Michael,<\/p>\n
Last Friday I was invited to a 60th birthday party of one of my climbing buddies, Fred T.\u00c2\u00a0 Fred and I climbed together at Great Falls (in VA) and Seneca Rocks (WV) for many years.\u00c2\u00a0 Then he went west to Boulder, and started climbing the big stuff.\u00c2\u00a0 I visited him several times, and we climbed all manner of cliffs and mountains.\u00c2\u00a0 Then Fred had a sudden change of lifestyle. He wrangled at a dude ranch with a few 100 horses for some years, and started “horse whispering”. He could get a “raw” horse to be ride-able without any beating or pain.\u00c2\u00a0 Now he has that as a side business in addition to his LEED consulting work.<\/p>\n
Fred’s party was cowboy dress-up, and after scarfing down the grub, we were supposed to read “Cowboy Poetry”.\u00c2\u00a0 So I read a cowboy poem, which I had written up the previous day. There were lots of smiles on Fred & Sandy’s faces, so I guess it worked.<\/p>\n
(Greg is Fred’s son, and Sandy is his horseback-riding wife.)<\/p>\n
For Fred on his 60th<\/p>\n
Young Fred in the ’80s was a honcho of stone and the ropes
\nWhen I met him ascending Great Falls’ steepest slopes.<\/p>\n
Soon he was leading me up Seneca’s hard limestone routes
\nAnd I followed him, sure, but I quaked in my boots.<\/p>\n
All too soon Fred moved out West where mountains are high,
\nBoth summer and winter he soloed right into the sky.<\/p>\n
He invited me out and we scaled Crestone Peak,
\nThe cliffs were so sheer my “Up Rope” was a squeak.<\/p>\n
We simul-climbed Spearhead with Greg’s expert help,
\nThen we shimmied up Sharkstooth, which we topped with a yelp.<\/p>\n
He led me up peaks with black ice and Big Air;
\nI reckon that’s why I’ve lost most of my hair.<\/p>\n
While I worked to retire and settle into the west,
\nCowboy Fred took up horses with vim, vigor and zest.<\/p>\n
Sandy his sweetheart has softened Fred’s edges,
\nRiding into his life, she lured him down from the ledges.<\/p>\n
At last I reached Boulder with freedom to potter
\nAnd Fred borrowed some horses for me and my daughter.<\/p>\n
Our horses liked trotting but enjoyed a good lope,
\nMy trotting is spotty, but with lopes I can’t cope.<\/p>\n
Of old there were moments I’d match Fred’s moves on the rocks,
\nBut his moves on a horse really knocked off my socks.<\/p>\n
And now that old Fred’s reached late middle age,
\nLet’s doff him our hats as he rides off in the sage.<\/p>\n
9\/23\/07<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michael, Last Friday I was invited to a 60th birthday party of one of my climbing buddies, Fred T.\u00c2\u00a0 Fred and I climbed together at Great Falls (in VA) and Seneca Rocks (WV) for many years.\u00c2\u00a0 Then he went west … Continue reading