daisy

I used to ride my bike three miles to ride a pony at a gas station/general store that also had ponies. The name of the pony I rode was Daisy and she liked to bite. I still loved her. I think the people there made other people pay to ride the ponies but they let me ride Daisy for free. It was a Greek family. I have no idea what they thought of me. Some little gringo kid who just loved ponies so much they were like, Let the little gringo kid ride the pony. She will get bit she won’t come back. And then, Let the little gringo kid ride the pony, she got bit and still isn’t scared.

I think they thought I was really crazy the day I rode out there and it was so hot. They said, Daisy? And I said, No, it’s too hot. And turned around and rode my bike back home. The woman was nice. She said, It’s not too hot for you, it won’t be too hot for Daisy. But it was really hot. And Daisy did not get to decide whether she put on a saddle. But I did. So I got back on my bike and went home that day.

This was a really little place. Where I lived, there were fifteen people, maybe, tops. Where Daisy lived, it was just a spot with one family and a couple ponies. And a few miles on, the nearest town had less than 300 people. It was a small place. But there were ponies. It worked for me.