Names

In the midst of mourning the loss of second peer in less than two years - very close friends both - I started thinking about how best to honor their memory. With Paul Benson's passing I vowed to live my life as truly and honestly as I could. The best way to honor his memory was to live the life of an officer and gentleman, though I'm not an officer (and some may argue not a gentleman either). With Paul Mooney's passing this weekend, I was again in retrospective mode and felt that I could be better read in Classics as he was and show the grit and determination he faced while battling cystic fibrosis. Both individuals were very different, but both exhibited traits that are worthy of emulation.


With a young son with asthma and a best friend who just died from cystic fibrosis (and another college friend having passed from the disease many years ago), I have decided that my few charitable dollars going forward will go to - in addition to the horse rescue groups I already support - lung and breathing related charities. There are many worthy organizations that try and stop hunger, try to eradicate cancer and alleviate the suffering of people both here and abroad. These all resonate, but my life has been, and is still, deeply affected by these diseases of the lungs, so that is where my focus will go moving forward.


Looking ahead a bit to my horse future, I know that I would like to breed race horses or at least buy an unnamed yearling or two - or more! There are many interesting and inventive ways to name a racehorse. You can play off the sire and dam like Fizzy Pop (Slew Gin Fizz/Pop Pop B B Gun) or you can name a horse after a family friend (Colonel John) or you can go with a hobby related name (Azeri - an aviation checkpoint). You can even name them after one of your favorite albums like Zenyatta (The Police album Zenyatta Mondatta). The first two horses I get to name: Dr. Benson and Estastisticos. Enjoy, my brothers. May they be champions for you someday.