A Heart Like Phar Lap...December 13, 2004
For those of us who grew up on a continent other than Australia, horse racing isn't that big a deal. (well, except for people in Kentucky... but I digress...) And picking up on the name of an Australian racehorse that only raced in one race in America in the 1930s isn't exactly something I think anyone other than Bob Costas could do this side of the international date line.
However, apparently Australians take their horse racing VERY SERIOUSLY (I mean, the nation shuts down for the Melbourne Cup race... Seriously.) and they are all well-versed in the story of the mighty horse Phar Lap. (And yes, that actually IS the stuffed horse in question above... he's on display at the Melbourne Museum, and Stephen and Joni went to pay homage to him on her first trek.)
So, here's the thing, only Stephen Tuck can call a girl a dead horse and make it a knee-buckling-melt-a-girl's-heart-romantic thing to say... Below is the original email, with the follow-up email explanation in brackets in blue after the reference.
"My very dear Joni,
[Insert happy Snoopy dance here!!!]
I got your package today!!! I’d been out to the Magistrates Court at Heidelberg, and lo, when I got back, there it was at the reception desk waiting for me! I cannot even begin to thank you enough for what you did! For one thing, the book on the Crusades was one I’d seen advertised on Human Events a number of times, but wasn’t able to find a copy of anywhere in Melbourne. Believe me, if you’d been a mind reader you couldn’t have picked better. As for the vial of water from Bayou Lafourche… Words fail me. You are undoubtedly the most thoughtful, imaginative girl I’ve ever met (actually, the "inner Ranger" point you raised was what surprised me about getting the said vial at all. I understand mail into Australia is checked over by the Quarantine and Inspection Service, who would usually bar something like that from entering the country!). Your letter absolutely struck me. For one thing, you have beautiful handwriting. Also, am I right in saying you perfumed the letter? That I really appreciated – the sort of nice touch hardly anyone would bother with now. Now, I have had a look at the CD you sent of your world – and believe me, I’m not scared off at all. Your family, I might say, certainly look like nice people!
What supremely struck me about what you sent though was that you DID send it. I’ve never known a girl who would have gone to that much trouble over me, and I can’t thank you enough.
To tell the honest truth to you, as I was going over all of it at lunch, I couldn’t react or feel anything, and I think it was just because I’d never had to deal with that particular situation before – there was no response in the lexicon to go to. It’s now that I can actually write to you and say it all, I find all the happiness is coming through. I must tell you, that I find you absolutely amazing like that. Considering the sort of person I consider myself to be, and the sort of woman you are, I’m stunned stunned stunned that you don’t detest me, and the fact that you took so much time and care over something for me is almost out of the bounds of what I can absorb.
A quick follow-up to the above: when what I’ve sent you arrives, please don’t compare it with what you sent me, because it’ll compare pretty unfavourably. I promise it isn’t as meagre as it is because I couldn’t be bothered. Only that I just didn’t see the standard I should have met for you. Look, obviously there’s no law that says I can’t send you another bundle of things… So I think I will indeed do that! But, I promise it wasn’t that I wasn’t trying; only that I didn’t fully appreciate what I must do to be properly worthy of you. Even though I’ve said this before, I’m not sure if you fully believed me: I can’t understand why you felt the need to put a posting on singlerepublican.com. I just can’t believe that you weren’t swamped with fellows; nor that you actually are giving some of your time to me. Now, you said before that you see yourself as fat, and I can only assume you meant that to include traits of being plain and unattractive. Well, even if that were true (which it isn’t), I can tell you that from where I sit, it looks like you’ve got a heart to match (here we’d say you had "a heart like ‘Phar Lap’"). So, I can only keep stressing how gobsmacked I am that you actually bother with me, and that I’m not at all sure I deserve you. [Oh, to explain at least one thing out of your last email – to have "a heart like ‘Phar Lap’" is indeed a compliment! Briefly, Phar Lap was a racehorse here in the 1930s whose fame bordered on legendary. I think that out of all the first class races he ran, he won all but two. He was a most remarkable horse. Anyway, he was sent to the US to try his hand in the races there in (I think) 1933 and died in mysterious circumstances. For a long time it was thought he was poisoned; more recent analyses have said it was more likely the change in feed and climate that he wasn’t able to cope with. Anyway, he was brought back to Australia where he was stuffed and put on display. It was then that the secret of his success was found: he had an unusually large heart, even for a horse, and that was why he had so much staying power. So, the saying has entered Australian English "to have a heart like Phar Lap", to denote someone especially energetic, warm hearted, dedicated, big-spirited or someone who always tries very hard. In short, someone of very good and admirable qualities! So, yes, indeed it is a compliment. ]
Well, it’s now after midnight, and I guess I’d better reluctantly close this and go to bed. I don’t think I realised before now how much I truly enjoy writing to you. And I do hope you take to heart what I’ve said here, because I meant it.
Good night Joni
Stephen"
For those of us who grew up on a continent other than Australia, horse racing isn't that big a deal. (well, except for people in Kentucky... but I digress...) And picking up on the name of an Australian racehorse that only raced in one race in America in the 1930s isn't exactly something I think anyone other than Bob Costas could do this side of the international date line.
However, apparently Australians take their horse racing VERY SERIOUSLY (I mean, the nation shuts down for the Melbourne Cup race... Seriously.) and they are all well-versed in the story of the mighty horse Phar Lap. (And yes, that actually IS the stuffed horse in question above... he's on display at the Melbourne Museum, and Stephen and Joni went to pay homage to him on her first trek.)
So, here's the thing, only Stephen Tuck can call a girl a dead horse and make it a knee-buckling-melt-a-girl's-heart-romantic thing to say... Below is the original email, with the follow-up email explanation in brackets in blue after the reference.
"My very dear Joni,
[Insert happy Snoopy dance here!!!]
I got your package today!!! I’d been out to the Magistrates Court at Heidelberg, and lo, when I got back, there it was at the reception desk waiting for me! I cannot even begin to thank you enough for what you did! For one thing, the book on the Crusades was one I’d seen advertised on Human Events a number of times, but wasn’t able to find a copy of anywhere in Melbourne. Believe me, if you’d been a mind reader you couldn’t have picked better. As for the vial of water from Bayou Lafourche… Words fail me. You are undoubtedly the most thoughtful, imaginative girl I’ve ever met (actually, the "inner Ranger" point you raised was what surprised me about getting the said vial at all. I understand mail into Australia is checked over by the Quarantine and Inspection Service, who would usually bar something like that from entering the country!). Your letter absolutely struck me. For one thing, you have beautiful handwriting. Also, am I right in saying you perfumed the letter? That I really appreciated – the sort of nice touch hardly anyone would bother with now. Now, I have had a look at the CD you sent of your world – and believe me, I’m not scared off at all. Your family, I might say, certainly look like nice people!
What supremely struck me about what you sent though was that you DID send it. I’ve never known a girl who would have gone to that much trouble over me, and I can’t thank you enough.
To tell the honest truth to you, as I was going over all of it at lunch, I couldn’t react or feel anything, and I think it was just because I’d never had to deal with that particular situation before – there was no response in the lexicon to go to. It’s now that I can actually write to you and say it all, I find all the happiness is coming through. I must tell you, that I find you absolutely amazing like that. Considering the sort of person I consider myself to be, and the sort of woman you are, I’m stunned stunned stunned that you don’t detest me, and the fact that you took so much time and care over something for me is almost out of the bounds of what I can absorb.
A quick follow-up to the above: when what I’ve sent you arrives, please don’t compare it with what you sent me, because it’ll compare pretty unfavourably. I promise it isn’t as meagre as it is because I couldn’t be bothered. Only that I just didn’t see the standard I should have met for you. Look, obviously there’s no law that says I can’t send you another bundle of things… So I think I will indeed do that! But, I promise it wasn’t that I wasn’t trying; only that I didn’t fully appreciate what I must do to be properly worthy of you. Even though I’ve said this before, I’m not sure if you fully believed me: I can’t understand why you felt the need to put a posting on singlerepublican.com. I just can’t believe that you weren’t swamped with fellows; nor that you actually are giving some of your time to me. Now, you said before that you see yourself as fat, and I can only assume you meant that to include traits of being plain and unattractive. Well, even if that were true (which it isn’t), I can tell you that from where I sit, it looks like you’ve got a heart to match (here we’d say you had "a heart like ‘Phar Lap’"). So, I can only keep stressing how gobsmacked I am that you actually bother with me, and that I’m not at all sure I deserve you. [Oh, to explain at least one thing out of your last email – to have "a heart like ‘Phar Lap’" is indeed a compliment! Briefly, Phar Lap was a racehorse here in the 1930s whose fame bordered on legendary. I think that out of all the first class races he ran, he won all but two. He was a most remarkable horse. Anyway, he was sent to the US to try his hand in the races there in (I think) 1933 and died in mysterious circumstances. For a long time it was thought he was poisoned; more recent analyses have said it was more likely the change in feed and climate that he wasn’t able to cope with. Anyway, he was brought back to Australia where he was stuffed and put on display. It was then that the secret of his success was found: he had an unusually large heart, even for a horse, and that was why he had so much staying power. So, the saying has entered Australian English "to have a heart like Phar Lap", to denote someone especially energetic, warm hearted, dedicated, big-spirited or someone who always tries very hard. In short, someone of very good and admirable qualities! So, yes, indeed it is a compliment. ]
Well, it’s now after midnight, and I guess I’d better reluctantly close this and go to bed. I don’t think I realised before now how much I truly enjoy writing to you. And I do hope you take to heart what I’ve said here, because I meant it.
Good night Joni
Stephen"
posted by Joni and Stephen | 4:10 PM
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