The Artist Jane Walentas

Over twenty years ago, Jane Walentas saw a battered old carousel from the 1920s. It had 48 horses and two chariots. The horses' bodies were covered with multiple layers of varnish that defaced their original bright colors. Jane was determined to restore it and then put it in Brooklyn Bridge Park on the East River. Twelve years ago, Jane and a team scraped away all that varnish and found the real horses underneath: their superb carving, their colors. The horses are resplendent, now, with gold leaf, their saddles and reins newly decorated. On September 16, Jane's Carousel opened to the public. The now-glorious carousel will be maintained and operated by a non-profit charitable organization, named, what else, but Jane's Carousel. I am indebted to its web page for the image of the horses. Why not visit the site yourself at http://janescarousel.com where you'll see more of the carousel?

Keats and The Pleasure of Teaching in Libraries

John Keats

For quite a few years, I've been teaching at one library or another. One of the best things modern libraries do is offer rewarding classes of many different kinds for its patrons. There you can find people learning about certain medical issues; using a computer; the writing problems that face novelists; and the work of published authors. The last two categories include me, although last year I taught a class on the Shakers to a receptive audience. (Needless to say, everything I teach I have a lot of experience with, even the Shakers, a personal obsession, which has led to my visiting as many of their former settlements as I can find and researching their theology.) For a former college professor and ongoing novelist, conducting these classes has been a pleasure.

Lately I've been teaching at Brentwood City Library, about nine miles from my home. Recently, I started five new classes at one of the most attractive and carefully-planned libraries I've ever seen. In September, I taught three introductory classes on "How is Poetry Written?" I've always loved analyzing poetry, ripping it apart, so to speak, and putting it back together again, finding its ideas and meaning. Just think. I had the opportunity to talk about figures of speech, rhythm and meter, imagery: all that good stuff I went to graduate school for years to learn. And lastly, I could revisit some of the my favorite poems by British and American authors like Browning, Tennyson, Keats, Frost. Now two October classes are starting, "The Formal Essay: How Do You Write One?" and "Using the Most Effective Point of View in Fiction." I chose the first because of years and years as a college writing teacher. I had many students who told me they never had any formal instruction on how to write an essay. "What the heck is a thesis statement?" they used to complain. When I was a new college teacher, I used to think that maybe the students were making this up. But years of experience told me they weren't. What better class could I teach at the library than an introduction to this genre?

My description of the essay class goes like this: "Writing a formal expository essay clearly and coherently is often a required skill, both in the academic and professional worlds. The class will discuss the following topics. What is an essay? What are the most common writing patterns used by essayists? How is an essay developed? What is the role of Internet research?" I'll have the joy of reading and selecting essays by modern writers which both fulfill the aims of the essay and which DON'T!

The second class is "Using the Most Effective Point of View in Fiction." Here my experience springs from writing two novels and coping with this thorny problem. I had always taught point of view in my writing and literature courses, and understood intellectually what this entails, but when it came to choosing one for my first novel, I had written 100 pages before I thought, "This just isn't working, I'll have to start over." With the second novel, point of view wasn't a problem. Here's a little of what we'll talk about: role of the narrator in the novel, major types of points of view and their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of each, what is stream of consciousness. We'll get to read in this course too, looking at various excerpts from literature with differing points of view.

Come and join our classes if you can. The essay course is Wednesday, October 5, 2011, and the point of view class is Wednesday, October 12, 2011. They start at 6:00 PM and end at 8:00 PM. And if you come, be prepared to have fun!

Wisdom from President Reagan

"There's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse."

The only change I would make in this little gem of wisdom is "for the inside of a man or woman."

Can Breezes Hurt Two-Year Olds?

Horse people are taking another look at breezes and the danger they pose to two-year-olds who are forced to run them. Breezes, according to a new article in The Wall Street Journal by Dionne Searcy, are exercises that these young horses are put through at sales events to show off their ability. These sprints are 1/8 of a mile and "are typically run in less than 11 seconds." Sometimes, the running horses have undeveloped bones and muscles, which can't withstand the intense stress of a breeze, and thus cause injuries. And if you think these horses automatically turn out to be Derby winners, you're wrong. Sometimes they don't even win a race. Among other other concerned activists, PETA has taken up the cause, pursuing animal cruelty charges against two auction houses where two horses died in breezes; urging auction companies to let young horses just gallop or accelerate gradually, which is done at some European companies; requesting auction houses to bar horses younger than two-years-old from the exercise; and last, to postpone breezes if the the track is in bad condition or the temperature is too high.What do you think? My facebook page has the whole story.

Killer Nasville Here

Tonight Killer Nashville kicks off at the Hutton Hotel in downtown Nashville with a wine tasting followed by a mystery-themed team trivia game, hosted by Mysteries and More Booksellers. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, there will be a wealth of panels, talks and other activities. Tomorrow, I'm going to be part of a panel at 12:30: "Putting the Thrill in Your Fiction: How to Create Fear and Danger on the Page." On Saturday at 10, I'll be talking about the Gothic Novel and what led to its appearance in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Hope to see you there!

He Trots the Air Travels

Fun to read Google and see He Trots the Air advertised in Portugal, Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, Denmark, and Italy.

Killer Nashville Almost Here

Killer Nashville will be held in only eight days at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville from August 25 through August 28. It offers five tracks of varying interest and experience levels, so you'll always find an intriguing panel or talk to attend. There will also be the dead body (hee, hee) to investigate and solve the puzzle of its death. And of course there will be much more offered by your delight. The fan track is my niche there. I'll be speaking on Saturday, August 27, from 10:00-11:00. My talk will be on the Gothic Novel in England and America. Come and hear about this type of novel that has lasted to the present day. Did you ever read Twilight or see the film? Jane Eyre? Frankenstein? Come and learn about the history of this strange kind of fiction, which has been said to be the forerunner of the mystery story!

I'll be on panels at KN as well.

Go to http://www.killernashville.com/ for lots more information.

Hope I'll see you there!

Thank you, readers!

Kind readers have already responded to He Trots the Air. To read, go to http://www.mmfisher.com/, and click on the book cover.

Equine Herpes May be Spread by Stressed Show Horses

When horses like those beauties above leave their peaceful pasture and are taken to the show ring to compete, the equine herpes virus most adult horses carry can spread due to the stress of competition. In an article by Jennifer Viegas of Discovery News, we read that Dr. Philip Johnson, who teaches equine internal medicine at the University of Missouri points out that "most adult horses are infected with the virus....[That] infection leads to a life-long association between the virus and its host. In most healthy horses most of the time, the host's immune system prevents the virus from going active and being especially contagious." But, he goes on, there are times when the virus overcomes the immune system and becomes active. An example is the April/May National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah: 32 cases of infectious equine herpes resulted, with those infected spreading the disease to other horses. Dr. Johnson says, "Congregated horses coming together to compete are stressed, adversely affecting the immune system's function." Dr. Johnson adds that it may be that show horses, that are commonly exposed to intense confinement and a lot of transport between shows, neither of which they may be used to, may become carriers of an activated virus. And the grouping of show horses closely together in temporary, strange stabling, is another factor. Once the virus is active, formerly unaffected horses can breathe in the virus, and are infected by horse workers' hands, equipment, tack, and food.

The virus appears in two strains. One is more likely to cause neurological problems. The symptoms of the latter are fever of 102 degrees F or even higher; nasal discharge; fatigue; weakness; urine dribbling; leaning; tail loss of tone; and problems with standing. Dr. Bruce King, state veterinarian of Utah, says that an infected horse should be isolated, his temperature taken and recorded twice a day. Dr. John Hunt, Acting Arizona State Veterinarian, says further that this procedure should continue for 28 days after the initial symptoms are seen. If the sick horse has secondary infections, doctors may use anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and anti-viral drugs. If the horse can't stand up, body padding and slings may be used; intravenous feeding and a catheter may also prove useful.

Viegas concludes that "some vaccines provide protection against the less debilitating form of the virus, but they do not appear to protect against the neurological syndrome."

Swamp Fever: No Vaccine, No Cure

Maybe you've read about the fatal horse disease currently raging in the west called equine infectious anemia. Many horse people know it as swamp fever. There is neither a vaccine nor a cure. The sick horses suffer from intermittent fever, they are depressed, they grow progressively weaker, they lose weight, and they have anemia and edema. For a more technical description, go to http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/horse/v1195w.htm. Let's think of those horses and their desperate owners today, and hope that veterinarians find a solution soon for this terrible scourge.

Iroquois Steeplechase 2011

Readers, meet my friend Robert, pictured above with his daughter, Kimberly. He kindly consented to write his impressions of the wonderful Iroquois Steeplechase, held on May 14th. As a Jump Marshal, his is a unique view. Thanks, Robert!

Iroquois Steeplechase 2011

Saturday, May 14th, was the 70th running of the Iroquois Steeplechase at Nashville's Percy Warner Park.

My thirty-something daughter Kimberly and I were Jump Marshals, along with hundreds of other volunteers at the Iroquois, and Marilyn asked me if I would write a guest blog about my experience this year. I was happy to be asked and anxious to write this!

I have been to the Iroquois five times. Once as a spectator in General Admission on the hillside. Once with press credentials which allowed me to be all over the grounds observing everything. And three times as a volunteer Jump Marshal which keeps me near one jump for all the races, but very close to the horses, with nothing between them and me. I can feel them thunder by! I guess there is a bit of danger that adds to the thrill. This year, I invited my daughter from Knoxville to be a Jump Marshal along with me. Kim and I spent hundreds of hours together at horse shows in her teenage years. In fact she is the person who steered our family into "horse fever" or "horsin' around" in the early nineties. I was hoping we could recapture that feeling of being together at a horse show--and I have to say it worked. We plan to do it every year from now on.

The Iroquois is difficult to write about, because there is too much to write about. It's a horse race, it's a party, it's a fashion show, and it's Nashville on display. It's Nashville's Kentucky Derby (and always the Saturday after the Derby.) One of its prominent signatures is the many beautiful and crazy hats, which I believe was increased this year due to the influence of the Royal wedding. Here is a great link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.211368625563831.60203.204660386234655. And for a lot of interesting history regarding the Iroquois since 1941, go here: http://www.iroquoissteeplechase.org/RaceInformation/AboutIroquoisSteeplechase.

What part do Jump Marshals play at the race? Marshals are part of the emergency response team who tend to the safety of each of the nine jumps. We are also the eyes and ears of the Emergency Response Director, in case anything happens. In the three years, I've been a Jump Marshal, there have been no problems on my assigned jump or at any of the jumps, although every year there has been a riderless horse, which means the jockey fell off his mount. I suggested to Kim because she was a new volunteer at the jump that she pretend that Classy (her beloved horse) is running in the next race, and do everything you can to ensure her safety. That means all divots filled, all debris picked up, no spectators on the track, and protection and response for any human or horse that possibly go down. The emergency response team at the Iroquois is second to none, with marshals, EMTs, physicians, veterinarians, ambulances, horse ambulances, and life flight helicopters at the ready on site.

I like the Iroquois races because I like horses and all things horse, and this event keeps the interest in horses alive in the minds of Middle Tennesseans. (I have a gnawing fear that the horse is slowly fading away in modern society.) The race also keeps Middle Tennessee economically alive. The last race alone had a $150,000 first prize with $450,000 in total prize money.

Of my five Iroquois experiences, the rain has been a factor (including the Nashville flood of 2010) in all but the first. There is something about the second Saturday in May that brings out the quirky weather. We should be due a nice sunny day next year. I'll see you there!

Killer Nashville is Coming!

Heads-up! Killer Nashville, that splendid conference, is coming again. It will be held August 26-28 at a new place this year, the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. I can testify that this conference is different from most, because I've been to a lot. It features five event tracks for people with, as the website says, "varied interests and experience levels:" a Writing Track, a Publishing Track, a Career Management and Promotion Track, a Forensic Track, and a Fan Track. But there is much more. You might be interested in submitting your manuscript for critique; or participating in the agent/editor pitch sessions, where you can get an opinion about your novel from an experienced reader; or submitting your business plan to a marketing professional; 0r attending a wine-tasting session; or investigating a crime scene staged by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. (I always make it a point to get to the forensic talks every year.)

Please look me up if you come. I'll be giving a talk on the gothic novel (BRRR, BRRR, SHUDDER, SHUDDER) at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 27. And you can buy my newest book, He Trots the Air, at the Mysteries & More book room at the conference.

For more about this marvelous conference, go to www.killernashville.com. And be sure to read the exciting news on that page about the new Killer Nashville e-Magazine. Like to write? Here's your chance.