The New Billy

When I was little I asked for a rocking horse for my birthday one year. That is all I wanted. According to my Mom I even had a name picked out - Billy. Of course, it was one of the not-dangerous-at-all-for-the-time-but-now-you-can't-buy-type of rocking horses that are all plastic with the heavy metal springs. Billy the Horse was set out to pasture in my parents' storage room years ago, but privately, I still pet it and say "Hi, Billy" every time I'm in the basement. My Billy looks a lot like this:

Tony now has his very own Billy. (Of course, he is free to name him/her whatever he likes, but I'm always going to be partial to Billy.) Grandma Mary spotted it at the hardware store. It was a must-have. One of the many ways in which this horse is different is that it makes noise! Tony is fascinated by the clippity-clopping and naying. The snort at the end threw him for a loop, though. As you can see, it took a bit for Tony to warm to "Billy," but they soon became friends.