The Fun of being 84..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Vintage Bettejo)

Bettejo Dux has lived on the cosmic Garden
 Island of Kaua'i for over 40 years.

Bettejo is a regular opinion writer in the Garden Island news
 and is the author of the famed novella, "The Scam." 
 Her latest fiction"Children of extinction"
 is now  released and available on Amazon!

www.bettejodux.com

www.amazon.com

Bettejo at 84 years young taking time
 out of her busy day for one of many
scheduled book signings.

The Fun of being 84

It's been a busy morning. Fed my beloved old horse, Aristotle. I prepare him a warm mash, salt, carrots, bran and molasses. He loves it. My handsome movie star vet, Scott Sims, says horses don't have a sense of taste. I reply, "Well don't tell Ari, he hasn't read that part of the book." Since I was five, I've bribed horses with sugar cubes. Amazing what you can get a horse to do with some sugar cubes in your pocket.

Bettejo and Aristotle enjoying
another day in paradise! 

I was taught, as a little girl, a good horse
 soldier feeds his horse first.

My first riding instructor was General Cress- the Tiger of Luzon-a total pussy cat. He said I was a natural, which pleased my father. His daughter, Cornelia Van Ness Cress, was a brilliant, patient teacher. A lesbian I learned from a gossipy friend of my mother's. It made no- never- mind to me. I always got to ride her dressage horse, Indian, on foggy wet morning jaunts through the Mills College Campus. She said I wasn't a 'lemon drop' because I was one of the few kids who showed up for lessons on a rainy day. I loved the fog. Still do. Even 'voggy' fog on Kaua'i. I love the smell of sulfur dioxide in the morning.

Bettejo with her grown up puppy
 'Boots,' one of her many best friends.

Next, two growing up kittens-Reba and Rosa-and my grown up puppy-Boots- get their fare. Today, Duke, the noisy Macaw, who greets me every morning with a cheerful "Hi",  got fresh water, a  bowl of  parrot food- raisins, peanuts, a crumpled cookie, he has a decided sweet tooth-and  two slices of bananas.

Don't forget to watch
'Aloha Vet' with Kaua'i
Veterinarian Dr. Scott Sims.
Every  Saturday,  3:00 P.M.
HST on Nat Geo Wild.
 Channel 561or HD 1561
or  stream for free at ;
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/aloha-vet/

Then I turn a feral hen, and the chick she's trying to raise, loose to wander and scratch their way into a long day's journey into night.  Mama is teaching her baby to eat worms and insects and other goodies they find in every pile of fallen leaves. Every day her baby gets smarter and bigger. Fluffier, too. This morning she's teaching it how to fly. She jumped up on a raised bench and clucked, "Come on sweetheart, try your wings." Today it did. I don't know if it's a boy chicken or a girl chicken, but it's sure cute and, I think, precocious.

A Kaua'i Sunrise in the Vog...

Then it's my turn. A cup of coffee-organic, no GMOs-and half a slice of croissant. No butter. It's drippy and voggy out and I love watching yellow leaves swing and sway and waft their way to earth.

looking back a few years.
 Bettejo playing checkers
 with her nephew, Tom.

At 84 ripe I love looking back. There's a lot to look back on. I love being here.  There's a lot of here. And I love looking forward.

I love learning. The mother hen is teaching me as well as her baby.

A lot can be learned from a
mother hen...

I love time. I love space. We worked hard, my husband and I, to acquire the space. My jungle, which I love. The time, which I got but could not share with him. I love the time I have now to think about our life together. I love to wonder if he would approve. He'd be happy  I'm having fun.

Bettejo with another one of her many
animal friends.  ;-)

P.S.
Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write;
http://mic.com/articles/98348/science-shows-writers-have-a-serious-advantage-over-the-rest-of-us

 Hana Hou, (Encore)  Shared From Facebook...