alzheimer's

There is a sweet little old lady where I work. She is quite old. Her
husband passed away last year. Every day she asked where he is and
after much stalling she is gently reminded that he passed away. Then
she bursts into tears as if she has just learned the news of his death. That
is how I feel. I am busy working and I pick up the phone to call Glen and
then I realize he is not home anymore. I nearly faint with grief and then
I go on again and then I forget again.

boot top mud

Came home from work after dark. Took the flashlight and the dog(the cat
declined) and went slogging up the hill. I could hear the mules walking
in the mud with sucking and splashing sounds. They nickered softly to
me as I filled their little buckets with oats and senior feed. I can't feed
them too much grain as mules don't really need it unless they are working
12 hours a day(like the old days) Put out their hay and just listened to them crunching away.

When I was a little girl my dad kept his working team and saddle horse in the
barn in stalls. They were never left out to get muddy. He kept them
all brushed up and used the team every day. Once each day he would
ride his saddle horse to town to get the mail and whatever else and catch
up on the local gossip This was the only time my poor hard working
mother had a chance to read the romance novels she enjoyed so much

Meanwhile back at the ranch

There were pickup trucks and men crowding around a covered arena about
the size of a corral. This was a COCK FIGHT. Totally illegal in Florida.
Only legal in Louisiana at that time. The authorities had been trying to
catch them at it. They informed us that everyone there would be considered guilty by association and it was a Federal Crime in Florida.

Nice folks gone bad. The chosen pair of men would pick up these huge roosters.
They looked like colorful bantams with huge spurs on there feet or ankles.
If chickens have ankles. They would hold the roosters to their face
and blow on their bottoms. Totally disgusting. Then the roosters
would fight to the death. The men were yelling and holding fists full
of money . The point was to bet on these fights.

The men were lined up for their turn to fight the winners. It was a bloody
mess. Glen and I took off down the highway . We were finally picked up
by a old guy in an old car. Later, much later we laughed and decided
it was just another adventure.

the rest of the florida story

Dad and I completed our hike and we were at the ranch. We were greeted
with the best kool aid I have ever tasted. I do not drink kool aid, but this
was wonderful. We were so dry. We went into the beautiful log house
that was spectacular. The owner was there, his care giver, and his 14
year old son. The owner had been caught in an auger and lost his arms and
his shoulders. He thought Glen had it made.

There were pickups and people all over the place. Their were men(no women) at the big gates with walki talkies talking with others posted
around the place. I was beginning to get a bit nervous. I asked if anyone
could take us back to Lack Marian. This would have taken one hour
round trip. The person in charge(?) said"after the fight".

I am sorry, but I will have to finish this in the morning. I have been
working all day. love you

What crazy mule lady said

If I have to use one word to describe Glen Visser it would be courageous although many other words come to mind such as funny, loyal, loving, caring and compassionate. I lost my own father almost 25 years ago and this man was the closest father figure I've had in my life in that time span.





Many of us here today have spent hours on the trail with Glen. When I first started riding with him I was scared to death of falling off or getting hurt. Even though he and Jeanie were the true "ditch diving mule riders", Glen promised me he would never take me into areas that I was afraid to go into. And he held to that promise until I became a more confident rider. THANKS GLEN.





I distinctly remember a particular ride where my crazy mule bounced up and down on the end of the lead rope-rope burning both my hands-then she flipped over backward onto the saddle. We hadn't even left Glen's yard yet. I guess I should have re tacked the mule but I was so anxious to ride it didn't even cross my mind. We had a good long ride and towards the end of the ride as I was trying to light a cigarette my mule shot to the right so quickly she nearly unseated me. I caught my balance just in time for her to run off blindly with me still in the saddle. Well---I was trying every


maneuver I knew to stop her--along with some very colorful language. When I finally got her stopped I felt terrible about the language. I had used and apologized to all that were present. Glen turned Jenny around and faced me and said,"Girl I would have used much worse language than that." Then I proceeded to tell all who were there, I held on to the reins. I held on to the saddle, but I'm not sure I was able to hang on to my bladder so no fair making fun of the fat, gray headed girl when she dismounts and her pants are wet.' I thought for sure Glen would fall off his mule laughing, but he never left my side the rest of the ride and Jeanie patched my rope burned hands when we returned to their home.





Glen I hope you are listening because I am expecting you to check out the trails up there and have a good place for us to ride when it is our time to be with you again. January 15, 1935-February 10,2009

Florida Trail

Glen and I were in
Florida by Lake Marian South of
Kissemee. It was 35 miles to the
nearest town. We were camped
near the Florida Trail which is
across the whole state. It is very
primitive with volunteers putting
a bit of red paint on tree now and then. There is no facilities or water
source. It is just an easement on
property for people to walk the trail. There are lots of wild pigs, alligators
and who knows what. We left at day break. I carried the food and water
and Glen had a pack as well. we had on warm clothes. As my pack got
lighter his got heavier. We had one gallon of water, but that was not near
enough. We walked 28 miles. For some reason Glen got blisters all over
his feet. It must have been that I go barefoot all the time. Anyway, I did
not have any problems at all.

The area is so primitive just like it used to be. Very beautiful experience
and I will never forget it. My first real hiking experience and I loved every
minute of it except I got so thirsty as we ran out of water right away.

our friend who picked us up was something hard to believe. He had lost
his arms in an elevator accident and he did not even have shoulders. He
admired dad so much as he could do a lot of things. This fellow could not
do much. He had a ranch and a great big house and a caregiver. There is a lot more to this story some of which is shocking. More later.

cactus

Last evening some friends came over and brought pizza. Cactus sent
me a wonderful photo and a bag of oats for my girls. Another good
friend brought a drink concoction of brandy and baileys cream.
He brought just enough for one drink. I was proud of him for that.
It was so good that afterward we just sat there. Someone mentioned
that Glen always had cold beer and neat glasses to drink out of.
Well, I had been to Costco that very day and I aways brought home
a case of some fancy or expensive beer that was special for a few
weeks(maybe 1). Well I don't drink beer so now I was selfish.
We settled for S.Pellecrino sparkling natual mineral water from Italy.
My friends did a lot for me they gave me hope. I decided I wanted to continue my
life of riding and camping.