Knowing how caring you are, I suspect that got your attention. But is it true? Well, sort of. Let’s fact-check it. My medical chart says “fall from horse”. I’m not an expert rider, but not as incompetent as that makes me sound. Did the horse throw me? That implies intent. My dear friend Mary’s horse Nikki is a good, sweet horse and would never intentionally hurt me. So what happened?

Fear. Something in the woods spooked her, and she spun. I flew off and landed hard. Horses are prey animals, surviving by being hyper aware of their surroundings and reacting with lightning speed. So who’s at fault? No-one. Did I end up at the hospital? Yes, after passing out at the post office and hitting my head yet again, this time without a helmet. The CT scan showed a good hard head and a fractured lumbar vertebra.

How am I feeling? Incredibly lucky. I didn’t pass out in the woods. Nikki didn’t run far and we were able to walk her and Dallas back to the trailer. My hip only started to hurt at Mary’s. She didn’t have any ice but gave me a bag of frozen enchiladas to put in my pants. I didn’t pass out on the hour-long drive home! When I did pass out, I had stopped to mail a book at the post office, only blocks from the hospital. A kind man yelled “Call 911” and said “You fainted and hit your head.” Then he whispered “You had an accident,” pointing to my wet pants. I assured him, “Oh, that’s just the enchiladas melting.” I’m sure that made him think I had a concussion, but I didn’t, so it just gave us a much-needed laugh later. Dear friends Carol and Mike brought me and my car home. I can still say I’ve never spent a night in a hospital. I can still say I’ve never broken a bone, since the fracture was a relatively minor one. Pain? Clearly, it was severe enough to make me faint, and the doc prescribed an opioid. But I didn’t need it. The bruise was a spectacular purple, green, and yellow painting from waist to knee, but not as painful as you’d expect. I was, and still am, just very tired. Which makes it a bit easier to follow doctor’s orders – no bending, twisting, heavy lifting, yardwork, vacuuming, swimming, long walks. Dang! But that means more time to work on Greenie’s book. Oh, and the bill? Thank God (and Democrats) for Medicare and insurance! Yes, I am extremely grateful the adventure wasn’t worse!

The moral of the story? Unfounded fear is dangerous. Whatever Nikki thought she saw caused fear, which had serious consequences for me. Mary always walks her horses back to “fact check” the terrifying log, rock, or squirrel, alleviating the imagined danger.

So why the dramatic headline? To illustrate what our fear-mongering presidential candidate would have done, along with mentioning that the horse was black and vicious, the post office was at fault, and the ER was spending your money on a careless old childless cat lady – none of which is true. Well, the horse is black (and beautiful!) and I am a childless cat lady. Thank goodness! I have Leo and Lucky to snuggle with and friends to help with chores while I recover.

I’m sorry if I worried you for a moment, but I do hope you will check the facts and vote for honesty and integrity. Haitians are not eating our pets. Immigrants commit crimes at a significantly lower rate than American-born citizens. Our economy would collapse and food prices would soar without immigrant labor. It was Trump who blocked the bipartisan immigration reform bill, only to have something to rant about. The last election was not stolen, yet he incited a deadly insurrection and refused to stop it for several tortuous hours. Are you against abortion? No one, ever, will force you to have one. But women and girls are dying for lack of reproductive health care. The economy is strong. The markets are strong. Inflation is going down. Wages are going up.

You think Trump will help the economy? 82 Nobel Prize winners in economics and science say he’s a danger to our country. He rescinded 100 environmental protections while in office and still refuses to recognize the existential threat of climate change. With devastating wars around the world, we need a rational, respected, honest, informed, and compassionate leader. Not a racist convicted felon with six bankruptcies whose own chiefs of staff and 200 top Republicans warn us how narcissistic, mentally unstable, and dangerous he is.

One last thing: I believe with my whole heart that Christ weeps every time con man Trump claims to be a Christian.

I’d hoped to share more African animals on this blog, but figured my friends would want to know about my latest animal encounter, even if it wasn’t as magical as some or as terrible as the headline made it sound. I also feel I have a responsibility to plead with you to VOTE. Give Kamala Harris and Tim Walz the chance to prove that truth, compassion, and joy are more powerful than lies, greed, and chaos.

Okay, here’s one gorgeous lion looking up in peace and optimism. Please stay tuned for a true story about the lion in Rwanda who saved a woman from genocide. Yes, even a lion can be powerful and compassionate.