Ho(a)rse

It was a bad day - I had broken my leg during a football/soccer match (I'm a goalkeeper), and I had lost my voice due to a previous bronchial infection. Oh, wait, that wasn't even the bad day. The bad day was when, even in my state, my mother signed me up to take horse riding lessons at the local stable. Hold the wedding! No, that wasn't even the worst - the worst was when I showed up to the stable, in a leg cast, and I found out I was the only guy in the class of 18 people! Granted, had this happened a few years later, and not when I was 9 and still thought "girls were icky", maybe I wouldn't have minded that last part so much. So, I'm 9, speechless, emasculated, broken, and on top of that...I hated horses. I couldn't tell you why, I hated them. Maybe it's because when I saw the event on the Olympics, I hated how they gave the medals to the riders - I took my aggression on the helpless animal. But what did I know? Every show I had been watching on Nickelodeon for years had talking animals! So, naturally, the Olympics horse should have said something.

I digress. Since I was the single male in the class, naturally I was teased. The bulky cast didn't help much with that, either. The instructor knew this, and could have helped me out by giving me the biggest beginners horse available - no such luck. I was assigned to Ralph. He was just taller than me, looked liked he had been on drugs for years, and was essentially the smallest one in the group. How much more ridiculous could I look? Cast, voiceless, the only guy, and riding a horse that donkeys would call an ass.

These were some of the best days of my life. For whatever reason, Ralph and I clicked. We were the fastest to learnt o ride with each other, were the fastest duo on walking back and forth, and was the easiest horse to prepare to ride on. Because I couldn't speak, we had to teach Ralph "horse sign language". When I pressed my legs into his body, he would go forward. We were awesome together. Had I not looked so hilarious, and been able to speak, maybe the "icky" girls would have fancied me more.

To this day, though I don't ride anymore, I go and visit Ralph. I don't think he remembers me much - for one, he gets many students over the years. Also, he think I'm a mute with a limp. Regardless, Ralph gave me wonderful days when I did not expect any at all. Ralph taught me to put trust in others and forget about the rest. Like I said, I think I looked cool. I was asked by the stable why I don't ride horses there again. Two reasons: 1) I don't have the money, and 2) I don't want to tarnish the memory of Ralph and I.

On a different note, I like what Friedman said, "not having nature would make us less than human." Uh oh, I don't want that . Granted, I've never truly had that much of a connection with nature per se, but I understand that those who do NEED nature around to make them feel alive. I think if nature was lost, to me it would be like graduating from high school and never seeing certain classmates again - sad, but I would get over it. For those who enjoy nature fully, it would be like losing a close relative, whose love can never be replicated. I know that when I hear of friend's family members dying, it makes me a little sad, too. This is the feeling I think I'd have. Sure, I'd be sad if nature wasn't saved, but I'd get over it. My friends, however, would not, and I don't want to see my friends unhappy. In this way, I guess I have an emotional connection with nature.

Freidman also went on to say that the, "biodiversity issue is not just about saving nature - it is equally about saving humanity." Of course, nature provides us with natural services that we need to live. Therefore, getting rid of nature only harms us. Why we would want to be masochistic? I don't know, but I sure don't like pain. Thus, on an emotional and physical level, we need nature, whether it's to keep us alive or for aesthetic purposes. Even if you don't necessarily love nature, like me, to not care about it is to not care about your fellow man and Earth-inhabitants, because surely some of them do. Getting rid of something that others love, then, makes you a monster, and monsters are scary.