Saddle Up and Follow Me

I played follow the leader for a novel walking experience today.

Coming back east on Grace, I paused at Meadow and saw two mounted policemen emerging from the alley, headed for the next alley.

Cue walker to join the horse queue.

Walking down sun-dappled alleys behind two horses on a crisp fall morning, it occurred to me that Spielberg had missed an opportunity.

The Washington Post recently ran a piece about the great lengths the director went to in recreating historical sounds for "Lincoln."

An original watch of Lincoln's was used to simulate a pendulum.

The squeak of latches at the White House were recorded and used.

Also, the ring of the bell at the church he attended.

All well and good.

But the sound of horse hooves on cobblestones that I was hearing today would have been an ideal one to record for the movie.

There is such a beautiful cadence, an historical rhythm to the sound of horses clopping.

Passing a couple smoking cigarettes in the alley, the girl smiled and asked me, "Trying to keep up?"

As I followed my equine lead admiring their graceful and sinuous gaits, I kept hoping that they'd lead me all the way back to Jackson Ward.

But it was not to be.

When we got to Ryland, they told me they were going to loop around and head back west.

When I told them how much I enjoyed their regular visits to my neighborhood, one grinned and said, "Yea, but we gotta spread it around."

I'm hoping they were talking about mounted squad good will and not horse pies.

But what I'm really hoping is for a chance to follow them again.