So, I got this task, right? Find a “red horse picture.” Sounds dead simple, doesn’t it? That’s what I thought. Just hop online, type it in, boom, done. Grab a coffee.
Boy, was I wrong. You wouldn’t believe the kind of “red horses” you find out there. First, you get these crazy fantasy things, all flames and glowing eyes. Cool, maybe, if I was making a heavy metal album cover, but not for what I needed. Then there are the cutesy cartoon ones, looking like they escaped from a toddler’s TV show. Again, not the vibe.
I spent, and I kid you not, a good couple of hours sifting through pictures. Some were just, like, horses standing next to a red barn. That’s not a red horse, people! Others were so heavily filtered red they looked sunburnt and angry. It was a whole thing. I started wondering if anyone actually knew what a simple, dignified red horse even looked like. You know, like a nice chestnut, but, like, actually red, without being a monster from a nightmare.
- Fire-breathing demons? Check.
- My Little Pony knock-offs? Check.
- Actual, normal-looking red horses? Almost impossible.
This whole red horse chase really got me thinking.
It reminded me of this time I was working on a community project. We were trying to organize a small local festival. Super simple, right? Get some food stalls, maybe a local band, put up some decorations. Easy. The brief was “make it festive and welcoming.”
Well, “festive and welcoming” apparently means wildly different things to different people. One person thought it meant blasting non-stop polka music. Another wanted to hire a professional clown, the scary kind. Someone else suggested we should have a “motivational speaker” talk about “synergy in the community.” I just wanted some nice lights and maybe some good food smells. You know, basic stuff.
The whole planning phase was a nightmare. We’d have these meetings, and everyone would nod along, saying “Yeah, great idea!” Then they’d go off and do something completely different. It was like trying to herd cats. Or, you know, find a specific kind of red horse picture when everyone has their own idea of “red” and “horse.”
We had this one guy, bless his heart, who was in charge of banners. We said “simple, welcoming banners.” He comes back with these things printed in, like, gothic horror font, talking about “The Annual Gathering of Souls.” For a family festival! I almost choked on my coffee. He genuinely thought it looked “epic” and “memorable.” It was memorable, alright, but not in a good way.
It’s always the simple things, isn’t it? The things you think will take five minutes end up eating your whole week. And it’s usually because everyone’s operating on a slightly different wavelength, even when you think you’re being crystal clear. Just like me, thinking “red horse picture” was a straightforward request. Ha!
In the end, for that festival, we barely pulled it together. It was… an event. People came. Some even said they had fun, probably out of politeness. But behind the scenes, it was just a patchwork of mismatched ideas and last-minute fixes. Kind of like my image search folder, full of weird, not-quite-right red horses. I eventually just gave up on finding the perfect red horse picture for that original task. I think I ended up using a picture of an orange cat instead. Close enough, right? Sometimes you just gotta pick your battles.
