Bucket list 36 – More on the blessing of horses in the lives of humans

May 25, 2014

I called my friends John and John last week by accident. Their names were John, age 68 and Tom age 62. In the book, “The Miracle of Forgiveness”, John and Tom are visited in the Arizona State Prison by the son of one of the men on the posse killed when they went out to bring Tom, John, and their cousin into Safford for conscription in the Army. The story told by John and Tom and the one in the “Miracle of Forgiveness are very similar; the only possible exception being that all parties were determined to forgive the others.

How did horses help the Power’s brothers? It was the only link they had to their youth. They were pardoned into a world that had simply changed from a ranch out in the back country to a place where cars, busses, machines, buildings, human perceptions and understanding, and all other outward manifestations were changed. They moved carefully from behind prison walls to a refuge guarded only by three wire fences and urban streets. Horses, their connection to 1960 were all around. They were able to work with, feed, curry, ride, talk to, and generally use them as a vehicle for transmission from one world to the present. They moved from Lou’s mini horse ranch to Connie and Elmer Day’s house where Ted and I continued enjoy their company and their understanding of life.

My son Scott and daughter Kaye reminded me of other experiences we had shared with horses that had helped up grow and learn. Scott reminded me of a time when we were at our ranch in the mountains in Socorro New Mexico. We had one of those experiences which simply can’t be duplicated. We had done our minor part in round-up, branding, cutting, vaccinating and otherwise checking cows, bulls, and new calves. We took about two hours and went out to the North area of the ranch where we could ride along the fence line, moved our horses into a wonderful gallop and rode that way, side by side, for about an hour simply enjoying fresh air, father and son bonding, and God’s wonderful countryside. Kaye also mentioned her experiences with horses and their therapeutic value. Rick Stevens brought in a bit of humor by wisely suggesting that dogs should be added to this equation so we could call this “Docs Dog and Pony Show”.

As far back as I can remember I have envisioned miracle cures for those whose lives have been detoured around life’s customary activities. All of my schemes, cures, alternative learning systems, and personal one-on-one interventions have been considered, planned, discussed, and attempted in experimental ways. Whether horses, dogs, cardboard enclosures for student readers, interaction using non-traditional activities, or creating vast changes in the archaic systems currently in place.

This is where we separate the wheat from the chaff. The chaff includes anything that is destructive, non-productive, bureaucrat-infested, politically correct, politically generated (specifically Common Core and national testing), and anything else that creates little but camouflage for well entrenched, high priced bobble heads. The wheat includes all the gems of wisdom that we are going to find, perfect and use to bless the lives of some of God’s most cherished souls. I have mentioned Rick Stevens and Scott Jacobs on several occasions. Rick is the son of the co-founder of Stevens-Hennager College and of course Scott is my oldest son, a man of tremendous energy and imagination. They are both true entrepreneurs and have melded their ideas and resources in their current path to the future – iFindExperts.com. I have been gently nudging them to move rapidly to the next phase of their incredible endeavor; which just happens to be an education, teaching/learning system that will be the vehicle for crafting my dream system of interlaced techniques, “dog and pony shows”, creative approaches to wildly diverse learning needs, and anything else that might bless the lives of those who have been left behind since the advent of “modern education”.

God bless each of us as we ponder, reflect, then act on creating this incredible system of tools for our wonderful family and friends in need.

Duane Jacobs, grandfather, father, brother, cousin, uncle, and friend