry's off contemplating her pickles, or, other's pickles.... never mind.... Great news!!! Not only will Ian MacFarlane be performing this weekend, but My Lady's Cutlass will also be on hand to entertain and tantalize! Janelle is back to her carousing norm, and I will most certainly need several drinks after this week at work! Plus, it gives us another opportunity to harass Jib! Woohooooo!!! By the way; I hereby propose that the port-a-castles be renamed "The Offices of the Admiralty" during next year's buccaneer bash. :)

Remind me of this the next time I open my overactive pie-hole about how great it is to live in Minnesota... Pheh!

Jib and the Pirates of Portobello MerryDeath Red Bess Sjörövaren Rose & China of the "Fool's Gold"

From this weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, I present to you my wife, Janelle. :) The feathers on her chappeau are provided by the inestimable talents of "Treasured Feathers", a.k.a. Rumba Rue.

Bless the crew of the Fool's Gold and the Bloodwake, My Lady's Cutlass (Kim & Jen, you're the best ever!!), and the employees of the MN Ren Faire. When Janelle fell ill with an attack of Multiple Sclerosis, your help, love, and positive energy have been nothing short of overwhelming. Thank you for your concern and love. I am deeply in your debt, my honoured friends. Janelle is resting well, and being fussed over by your's truly. I'll be thanking you all again by name in the coming days, but until then, you know who you are and please, please know that we both love you dearly. :) Update: Janelle is still resting well, and the left side of her body seems to be giving up the fight. I'm enforcing bed rest, with icing and deep massage as best I can manage. Kim, you'll be getting a call in the next few days. Again, thank you all for everything, no matter how small the kindness. Sunday morning: Aside from Janelle's back hurting from the contortions the MS put her through, she's upright and walking fine again. No cane required. :)

But, I'm still a kid at heart! Knowing me, it would look like a scene out of "Death to Smoochie"...

I'd rather take the sloop myself rather than having it, and and her goods, turned into Kraken poo.

Thanks, everyone! I have to admit to being frazzled by this whole event, going from conjecture to reality in a week and a half! I officially started today, despite the protests of my old team. C'est la guerre, no? :)