The Good, the Bad and the Tacky

I should make this a weekly feature, but the last thing I need is another stinking obligation. An occasional feature perhaps. Here are some examples of the crap I have to deal with--and one good thing.

TACKY PEOPLE (subtitle: Did your mother teach you nothing?)

Today’s story starts with what I saw on the way to work. I pass a funeral home on the way in, and today was obviously a day with a service. It is a small town, so I cannot help but glance over and see if it is anyone I know, or whether I am supposed to be there. Today, I saw yet another thing that should not be happening.

An attractive young girl–late teens, early 20s maybe–was standing on the sidewalk, with a handsome man in a suit. She looked really nice. Long straight hair, but well done, not too much makeup, no gaudy jewelry. She was dressed in black, so I guess that is another thing she got right. BUT–who in God’s name raised her to think that a black strapless cocktial-type dress was appropriate funeral wear? It is 9 am. The only excuse for having on a strapless dress at 9 am is if you are not home from the nite before, and then, you probably should not be standing on the side of Broadway in it, lest people think you are for sale.

A funeral is supposed to be a relatively solemn affair. Not that I am against funerals that are celebratory, in fact, I prefer them. But a funeral at where you are supposed to be in mourning, or at least showing respect for those who are, is not the place to show off your shoulders or your new tan. Maybe there is an occasion for such a thing in other places, but small-town BFE funerals do not call for cocktail wear at 9 am.

Take a note, young women. I think your mom missed a lesson.

On to GOOD PEOPLE (subtitle: Someone whose mama raised him right):

This is a story of a has-been. Barry officially became one a few weeks ago. He knew it was coming. I think he was a little excited, which I totally do not get, because I fought becoming a has-been with everything I had.

Barry has held the school high jump record at his high school since 1989, his junior year. No one has even come close. His name has hung on the wall in the gym, as the record holder ever since. A couple of years ago, he started hearing rumors of a kid who would surely overtake him by the time he graduated. This is the kind of news we get from the hometown–not when the Christmas festivities are being held, or that someone in the family is getting married–but that Barry’s downfall was pending.

The kid expected to break the record is a friend of the son of the best man in our wedding. Can you follow that? In fact, I guess you could say that Stan was also our wedding 15 years ago as a 3-month old fetus. I guess that connection is what led to these conversations.

Today, Barry received a letter from the record-breaker, Daniel. It is the most poignant thing I have ever read from a kid. It talks about how long he looked at Barry’s name and record on the wall and his goal to break it before he graduated. It was well-written, well-organized, perfectly punctuated and so gracious. He included an article from the region’s largest paper about it, and the actual wall hanging from the gym. He wrote in the letter that it may look like it is only cardboard, but he knows it means so much more than that, and he was sure Barry would want it. The letter ends with his hope to meet Barry some day.

That is impressive. I almost had to pull the car over as I read it, because it made me tear up. With the kind of self-assurance this kid must have to write a letter like that to someone he only knows from stories, and the skills to be so eloquent, his record jumping over a bar will not be the last mark he leaves.

We need more kids like that.

BAD PEOPLE: (subtitle: Bitch better be glad she does not live in the US)

And watch me call her out by name right here. ROSEMARIE ORTMAN of Alberta is a thief. She is the current owner of Molson, the Slybaby born in Canada, bred by Carrie and Doyle Thompson. Carrie sold Molson to Rosemarie as a young stud late last fall or early this spring, I do not remember which.

As soon as Rosemarie bought Molson, she started advertising him online for stud. However, she made the fundamental mistake of using photos she had stolen from Carrie’s website. This is unacceptable in any case, unless you have permission from the photographer or the owner of the photos. I am the photographer. I took the shots last July when we were in Canada. I took a bunch of them–and some were pretty dang good. Even the ones that I would not use for an ad–for any number of reasons like a leg slightly cocked, or a shadow in the wrong place etc–showed up on her online advertising.

Carrie advised her that she needed to take them down, but to contact me and I might well grant her permission to use them. Truth be told, I would have let her use them because in the bunch there were a couple of nice shots. All I wanted was photo credit and to have some idea of how they would be used. For example, I did not want my name next to photos for someone who turned out to be a hoarder who starves her animals, or in some magazine ad that caters to breeders of ill-behaved pukes, etc. More than anything, I wanted an idea of who this person was, what her plans were for the horse, where she intended to advertise with these photos, etc—NOT and I repeat NOT because I think I have anything to say about what she does with a horse she paid for. I do not, that is not my business. My only concern was whether it was a venture I wanted to be associated with–that very much is my business. The internet is a small place and even without my name on the photos it would not be hard to end up connecting the horse or the photos to me. It is too hard to build a reputation and promote a stallion to be lackadaisical about these things. To this end, I asked a few questions of ol’ Rosemarie.

This set her off like a scalded cat. She clearly has some issues as she went berserk way earlier than was called for. She seemed to think she was doing me a favor by advertising Molson at stud at all–and truth be told, her standing him as a stallion before he was even riding HURTS me, so it was not a help to me at all. More than that, she acted like a fruitbat, ranting and raving and sending nasty emails. As we left it, there could be no confusion that she had been denied permission to advertise with my photos.

Since the internet is a small place, recently someone completely uninvolved sent me a copy of a flyer advertising Molson’s services at stud. Not only is it dead wrong, like calling him a 1996 stallion, when he is a 2006, she is using my photos. And one that should never have been used as he is not square so it makes his back legs look goofy. And they are not, he is a nice colt. This low quality, tacky clearly home made flyer is exactly what I do not want to be associated with. However, in the name of calling her out, I am putting it on here, so you can see I am not making it up. I may well have put this exact pic on my blog at some point, and it is surely on my computer.

Also note the slogan she has at the top----"Put some Slyde in your Foals". Our slogan has long since been "Put some Slyde in your Ride"--been on my website for YEARS. It is a play on Sly's name. I guess I should be flattered that she thought it was so clever?

What utter gall she has. I am sure she thought that since she is in Alberta, I would not see a hard copy of a flyer she has passed out. The thing may be online somewhere as well, I do not know, as I have not looked. Frankly, I have not had time to spend getting more pissed off since I found out about this, due to vacation, vacation recovery and all that other crap I mentioned a few posts ago.

Can you imagine?

Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking. Evidently, no one taught her that. Clearly no one taught her, either, that someone is ALWAYS looking. I realize she will get her just reward for this someday, at the hands of someone more powerful than I. I just hope I get to see it. Being a thief with poor character is not the way to get ahead in the world–it just looks like it sometimes.

Let me repeat–ROSEMARIE ORTMAN–big red flag. Unless you just like getting screwed over, this is one to stay away from.