The Inside Rail

43 degrees and cloudy.

Well, that’s what my phone says, my eyes tell it differently.

The light gleans through the windows like knives heaved at a cutting board, flashes at each window, upstairs, downstairs, hallway, kitchen, an orange and blue whirl coming from the east. I hit the button on the coffee maker, grab my phone and my camera, still in slippers, and scramble outside, knowing that it’s one of those sunrises. Over and just to the left of the bank barn, deflecting through the trees, cutting through the water tower in the distance, somehow leaping over the mountain range, the frame.

52 degrees and showers.

Steady rain this morning. Dictina’s Boy and Border Agent huddle near the front gate, wet, heads down, ears back. Kissin Conquest and Eagle Poise huddle near the back gate, wet, heads down, ears back. Dry, pristine sheds stand on the other sides of both fields, untouched. Perhaps, I’ll convert them to something else…office, chicken coop, cabana bar.

I’ve begun to read Kim Bailey’s blog most mornings. The British trainer offers updates on his horses, changes in handicap marks, a few comments, thoughts, observations, photos and a joke. Oh, and the lede, he’s mastered this, leading with the weather every day. Now, in journalism school (if I actually went…), the professors always said the weather is not your lede. Well, times change.

I read once that writing is 10 percent talent and 90 percent not getting distracted by the Internet. Or something like that. There are mornings when I wonder what happened to my morning. Some flitter away, distracted by the Internet. 

I got distracted this morning, thinking and Googling Jeff Lukas. 

Lukas died last week. Before my time as a journalist, Jeff worked for his dad, Hall of Fame trainer, D. Wayne Lukas. I know all his other assistants – Dallas, Pletcher, Hennig, Kiaran – and know that Jeff Lukas was right there with them. A horse trainer. Simply a horse trainer. 

This from my friend George Baker, who serves as my eyes – the words – from Cheltenham this year. So good. 

Rolling down off the stands…came a noise that is impossible to describe. I will try. And I will not do the moment justice. The “moment” coming midway through a golden spring afternoon that will live long in the memory of those of us who are lucky to now say, “we were there”…

I broke my neck.

Well, that sounds cooler than saying I’ve got an “acutely herniated C6-C7” disc in my neck.

Acupuncture, massage, two methylprednisone dose packs, corticosteroid injection, chiropractor, rest – nothing. Doctor’s visits, X-rays, MRI, CT scan – at least a diagnosis.

“See that there, it’s either bone or disc lying on your nerve,” Dr. Rush Fisher said as I squinted at what looked like a black jellybean in a cloud of smoke on a computer screen. “That’s what’s causing your pain.”

“How did it happen?” I asked.

Good to know the American presidential race is attracting attention in England. I often read Kim Bailey’s entertaining blog, http://www.kimbaileyracing.com, which always includes a joke.

Here’s his joke from a few days ago. It’s an old one, with a lot of variations, but I like this one. 

Out of network. Pre-approved. Co-pay. X-ray. CT scan. MRI. Acutely herniated. C6-C7. Hot mess. Radiculopathy. Severe compression. Christiana Spine Center. Finger extensions weak. Pre-existing condition. Nerve root. Rate your pain. Multilevel degenerative spondylosis. Disc osteophyte complexes. Severe neural foraminal encroachment. Epidural injection. Metaxalone. Gabapentin. Hydrocodone. Diclofenac. Medral dose pack. Numbness. Disc replacement? Fusion? Surgery postponed. Insurance. Insurance. Insurance.  … Read more

A friend of mine once asked me if I ever sold a horse. I said, “Of course.” Then, he said, “Then I don’t trust you.”

With that in mind, I just perused the Tattersalls Ireland Ascot catalogue, scheduled for Feb. 23, and read the comments on the pedigree pages. Classic lines produced by the owners or trainers of the horses, they make you want to hitch the trailer and go to the sale. Now, I wonder which ones we can trust?

Confused about the presidential election? Don’t be alarmed, ashamed or abashed – the candidates seem confused, too. I look for logic from Miles, 7, on most things. Yes, even the presidential election. He’s watched several debates and has formed strong opinions.

Here’s some of his thoughts, questions and stances after watching the most recent Republican debate.