What Changed Your Life?

And what changed my life?  In no order of importance, or chronology...

Beauty

 

I got my first pony when I was five.  Don't go thinking I uttered "Daddee, I wahnt anothah po-neee" and got a magically dappled little shrunk down show horse.  Nope, I got a fifteen-year-old mare who'd already lived a good long life of pulling a cart, birthing foals, and being slightly cranky.  I loved that pony like my life depended on it, even after she stuck me in the dirt repeatedly.  (It's an essential part of growing up.)  This pony cemented my life long love of all things equine.

Chocolate 
Beauty's grand-daughter showed up just before my seventh birthday.  Hey, when you live on a farm, and you're already deeply in debt, two Shetland ponies don't make much of a difference.  This pony was pretty and affectionate.  I loved her more than I loved breathing.  She was my life!

Champ

He was my first horse.  I had high hopes for this colt, and he taught me so much in the seventeen years I was given with him.  He was far from perfect, and I'll never forget that there's no such thing as a perfect horse.  I don't know where I'd be now without him.

This teenage boy I fell in love with when I was sixteen

He's bigger now, and the car, sadly, is no longer with us, but I love this guy more every day. Corny, yeah, but true.

Edward Scissorhands

Finally, someone made a film that looked something like what the inside of my brain looks like!  I loved this movie.  The ending, to this day, makes me want to cry.  It's just not right.  Life is not fair.  Someone will always be a freak.  Someone will need to tell the freak's story. Because of this movie I became a devoted fan of both Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.

Captain Jack Sparrow

Johnny Depp as a pirate.  The movie I'd been waiting for all my life, even though I didn't know it until I saw it.  He'd already been a gypsy.  If he ever plays a cowboy I'll fall over.  Captain Jack made me want to crawl out from under that rock I'd been living under and go see movies again!

Hemingway

I was late to this party.  I finally read a collection of short stories and found myself hooked.  I couldn't believe how so few words could have such impact.  

Steinbeck

Oh my gosh, the descriptions this man conjured up will stick with me.  Every time I read another book by John Steinbeck I know why I want so much to write.

Teenage fatalities

Every year, at least two kids in my high school passed away.  It got so I was paranoid about who'd be next.  The first one though, that was a shocker.  You don't go into Grade 9 expecting to face death.  

Hog price crisis of the 1980s

Nothing shakes you up more than the possibility of losing your farm.  My parents promised me we'd keep the ponies, hell or high water, and if it meant keeping them in the cellar.  Twenty years later my horses still live with them.  They were serious.

Mac Black

My husband bought the used laptop for $300 and told me it was okay to use it because "It's not a computer.  It's a Mac."  Then he insisted that I start writing again.  He told me to start a blog.  The rest is history.  Or will be soon.

Robert Plant

He rewired my brain when I was 15 and he doesn't even know it.

Led Zeppelin

There's got to be one band in your life that makes you realize why you love music.  I love the Beatles, I love the White Stripes,  but these guys are my benchmark.  Rock N Roll, maaaaan!

Jesus

...although I'm quite sure he didn't look anything like this.  He's the human being whose words have had the biggest influence on my life.  Look for the words printed in red in the big thick book.  Be confused by it.  Maybe by the end of my life it'll all make sense.

Spinal Tap

This band gives my existence (married to the music biz) a comedic reference point...

Brave New World

Scared the crap outta me in high school.  Made me wonder if I could ever, ever write anything this good.

My favourite book in Grade 4
The Pony Problem by Barbara Holland.  Girl wins a pony in a contest and keeps it in the front yard of her subdivision home.  She made the fence out of clothesline.  This book rocked my 9-year-old world.  Looking back, I see the touches of sadness that made the happy ending even better.

My babies

EVERYTHING CHANGED.  I think I need not expand on this.

The Cat and the Dog

I can never live without critters in my house.  

That little Mental Breakdown of 2004

It was not pleasant and I could wish that it never happened, but it forced me to face some things I'd been ignoring.  I had to learn how to function all over again.  I'm better off for it.  Not cured, but stronger and smarter.  I thought I knew myself, but I know much better now.  

What changed you?