John has been rolling through some tough beats lately and the Tampa nightcap today seemed to be the last straw.

After the payday P4 went second for him he took it badly.

He grabbed Sweet Little Shiloh and stuffed her into the microwave. Mister Mittens backed off in fear and Trouble was crying.

As 1/8 Pole was clicking the microwave buttons he heard little Shiloh "mew" from inside the oven.

As if the hand of God was laid upon his shoulder, 1/8 Pole removed Shiloh from the microwave, kissed her small furry head and begged the cats for forgiveness.

They weren't going to forgive him until John laid out a great dinner for them.

On a serious note, tough beats day after day can drive a player nuts. 1/8 Pole cranked a $5,000 P4 not long ago and had 5 for 5 on a P6 until it blew up in the last leg. Since then he's been with some of the toughest beats that I have ever seen. Chalk, numbers - doesn't matter. He's getting bent over in the last 40 yards of a lot of races with some fine wagers.

Perhaps it is time for a break

Jeez, Don, that was a post for humor. Maybe bad humor - I dunno. It was made only to make folks feel they are not alone with the frustration of a tough late bad beat.

Through every contest at Aqueduct and Tampa today the account is up.

There are no cats here without John making friends with Mister Mittens last year and bringing her inside for food, warmth, and the human touch. She only staggered to my house while in labor last July because of the love and kindness my son had given her. She had no place to go as a young street cat except to where she had been shown kindness.

This usually happens after a big hit, you start playing alot of crazy stuff to get that same feeling but the horseracing gods humble you pretty good.

On July 6th of this year Mister Mittens was sitting next to my wife on the living room sofa. My wife and I had a conversation.

Wife: "This cat is in labor."

Me: "How do you know?"

Wife: "Her belly is convulsing and I can feel contractions."

Me: "What should we do?"

Wife: "You should get me a blanket and go disappear. This little girl is in for a tough night."

No defense with the front yard wide open next to the front stoop. No way to stay hidden there.

I knew the Momcat would go to her death in defense of her kittens so I got them into the garage. It was over 110 degrees in there and the wife and I were worried about fried kittens so thay all came inside to cool off with some AC.

The rest is feline history.

The gist of my post was that we have all had good times, and bad at the tracks. After a big hit we send it in a bit more, but thats usually when things go bad, and perhaps it is time for a break. Time away is a good thing, time to refresh, and regroup. Better racing days are on the horizon.

No offense or bad feelings, Don.

Sometimes my wife goes to bed and the cats jump into bed with her.

She will snuggle up under the covers while laying out some nice comforter stuff next to her and making sure that there are enough extra pillows on her bed for the making of cat nests.

When I show up the three cats and my wife all make nasty cat noises in unison.

I'm OK with the old bed upstairs. Once I toss the empties off the saggy mattress and flip the bedbugs off the comforter it's not a bad deal.

I would never hurt an animal! People do not count as I would have no problen putting a bullet in someone. But I dont even hunt. Was a joke. Would never hur a sweet cat or any animal unless it was hurting someone I love.