I have been visiting Arlington since 1955. Only God knows how many hours I have spent in that Sacred Place. I have spent up to 4 months at a time in Washington DC. Most of the time in Virginia. Have some wonderful friends there and one day I shall become a Virginian forever.
I have spent countless hours in the Stable and known many of the young men. They are something to behold. They usually have around 40 horses, black and white teams. They have 2 Caissons that are used to carry the remains from the Chapel to the grave. They can handle 8 funerals a day. They are used for officers and Sgt.E9s. The enlisted funerals use around 18 men, so they are impressive to watch also. During the Vietnam war there were as many as 24 funerals a day 7 days a week. Now there are no funerals on Saturday & Sunday. My favorite horse is "Casperina," She is the Caisson Commander's horse for one of the White teams. Up close she is not really white, but a beautiful golden tan, but at any distance she matches the Whites. She ran wild with one of the Nevada Mustang herds for 5 years. The Army watched her and when the time was right picked her out of the herd. Most of the horses are donated. I asked Sgt. Paar if they kept their previous names and he said, "Nearly always!" He pointed out 2 matched draft horses named "General Lee'" and "General Grant" He said the platoon wanted to keep their original names, but the Colonel scrammed, "NO WAY" their names had been "AMOS and ANDY. "Damn Colonel.
It was after watching many Caisson funerals, that one day while I was taping a funeral, that this poem started to form in my mind. I retreated to my little oak tree at Mama's grave and wrote "The Warrior's Last Ride." It had formed itself and poured out. It might sound weird, but each poem I write(one exception I'll relate later) forms and writes itself. I am not ashamed to admit that no one enjoys my poems as I do. If I don't write them down within an hour or so, they are lost and cannot be regained. I do not know from whence they come, but I have yet to memorize one. I have to guard them with several backups, for if one is lost it is gone. I have made people angry because I will not autograph them. This is because I know not who conceived them, so they are not mine. I can't remember spending more than an hour on any of them, but the one referred to above. It will come in a few weeks (MIMI McMoo)
I will write more on the subject of Arlington with other poems I send out.
If any of these are not your cup of tea, speak out - I do not insult easily!
Dick - The Crazy Tank Driver
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