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ON BEING A BRAINY BLONDE BUT KNOWING WHEN TO DUCK:

by vertigoblonde from ny ny

Last Post 2 days, 8 hours Ago


There are not too many words to describe the outright fortitude, bravery and heroism that  comes to mind when I think of the tragic final moments of the beautiful filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby on May 3rd..........But there are three words that do.
Joan of Arc.
Just as Joan of Arc battled on wounded at Orleans--the only woman in an ARMY of men, Eight Belles, invoked the spirit of Joan of Arc in her brave run for the roses against a track of bigger, brawny, sinewy males-only to be beaten by a cruel twist of fate.
The spirit of Joan was certainly alive in Eight Belles.
Ironically, on September 8th 1431, in the battle to regain Paris--Joan was felled when she was struck in her thigh by a bow and arrow---but bravely,  she battled on.
Joan was burned at the stake for having the backbone to stand up to the boys of the day---on May 30, 1431.Another uncanny irony-- Eight Belles saw her best day and her last day on May 3, 2008.......Another girl who paid the ultimate price for the audacity of wanting to win a battle as an equal of men.Joan of Arc was eventually beatified and absolved of her "sins" and sainted by the Pope in 1920.Another "Saint" graced Churchill Downs on Saturday. "Saint Eight."
I believe, and it should be investigated--that perhaps, if she was not unfortunate enough to have the grave injury to her legs---that SHE would have been the WINNER of the Kentucky Derby--NOT Big Brown. She was only 3 3/4 lengths behind him.  IF she was in full health and not in excrutiating pain----only God and she know what the outcome would have been.

Her owners should take great pride in the sacrifice she made for them. And for all of us.
"Saint Eight"---Her will and bravery should stand as the example and spirit for all that will run for the roses in the future.........
And her suffering should stand as the inspiration for the horse racing community to come together to create more humane and protective treatment and care for these beautiful creatures.
Gail Simon ChafikNY NY
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travellor1234 read my blog
May 12, 2008 | 8:34 AM

You're right!

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vertigoblonde

I have been fortunate enough to have grown up with a broad spectrum of cultures and theologies-(my birth father a Cathlolic, my first step-father an Israeli Jew and my second step-father an Egyptian Muslim), which I believe gave me the opportunity at a very young age to have a deep understanding of what fuels the deep rooted passions of conflicting ideologies, and at once,realizing that ALL religions and theologies are based on one central theme in variation. Blood IS one color---no matter the color of the skin, the religious belief, nor the country of origin. We ALL bleed. But people are more concerned with the color of money, who has the better car, clothes, jewelry, home and hold no value on what is TRULY valuable. PEACE, LOVE and the FREEDOMS that many of us take for granted. On 9/11, all of the victims, no matter what their religion, financial status or culture--ALL died in a horrific manner. From the busboys at Windows on the World, to the millionaire Kantor Fitzgerald brokers, to the poor delivery guy from the deli delivering breakfast, the Bravest, the Finest, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Agnostic, Atheist, Black, White, Yellow, mixed----ALL perished. Does anyone think it mattered about their status in any manner? Have people become soooo afraid and are they in sooo much denial about the effect that 9/11 truly had on their psyches that they forget that we were ALL attacked on that day and that ALL of our lives and way of life would forever be changed. Those who choose to use their democratic right to protest against our involvement in Iraq and who are making a mockery of our Military and their daily sacrifice for ALL of us---so that we may go to Starbucks, to the Mall, to a baseball game, to a movie, to be with your lover, your wife, your husband, your children, your family, to sleep a little more soundly at night-are an insult to their sacrifice---ALL because THEY can not do all of those things that we take for granted every day because they are sacrificing their lives for us and those daily pleasures to contain the cancer of terror that threatens to take those pleasures and freedoms from us. I pray that it will not be too late before all of us wake up and realize that this is NOT the sixties and that we are NOT dealing with the Vietnamese who designs on the world at large were less grandiose than those of the Fundamentalist Terrorists--who-unlike Hilter, who wanted to irradicate just the Jewish people--want to see the end of Western Civilization as we know it. The war in Iraq is about OIL some say? Well I would like to hear this ignorance being spewed when Fundamentalist Terrorists take control of these OIL reserves and these FEAR FACTOR cowards won't be able to function because of it. When you now look up LIBERAL in the dictionary it should say "see; TRAITOR

Member Since: 7/2/2007