[Feeling Grateful] November 23, 2025 Retirement Day #2316 “Anything forced or misunderstood can never be beautiful.” –Xenophon [350B.C.] I was asked the other day “why dressage?” in reference to one of my more passionate retirement pursuits. Some people get 2 nd  homes, boats, go on cruises…. I got a horse. At first, it was about continuing a subtle connection with my daughter, who, in her teen years, rode and showed her horse StarBuck  [a Lippitt Morgan who, ironically enoug

11/10/2025 Retirement Day #2303 Last weekend I attended the H2 dance concert at the Knickerbocker Theater in Holland, MI. The performance was remarkable thanks to a strong senior class of dancers presenting with qualitative range and technical capacity. The tap, jazz/hip-hop and contemporary choreography was entertaining and satisfying. It was delightfully nostalgic to see Ray Tadio’s “Chandra Duet #1” again – a powerful work originally created 20 [WHAT?!?] years ago and per

[based on true-ish events]   Introduction: This is the story of how a horse who was ghosted and a woman who was a ghost before her time found each other on that backroad between the Living and the Lost. Like all good ghost stories, it begins with tragedy and a curse.   I.          Tragedy: Exit, Love Part a:   Moon was a beautiful pearl-gray Morgan-Andalusian crossbreed - a rare breed with a rarer coat color that shimmers in the sunlight and disappears in the muffled white da

Dedicated to Judy, Billy & Max Retirement Day #2251 Introduction Classes began  at Hope College last week and, for the 7 th year, I’m...