Pride




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" September 16, 2003 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or a friend generously forwarded their copy to you. To subscribe send a blank e-mail to subscribe@write2theheart.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ The odds were against the newborn colt and he was almost destroyed. Two people pleaded for his life. Five years later, the odds were against him once more. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Pride By Bob Shaw ------------------------------------------------------------ Grampa owned a small farm in Southern Illinois. The main "crop" on the farm was a thoroughbred named Shaw's Pride. He was born, on the farm, in 1940 with a lot of health problems and was almost destroyed shortly after his birth. My Dad and Grandma convinced Grandpa to save him. Dad had always wanted a pony, and was determined to get his chance. Shaw's Pride began his racing career quite late, at about age 5, and raced quite well at the local fairgrounds. Grampa decided to give him a try at one of the big tracks. My parents had just gotten married, and financially, things were tough. Grampa had been unable to help with the wedding or give them a wedding present, and he felt badly about it. He called Dad one day to say he thought he had found a way to help them out. The Pride, as he was called by friends and family, was running in his prime. Grampa was going to enter him in a big race. Since The Pride was not known on the racing circuit, Grampa was pretty sure that his odds would be high. It sounded like a good plan, so they decided to meet at the track. Dad pooled what money they had, and bought a twenty dollar ticket on Shaw's Pride to win, which was quite a large sum of money in those days. Dad went to see his old friend, The Pride, down in the barn. It was a great reunion and, when parting, Dad rubbed his nose and said, "Go get 'em boy." The odds on The Pride were high -- 20 to 1 and climbing. Everyone seemed to think he didn't stand a chance of winning. The Pride was led to the starting gate. When the bell went off and the door flew open, Shaw's Pride came out like a rocket. After just a few steps he had taken the lead, and held it the entire race. Coming around the last turn and into the home stretch, The Pride leaned into his big frame and put everything he had into it. When he blazed under the wire, the camera recorded the winner -- he was the only horse in the picture. Shaw's Pride set a track record that day, and never again would the odds be so high against him -- now they knew his name. There was enormous excitement in the winner's circle. The $20 bet Dad had placed amounted to almost $700 in winnings. It was a wonderful nest egg for the beginning of my parents’ life together. Throughout all the excitement, Mom remained pretty quiet and stayed off to the side. She had been planning something special for Dad's birthday and had been putting some money aside from the grocery budget. She'd also been doing little sewing and cleaning jobs, whatever she could find, to add to her funds. When the excitement died down a bit, she walked over to Dad, and gently put a ticket in his hand. She looked up at him with a smile, and big tears in her eyes, and said... "I put twenty on him too." ~ Bob Shaw ~ CapeRabbit @ semo.Net You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bob and his wife Ronni live in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Bob says, "Growing up on a small farm like this was full of stories and many wonderful memories. I can remember as a child, standing on the fence, and The Pride getting as close as he could so I could get on for a ride. At sixteen hands high, he was big. He was put to rest on the farm he loved, in sight of the house that many referred to as "the house that Shaw's Pride built." -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers -------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s story and poem remind us how things go the same day after day and we think we have plenty of time to fix relationships, pick up broken pieces of our lives, or make that call later. But then in a sudden moment all that changes and we never have that time. Instead of sending the flowers we meant to send for a birthday, we are sending them to a funeral. I know I have been guilty of this. Mary C. I grieve for Angela. I am glad she is getting the chance to know and love her sister’s children. Pam --------------------------------------------------------------- Military Prayer Reminder --------------------------------------------------------------- As you read over this list of names, please take that moment to pray for these young people and their families: Chris Speir Tim Speir Alan Thaddeaus Howard Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ken Prieur Ryan Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner David finally got his wish. He was able to go motorcycle riding with one of his sons. Tim came home from college Sunday afternoon just for the purpose of spending time with his dad. They explored back roads and dirt trails. When they came in, they were all smiles. They ate and were off again. If all of our sons react like this, I think David is going to need more motorcycles! God Bless, Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.