AND THE BEAT GOES ON...

Also out back there, was jumps. All kinds and sizes. In the

ring part was cross like jumps. Bar types. Usually a

bar across and some times two.. and even 3. Those

jumps were not my favorite place. I had a pony which

I wrote about years ago here, called Bucky.  Actually

his name was Mighty Mouse, but his barn name was

BUCKY.. for good reason.  My mother decided that

Bucky and I would become jumping partners. Bucky

had other ideas.  So a lot of times I ended up going

over the jumps and Bucky didn't. Mastering the greatest

of brake system.. he manage to stop just inches from

the jump. Some times I went over.. some times I went

thru, and sometimes, I ended dumped right under it.

After months of failure and Bucky dumping Mom

a couple of times, she gave up on us become the

great team.  So Bucky and I mosey across the field

beyond. In the spring and fall the field was full of

fishing nets from the commercial fishing ship, called

the NOMAD. In the summer time the nets came and

went. So Bucky had plenty of time to lolly gag around.

Some times my goat Heidi would join us. 

The other jumps that were more out in the field, were

what we called chicken shed jumps, as they were shaped

like small chicken shed. They averaged about 4 to 5 feet

tall. And about 10 or 12 feet long. 

One of these had a flat top of about 6 inches. One summer

we must have watch Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney

movie as a group of us came up with the idea to have a

"show" AND we were going to charge for it.... a nickel.

Can you imagine, up on this jump.. 6 inches of board..

singing and dancing.. Yes, I said dancing. And if you

missed stepped, you ended up sliding down the side

of the jump. If you were lucky, you slide down the side

away from the audience.  Now, I am a self admitting

horrible singer. In fact to even use the term, singer,

is an insult to those who do sing well. I am so bad,

that my grandson told me 50 years later, not to give

up my day job.  And if I recalled right.. some of the

audience demanded their money back.  And when

the parents got involved I think it was a total refund

deal. We were bummed.  As there was a penny candy

store down the road, and we had great expectations.