Meeting Pen Pals

The Internet has brought back some of the skills of written communication that disappeared when people decided the telephone was the best method of communication. I think about pamphleteers and how they must have found each other in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. And what it must have been like when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met each other for the first time, after knowing each other only by the words they wrote. They didn't even have photographs in those days.

One of the fun things I was able to fit in on this trip was arranging to have breakfast with Victoria Cummings of Teachings of the Horse. I've been following her blog ever since it showed up in the list of notable & recommended blogs soon after I started writing mine. I find it insightful and I enjoy her pictures of her two mares and her farm. When she heard I was coming East, Victoria contacted me about getting together and I was really pleased to oblige.

Victoria is as delightful in person as she is on the screen. It turns out we have people in common outside the parameters of the blogosphere because she's worked in Hollywood and lived in California. The world is a very small place.

There wasn't time for more than breakfast. It was Victoria's mother's 95th birthday, and I had to get my car back to the rental office and get into New York. I appreciate the time that Victoria carved out from her busy day to enjoy some poached eggs at the dairy coffee shop and I managed to get back to Enterprise without incurring any charges for overtime.

I'm sorry that Arlene of Grey Horse Matters was out of town during my brief window of opportunity in the North East. She too had extended an invitation to get together, but she had to be out of town. I was hoping to meet Sami, her Arabian rescue, and Sami's mama as well. Perhaps next time.

Kudos from Arlene

I am always grateful for Arlene's comments on my blog, which remind me almost daily that I'm not just writing to myself. Arlene, who writes one of my "must read" blogs at Grey Horse Matters, just sent me the Brillante Weblog Award, for which I say a hearty thank you. Arlene has good tips for creaky riders like I am and she recently rescued an Arabian mare and her (now gelded) son, both of whom seem to be recovering from extended neglect under her care and that of Arlene's daughter. Kudos to them both for the good deeds they have done.

Now I get to pass this on to seven other blogs, which I hope you will go and visit:

My friend Gillian Horvath recently started writing her blog about television scripting and other things at Athena TV. I think she's doing a fine job, but then, she's a fine writer.

Melinda Snodgrass is a terrific horsewoman and even better writer. She posts not often enough about her beautiful stallion Vento, but she's acutely tuned into politics and she's got a lot to say about the craft of writing prose and screenplays at her Musings.

We first noticed Bob Harris when he was a contestant on Jeopardy! and then realized he also did occasional commentary on KNX radio here in L.A. We met just about a year ago when Bob and Len shared a panel on What's My Line and even though we don't get to see each other often enough, I stay in touch by reading his blog on his website. He travels a lot, and he's a one-man cheering section for the South American deer, the pudu.

Another blogger who doesn't post nearly often enough is Maria Rodriguez, another television writer friend who is a whiz in the kitchen. Last month, she had a wonderful post about her father making eggs for breakfast which I found incredibly touching. I think Maria and I may have met at a sword class in Gillian's back yard, but we really bonded over horses. Her blog is madriguez.

It looks like I can actually give this award to Victoria Cummings at Teachings of the Horse. I love reading about her adventures with Silk and Siete.

I've known Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden since I was in law school. They're both editorial people in New York and their blog Making Light is well worth reading for their comments and those of their many friends.

And finally, my friend Adam Chester has started a blog which reminds us that, as my college adviser the late historian Robert Sobel once said to me, "every mother is a Jewish mother." Adam is a wonderful musician who provided the live musical accompaniment to What's My Line Live on Stage and has performed with Sir Elton John on occasion (and even more often rehearsed with the band instead of Sir Elton.) His blog is Please Don't Eat Sushi! Love, Mom.

To my friends that I've just tagged, pick up the award by copying it from here, paste it to your blog, put a link back to this one, and pass on the award and instructions to seven of your friends by letting them know about it. It's like a chain letter, but don't hold it against me.