Author Archives: Mike Deal

I was hanging over the rail loosing my lunch (or in this case breakfast) and looked up to see Captain Dan’s smile from the flybridge.  It wasn’t a smile to rub salt in the wound; it was a friendly, knowing smile as if to say we’ve all been there kid, now get back to work.  I workedContinue reading “Captain Dan”

Half-a-lifetime ago I spent some time sitting alone on Ellwood bluffs looking out at the ocean.  Eight years of higher education in the rearview mirror, I knew quite a lot about some things, I could talk a good talk, I could write a darn good discussion section.  Tired.  Broken.     Central to the view off the bluffs at EllwoodContinue reading “Holly”

Maybe it was just my harsh teenage filter, but I remember a few teachers in high school that seemed done before the first day.  Guys that seemed better suited to a bad game of golf or maybe a nap.  Guys that whoever was in charge should have put out to pasture, but for some reason that wasn’tContinue reading “Validated by a Crow”

I’ve been taking walks in the park in the afternoon these days. I plan to go every day; I make it about half the time. Some might say I’m not a very committed walker and they’d be right. Almost every time I walk, I see the same two people also walking. We pass and smile,Continue reading “The Sacred Unspoken Language”

“Looks like we might have a minimalist on our hands” I heard from outside the round pen.  Oh gosh I thought, is that me or Nolan?  Evidently the thought came out of my mouth because I got an answer:  “Well we won’t know until the end of the week.”   Things were feeling good and probably looked pretty goodContinue reading “Reflections from the round pen”

Cutting through the veil of illusion, TRUTH revealed. What seemed true isn’t really so, an appearance lacking substance. A mirage. The elusive thought. Sometimes with a small stick of dynamite, Sometimes with a funny comment or story, just within earshot. Was that meant for my ears? Reality sets in. It’s Monday night. Courage to diveContinue reading “Trust”

Last week at the clinic, drifting off to sleep while staring at the ceiling of the horse trailer, I got to thinking about the past.  I got to thinking about quiet mentors, mentors that let mistakes happen, mentors that let the learning happen, mentors that are there to help clean up when the learning gets messy.Continue reading “Bernie”

Every so often the past and the future collide in the present. This is the stuff that goosebumps are made of. As a kid I had a teacher. On Saturday I unexpectedly got to watch my daughter (who’s about the same age I was back then) get coached by this same teacher. They say whenContinue reading “Past, present, future”

Last summer we took in a couple guests. A friend-of-a-friend was in a bit of a tight spot and needed a place to park her horses for a month. One of the equines was this little pony in the photo above (is she a pony or a mini?, I’m still trying to educate myself onContinue reading “Father knows best. Or does he?”

“Your children are not your children….You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” Kahlil Gibran I’ve always been out-front, leading the way. Until yesterday when my horse Nolan spotted a predatory plastic bag along the trail. Mikayla and Cherie when out in front to get eaten first if thatContinue reading “The arrow flies”