Recollections...
“Dear Carol,
When I think of Mike, I see a man with
twice the energy most of us have, generous and eager to share the day with
people, horses, and dogs alike; full of promise and exuberance, and refusing
to cast a cloud of gloom over anyone or anything, in spite of his personal
battle. I cannot get over the exemplary way in which he continued to enjoy
his time at the barn, riding one horse after another, his spirits strong,
even as his energy diminished. I treasure the memory of his openness, his
willingness to be present with all of us for as long as he could, and the
very evident delight and pride he took in creating Mistover, which is an
oasis and true destination for so many of us.
I feel deeply fortunate to have known
him. I admired him enormously and enjoyed his company completely--he had
such presence--and I still expect to see him walk into the tack room, sit
right down, and join in the conversation while giving a playful rub to Cajun
or another pet waiting for his turn.”
love,
Helen
"There are a lot of ways in which
I remember my friend Mike - funny, opinionated, intolerant of stupidity or
meanness, demanding of himself and others - also brave, caring and totally
smitten with the dogs in his life.
I know that Mike really liked Whimsey, my old golden retriever who came to work with me. She adored him, especially because Mike always dropped a handful of treats on the floor for her, rather than just the one I gave to her.
When Whimsey died, Mike was immediately ready to help
me find another dog to fill the empty canine space in my life. I told him that I
wasn't really ready to do that and his response was just to let him know when I
was.
Several months went by. During that time, Cindy Rubin
was involved in raising several pups for a friend and occasionally brought them
to the barn.
The second pup -Junior- really stole my heart when I
met him in December, and I asked Cindy to check with her friend to see if Junior
was available.
The answer came back that no, the breeder wanted to
keep him. I was disappointed, but assumed that it was a final answer.
Apparently, Mike had never considered the idea of a final answer that he
disagreed with. Over the next couple of months in collusion with Cindy and
pretty much without my knowledge, he wore down any resistance that the breeder
had.
I’m not quite sure what he final straw was, but the
breeder finally agreed to sell Junior to Mike.
One afternoon in April Mike, Cindy and Jayne appeared
in the office with Junior. Mike grinned and announced that Junior was mine and
would be going home with me.
I remember being completely overwhelmed and saying
something to the effect of
"Mike, you can't do that - It's way too much!"
At that moment, Mike just
looked at me, grinned again, straightened his shoulders and said, and “I can do
anything I want".
I
turned to Jayne for a little support.
Her reaction was - "Don't look at me - I'm the one who rides
Ghandi!"
So I now have in my life a most special companion - one
who shares his joy with everyone he meets and who reminds me daily of the
generosity of a very unique friend.
Thank you, Mike. “
Jan Lloyd
