Summer Nights

Some times I yearn for a few real summer nights.... You know the kind I'm talking about?  Sky so clear that you wish you could count the stars, a light breeze, lightening bugs, windows rolled down kind of night.

The thought of driving down Highway 44 near the county line makes my hear skip a beat.  I love this time of year in Kentucky.  It is a time of cold and hot.  A time of beautiful nights and memories spent under the lights of a softball field.  Sometimes I wonder how different my life would have been if I had stayed home for college.  Who would I be?  What would I be?  Where would I be?

Would I be the one playing ball in the summers?  Would I own a small business or work in a factory?  Who would I be if I had never truly met God?  And then I realize that it doesn't really matter.  I've gained so many more experiences as a result.  Some of the stories I have happened only because I've been brought down the path that I have been brought down.  I love the life I've been given.

Blessed and Realizing It,

Mel C

The Derby

That's right today we are going to talk about The Kentucky Derby.

 I know that I'm a baptist and so I'm not supposed to endorse things like horse racing (in public) but I'm also from Louisville, Kentucky.  And on the first Saturday in May that means only one thing; The Kentucky Derby.  We have a two, sometimes three week long festival to prepare for the Derby.  Some people think that it's ridiculous to make so much fuss over something that only last for 2 minutes, and I used to be in that party so I know the argument.

I'm going to take a moment to explain to you what happened to change it all for me... Being from Louisville is an advantage because you also realize that Derby is a great time to pick up a little bit of extra money by taking on a seasonal job at the track.  In college myself and several friends began working Derby as mutual tellers (the people who take your bets and your money, and who you should be tipping when you cash out just so you know.)  It was a great way to make some extra money to survive the time from the end of the semester until my first paycheck of the summer.  I loved it!

It was the experience of being at Churchill Downs on Oaks and Derby that showed me just how special this event is.  I still get chills when they sound the call to the gate.  I tear up when they play "My Old Kentucky Home."  And I miss the excitement of being among all those people that are just there for a nice day at the track.

So today, I've made my picks.  I've got three of them.  One is purely based on my gut and it's name, the other is because I laughed when I saw it's name, and the third one is my more serious pick...

Here's to a wet and muddy track and all the chaos that adds to the races!  

Dreaming of thundering hooves and pumping hearts,

Mel C