Giddy Up!

Getting Back On The Horse (Again)

When I stop doing something, starting again can feel strangely foreign.

The things I once did daily—without a second thought—like editing a montage or going to the gym or even marketing my work—suddenly feel like a big, wobbly leap into unknown territory.

I still know how to do them, but the doing part? That’s a different set of muscles. And those muscles have been on hiatus—while I moved, while I took care of health issues, while I dealt with life’s other little curveballs, delays, and setbacks.

Getting back in the saddle isn’t just about dusting off my skills—it’s about wrestling with the inertia that built up while I was away.

• The first time I reopened my editing software after a self-imposed break?
  I could have sworn the interface changed languages.

• That first workout after months?
  It’s going to be brutal.

But here’s the secret: that discomfort is temporary.
It’s simply the price of re-entry.

I’ve been here before. I’ll be here again. The trick is remembering that skill and momentum are like loyal old horses—they might wander if I neglect them, but they always trot back when I grab the reins. I’m clumsy at first. I ache. I doubt myself. But if I keep showing up, the rhythm returns.

Starting again isn’t just about picking up where I left off—it’s a reset. A chance to ride smarter, lean into what works, and ditch the bad habits that crept in before I stopped. That’s why I’m here—in my studio and soon in the gym—shaking off the rust.

Whatever my “horse” is—my art, my sport, my craft, my health—I’m swinging a leg over and getting moving. I don’t need to gallop on day one. I can walk. Then trot. Then canter.

The gallop will come. Giddy up, cowboy!

Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. My progress this week is coming in fits and starts as I finish up some doctor visits and catch up with my sister from another mister while she’s in town on business. Two steps forward, one step back, as my momentum and stamina build.

COLLIDE PRESS is a reader-supported publication.
Please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Patron.

Thanks for reading COLLIDE PRESS!
This post is public, so feel free to share it.

FOR YOUR (SUBSTACK) CONSIDERATION

• Celebrating the Vision of a Groundbreaking Gay Erotic Filmmaker
  (Demystifying Gay Porn)

• "Will & Grace" Changed American Culture… (The Caftan Chronicles )

• What if Death Meant Freedom? (Coach Kevin Martin)

• Nova's Journal (Nova Star-Eyed-Rascal)

---

ON THIS DAY = AUGUST 12

BIRTHDAYS

• 1859 = Katharine Lee Bates = American author and poet 🌈

• 1880 = Radclyffe Hall = English writer and poet 🌈

• 1881 = Cecil B. DeMille = American director and producer

• 1882 = George Bellows = American artist 🌈

• 1907 = Gladys Bentley = American blues singer 🌈

• 1907 = Joe Besser = American actor

• 1910 = Jane Wyatt = American actor

• 1912 = Samuel Fuller = American actor and filmmaker

• 1915 = Michael Kidd = American dancer and choreographer

• 1920 = Percy Mayfield = American R&B singer-songwriter

• 1926 = John Derek = American actor, director, and cinematographer

• 1927 = Porter Wagoner = American singer-songwriter

• 1928 = Charles Blackman = Australian painter and illustrator

• 1928 = Dan Curtis = American director and producer

• 1929 = Buck Owens = American singer-songwriter

• 1931 = William Goldman = American author, playwright, and screenwriter

• 1932 = Charlie O'Donnell = American radio and television announcer

• 1935 = John Cazale = American actor

• 1939 = David Jacobs = American television writer and producer

• 1939 = George Hamilton = American actor

• 1941 = Dana Ivey = American actor

• 1941 = L. M. Kit Carson = American actor, producer, and screenwriter

• 1949 = Mark Knopfler = Scottish-English singer-songwriter

• 1963 = Sir Mix-a-Lot = American rapper, producer, and actor

• 1965 = Peter Krause = American actor

• 1970 = Charles Mesure = English-Australian actor and screenwriter

• 1971 = Michael Ian Black = American comedian, actor, and filmmaker

• 1971 = Pete Sampras = American tennis player

• 1971 = Rebecca Gayheart = American actor

• 1971 = Yvette Nicole Brown = American actor, comedian, and talk show host

• 1972 = Merikukka Forsius = Finnish politician 🌈

• 1975 = Casey Affleck = American actor

• 1992 = Cara Delevingne = English model and actor 🌈

EVENTS

• 1492 = Christopher Columbus arrives in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World.

• 1851 = Isaac Singer is granted a patent for his sewing machine.

• 1865 = Joseph Lister, British surgeon and scientist, performs the first antiseptic surgery.

• 1927 = Wings premieres in NYC.

• 1981 = The IBM Personal Computer is released.

• 1983 = Cujo is released in theaters.

• 1988 = Young Guns is released in theaters.

• 1990 = Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Middle Child Day

• National Vinyl Record Day

---

PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

WILLIAM GOLDMAN

“It’s an accepted fact that all writers are crazy; even the normal ones are weird.”
William Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade

“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.”
William Goldman