Re: Tevis Horse Rescuer Tries to Shed Some Light

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/13/00 5:18:14 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
superpat@gateway.net writes:

<< APOLOGY? APOLOGY? TO TOM????
 You must be out of your mind!!!!!
  I wouldn't even *think* of offering an apology to Tom, the king of
 curmudgeons. Why he'd chew me up and spit me out just for starters. No way
 am I apologizing to him. Not fur nuthin. Why I'd rather ride that bucking
 horse you all have been writing about. But send a good old high five? Yep, I
 do that regularly.
 Pat Super >>

...if the "check is in the mail" statement proves to be true, eh? 

It appears that there are going to be a lot of high fives to pass around. 
That's good. David Putnam appears to be far more useful than the bronc--in 
fact, he just may be called upon to rescue the horse someday. Usefulness is a 
cause I can, with good conscience, support. The check goes in the mail 
Monday. 

Wait and see, then I'll take the high five.

Apology? Naw. If I had to apologise to every decent person I've had a little 
dustup with, it would take the rest of my life. A good sincere fistfight 
should end in a handshake. A nod of respect for the opponent's well-aimed 
blows. Anyone who enters the arena of ideas has to be ready to take some hard 
licks--and I've taken my share here, where the minds are sharp and quick. But 
that's why I step into the arena--not to hear myself talk. I want to wrestle 
with concepts, have my thoughts tempered with fire. 

If, instead, I sat here unmolested, thinking conjurings of my own imagination 
and my own faulty interpretation of the things I read and experience, then 
I'd gradually develop a hardened, inviolable set of beliefs. That's living 
death. 

I want my mind to be free, and freedom always extracts a price. If that price 
turns out to be only an occasional bruise--hey, fair deal. More than fair.

ti