Memory Lane Friday - A Time You Were Sick

This week's Memory Lane Friday topic is "A Time You Were Sick."

There was this one particular time I was sick in high school, and it's this one time that I want to talk about. It's one of those Teens Don't Necessarily Have the Most Common Sense type of stories. And yes, it will have a horse-related theme incorporated into the story. 

It was my sophomore year at Culver Girls Academy. I was in a quad (4-person room) with Candi, Kristi, and Wendy, in the dorm called Tower. Candi and Kristi were seniors, and Wendy was a junior and the only non-equestrian among us (but she usually came out to watch us in Equestriennes performances, or Culver-sponsored horse shows - the home ones, obviously and not the away ones).

Well, anyway . . . back in the day when I was a student there, if you wanted to be a part of the Varsity Jumping team (the team that went to horse shows, competing in hunters/jumpers/hunter points, etc), you had to be enrolled in the Equitation/Horsemanship department (taking Equitation - Horsemanship - classes during the week), and try out/make the JV Jumping team.You had to participate on the JV team for at least one semester before being allowed to try out for the Varsity team.

So my first semester my freshman year, I made the JV team, as did a bunch of other students, including Gavin, a fellow freshman. He and I had also been involved in Pony Club in our respective home towns before attending Culver.

When the second semester of my freshman year started, I'd found out when Varsity Jumping try-outs were (I was also eligible to try out for the Equestriennes at this time, too) and I was there!

Needless to say, I'd made the team as a freshman, as did Gavin. The two of us were the only freshmen on the team.

So . . . fast forward to sophomore year. I can't remember if it was late in the first semester, or early in the second. But it was wintertime and COLD in NW Indiana. Maybe February?

A few of us Varsity Jumpers were getting ready to head to a one-day horse show in Michigan City, IN on a Saturday. By mid-week, I was starting to feel run down, like something was not quite right. I wasn't sure if it was just from classes, studying, and all the other stuff I was involved with - but I just wasn't feeling 100%.

By Friday, though, I knew something was wrong. We'd been at the Riding Hall after we'd ridden that afternoon, just making sure we'd had everything we needed for the show the next day. Since it was just a one-day show, we'd leave early on Saturday to get there, we'd show, and then come back late Saturday evening, so we only needed to organize stuff for one day. We typically stopped at a steak place on our way back to campus so we could eat something tasty for dinner.

This Friday night after wrapping up at the Riding Hall, we'd dispersed our own separate ways, each of us going to our respective dorms/barracks. Candi and Kristi were on the Varsity Jumping team with me, and the three of us headed back to our dorm to shower, change into cozy pjs, and then hang out in our room . . . eventually going to bed at lights-out.

Well, I just felt HORRIBLE by this point. But I didn't want to say anything. I really wanted to go to this horse show. This was my first full year as a Varsity Jumper. And while I wouldn't have been bumped down to JV because I was sick and had to miss a show or anything like that . . . it's just one of those weird thought-processes of a teen's brain. I didn't want to miss the show. And I was NOT going to the infirmary! (Nothing wrong with the infirmary . . . I just wasn't going.)

Anyway, I showered and changed into my pjs and headed straight to my bed. Luckily, my bed was right next to the window.

Now, I think I must've just had some viral bug that was going around (no gastrointestinal, um, "issues" to deal with - just a fever and fatigue) so it's not like I could've done anything to get rid of it (other than to rest, drink fluids, and probably spend a night or two in the infirmary so as not to spread the bug).

But back to the story . . . on this particular cold, winter evening, I was hot. I was burning up. Tired Fall-down exhausted. Had a headache. I went to my bed. I felt like I was going to burn a hole through my sheets. So I opened the window.

In the wintertime in NW Indiana.

It felt WONDERFUL. Ahhh, relief. Nice, cool air flowing over me. I was in a haze. Was I awake? Or asleep? I vaguely remember hearing voices. My roommates? Friends from across the hall? They were familiar voices, nonetheless. Wendy? Rosann? Kristi? I'm not sure.

I remember that the bedroom lights were on.

I then remember that Wendy came over and closed the window. Somebody had gone to our dorm mother's apartment down the hall and had gotten a thermometer. In my mouth it went. Obviously, I had a fever. I was burning up. I wanted the window open. Somebody got me a glass of water; another got me a glass of orange juice.

I think I'd said I didn't want to go to the infirmary. That I was going to go to the horse show. I have a little bottle of Tylenol in the lock box in my desk. Please get a couple for me.

Our dorm mother came in to check. No, please don't make a fuss. I'm going to bed; I'm okay.

I slept fitfully. I had to keep getting up to go to the bathroom, after all the liquids everyone had pushed on me. My three roommates must've really bundled up that night, because I remember begging and pleading to keep the window open a crack. But I'm assuming one of them closed it after I'd fallen asleep.

And then the alarm clock (mine? Candi's?) went off way too early. Horse show mornings always start off really early. Especially early if you've been sick the night before.

We'd made it to the Riding Hall that morning, got the horses loaded into the trailer, made sure all the equipment and necessities were loaded in the "tack room" portion of the trailer, and we were ready to load ourselves up. Typically, those teammates with the most seniority would get to ride in the dually's cab, enjoying either heat or a/c, depending on the season. Everyone else would have to ride in the "tack room" portion of the trailer. Shhh, that probably wouldn't fly very well these days.

Well, since I would've had to ride in the trailer as a sophomore, with a bunch of juniors and seniors taking up the dually (our coach would've been driving), I was kinda milling about, waiting til the last moment before getting in.

But then Candi came to me and stated, "You're riding in the truck." She had a you're not arguing with me tone of voice.

Okay. I wasn't going to argue with her. Not only was she giving me an order, I wasn't feeling like arguing. I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. But I desperately wanted to show at the same time. I was sick. I was a teen. Don't try and find the logic.

As I was getting ready to get into the truck, I heard somebody - another teammate (Drew, maybe?) - arguing with Candi. All I could hear was Candi's voice quietly, but forcefully saying, "She's SICK! She WILL ride in the truck. Do you understand?"

And that was it. I was definitely riding in the truck. I think everyone knew I wasn't feeling well, but it was something that nobody talked about, other than that brief exchange I'd overheard.

Fortunately, I didn't get anybody else sick, though I vaguely remember trying not to breathe near anyone else. And I brought home some ribbons, too. Nothing stellar, but in the ribbons, nevertheless.

And that is how I remember the event. Now, keep in mind I was sick and in need of sleep, so I may not have remembered it exactly as it happened, but this is the way my brain stored my memories of this event.

Oh, and that Saturday night's sleep? It was the smartest thing I'd done that week.

Riding Hall circa May 2009, Culver Academies, Culver, IN

Please click on the button to read the rest of this week's Memory Lane Friday posts, hosted, as always, by "Two Bears and the Three Cubs":

Next week's Memory Lane Friday is "No Theme" so it'll be a nice surprise to see different topics.

Memory Lane Friday - A Ceremony

I was seriously considering writing about my wedding, but since Andrew and I had both a justice of the peace ceremony (so we could get orders for a joint-spouse assignment in the Air Force) AND a church wedding, I don't want to pick one because they're both important.

So I think for this one, I'll go to my high school graduation 21 years ago on June 4, 1989. Plus, that whole time was so magical, and I'd like to recall it, because it is so fun to think about.

I went to Culver Girls Academy (or "CGA," part of the Culver Academies, including Culver Military Academy for the boys), in Culver, Indiana. It's on Lake Maxinkuckee, a lake formed by glaciers long, long ago. It's in NW Indiana, just over a 2-hour drive to Chicago, and not far south from South Bend, home of Notre Dame.

Anyway, the week of graduation was filled with so many activities, that it was almost hard to just stop and think of the importance of what was about to happen at the end of the week. And because all these activities kind of blurred together as the week sped by, I'm going to talk about a few of them.

I was a member of the Culver Equestriennes, an honor organization for the girls in the Equitation Program at Culver. The Equestriennes perform mounted drills to music; it is precision riding as a team (think of the Canadian Mounties' Musical Ride). We had to wait until our second semester at school before we could even try out for the team!

Not only did we have to maintain a high level of horsemanship ability, we also had to maintain a certain GPA if we were to ride on the team.

Anyway, we were getting ready for our final Graduation Ride, with dress rehearsals, making sure our boots were polished, our white breeches were spotless, as were our hunt coats.

And on the day of the final ride (the same day that the other Honor Organizations performed), we had to make sure our mounts were spectacularly groomed, with manes braided and finished off with spiffy looking white tape (like dressage braids) - it really stands out on black horses. Plus, the horses' hooves got a coat of hoof black (I won't say what it really was) so their hooves were shiny and black. And the graduating seniors got to stencil an 89 on our horses' rumps, instead of the usual checkerboard pattern. It's basically getting the hair wet, and combing it in a different direction so that it shows a pattern.Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of that.

Here are 4 of us from the Equestriennes. The 3 of us on the left side of the photo were also on the Varsity Jumping team. This photo was taken shortly before graduation week. I'm obviously the second one from the right.

 

Here's an example of our entrance in an inverted V formation. I'm in the line closest to the camera, 3rd one from the right. This is not a photo of the graduation ride, but one from my 3.5 years on the team.

Anyway, it was a spectacular, fun, bittersweet performance. It was such a great memory, because it was something so fun, rewarding, and all of us teammates really worked well together. Bittersweet, because it would be our final ride, our final opportunity to do a musical ride as a team, to live music.

Not only did we have the Honor Organization performances, we had end-of-year awards ceremonies. Okay, so you know I was an avid equestrian. At this end-of-year awards ceremony, I was awarded the Outstanding Horsewoman trophy for my accomplishments.

Here's the trophy as it's displayed in the BHT (Black Horse Troop) Lounge in the Riding Hall. My name is engraved on the pedestal.

Then there was Final Ball (not "prom" or whatever other schools call it). If I remember correctly, it was the night before graduation. I don't really remember. Not only did we get dressed up for this very important dance, we had a special ceremony the night before our very important graduation ceremony.

We had the ring ceremony. Typically in our junior year, we'd have a senior chosen to "ring" us. We'd get to wear that person's senior class ring that year, with the Culver "C" facing in (because we were still "in" school). Then on the night of Final Ball, we'd put our senior's ring back on her finger, with the "C" facing out. Well, I wasn't going to be doing this ceremony with a junior, putting my ring on me with the "C" facing out. I was having Wendy (who was my roommate for two years, and who later became my maid of honor at my church wedding), ring me. She graduated in 1988, the year before. So just before midnight, we lined up, and as soon as the 1989 flashed, she took my ring off my finger and put it on with the "C" facing out.

 Here's my class ring. All CGA class rings are standardized and look like this. However, you had the choice of what kind of gold you wanted, or silver, if you so desired. The CGA Crest is in the middle, with the Culver logo on one side and year of graduation on the other.

Finally, after plenty of activities during graduation week (and there were PLENTY of others in addition to Honor Organization performances, awards ceremonies, Final Ball), it was time for graduation.

I remember how bittersweet it felt. I would definitely miss all the opportunities I had become involved with, all the friendships I had made - and yes, after 20+ years, these are the people I am still friends with, and many of us still keep in touch. As a matter of fact, every year Culver hosts Alumni Weekend, which, this year,  happens to be starting NOW. It lasts the whole weekend, with plenty of activities for Alumni/ae - you just go on the year that corresponds with your 5th, 10th, so on. Last year was my 20th. Okay, I'm off track (I may talk about Alumni Weekends another time) . . . so back to graduation.

All the seniors of CGA wear white dresses for the day of graduation. It's traditional to get a photo of the graduating class in front of the Culver Memorial Chapel. But, for some reason, the photographer on our graduation day had camera issues! And we didn't get an official photo. But plenty of parents were on hand with cameras, so we at least got some photos of that moment.

I'm not sure whose parent took this photo. I'm in the front row, all the way to the left.

Oh, and we all had arm bouquets. I had cream-colored roses with maroon edges. I loved 'em.

So when we graduated, we walked through the CGA gate. Our name would be announced, I think we signed the graduation book (?) got a hand shake (or hug) from the Dean of Girls (Dean Trudy Hall, at the time of my graduation), and a hand shake from the Superintendent (Dean Manuel, at the time) and walked through the gate. And then we'd sit down, and wait for the remainder of the ceremony. CGA went first, and then CMA went through their own gate. I remember Dean Hall giving me a big hug, saying "Take care of those horses, okay?"

And within a couple hours, it was over. Just like that. Four years at Culver were over. And a new adventure was beginning. Wow! Exciting and bittersweet.

Katy (class of 1990) and I are bawling our eyes out. This is the bittersweet part.

The fun side of the coin: our dorm mother, Ms. Mack, had let me "sign Katy out" on leave, so she and I could hang out for a while after graduation. Shhh! She wasn't really supposed to do that. 

One of my good friends, Rosann, and her family had rented a cottage on the lake. We had a party there, celebrating our graduation. Here's the cake:

Of course, I just noticed they misspelled "Congratulations" and Rosann's name, but oh, well. It was fun. The whole experience. Everything leading up to graduation, and while it was bittersweet, to move away from friends, I'm glad most of us still keep in touch. And besides, we get to see each other every 5 years!

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Memory Lane Friday - A Favorite Book

Oh, boy. This is gonna be really, really hard to narrow down! For as long as I can remember, I have been a bibliophile.

My mom always read to me when I was young. And because of this, I can hardly remember a time when I didn't know how to read.

Reading was a little vacation - a way to head off into some wonderful other place, where I could do anything the characters in my books were doing.

Therefore to pick a favorite book? This is hard.

So I think I'll "cheat" a little and pick a series of books.

Anyone care to guess what that series is? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Well, just about any girl who was an avid equestrian was also an avid fan of "The Black Stallion" series by Walter Farley. (I also liked "The Island Stallion" series, but in this post I'll focus on the stories about Alec and "The Black.")

I must've had all the books in the series. But what started it off is when my mom got me my first books in "The Black Stallion" series for Christmas one year . . . okay, it was "Santa" and "he" had left them in my stocking. It was a boxed set of four, including "The Black Stallion," "The Black Stallion Returns," and two other ones from the same series (not including any from "The Island Stallion" series).

I started reading the first one, "The Black Stallion," and I was hooked. I loved all the adventures that Alec and "The Black" experienced. I loved how "The Black" acted - a spirited, spunky horse with a lot of character. I remember imagining this huge black horse with a flowing mane and tail. Looking back on it, the image I had of "The Black" was really not that of an actual Arabian horse, with dished face, dainty ears, high-carried tail.

Rather, I think I imagined him to look more like a Friesian horse - much bigger, more massive, ready to pull a carriage or perform dressage, instead of running like the wind and winning races like Alec and "The Black" did in the books.

Anyway, it was fun getting lost in those books. I'm sure I read a number of them more than once. And I specifically remember reading "The Black Stallion's Ghost" and "The Black Stallion Mystery" at least two times each! And while I was creeped out by "The Black Stallion's Ghost," I was also thrilled at the same time. There was just something about that book that fascinated me. Creepy, yes. But fascinating, too! Somehow the supernatural aspect of the book made it not only spooky to me when I first read it, but hard to put down.

And since I don't have any photos of these books, or of myself while reading them, I'll add a photo of Black Lightning (stall #35) from Culver. No, he's not a black stallion, but he IS a black appaloosa (all black except for his white facial markings, and a couple hard to see white spots on his rump and his belly). I rode him sometimes for equitation class at Culver (Culver Academies in Culver, IN), especially in the summertime during Sarge's class. Or sometimes I'd ride him for Varsity Jumping. He was kind of a nut, but I loved riding him!

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Memory Lane Friday (a day late) - A Sporting Event

Okay, I'll play along; I like the idea of Memory Lane Fridays.

I was thinking about what I'd post yesterday and then the next thing I know, it's mid-day Saturday! Oops! Next week, I'll be sure to post (or try to post) on Friday evening after Livie has gone to bed. ;)

Let's see. There are a couple of sporting events that I was thinking about writing about, but I think I've narrowed it down to the one really FUN memory.

Back in the day, I used to be an avid equestrian. I really didn't care much about anything but riding . . . except for maybe photography, art class, and what book we'd get to read next in English. (I was . . . and still am . . . a big ol' bookworm.)

Anyway, while I attended Culver Girls Academy (CGA), I was on the Varsity Jumping Team. We usually had a blast going to various shows in the area. And we'd typically have the Culver Invitational Horse Show (a home show for us) in the spring, in the big outdoor arenas across the street from the riding hall. Riders from around the area (Indiana, Michigan, maybe Illinois, and perhaps other places) would participate in this show. And a horse show judge would come in to fulfill judging duties over the weekend for this show.

It's actually this show that I'm thinking about and fondly remembering - the May 1989 show during my senior year at Culver: just about a month before graduating. I'd actually been on the CGA Varsity Polo team this particular semester. But since I'd been on the Varsity Jumping Team since the spring semester of my freshman year, I had a tremendous urge to ride in Culver's Invitational Horse Show one final year. This would probably be my last big show before heading off to college and not being able to ride regularly, if at all.

So about a month or so before the show, I spoke to my polo coach and told her I was thinking about riding in the show; would she have a problem if I rode with the Varsity Jumpers for that week prior to the show, and then compete that whole weekend? I was so excited when she said go for it.

Meanwhile, I was still going to polo practice, having a blast picking up a new sport. After we tacked up our ponies and headed to the arena, I'd mount up and warm up without stirrups, picking up my stirrups only when we started scrimmaging.

See, I was riding as much as I could without stirrups to get my legs super tight, like steel. I knew I'd be riding in Adult Equitation classes for the first time, and I wanted to be ready.

Oh, a bit of an explanation for those of you who are not familiar with equestrian terms: riders in equitation classes are judged on their form (correct posture while mounted), and how they handle their horses (the more invisible your cues to your horse are, the better). Plus, since I'd already turned 18 in November of 1988, I was no longer able to ride in the Junior equitation classes - it would be Adult classes from here on out.

And of course, I was still practicing with the CGA Equestriennes (the CGA Honor Organization team that performs musical rides). These practices occurred after jumping and polo practices were over. So when I rode with the Equestriennes, I'd ride the whole practice without stirrups.

So after my "show preparation week" with the Varsity Jumpers, I was ready. And I was excited. I really enjoyed showing.

After a full morning of showing, it was now late Saturday afternoon - the first day of showing would be over within a few hours.

Finally, it was time to head into the ring for my first ever Adult Equitation class. I was riding Sir Ebon, a kinda fuzzy horse who was so incredibly smooth to ride - he had gaits that truly felt like you were on a rocking horse. Nice and smoooooth.

Once all the riders were in the ring, the judge had us go through our paces, including taking our feet out of the stirrups and crossing them over the the fronts of our saddle (so they wouldn't bang against our horses' sides each time they took a stride, and probably to ensure no one's feet "accidentally" went back into them prematurely). Since I'd been practicing so much without stirrups, this was a piece of cake. I could've gone on and on without stirrups, even smiling at the judge as Sir Ebon and I trotted past her, neither of us tired at all.

One of my riding instructors (Lt Michael Stahl) was standing by the ring, watching. At one point, he said, "You're doing well. Keep it up and you should place high!"

But, since riding without stirrups does take a lot of practice and is a lot of work to maintain, there is only so long a judge can have a class ride without them. So we eventually got our stirrups back.

Finally, after the judge had seen all she needed to see, all the riders lined up in the center of the ring, with our numbers (on our backs) facing the judge.

It seemed like we were there forever. Finally, after what felt like HOURS (but was only a few minutes - 5-10, tops), the announcer stated over the loudspeaker that we had the results. A lot of times, horse shows will have ribbons for 1st through 6th places. I've occasionally seen bigger shows having ribbons through 8th place. This show had ribbons through 6th. And a person (one of the horse show volunteers) with all six ribbons was standing near the middle of the ring, ready to pass them out to the riders who earned them.

And then the announcer started with 6th place, stating something to the effect of "In 6th place, number __(whatever it was)" and then saying that rider's name. That rider walked up to the volunteer, received his or her ribbon, and exited the ring.

Then 5th place . . . I think I was holding my breath, waiting to hear my number. When the number was announced . . . it was somebody else's.

Waiting for the 4th place announcement . . . more breath holding, and more disappointment that it wasn't me.

When it came to the 3rd place announcement, I was thinking that it was altogether possible that I was in the top three, especially since Lt. Stahl had thought I was doing well enough to place high.

But when they announced the 3rd place rider, it still wasn't me. I took a deep breath, trying to hold back disappointment, and telling myself not to worry about it. That I'd be in other non-equitation classes at this show, other types of classes where I usually performed much better.

So now it was time for the red ribbon - 2nd place. I held my breath, looking at the volunteer with the red 2nd place ribbon and that blue ribbon I wanted so badly. The volunteer was a fellow Culver student; if I remember correctly, I think it was Rosann, a fellow Equestriennes teammate and good friend. She was standing there looking at us, a bunch of riders still left, but only two ribbons remained . . .

. . . and then I couldn't believe it! 2nd place was announced and it still wasn't my number. Suddenly, just before the announcer said the rider's name, I had a panicked butterfly sensation in my stomach! What the heck WAS my number?! I suddenly couldn't remember! Was it me? No, it wasn't. Was it?

Nope. During my momentary confusion, the announcer said someone else's name.

And then I was really disappointed.

But then the 1st place number was called while I once again held my breath, feeling that familiar disappointment again, and wishing it were just all over already . . . and when the number was announced, it was the number I'd kept repeating over and over in my head! It was my number! But I was so surprised, I didn't move at first, not sure if it had really been my number.

Then I heard the announcer say my name, and I was filled with relief and disbelief! I just couldn't believe I'd won! First of all, wow! I'd won an equitation class! That rarely happened (I usually did well in other types of classes). And secondly, it was my first Adult Equitation class! Double wow!

The Varsity Jumping coach, Capt. Chris Kerner, a long time instructor of mine while I was at Culver, was sitting near the gate with the biggest grin I'd ever seen as I rode past. Another instructor, Ms. Leslie Gordon (the Equestriennes and JV Jumping coach), saw his big ol' smile, teasing him about it. And Capt. Kerner's response? "Well, what else would you do if your kid was the best!" That kind of compliment meant as much as the blue ribbon.

I was so excited about this win; it seemed like an unlikely victory and I really appreciated it. After this first day of showing was over, and I'd cared for Sir Ebon and returned him to his stall, I was walking back to my dorm in the twilight. It was during this walk while I was replaying the events of the day, that I came upon one of my English instructors, Mr. Wiley. He saw me in my riding clothes, and asked how I was doing at the show. I was so excited that I just blabbed on and on about the day. He laughed, smiled big, and congratulated me on how well I'd done. I think he must've been surprised because I was usually much more reserved during class, not getting quite so animated, even if we were talking about a book or story I really loved.

As we said our "I'll see you on Monday in class" and goodbyes, I enjoyed the remaining walk back to my dorm, that wonderful spring evening after an exciting day.

(Oh, and by the way . . . I think I still have that blue ribbon somewhere, tucked away with other very important mementos. LOL!)