I find a challenge in whittling down an idea to the fewest possible letters and spaces, especially if I'm paying by the line.

Recently, I decided to donate an ad in the Des Moines Register to the Iowa PtHA (Pinto Horse Association) to increase publicity of our splashy Pintos in preparation for the coming National show in Iowa.

I wanted to say, "Increase your foal's value. Breed grade mares to registered Pinto stallions. For a free list of all the registered Pinto stallions in Iowa, write to Sandra Hugus, Secretary of the Iowa Pinto Horse Association, RR 2, Box 98, Toledo, Iowa, 52342."

Then I found out that each thirty letter and space line was going to cost me $1.05. I had SEVEN lines of information.

To cut down, first I decided to leave out my name and title, since the mail would reach me anyway. Then I abbreviated "Iowa", "registered" and "association". Next, I decided that I could tell them what registry it was afterward and left that out. Those who already knew anything about it would know which registry it was because I used the word "Pinto", not "paint".

Then I started looking for shorter words that would still get my idea across. I changed "increase" to "up" and "stallions" to "studs". I tried to leave out all the punctuation I could without making it unreadable. I used a - instead of a period and two spaces to connect similar ideas. I changed "your foal's" to "foal" and "grade mares" to "grades", and "In Iowa" to "Ia. reg. Pintos".

I read through it again and left off everything not absolutely essential, and ended up with "Up foal value-breed grades to Pintos. Free list Ia. reg. Pinto studs. RR 2, Box 98, Toledo, IA." May the post office forgive me - I deleted the zip code. I would have left off the "IA", too, if there hadn't been a "Toledo, Ohio" that was so well-known.

I wound up with three lines of type and was satisfied, so I called the operator. The lines were busy, so she was to call me back in five minutes. I sat by the phone and finally decided to try, "Up foal value by gradeXPinto," but as I was trying to count to see if it would help, I was connected.

I had the feeling that in another ten minutes, I would have been down to, "Breed. Call (515) 484-4862."

(Editor's note: somehow I have the feeling I have just given Sandra an advertisement in Pinto Horse for free! However, I am sure our readers have been faced with Sandra's problem themselves, and I couldn't resist sharing this laugh with our Pinto Horse readers. Thanks, Sandy!)

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