Barbaro-land and Beyond

I spent some time in "Barbaro-land" yesterday afternoon working on my paper for my class. I call it Barbaro-land because it truly is a separate place for me and when I go there I become caught up in the pieces of the story all over again. I lose track of time and I find I write way too much. The more I learn about different aspects of the story, the more fascinating it becomes and it really never gets old. And just when I think I have something figured out, I remember something else that turns my discovery on its head. This truly is a remarkable tale on so many levels and I find that the levels just keep coming.

My paper for the class is about celebrity illness narratives which is how I have come to view aspects of the Barbaro story. It is remarkable how powerful and influential stories about celebrities' illnesses are in our culture--think Michael J. Fox, Christopher Reeve and of course, Barbaro. In fact the entire emergence of breast cancer advocacy can be traced to woman such as Betty Rollin and Olivia Newton-John documenting their illnesses. Fascinating stuff.

And so what did Barbaro's story do? You already know the answer. He inspired many of you to heal from your own illnesses. He also inspired many of you to become advocates for equine welfare. And he prompted racing officials to look at track surfaces and invest in research for a disease that has little respect for age or pedigree. He brought many of you together on line and in person and he set an example of courage, dignity and great athletic prowess.

You can probably add to the list but as I told you, the story never gets old. For me, its a gift to be able to revisit it again and again.