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    My First Year in the Country
    My First Year in the Country
    My First Year in the Country
    Ebook74 pages1 hour

    My First Year in the Country

    By Kim Chernin

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    About this ebook

    An urban woman moves to the country and falls in love with a horse—an embodiment of nature, wisdom, and living in the moment. She is not exactly a spring chicken, as the village people are quick to point out, and she hasn’t been in the saddle since she was a child. Her tireless quest for the world’s most beautiful horse makes her look like a fool. That’s OK with her; she knows it isn’t far from the truth. But will it stop her? Kim Chernin has won acclaim for her numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including The Obsession, In My Mother’s House (nominated for the Chronicle Critics Award and chosen as Alice Walker’s Favorite Book of the Year in the New York Times, 1983), The Flame Bearers (1986 New York Times Notable Book), and the national best seller The Hungry Self. She is the recipient of an NEA Grant for Fiction. She has appeared on Phil Donahue, Good Morning America, Charlie Rose, the Today show, and others. She has been featured on radio stations across the U.S., including NPR, KQED Forum, and Larry King Radio. She appeared in the documentaries If Women Ruled the World: A Washington Dinner Party and Remembering the Goddess. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Focus magazine, and Tikkun. Her work has been featured in New York Times Book Review, LA Times, Newsday, and other publications. This is a short e-book published by Shebooks--high quality fiction, memoir, and journalism for women, by women. For more information, visit http://shebooks.net.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShebooks
    Release dateSep 8, 2014
    ISBN9781940838700
    My First Year in the Country
    Author

    Kim Chernin

    Kim Chernin has won acclaim for her numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including The Obsession, In My Mother’s House (nominated for the Chronicle Critics Award and chosen as Alice Walker’s Favorite Book of the Year in the New York Times, 1983), The Flame Bearers (1986 New York Times Notable Book), and the national best seller The Hungry Self. She is the recipient of an NEA Grant for Fiction. She has appeared on Phil Donahue, Good Morning America, Charlie Rose, the Today show, and others. She has been featured on radio stations across the U.S., including NPR, KQED Forum, and Larry King Radio. She appeared in the documentaries If Women Ruled the World: A Washington Dinner Party and Remembering the Goddess. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Focus magazine, and Tikkun. Her work has been featured in New York Times Book Review, LA Times, Newsday, and other publications.

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      Book preview

      My First Year in the Country - Kim Chernin

      Author

      Not Exactly a Spring Chicken

      Like so many people in West Marin, my partner and I moved out here from Berkeley, although she is from Paris, where I met her in a café more than 20 years ago. Neither of us had lived in the country before, but I am the one who will set out to make a fool of myself. This is not surprising. She is a thoroughly urban woman who has always said that if she had to live in the country, she’d first have to find a good café. Since she came to live with me in California, I have been agitating to live in Pt. Reyes, dragging her out here on weekends, taking her on long walks through a wilderness with wild elk and roving mountain lions, red-tailed foxes and howling coyotes. You do not see many of these in Paris. Nevertheless, little by little she has fallen in love with this wide country, although there is not a café in sight. We still drive over the hill for the opera and ballet, sometimes staying overnight so we can have breakfast in an outdoor café, where we work on a writing project we have come to call our folie à deux. What you write in a café, by hand, with a café au lait at your elbow, is not like any other writing in the world. She is right about that.

      Recently, word has gone around that a new person in the village is thinking of buying a three-year-old horse. When I run into my riding instructor outside the Palace Market, she has already heard about me and the horse. Novice rider and young horse is not a good combination, she says when I go over to hug her. I don’t advise it.

      Well, what if he’s an unusual horse? He looks special to me, very gentle, and his owner says he is. She’s had him since he was four months old.

      Kim, he is three years old. Do you know the kind of energy a three-year-old horse has? What is he? What kind of horse?"

      He’s a gelding, an Appaloosa—he has orange ears and mane and tail. He’s gorgeous.

      You’re not going to bed with him. You’re going to ride him. What you need is an old, reliable horse who can take care of you. Appaloosas are stubborn.

      I have a feeling about him. You know how you can get a sense of connection over the Internet? I just think he’s the right horse for me.

       The following morning our Village Snipper calls to say that if I come for a cut she’ll have to fit me in and won’t have time to comb out and blow-dry my hair. I say it doesn’t matter, I would be going riding after our appointment.

      Riding? With who? When? Where do you ride? I didn’t know you could ride.

      I can’t, but I did a lot of riding when I was a kid. I was crazy about riding then, and now I’d like to get back into it.

      Do you know Falka? She’s a wonderful, wonderful trainer. She’s loving and patient and has been riding horses since she was born. Her mother was a famous horse breeder in Denmark.

      Good. I’ll ask her about this horse I’ve seen online. He’s for sale and he’s beautiful.

      Where is he? What kind of horse? How old is he?

      He’s an Appaloosa with an orange mane, tail, and ears. I’ve only seen a picture of him, but I’ve fallen in love. The owner says he’s very loving and gentle.

      How was he trained?

      He hasn’t been trained yet. He’s only three years old.

      Kim? Are you kidding? You don’t know how to ride and you’re going to buy an untrained, three-year-old horse?

      I thought I could learn with him. I wouldn’t try to train him myself.

      Kim, you are not exactly a spring chicken. Don’t do a thing until you call Falka. I’ll give you her phone number. And you know Anita? Tall, English, about your age? She’s an expert in dressage and trains every horse in the county, except the ones trained by Falka. Go talk to Anita.

      Later that afternoon a voice comes in over the phone machine. I hear it from the back of the house and run to get it. Meanwhile, it is saying, ‘Kim, are you crazy? Are you out of your mind? I was just in town and I heard…Kim, call me right back. Are you listening? Call me. Are you completely out of your mind? This does not sound very English to me, but it shows the concern I have aroused in our village, so I feel happy to pick up the phone and reassure Anita. We agree to have tea and discuss something else.

       I am not surprised when a day or so later a call comes through from Falka. She’s heard about me and the three-year-old horse I’ve fallen in love with. Falka has a new approach to this affair; she invites me to watch her train Danish warmbloods at the big house overlooking the reservoir. Up there, I am introduced to Danish Crown, a dark, shining creature 16 feet high, a three-year-old. I am given the lead rope and invited to walk him out to the arena. During this walk a number of things become apparent. I understand why everyone has been concerned about me

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