JOY

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

I decided to give my muse Ogden Nash, the great limerick poet, a break. As I celebrate the Jewish New Year and the Days of Awe, I received this anonymous letter. I have more or less translated Yiddish to English. Please enjoy the following, it may be filled with gender bias (she/her), but the message is universal.
Hope you enjoy it.

"I have been thinking about what I could wish you in addition to blessings, health and joy (with that I cover the most important things ...). I ask G-d that you be inscribed in the Book of Life ... May you have an easy year; a year with simchas (good luck), with healthy mishpacha (life) and with happy children. I wish you peace of mind and well-slept nights. I wish you sunny and anxiety-free mornings; newspapers with good news and peace projects. I wish you a year with fewer security guards and more tolerance. I wish you many coffee conversations, well-read books and well-done work. May your pharmacy bills be for cosmetics and not remedies; may your supermarket bills be for chocolates and not Activia ... May you be loved, adored and respected. I wish you so many things: good mammograms, if you need injections may they be Botox and not antibiotics, and that you sing loudly when you are in the car alone ... May you have a year with vacations, walks, escapes and showcases. May you not lack anything and may you not have anything stolen ... and may you have money to give tzedakah (charity). I wish you laughter; the kind that makes you cry ... Laughter so loud that you have to bend over and close your legs tightly to avoid peeing. Daily and weekly laughter, spontaneous laughter, laughter at stupid things. Laughter that drives away fears and that fills us with blessed wrinkles ... I wish you lots and lots of honey with honey ... I wish you wonderful friends who worry about you when necessary! But most of all, many more healthy years to share with family and friends. Much love!
Happy New Year."

As I have written in the past, I continue to suffer several maladies, and I fear I shall continue to do so. But let me list them:

The first is writer's block. Norman Mailer said that "... writer's block is the failure of ego." Surprisingly, I always thought I had a pretty healthy ego, so perhaps that is not the cause of my problem. Second is analysis paralysis combined with the symptoms of Stendhal Syndrome over global and national events. The third is a combination of Trump derangement syndrome and confirmation bias, but enough said about that.

A lovely acquaintance at the dog park observed my hangdog look and kindly approached me and asked, "What brought you joy last week?" That question began to unlock the malady of writer's block. It was then that a series of local and very personal events took place which caused a reframing of my outlook.

The first event was Martha's and my attendance at the 75th anniversary of our horse veterinary clinic. They have been taking care of our horses for 37 of those 75 years. As joyous as the event was, what was really important was the re-connection with other horse friends who we had not seen in years. Connecting and communicating with friends unlocks the self-centeredness we sometimes fall into. Smiling faces, recounting funny stories, the sound of laughter and a bit of celebratory cheer brought me immediate joy.

The second event began as a very sad moment. My 31-year-old horse, Isabeau, a regal and wonderful creature had taken care of me for 27 years. She came to me as a polo horse project from a ranch in Wyoming. She knew nothing of polo but was a quick study and with her athletic ability she soon became my best horse. When I retired from polo, she became my trail horse when I joined the Roundup Riders of the Rockies for the annual 100-mile trek through the Rocky Mountains. We both retired from that about 8 years ago, and she lived out her life at our house, relaxing and grazing in the pasture and in her way continuing to assure me that I was worth something. She lived the last 13 years of her life with her best friend and stall buddy, Madame Firefly. On her last day, she trotted around her paddock, head and tail held high then walked into her stall laid down and could not get up. I would not let her suffer, so the decision to euthanize was the only alternative. The grief — though overwhelming at first — became joyous the next day when I took out her best friend Madame Firefly, and we began to commune with each other on our daily walk- about. We knew how lucky we were to have had Isabeau in our lives. Madame Firefly doesn't verbalize much, but we somehow were able to meaningfully comfort each other, me talking, she listening, and feeling each other's joy of our shared lives with Isabeau while we walked in the bright Colorado sunshine basking in the memory of so many good years. Similar to the joy I felt in comradeship from my friends at the vet clinic celebration, being able to communicate with my loyal equine friend so too brought me joy.

The last event was an adventure for Martha and me. We were fortunate to be guests at a fancy wellness center called the Canyon Rancy in Tucson Arizona. We put ourselves through various and vigorous exercises and got pampered by the expert spa staff. Changing up what becomes a daily routine opens up new perspectives and can bring joy to your life. We reinforced good eating habits, exercise habits and appreciated each other and our good fortune of health.

With your good grace and patience in reading this, I hope that I have unleashed at least one of my maladies, the writer's block. I will continue to work on the other two which I have come to realize are not so debilitating. I know opening my mind to local and personal happenings, and communication with people and equine friends, have helped me find the simple joys of life. So, I leave you with this: What brought you joy last week? And more importanly, what joy will come your way this next week?