Happy New Year! 2008 is a special year indeed. It is a leap year and we all know what that means: An extra day of racing. Get excited!
And a Happy Birthday to my brother. How exciting! (Okay, I never got around to sending you a birthday card but I'm sure you'll be excited about the gift. But you're probably not even reading this because you don't even own a computer. An aside to other brother: Print this blog entry out and send it to him).
But most important, it is opening day of the winter meet at the Perpetually New and Improved Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino (motto: "One of these years you're gonna like what we did to the place or we're gonna go broke"). Regardless of whatever construction, seat rearrangement, menu changes, etc., the racing will be good and the mutuel clerks grumpy. Ya gotta be excited!
And finally ...
My sincere appreciation to all of you who took the time to read (and perhaps enjoy in some strange, twisted way) my holiday creative writing exploits. I actually took a few days to ponder some exciting possible endings to The Racing Reindeer such as (1) Comet races and Tiny Tim Cratchit, who needs a liver transplant, holds the winning trifecta ticket when Comet comes in first at 45-1 thus providing the much-needed funds for the liver transplant so he lives, (2) Comet races and Tiny Tim Cratchit, who needs a liver transplant, holds a potential winning trifecta ticket if Comet comes in first at 45-1 but instead Comet hear's a cry for help somewhere in the backstretch and chooses not to finish the race leaving Tiny Tim with a loosing ticket and he dies because he can't afford a liver transplant, or (3) Comet soundly thumps the competition in the CashCall Futurity by 18 lengths and is immediately purchased by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for a cool $15 million and then is promptly shipped off to the breeding shed. And as for our Reluctant Rider, P Val - we all know what happenned: He got busted for a DUI and got coal in his Christmas stocking (again).
In the spirit of many great authors, I shall leave the ending of The Racing Reindeer to your own devices. It worked well for Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. She never wrote if Scarlett ever won Rhett Butler back but instead ended her novel with Scarlett proclaiming that she would return to Tara and think about it tomorrow because, "After all, tomorrow is another day." And it is because of the way Margaret Mitchell ended her novel that there is no horse racing in Atlanta.
Anyway, may 2008 bring you many winning wagers and a trip or two to the IRS Mutuel Window. Now that's exciting!
4 comments:
Thanks, Sue, for at least considering writing an ending for your wonderful holiday. I like, though, that you are rather taking a page out of Ian McEwan's book--if you haven't already read Atonement, do! (And skip the movie.)
Happy New Year to you as well, Sue.
I like to think he won, then Sheik Mo purchased him only to find out....he's sterile -lol.
Thanks for the making the end of the year enjoyable with your story and for all of your postings throughout the year as well. Looking forward to reading more posts in the coming year!
And do check out Mike Smith's reindeer racing comments, as reported by Alan at leftatthegate.blogspot.com!
I should have read this sooner...not that I would have mailed this post to other brother anyway.
When is his birthday?
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