September 30
I think I made the decision to become a writer in the 7th grade. My closest friend at the time, now a published poet, also wanted to be a writer. However, I had one desire that surpassed my desire to write and that was to own my own horse. At the time, I went horseback riding almost every day in the summer with my friend. She had a wonderful quarter horse named “Shorty” on which we rode double.
Not far from the stable was Mr. Tippit’s ranch. He bought and sold horses and always had about 30 or 40 in his pasture. He told us, “If you can catch it, you can ride it.” For free was understood—and that was music to our ears! It usually took us between three and four hours to catch a horse and then another hour to brush all the dirt and burrs from its coat and mane. Picture this in the summer heat of Florida. But it was worth it. That gave us at least another five hours; and if we were lucky and my father was picking us up after work, we’d have six hours to ride. It was like owning our own horse. Some days, however, we never caught a horse.
Anyway, many of the magazines published for kids our age seemed to understand a 13-year-old girl’s love for horses because they were always offering writing contests. The winner would win a thoroughbred. That was beyond our wildest dreams and all the incentive we needed!
The first year, Dash detergent sponsored the contest, and we both won (a supply of Dash detergent)! The next year Ipana toothpaste was the sponsor, and we both won again (a supply of Ipana toothpaste)! The last year we entered, a patriotic organization sponsored the contest; and, you guessed it, we both won…an American flag.
I never won my horse, but I did win a permanent passion for writing.