Hucky and Rosie

Me and my mare

We roam around the quarters
Me and my mare
There is no single soul around
This empty place feels a bit despair
No noise disturbin' the sound
And the road we ride - will it lead to somewhere?
Will we ever end up to stay there?
Or finally find us some chow we can share -
Me and my mare

We follow just the river
Me and my mare
For just another place to rest
A sugar-hogshead or an empty barn
Just somethin' ends our quest
Like the river flows - like the river will care
Well, one day we'll be finally there
It looks like we would have nothin' to care -
Me and my mare

We stick together since ages, Rosie and me. And without any question she is the damned best friend which anybody can wish for. I can still remember so well when my Uncle Buster has visited my mom and me at the time, standing with her at the door. It was on my birthday. No, he needed nothing to say. He only gave me one look and handed me the reins ... I had never received any present till then. I was thunderstruck, hardly believing my luck. A horse for me alone. No doubt, I felt like a king. And Rosie? Rosie looked at me and from that very moment on we both were clear: We were soulmates. How dull had been my life in Alamorgodo until then. I had never seen a bit of the world. But now, with my friend at my side, all of a sudden the narrow confines of this sleepy town opened up in my imagination. With a horse of mine - wouldn't I finally have my share of every sweet-imagined possibility? Now at last I was able to grab a piece of sky. As I explored the surrounding area with Rosie, one name no longer got out of my mind: Upper Sandusky. Again and again I repeated it to myself like a sacred formula. Upper Sandusky - this was not just a name, no, it sounded like a promise. In my imagination Upper Sandusky was the fulfillment of all my dreams, my Shangri-La ... What kept me here still? And one morning at the crack of dawn Rosie and I made the road. Of course, we didn't even know where Upper Sandusky ever was, but that didn't matter to us. Anyone who really seeks ones fortune will find it at last. Rosie just followed her nose, and I agreed with her decision. We had nothing to lose. With a little luck we would find this magical-sounding place, where the four winds blow and the peaceful waters flow. At some point in our journey we suddenly would sense it clearly that - yep, now we are at home. I don't know how many miles we have traveled since that time, or how many countries we have gone through, but often it seemed to the both of us as if we were only on a journey through the remote areas of our own soul, where still some undiscovered secrets are waiting there for us ...
Rosie and I have always trusted each other blindly. It's a good feeling to have someone who never lies to you, and knows no envy or prejudice. Someone who lets the other one be just oneself ... Two stray dogs as we have a good instinct for freedom. None will make a fool of us! And after all these years with Rosie at my side, I can say: The more familiar I became with the character of different people, the more I appreciated Rosie's friendship.
Well, Rosie is no longer the youngest, but still we are together every day on the road. Mostly up on the meadow behind the barn, then along the embankment, through the small forest, past the pond and then back to the barn again. Sometimes I feel sorry that she has to carry me. So I get off to make it easier for her. But then she looks at me, and in her eyes I can read the question: Do you want to insult me? - And I am ashamed and climb up again. Still we are on our way to Upper Sandusky. Who knows, maybe we arrived there already since ages ...

(To be continued ...)