Kentucky Derby May 2010

I do not wager, but I have a love for horse-racing that goes back to my Summers with Grandma Consuelo in the Philippines. She used to partake of the local Carreras which were also televised. I remember having a fondness for odd-color (read: white) horses and for the underdog. She and my uncles may have won often enough because she was never in a foul mood as far as I was aware,  hehehe.

Life lessons  I've watched these types of races enough to know the following:

• the first one out of the starting gate does not always win
• being the odds-on favorites does not guarantee a victory
• the fast-and-furious racing style may mean that the horse fizzles out on the home stretch

What may lead to a win?? The 3 Ps --- patience, pacing,  and position --- and the jockey who knows how to properly combine the three!

I love the name of this year's winner, "Super Saver"
I want to keep an eye on the fabulous(!) come-from-waaaay-behind second-place winner, "Ice Box"

I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong... Ecclesiastes 9:11

**

Andy Williams Fans & Moon River

Since my youth, I've been influenced by the music I hear.  Andy William's version of "Moon River" has just been played and I want to bawl like a baby.  My parents were fans of Mr Williams.  The lyrics of the song remind me of two lovers with dreams and hopes and doors of opportunity in front of them -- as my parents did many moons ago. Their marriage, their family life, their three daughters, their decision to move to the USA, their careers --- all were part of their personal "river" on which they journeyed as husband and wife.  And now, their trip is over. Their river has run dry.  They've reached the end of the rainbow. They're gone and, for the moment,  we can not follow.  

Moon River, wider than a mile, 

I'm crossing you in style some day. 

Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, 

wherever you're going I'm going your way. 

Two drifters off to see the world. 

There's such a lot of world to see. 

We're after the same rainbow's end-- 

waiting 'round the bend, 

my huckleberry friend, 

Moon River and me.

(music by Henry Mancini,

 lyrics by Johnny Mercer)

7.8.23.18