I will begin with the disclaimer that this is a true story.  All information shared in this tale is true and not one thing is made up. All information has been documented and archived.

This story was shared with me last evening when I mentioned I had purchased a horse named Skippity Dippity as a going away present for a friend moving away in a few short weeks.

Here is her story:

When she was a child, her and the other grand children loved to sit and listen to Grandpa.  He told the most amazing stories.  Glued to his every word, the children would listen intently and absorb the wonder of it all.  One day Grandpa told the story of Bloomers the horse.  Of course the curious minds of the children took over.

What color was Bloomers, one grandchild asked.

Blue, of course, replied Grandpa.  From that day on, the grandchildren shared in eager excitement to hear the tales of Bloomers the Blue Horse.

Bloomers was a horse of courage, strength and leadership.  As the stories were shared from the elder wise man to the young impressionable children, Bloomers was part of the Allied efforts in World War I, World War II, Korea and finally came to his demise in Iraq.  Along the way, he was a fire horse pushing the old fire trucks and my personal favorite, a lead horse on the pony express.

I know you are doing your historic math right now and thinking how can one horse live during the 1800′s and the pony express and not die until the late 20th century?  The answer is easy, because Grandpa said so.  Don’t forget Bloomers was a blue horse so there must have been something magical about him that allowed him to give selflessly during these challenging times in our history.

Grandpa finally passed away one day and with that his stories were silenced but never forgotten.  On the day of his viewing, between the early and late scheduled times, the grandchildren bonded together and went to Walmart in search of a sign.  They looked for something to assure them that Grandpa was in a safe place.  In the toy section (because where else would children go), alone in a little caged shelf was a blue stuffed horse.  They were in awe.  It was Bloomers.  This wasn’t a designer or name brand blue horse.  This was Bloomers.  This was the message sent from the angels.

The children knew what they had to do.  They had to bring Bloomers back to the funeral home and give him to Grandpa.  They rushed up to the cashier and pooled their money together to buy Bloomers so he could be side by side with Grandpa for all eternity.  When they got back to the funeral home, they circled the casket with excitement.  I am sure to most observers this looked a little strange.

Where to put Bloomers?, they thought

They didn’t think his chest worked or by his head so they decided to rest Bloomers right in his hand.  A few minutes later, Grandma noticed and yanked Bloomers out of the casket.  She raised her voice and explained that Bloomers would not be buried with Grandpa,  It was disrespectful she said.

Saddened once again, the grandchildren went outside and sat alone feeling they failed Grandpa.

They didn’t.

Today, Bloomers is with Grandma and it is shared and played with by all the nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren that come over to see Grandma.

Grandpa did end up with Bloomers and every time a child plays with Bloomers, a part of Grandpa is playing right along side with them.

Remember, never stop listening to the stories of our grandparents. They never lie and they tell the most amazing and memorable tales.