Blog

(10/04/2008) Blog Oct. 20008
Tribes By Shelley Mickle I’ve been thinking about tribes lately. I don’t mean Native American tribes or African tribes; I’m talking about those groups we all belong to: Work-place tribes, religious-denomination tribes, ... [complete article]

(08/30/2008) Anniversary Of Katrina, That Witch
“A love affair with Pass Christian and Darn that Witch, Katrina” No one taught us more about the complicated love affair we can have with a place than William Faulkner. When I was eighteen and heading off to college, I wrote Mr. ... [complete article]

(08/13/2008) Blog, August '08
Vacation By Shelley Mickle My best friend has gone on vacation and left me her dog. I don’t much like her dog. He is little and yippy with white wiry fur, and his teeth don’t meet in the center. But the real truth is, he ... [complete article]

(06/30/2008) Blog 10, July
Hot Dogs By Shelley Fraser Mickle There’s nothing like a hot dog in July. In fact, July is the birthday of the hot dog. And while its ancestors might have been just an old everyday German sausage, the hot dog became clearly American ... [complete article]

(06/05/2008) Blog 9, June
Recently, renowned equine photographer Mark Barrett and I have teamed up to work on a book together called, "Horses Always Make Me Smile. "He has over 100 photographs, which he has collected from his photo shoots of horses doing funny, and sometimes ... [complete article]

(05/14/2008) Blog Response May 14, 08
Julie Painter of Port Orange, Florida, sends these comments to add to our conversation about Eight Belle's death:    Showing the final death throes of a horse, who has given her life for her masters and her sport, would have been a ... [complete article]

(05/11/2008) Blog Response, May 9, 08
Dear Ms. Mickle, thank you for your commentary on Mid-Florida Public Radio on the death of Eight Belles.  I work with thoroughbreds, preparing them for a career in racing. Whenever I send off the young horses I have worked with, knowing them ... [complete article]

(05/08/2008) Eight Belles, May 8
Horseracing—Is it cruel?By Shelley MickleHorseracing is once again on the hot seat. And that makes me crazy. You see, I both love and hate horseracing. I am addicted to watching the poetry of horses in motion and yet hate the physical risk of ... [complete article]

(05/01/2008) Blog 8, May
Boomers on the Loose, wearing America all over them & Florida on the Brink   I don’t speak for all Boomers, only those who have jet lag and haven’t been anywhere. In fact, my neighbor and I were talking about that the ... [complete article]

(04/05/2008) Blog 7,April
HELLO, READERS! WELCOME TO APRIL. Recently I got one of those reading gizmos. You know, the new thingamabob that lets you read off a screen no bigger than a paperback book. And it will hold newspapers, magazines, and up to ... [complete article]

(02/28/2008) Blog 6, March
Blog 6 I recently bought one of those of electronic reading gizmos. And I have to say, I think it may regenerate a love of reading—especially with kids who have a passion for punching buttons. At any rate, this reading ... [complete article]

(02/01/2008) Blog 6 February
Blog 5 February Recently, I received this letter: Dear Ms. Mickle, Hi, I am Alexandria. I loved your book Barbaro. It is sad that he died last year; he was so close to recovery. I love animals. I have one dog, two birds, one ... [complete article]

(01/10/2008) Blog 5 january
Blog 5, January I’ve been the guest at a number of elementary schools with requests to talk about my book BARBARO, AMERICA’S HORSE. Most recently, I was at Littlewood Elementary in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida. For those of us who ... [complete article]

(12/18/2007) Blog 3
Problem: The size of Precious’s Patoot. Summer grazing has left her looking like this.Actually last summer also left her looking like this. Could this be the real definition of compound interest? At any rate, the problem just keeps getting bigger ... [complete article]

(12/18/2007) Blog 4
Blog December I recently returned from being a guest at the American Association of Equine Practioners where I heard Dr. Dean Richardson give a lecture on caring for Barbaro. Again, it was fascinating to hear how the nation was so caught ... [complete article]

(11/26/2007) Blog 1
October, 2007 BlogGo to My next BlogWelcome to our first Blog. First week in October, 2007Dear Friends,My horse Precious and I welcome you to our community of readers. This photo is of me and Precious practicing our “Miss America Smiles.” Actually, ... [complete article]

(11/26/2007) Blog 2
2nd week in OctoberThis time last year when I flew to Philadelphia to retrace Barbaro’s racehorse career, I was in hot water. Problem: the training center was in Maryland; my hotel was in Pennsylvania; the race track where Barbaro ran his first race ... [complete article]