Descartes Before de Horse?

Before Descartes got himself dubbed the Father of Modern Philosophy, he was a career mathematician (credited with discovering the concept of Analytical Geometry) and a well-renowned physicist. Add to that the fact that he was a devout Catholic living in fear of the Great Inquisitor's wrath due to his Galilean leanings, and you have a dude with some heavy issues. And that was before he went all philosophical.

Descartes took radical skepticism to the max: he decided to doubt everything, and quickly discovered that this perched him on the precipice of madness. He was a Rationalist, meaning that you can know things without having to rely on sensory experience. Certain ideas are innate. But he suffered over the body-mind disconnection (dualism). Suffice it to say that the guy went through a lot of blood, sweat and tears before reaching his simple and elegant conclusion: Cogito, ergo sum.

Blackie the Horse didn't seem to suffer from too much cogitating; for the better part of his life (28 years of his venerable 40), he stood in the same pasture, in the same spot, facing the same direction, masticating. I eat, therefore I am. There's a bronze statue erected in that very same spot now, honoring that venerable master of doing, basically, nothing... Maybe he was on to something. What do you think?

A Day In the Hay (By the Bay)

James took Claire and Jack today to the second annual Blackie’s Hay Day, a fund raiser for the children’s library at our local (wonderful) public library. This kind of event is one of the reasons I’ve come to really appreciate the small town where we live, because it’s all about the kids. Pony rides, relay races, food and entertainment -- loads of fun in the field just below our house known as Blackie’s Pasture.

Blackie was a cavalry and rodeo horse who retired when he was 12 years old and then lived for 28 years in the pasture that bears his name. He was (and still is) a neighborhood icon and anyone who grew up here will tell you stories about feeding the old swaybacked horse carrots and sugar cubes. Nowadays, you can see the life-sized bronze statue of Blackie standing in his favorite spot, not far from where the real horse lies buried.

Some locals who remember when Blackie was still alive wrote a wonderful rhyming book called Blackie, the Horse Who Stood Still. (see http://www.blackiethehorse.com/book.htm) This is one of Claire’s favorite stories, and it’s such a pleasure to tie in the history of the place we call home. Even if you’re not from around here, it’s a delightful read for any age. And any time you want to be personally introduced, just come on down!