That’s all. OMG.
There are times when I love this board and all of you people, none of whom I know! 
Jair
Alice knows you are special but she will keep you humble and on your toes!!!
My younger brother was a fabulous rider- natural balance and a gift for allowing difficult horses to bloom. As I look back, I think his gift for working with horses had a lot to do with his own inner struggles. When he was on a horse, they both looked so free.
He died of aids three years ago and I still cannot believe he is gone. There were stretches in his life when he withdrew from his family. I did not know until he was very sick. It still leaves a great sadness.
You are very lucky that you have found your voice and that you have found a way to speak and a way to stay connected. My brother stopped riding after high school. I will always wonder if his illness would have been easier to bear if he could have been able to keep his connections with horses who really loved him and accepted him for who he was inside.
Don’t know if anyone’s read this or not - it’s rather obscure - but it’s achingly, beautifully written: Helmet of Flesh by Scott Symons, published in 1986 by mcLelland and Stewart.
Alice was the best Christmas present we all got this year
Truly, Jair, it is about time you posted new pics of her.
Jair is a two horse horseman as of this recent holiday past and Alice is the envy of most of us.
Naturally, we are just being supportive having excellent equines of our own. At least we all thought so until Jair posted the
ONE picture! 
Because homosexuality is perceived as such a moral sin in our society that a 15 year old is contemplating suicide as a ‘remedy’ to his possible homosexuality. And I don’t know about you but I think it is a TRAGEDY that the suicide rate is 4x greater among gay youth than among their heterosexual peers.
Why should we care? Because gays and lesbians continue to be beaten, insulted, condemned, ostracized, subject to prejudice, social and legal injustices; and beaten to death.
Don’t mistake Jair’s post as a self-aggrandizing pat on the back. It’s rather ridiculous that you would interpret his post as a self satisfied act. His motivations were compassion, concern and empathy. And in reality, it would have been a hell of a lot easier for him to remain silent than opening himself to criticism such as you express.
BTW, I am astounded that you interpret this thread and Jair’s original post as blatantly sexual; that you would further accuse him of bragging and ill manners is shocking. The only tasteless thing on this entire thread is your post.
[This message was edited by heidi on Feb. 17, 2001 at 03:56 PM.]
No, honey that’s not tasteless; merely a bad joke.
It would be impossible to work in San Francisco without meeting many people of the “gay persuasion” 
. The gay people I know are very intelligent, amusing and successful, although I hesitate to attribute that to their being gay—gay people are no different than any of us aside from their sexual preference. But it does take guts and a singular type of strength to stand up against a disapproving majority and say, “this is what I am, and I’m proud of it.”
[This message was edited by Ann on Feb. 15, 2001 at 07:35 PM.]
Once again Portia, you are the voice of reason.
I for one have never been PC, and don’t care to be labeled. Hmmmmm, does that sound familiar? And yes, freedom of speech is something we all are entitled to BobO, along with the rest of the constitution.
Just felt your verbage could have been written in a less argumentative tone. But if thats the way you want to be, then so be it. Adios
Go Jair Go!
What a good example you show for anyone who may struggle with this issue!
ClipClop-
I agree - our sexual orientation is a choice. I think that too much baggage is put on that choice by our society. If somebody wants to be gay, that is fine, as is somebody who wants to be straight. By alienating people who make the “wrong” choice, we’ve created a lot of hardships and discomfort thru the years.
I do get wary of people who flash their minority status as a way to be above reproach for poor behavior, or flaunt it for attention, but I don’t think Jair was doing either - just helping out a confused kid! I had an acquaintance in college who was a militant vegan, and a lesbian, and she had the hugest chip on her shoulder against men and meat eaters, and her preaching got so old. She tried to recruit people to become lesbians. She was a nutcase (and still is!). Maybe BobO has run into people like that and is wary of Jair…
