Style, you
either have it or you
don't. And if you have it, you have it
all the time.The Rogue Goes to the Dogs
by Tux Toledo
Page 3
I
expected Nick's Woodside home to be American Western. You
know, one of those sprawling ranch style homes with low ceilings and
attached garages. Imagine my surprise when I found a replica
of an English country estate! The main house was large enough
to be the ancestral home of a Duke. It alternated between two
and three stories, had four wings, six chimneys and enough character to
write a play about. The barn, a U-shaped structure with a
thatch roof that sat on stone walls like a hat, was a mansion in
itself. Dark wood beams crisscrossed the surface of its white
sides. A large arch in its center shaded a road that led to a
long row of stables. Very pastoral. My Rolls Royce
was created to be seen parked in front of places like this.
I expected a neatly attired servant to greet my arrival but no such
creature appeared. All was quiet except for the sound of a
horse in the distance and some barking dogs even farther away.
"This way, James," I said, strolling toward the barn.
"Yes, sir."
We rambled down the road, under the arch toward the stables where we
encountered the first signs of Homo sapiens: a stable boy, a
young man, actually, grooming a horse. He stopped grooming
when he saw us.
"What do you want?" he asked. He was a fit young man with a
haircut that made the most of his peaked forehead. He wore
braces over an open-collared white shirt. He could have had a
career as a Ralph Lauren model had he not chosen horses.
"My name is Winston Churchill. I'm here to see Mr. Arthur."
"He’s in the field." He nodded to his right and continued to
groom the horse. Each stroke was smoothly applied.
Here was a man who knew his way around horses.
James nodded his approval. We then followed the sound of the
dogs. Beyond the stables were several dozen acres of tall
grass and trees. We found Nick on horseback struggling with
the leashes attached to two energetic English Pointers. The
dogs sniffed the ground and tried to outrun their master.
Nick saw us and turned his horse to the left. The dogs
immediately mimicked the turn. Nick rode to us and
dismounted. The stable boy appeared and took the dogs.
© 2008 David Biagini