Fifteen Days to the Finish Line - Fainting Goats!

Teresa Reasor and Saundra Campbell
waiting for the goats to faint

What do fainting goats, writing romance, breeding sheds, and running have in common?  

Yesterday, a group of 10 romance writers had lunch at a farm in Scott County. Along with horses, the hostess had three fainting goats. These critters have a congenital medical condition that causes them to fall over and tumble when startled. Their muscles tense up and the goats experience something akin to a full-body charley horse, but without the pain. I’m sure you’ve seen the pain-riddled face of a 6’9,” 252 pound basketball player limping off the court suffering from a charley horse? It’s excruciating to both watch and experience. Those kinds of cramps are a runner’s biggest nightmare.

Have you ever been on a long run, doing great, your time is on target when suddenly your calf muscle cramps and you limp to the side of the road and collapse. The cause? The likely culprits are overused or injured muscles, dehydration, or low levels of minerals such as potassium or calcium.  I’ve never had a charley horse and hope I never do, but neither do I stretch properly. Without stretching to improve flexibility, I’m setting myself up to get a cramp on a long training run. Unlike fainting goats’ congenital condition, I was born with common sense, yet fail to use it.  

Maybe I should change my mantra to—Drink. Stretch. Eat bananas.

This is the second day of Kentucky Romance Writers Spring into Writing Workshop featuring Leigh Michaels speaking on “Writing Between the Sexes.”

KYRW Workshop 

• Do you know what 10 things men will do but women generally won’t?
• Do you know what 10 things women will do but men generally won’t?
• Do you know why women talk in order to feel better and men talk in order to achieve a solution?
• Do you know why men say, “I apologize” and women say “I’m sorry?”
• Do you know why men avoid a discussion of emotional information; women invite it?
• Do you know why a man’s self-esteem is closely related to his sexuality?

Kentucky Romance Writers
at Three Chimneys Farm 

As you can see we’re covering several topics. Sort of like Big Brown covering a mare during our visit to Three Chimneys Farm yesterday.

Whew! I wasn’t sure I could tie fainting goats, writing romance, breeding sheds, and running all together. But there you go! 

By the way, I’ll post the answers in later blogs.

Happy writing and running, and GO CATS! Kathy