Beckmann, who started the service in Seattle, has been a fixture here for more than 40 years. When he first started, the city was a very different place. Nobody had any money. You could buy a house for 20 grand. Training the horses for holiday rides includes first hitching the animals to a wagon and driving them through a field in Issaquah. Over several months the horses are gradually acclimated to rural roads and eventually to the hustle and bustle of downtown city streets.
Beckmann says he was the first horse and carriage business in Seattle and now, 42 years later, he is the only one left. The work is not always easy for the horses. Four years ago, a horse driven by one of his hired drivers slipped and fell. Beckmann explained the animal was tangled up in a harness.
Short story: The End of a Journey | Westmount Magazine
On another recent evening a young couple crossed the street and shouted: Amos, an 11 year-old Percheron draft horse sports horse shoes and pads made of rubber and steel while working the city streets for Steve Beckmann of Sealth Horse Carriage in Seattle, WA. Everything was drawn by horses. People have forgotten all about that. De Blasio introduced a bill last year that would have limited the industry, including a regulation to operate only in Central Park.
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But he lost when the city council chose not to hold a hearing on the proposal. In Seattle, the horse-drawn carriage business is regulated by the City. Steve Beckmann, the owner of Sealth Horse Carriage, has been in business since the s. He once operated a handful of horse and carriages during the holiday season. Now he owns four horses that he boards at his Issaquah farm and one carriage.
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He also earns a living growing strawberries and vegetables that he sells from his roadside stand, Cougar Mountain Farm. The list of pleasant discoveries would begin with the people, some of the friendliest we've encountered anywhere.
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For the most part, the locals have met the gradual influx of expats, especially retirees, with open arms. Many are aware of the boon to the economy that we represent, and are tolerant of our feeble attempts at Spanish. Many of them speak good English, besides. Language, thankfully, hasn't been much of an issue.
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With the exception of electricity and gasoline, expenses here are remarkably low. Taxis will take you from one end of town to the other for 45 cents we don't own a car , and a cold beer will run less than a dollar. We rent a nice apartment that includes a swimming pool, pavilion and a garden filled with fruit trees. Bananas, mangoes, avocados, lemons and coconuts are available for the picking when in season. For those who want something more permanent, property is readily available and easily bought.
A typical day for us might include visits and meals with friends, excursions to nearby attractions, attendance at any number of cultural happenings, baseball games, leisurely walks or simply enjoying our home.
Getting back to health care, we pay out of pocket for all services and medications. He even makes house calls for the same price. Vivian Pellas hospital accepts several international insurance plans but not Medicare and offers two discount plans of its own that, depending on one's age, offer considerable savings.
We often are asked about safety and security. We use common sense and feel comfortable wandering the city's streets at most any time.
The prevailing wisdom is to carry little money, wear no expensive jewelry and use taxis to get around after 9 p. Until that hour, most families have their rocking chairs by the sidewalks after dinner to visit with neighbors and enjoy the evening breeze. The major drawback for us is the heat. Nicaragua has only two seasons, wet and dry, and the temperatures can be oppressive during both. The rainy season runs from mid-May until mid-December and offers little relief.
Then there is the poverty. Only Haiti is poorer among Latin American countries. Nicaragua has a massive lower class—probably over half the population—and very little seems to get done by the government to benefit the poor. A goodly portion of Carol's and my retirement funds go to local charities. Lastly, Nicaraguans are notoriously indifferent to timetables.