Being roomates with Junior was fun, but, could be annoying! He was just like a little brother to me and knew how to get on my nerves. If an Army Ranger commercial would come on TV he would get all wound up and want to wrestle or he would just jump on me while I was taking a nap and I'd have to rough him up! Most of our battles ended up with me carrying him to the manure wagon and tossing him in it; that usually settled him down for a while. Any horse he took care of was going to be the next big star. He had a trotting filly that was good gaited and doing everything right named "Talratha". I can't tell you how many times we had to hear him bellow out at the top of his lungs the stretch drive of the "Marie Annabelle" with Talratha winning of course! He pretty much raced her into the ground over the winter, and, she turned out to be a dissapointment as I don't think she ever made it at all.
There was a fast food place across from the barn area called "Wuvs" where we would go and flirt with the 2 girls working there. I was working on a girl named "Tina" and he was chasing one named "Lori"(I think). We'd go over there at around closing time and try and get them to go out with us, usually with no success. Tina liked me but she had trust issues, especially with horsemen with their nomadic lifestyle. The black guy that worked there with them would try and teach us the "moonwalk" which would have been a great thing to have on tape! One night Tina invited me over to her trailer to watch a movie. Half way through it she makes the first move and the rest is history! Lori was having a party the next night and Junior and I were invited. I vividly remember Junior and I getting into the Jack&Coke, and him dancing on the tables and couches like Tom Cruise in "Risky Business". Tina had to leave early and Junior passed out, so I wound up making out with Lori. It was getting a little hot, and Lori used her better judgement despite my begging, and sent us home. Of course she told Tina and confirmed her already bad opinion of horsemen, and that ended that!
Dave and I rode our bikes to the beach one Sunday. After a day of fun in the sun we stopped for a soda and headed back to the stable. For some reason he was about 100 yards ahead of me as we crossed I95 on Atlantic ave. He was crossing the entrance ramp from the highway(riding with no hands no less!) and I could see a pickup truck rounding the ramp. I remember thinking "man I hope that guy sees Junior!" and then "OMFG he hit him!!" and then " I hope he doesn't come rolling from under the truck!". By the time I got up to him Junior was sitting on the curb in the fetal position screaming in pain, but, very lucky to be alive! The Jerk that hit him threw our bikes in the back and gave us a ride to the hospital. He gave Dave his address and promised to pay the bill and left us there. There were no broken bones or any major injuries, but, he had road rash from head to toe. All in all he was very lucky with the exception of getting stuck with the hospital bill which of course the guy never paid.
The grooms from Continental stable were mostly Swedish girls and they all lived in a dorm behind our barn. I was friends with a few of them and used to go hang out and watch tv and listen to their complaints about boyfriends and other barn drama. There was an American girl living in that dorm named "Georgia" who I thought was pretty hot. One night after a night of drinking at The Greenbrier and staggering back to the stable area Junior and I climbed the fence and we both fell over it. I couldn't sleep because the room was spinning, so I made the genius descision to go serenade Georgia. I forgot to get dressed and was outside her room doing my best version of the song "Georgia"(in the nude), but, got no response at all from her. The next morning I was up early, since we were swinging on 3, and Georgia came up to me shaking her finger in my face. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again I'll have you thrown out of here!" She had to remind me of what I had done since I was drawing a blank, but, then it all came back to me. I apologized profusely, and promised to never do it again...blah, blah, blah. Soon after that we were hanging out, going shopping and to the movies, and riding our bikes around. We were just friends, but, it was waaay better than having her hate me!
Throughout the winter there was a lot of racing action. Juniors mare "RD's Misty Rain" won a few heats, and I took care of a good mare named "Empress Express" who worked her way up through the classes and was a lot of fun to have. The highlight of the winter was helping John Haywood in the paddock with "Armbro Aussie" the night that "Cam Fella" was making his final appearance on the racetrack. Jimmie got the drive and he was nervous about the race. He called his brother John to ask him his thoughts on the race. John knew what every horse and driver would do just off the overnight sheet and advised Jimmy to be 2nd over and "do not be 3 wide in the last turn!". Jimmy drove exactly as John recommended and he missed by less than a nose to the great "Cam Fella"! That was a thrill to be a part of, one of many more to come in the future!....stay tuned
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