Memories

 Lets be absolutely clear about this; I am not making light of the people we have lost. If you can remember that then please continue reading.

I was outside a meeting or a lecture at the latest AFA Convention visiting with Roy Williams and he was telling as story about remembrance. It was once at an Edward Martin clinic (where Edward was the Clinician and not one honoring his memory which there are more than one) and Roy was talking to another farrier or two about remembering someone once they died. It was at that point, according to Roy, that Edward took his tongs and began to feverishly spin the water. Once satisfied that it was going at the desired pace, he call the other's attention to it. When the water stopped moving Edward said "that's how long they remember you once you're gone". 

I don't feel appropriate sharing stories about people I didn't know. Yet, I never met Edward and I told you that one. I never met Jim Linzy either but for the last two years I have been honored to read the introduction to the lecture that honor's his memory. I have referenced things that Jim taught other people who taught me, but rarely. He wasn't my friend, that honor should go to his friends. Recently the Oklahoma Farrier's Association lost one of its great friends in David Goodman, and his students and mentees, were quick to say that the OFA should honor him and I am sure the OFA will in some form or fashion in the future. But might not be the way they want it. 

The American Farrier's Association has had the issue of important people dying for a couple of decades now. Originally there was a plaque in the office to recognize people who passed away, but the AFA is only just now 54 years old, so the people who really made the difference are just now starting to leave us. The Association invested in this vast wooden anvil and stand. The committee that controls who goes on it has done the math and they are limiting the number of people who go on it to two a year for fear of running out of space. I wondered aloud in earshot of that Committee's Chair why they just didn't start using smaller name plates.Take heart. Apparently, they have resolved the issue apparently by sending the families of the past who don't make it on the anvil a certificate suitable for framing. The pitfalls of honoring people are endless. 

When its time to cut nuts, honoring your friends is your job and the best way to do that is to teach someone what they taught you and share your stories about your friends and influences. You really shouldn't rely on your organization(s) to do that, because they never knew them like you did.

This post is in honor of my late and lamented friend- Farrier and raconteur Dave Bivins  who once told me that he would never die as long as there were stories about him