Placement Exam?

The last part of March I received my acceptance letter from WKU. I took the Math Placement Exam on Good Friday since I had off of work. What a sham!! I sat down and looked at the test and just had to laugh. I knew almost nothing!! I cast a bleak look at Kris, (she took the test at the same time) shook my head and got to “work”. It’s such hard work to fill in the bubbles on the answer sheet in order for them to look random enough to look like I wasn’t just guessing! But literally, it was a 25 problem test that I had 40 minutes to complete and I was pretty sure I got at least 4 right. I spent the first 10 minutes just looking over the test trying to find something that looked like I could maybe figure it out. I got four of them done, then went back to the beginning of the test and tried to see if something would work out with my limited knowledge and then randomly guessed at the answers. I ended up getting 7 correct so 3 of my guesses were correct. I had to have a 6 in order to get into Intermediate Algebra instead of Basic Algebra and would have needed to get a 14 in order to get into College Algebra. I got a 7 so I was in good shape for Intermediate Algebra although I don’t think I deserved it. So now I only have to take one remedial math class that counts for nothing in the General Ed requirements.

Mom called me this afternoon and told me to go outside and see Martin on his horse. Dad bought the horse a few months back and Martin just got a saddle for it. He saddled the horse up this afternoon and was riding her for the first time. I went outside to see but by the time I got outside he was quite a ways back on our land. Dad & Colton (a little boy that chums around with Martin) came over and we were chatting a bit when Colton said, “Look, the horse got loose”.

Sure enough, the horse was galloping thru the back yard, riderless. She was headed back to the barn and the other 3 horses in the back pasture. We scanned the horizon for Martin but couldn’t seem to find him. Then I saw him toward the back of the property, starting to get up, and then he went back down into the grass. By the time I ran and got my car, per Dad’s instructions, and we loaded up in it, Martin was starting to get back up and slowly walk our way. He got into the car when I reached him and Dad went to the barn to get the horse.

Martin had started the horse back to the house, intending to run her all the way. The horse started to run to the right into the fence so Martin yanked on her bridle to steer her away and when she jerked, the saddle started to curve down her side and Martin fell face-first into the ground. The fall knocked the breath out of him and he wasn’t able to get up right away. I believe he will be good and sore tomorrow. I took Martin back to Mom’s and, after a bit, Dad came to the house with the horse in tow. (Colton has been after Martin to let him ride a horse but on the way back to the house he said, “Martin, I want to ride a different horse”.)

Martin decided he’d had enough for one day but Dad said that he’d like to ride her because “she obviously hasn’t had enough”. Mom & I were both opposed to this idea but he was insistent. Martin had to go back to the field to find one of the stirrups that had come off in the fall and when he got back with it, Dad got up on the horse. Martin let the horse go and she did a little twirl in the yard and reared up. Dad tried to gain control but he obviously has lost his touch with horses. He began to take a dive toward the ground but Martin managed to grab the horse and help Dad before he actually hit the ground. It was a close call tho’. “That’s Enough!!!”, Mom said. And I agreed with her. I don’tthink that Dad can take a fall as well as Martin can. Needless to say, both events gave my heart a jolt so I came back home. If they are going to break their bones, I don’t want to be around to watch it.