“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her away,
she adjusted her sails.” ~ Elizabeth Edwards
The Happiness Project gals met at Sandy Davis’ new digs. It’s a wonderful place, the first double house in Versailles that dates from 1794-ish. We laughed hard. We ate well. The temp was perfect, the company stellar. Sandy’s downstairs neighbor, Mandi Ledbetter, is a woman I photographed years ago as part of my Down The Backstretch series of women in the Thoroughbred industry. It was a series that came into being because of Maggie Jacobs and Sharon Shearman. Mandi dropped in and mentioned that Maggie was just around the corner. We all began to sing ‘It’s a Small World’. Maggie lives in Louisiana now, and like Mandi, I haven’t seen her in several years. The serendipity nearly knocked me over.
We took Sandy’s dogs for a walk. We dropped by the gift shop, 5 Seasons, on Main Street where she helps out from time to time. Then, we walked to where Maggie was staying, at the home of yet another woman I hadn’t seen in years, Claire Painter, whom Sandy met through Mandi just weeks before. Truly, we were all singing ‘It’s a Small World’ for a reason. We walked into Claire’s leather shop and there stood Maggie. I’m not sure it sunk in right away who was behind the camera, but I saw the light bulb come on as soon as she saw Stacy. Stacy and I hugged Maggie. Stacy and Maggie cried. I photographed them crying because, let’s face it, that’s what I do. Then Annie hugged Maggie and said, “I haven’t seen you in forever!” This was, of course, the first time they’d ever met. Sandy hugged Maggie. This was their first meeting, too. It was just that kind of awesome reunion. We didn’t get to visit long, but that was okay. I was so grateful to see and hug my old friend that any time to talk was icing on the cake. I love and respect Maggie more than words can ever express. So, I’ll just simply say my heart overflowed with love this beautiful spring day. Perfect start to finish.
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