My daughter Wendy and her dear friend Karen fetched me at the airport and together we drove Gordon and Wendy's Arabian Horse Training Farm..."The Brass Ring" in Burleson about an hour from DFW...perhaps you remember Burleson...Kelly Clarkson put it on the map when she became the first winner of "American Idol"...she was a waitress there...
I love visiting Wendy and her family...her husband Gordon, their son Wyatt and the twins...Halle and Grant...
Wendy and Gordon are premiere trainers of Arabian horses with 100 in training and a staff of 25 trainers, grooms and office personnel...quite an organization...including an indoor training facility and stalls for 100 steeds...and all of this the result of their unending dedication to their life's passion...horses...specifically, Arabian horses...
Wendy and Gordon win much of the time, which explains the enormity and complexity of their organization...
Wendy on one of her many winning charges
Gordon on one of his many 'victory laps'
On Friday Nov 5th, I had the opportunity to go to Wyatt and Halle's school and meet their teachers and see the work that they are doing...they are doing well and the real interest was watching them at home.
Wyatt is as enamored with trains as Wendy was with horses at his age and Halle seems like she may follow in Wendy's stirrups...Grant is very thoughtful and loves music and trains as well...I cherish moments with them...
and then, all too soon, on to Step Two...
Saturday, I flew to New York to take up a four day residence at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca...it is the oldest operating hotel in NYC...
Then...1845
and Now...2010...It has just been refurbished so everything in my room is new...nice!
I thank Nicole Picard at Magellan's travel store in Santa Monica for suggesting this hotel...I'm in heaven...downstairs on the corner of the building is Starbucks, where I can order my 'iced vente quad non-fat latte...mmm...wake me up!
I also was able to watch the USC/Arizona State game at Mudville 9 Saloon across the street....
Where Elizabeth Cromwell spoiled me...
I watched the game on four big screens situated behind the bar, ate delicious wings and drank Guinness...yum...
Speaking of good food...Sunday evening
I had dinner with my literary agent Kirsten Neuhaus...
I call her my 'Goddess Illuminatus' because she is all that and more...I am happy with my 'book' team...Kirsten my literary partner and agent and Sally Arteseros, my editor...together we are a team working as a well oiled machine...and around the corner the proper publisher to complete the team...together we'll bring our series of books on ÆSOP's life and times to people everywhere...after all, ÆSOP is an ubiquitous character, his work known the world over...he's quoted millions of times daily around the world...
Goddess Illuminatus
Sunday evening the subway transported me to Brooklyn Heights to meet Kirsten at "River Deli"...a lovely Italian restaurant that is now residing in the space as the orignal 'River Deli'...somewhat of a landmark in Brooklyn Heights...
Our pasta dinner was excellent, the wine divine...the company superb...
I enjoy 'face time' with Kirsten...each and every meeting producing results...we consistently walk away with valuable new thoughts and insights in regard to how we are building our product line...
Monday meetings in regard to digital marketing and new media advertising...
And now for another thought...
I find it interesting, having spent so much of my life in the music business as a singer, composer, arranger, songwriter and producer...the paradigm shift in that industry...observing as well as experiencing the disintegration of traditional modes of marketing of music and watching new methods arise to a point where iTunes is now the largest distributor of recordings in our industry...I find what the literary world is going through at present so similar...
One more thing...for me, writing a novel is not so different than writing songs or other music for about every medium possible...
This is not a paradigm shift...it is growth...it feels like the same house, a different room...a room full of possibilities...
It seems to me that songs are 'one act plays' telling a story...and novels...well, novels tell a story...long form...more opportunity for detail of the human spirit...music does that too...
I am a very happy boy...
and grateful for my life...
I thank my family and friends for loving and supporting me through my life's journey as I love and support them in theirs...
Now for ÆSOP's Fable of the Week:
A dog was trotting along happily, a large portion of meat in his mouth, when he came upon a bridge...
As he crossed the bridge, the meat was firmly grasped in his jaws...
Then he happened to look down into the water and there it was...
It was another dog, who also held a serving of meat in his mouth!
But the other dog's piece looked bigger!
The dog on the bridge dropped the meat he was holding...
He lunged to sieze the larger portion from the dog he saw below...
Just then, the larger piece of meat held in the other dog's mouth disappeared into the water...
Along with the one that he dropped...
Love to all!
Thomas
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