Entertaining a Question:

The Decision to Ride

To Ride Or Not to Ride

That is the question

I used to write about this question occasionally, but usually the subject concerned the weather. Was it going to be smart to ride in today's weather. Sometimes I'd be mad because I missed a day of riding because I thought the weather would be bad, but turned out not to be so, or vice versa.

At Burnett's Mound in Topeka Kansas

 But today I'm actually contemplating something different

To Ride or Not to Ride

Period

Ever

In other words, I'm beginning to question whether it is smart for me to ride at all given my health condition.

Like Hamlet, Here's the Rub,

You may not be aware, You may not care, but there are some subtle and sometimes wicked after-effects that result from a cardiac arrest.You might think that it's all about the heart, but the brain can be also affected by a cardiac arrest. A lack of fresh oxygenated blood to the brain during the arrest can cause a lot of symptoms such as memory loss and coordination problems including the ability to perform very basic functions. Some of these symptoms are severe, some minor.

So, what's the problem......

I believe I am continuing to experience some symptoms of brain anoxia (lack of oxygen) that occurred during my cardiac arrest. In my case, it's not extremely serious. I function just fine, most of the time. But 3 1/2 years later, I still have some minor symptoms, and they do not appear to be going away. I believe some of these symptoms affect my ability to effectively operate a 2 wheeled motorized vehicle. I say "might" because most of the time I think I am just as competent as before. But other times I know that I am not as alert, mentally,  as I should be. I am afraid that I might not be able to recognize and react as quickly as I should to certain situations that could be encountered on the road.

And I'm the kind of person that feels that if I'm going to do something, anything, then I'm going to do it right, and safely, and competently. Otherwise I'm not sure it is worth doing at all.

A beautiful day near Eskridge Kansas

So, I'm wondering.......

And it's not easy.

It's a bit difficult to think about it.



I hadn't ridden in about 6 weeks. But 2 days ago I started Max, expecting him to balk a bit because it had been a few weeks since I had even started him. Of course, he started right up on the first touch of the starter. What a good friend he is. And I've ridden the last couple of days to work with no incidents, even got a couple of nice waves from other riders yesterday. Weather has been spectacular. Upper 40's in the morning, maybe a bit cool, but about 70 for the ride home.

It's nice to be riding again.

But in the back of my mind I'm beginning to wonder......

I know one thing.... A long day ride, hours long, is probably out of the question. I don't have the stamina, mentally, to do it anymore. So short trips it will have to be. My romantic dreams of long distance motorcycle touring are probably gone.

I'm not selling Max, at least not yet. It will still be fun to take some fun rides here and there. And when I don't think I can safely accomplish that, well another decision might have to be made. I'm not there yet.

In the Flint Hills of Kansas about 60 miles northeast of Wichita

Ride On and Carpe Diem,my good friends,

And if by chance someday that I decide to cease my riding on,,,,,
I guarantee that I will continue Carpe Dieming!

Finally, The Rain Has Backed Off !

We've been in a pretty bad drought here. It was worse in western Kansas and other areas, but the nearest Army Corps of Engineers reservoir was at 62% of capacity just a few months ago. We get some of our drinking water from that lake and city planners were starting to worry.

We also had unbelievable heat the last 2 summers. Last year wasn't as bad as 2 years ago, but still not fun.

This year though,

Temperatures have not been as hot

and it has rained....

and rained....

and rained....

and rained....

It has had an effect on my riding ability. Now, mind you, a little rain while riding a motorcycle/scooter isn't really all that bad, but I prefer not to. I've said this before: It's not the water that bothers me as much as the lightning. I hate lightning. I have a "thing" about lightning. I might be sort of a "tough" guy, but when it comes to lightning...... well you get the idea.

And the rain we've had was mostly thunderstorms (with, you guessed it, lightning). Storms at all times of day and night. Sort of blowing up at random, raining a bit, then pooping out only to start up again a few miles away. Very unpredictable.

For the past 3-4 weeks it has rained almost every day, at least sometime during the day or night. We might receive 1/4", sometimes 1/2", other times 1", even a few times where we received 2", 3", even 3 1/2" of rainfall. The cumulative effect is well into the double digits of rainfall in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I haven't ridden hardly at all because of this.

Yeah, I know, the people in the pacific northwest will tease me for being a weenie, and I deserve it. But as I said, I have this "thing" about lightning. I hate lightning! I hate it a lot! And if it is raining, I figure that somewhere there has to be some lightning associated with the rain. Here in Kansas, there usually is associated lightning. Hence, part of my justification for not riding much lately.

But the weather forecast this week is, shall we say, much better! Temperatures near normal! Rainfall, nonexistent!

For the next 7 - 10 days!

Officially, the drought has been declared at an end for the immediate area. That nearby reservoir I mentioned is now over 90% of capacity.

I may be able to ride all this week and well into the next week. I don't have to tell you what a positive effect that has on me. I like riding! It's good for me!

Maybe I'll see you on the road!

Ride On, and Carpe Diem, my friends.

I Don't Want a Pickle.....

Here's what I'm feeling right now!

Been Crazy Busy at the Office!

Haven't ridden anything on 2 wheels for at least a week now.

Well the 15th is Monday.
One day shortly thereafter is reserved for a long(ish) bicycle ride.
Another day shortly thereafter is reserved for a long(ish) scooter ride.

Enjoy the Tunes!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvLtNBm1yyA



Ride On and Carpe Diem my Friends!
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Looks Warmer Next Week

Been a little difficult to ride this week. Over 20 inches of snow in 2 storms about 5 days apart. Unusual for us.

The possibility of riding looks much better next week.

Patience!

Ride On and Carpe Diem My Friends!

Thwarted by the Threat of "Freezing Fog"!

Could anything be more ominous than "Freezing Fog"?

It just sounds deadly doesn't it!

It doesn't look awful, but visibility was about 1/4 to 1/2 mile

I was really excited last Sunday. Looking at the weekly forecast on my iPhone App called the "Weatherbug", it looked like I could get a lot of riding in this week. No rain in the forecast and temperatures would be reasonable, at least for February. I knew I had to take the car on Monday for a doctor's appointment, but the possibility of riding 4 days in a row looked good. Real Good!

I rode on Tuesday, a little chilly in the morning, but lovely in the afternoon. A nice and uneventful ride.

You have to understand the workings of parking in my garage at home. If I'm riding the scooter the next day, then Max gets parked behind the "Famous Canadian Subaru", (the one with the heated seats), for a quick getaway the next morning. Otherwise Max gets parked in front of the cars.

So for Wednesday morning, Max was parked behind the Subaru, ready to go when called for duty. Alas, when taking the dog out first thing Wednesday morning to get the newspaper, I opened up the front door to see a pretty thick fog. It was warm out, but foggy. Also not predicted by the "Weatherbug". Now, I've ridden in fog before, but it's not my first choice, (definitely not the wife's first choice) so when it came time to leave for work, I re-arranged the vehicles and took the car.

The tallest building in Wichita from a block away, heavily obscured

Then on Thursday morning the "Weatherbug" predicted fog and rain, and the "Weatherbug" turned out to be 50% correct, there was rain, but no fog. And I've ridden in rain before also, but again, not my first choice, and particularly if it is a cold rain. I hate cold rain! Alas, the car was called into duty again that day, but as I came home Thursday evening, hope was welling up and I paused and re-arranged the garage lineup in order to take Max to work on Friday morning.

All evening long I dreamed about the potential of a glorious Friday morning ride. Well, maybe not all evening long. Okay, maybe I was just momentarily looking forward to it. But, you know what I mean.

View from the "Cage" of a "Scooter in the Fog"
Is that like the old "Far Side" cartoon "Chickens in the Mist"?

So Friday morning arrives (a really nice looking day predicted by the "Weatherbug") and I look outside just before venturing outside with the dog, and what do I see?

Fog!

Not only that, but it's pretty cold outside. The weatherman on the television said that streets could be slick because, you guessed it, the Threat of Freezing Fog!

Oh My!

Not, (gulp), Freezing Fog!

Well, as you might imagine, the "Famous Canadian Subaru" (the one with the heated seats) was pressed into service again. But I was so worked up about it that I took a few pictures. Seems as if other riders braved the elements this morning even if I did not. Out of 5 days in the week, at least I got to ride on 1 day. Better than none, and it is February.

Oh Well, Time to get to work!

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Ride On, and Carpe Diem, my friends!
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A Cold Ride, The Edge of The Fiscal Cliff and a Right Wing Prius

Okay, so I put in all the liners in my jacket and pants this morning. I had been putting this off and with the recent relatively warm weather (Hell, it is almost December), I had been able to survive on the bike without all that extra gear. But this week has been colder, in fact the overnight lows had been in the 20's (wind chills in the teens) and I admit to having wimped out a couple of days on riding to work.

Now I have often thought of myself as a "Rounder" (a year round rider) and unless it is really cold (by my definition, single digits and below), the cold weather doesn't usually stop me from riding.  This morning the temperature was below freezing, but just barely and  it was sunny with almost no wind. Very nice! But I did take more precautions against the cold. I got out the fleece glove liners and even the nylon balaclava. Both liners in my pants and the fleece liner in my jacket. Max started right up like it was any other day. I think he actually likes the cold weather.

The winter gloves with the liners next to my Ride To Work bandana.

And I took out onto the street fighting a bit of fog in my visor, not bad, just a bit annoying. But I had this nagging feeling that I had forgotten something. With all the extra stuff I did this morning to get ready for the ride I knew it was likely that I would forget something, but at that moment I couldn't figure out what it was, and maybe it was nothing anyway.

At one of the first stop light intersections I pulled up behind this little Dodge something or other with a frosty back window. I thought to myself, Fantastic, Not only do I have to watch out for and fight people trying to talk and text on their cell phones, but now I have to watch out for people who are too damn lazy to even scrape off their windows. Oh well, I try a zen moment to calm myself, after all this is is supposed to be fun, and it really is.

And just next to the Dodge was a Prius. And the only reason I noticed it was because of the bumper stickers on it, one of which I couldn't read very well (small print), but the other was a "Fair Tax" sticker. Now it is never safe to generalize about anything and people will always surprise me but I was struck by what appeared to me to be a sort of incongruity between the concept of a Prius and the concept of the "Fair Tax". What I was thinking was that it might be more common for a Prius to be driven by a quote "liberal" person, you know, someone that believes in global warming, wants to save the planet by not using too much in the way of fossil fuels, etc. And then to see a "Fair Tax" sticker which I would associate to someone with more of a right wing sort of conservative bend to their political beliefs. Well it just seemed a bit odd. Probably just me.

Then, as it were, the Prius and I seemed to kind of parallel each other down the street on the way downtown. At some stop lights I would arrive first, at others the Prius would get there first. It was a woman driving the car, but I could never seem to get her to look over at me, she always faced away. (Bitch!?) Then I was thinking, "Okay, who is really trying to save the environment here today?" You in that Prius, at times traveling silently, but probably getting maybe 45 mpg as you move along toward your destination. Or me! Having a blast on my Taiwanese scooter, in cold weather to boot, but probably doing about 75 mpg.

Huh?!   Who's the Environmentalist Now?!

Then I take another deep breath. (Ommmm)

I remembered listening to NPR as I shaved this morning and they were interviewing various people talking about the upcoming "Fiscal Cliff". Now I remind you that I am a tax accountant. I am very aware of the changes that will or will not happen at the end of the year this year. I even spoke at about 15 little mini-seminars about this very subject. And you know what? In my humble opinion, all the politicians are crazy and don't have a clue. Most of them have no business calling themselves statesmen and I really would not be surprised that we just end up careening off the end of the cliff because the silly bastards won't have the guts to do anything about it. And you know what else?!

The world will not end!
Generalissimo Francisco Franco will still be dead!
The Kansas City Chiefs will still Suck!
And I will still try and ride to work on a mostly year round basis.

So There!

Whew!

Oh, the things I think about as I ride to work some days.

And as I arrived at the parking garage this morning and was taking off my helmet and gloves, one of the people who work for the parking lot company saw me and yelled at me about it being "Pretty cold to ride a scooter on a day like today".

I said, "Naah! It's a great day to Ride!"

And it was! And it will be this afternoon when the temperatures are expected to be in the 50's. I might even get hot with all those liners being used.

And then I remembered that nagging thought that I had forgotten this morning. And I realized it was my office keys that I had forgotten. Oh well.....
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Ride On and Carpe Diem, my friends.
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The Parking Nazi

In order not to run afoul of the infamous Parking Nazi at the lot we park at in downtown Wichita, I went over to the office to ask for a sticker for Max. You see, a few months ago, the parking lot was sold and the new owners became very adamant about everybody displaying a sticker on the inside of their windshields so that any parking attendant could walk through the  lot and make sure everybody was valid. Kind of like our present state attorney general, we don't want any illegals parking in our damn lot.

Well, you see, I had a sticker for Monty (the famous Canadian Subaru), but not for Max. I came to the office prepared to do battle and get that precious little sticker for Max. Would they understand? Would I have to show them a cancelled check and proper ID?

I feared the Nazi!

But, alas, my fear was totally unwarranted. He just said, "Here You Go!"

And I was really prepared to fight.

Then the next problem was "where was I going to put the silly sticker?" I don't exactly have a windshield, and what is there is very dark. Nobody will ever see that sticker if the Parking Nazi comes by. So you now see what I did, upside down and backwards on a reflector.

Who cares!  Let 'em sue me!

I actually took the Subaru to work first thing in the morning. I had a dental appointment at 11:00 am and wasn't sure how good I'd feel after the appointment, but knew that if I felt better later, I could still get Max out later in the day.

Which I did!

Max hasn't been downtown in over a year. Oh, I'd ridden him around a little bit here and there, but in very light traffic and circumstances, and only for a very few miles.

I forgot how much attention it takes to ride a two wheeled vehicle on busy streets with everybody seemingly trying to "Get Ya". Oh, it wasn't that bad, but the ride was a reminder to remember SIPDE and other ways of being safe.

My mouth is sore as hell!

But the ride downtown sure was nice. I'm looking forward to the ride home.

In Need Of Gas

 A look at the gasoline gauge on Max a few weeks ago indicated a problem.

Sort of.....

As many of you know, I have not been able to ride lately, for the last almost eleven months actually.

The gear jackets and pants sit forlornly in a closet.

Max has patiently waited in the garage. I have been getting him out every 2-3 weeks or so. Starting him up and riding around the neighborhood a bit. It had been 3 weeks since the last escapade.

I was due. Max was too.

I have been cheating on the driving restriction a bit lately. About once a week I have gone to pick up a carry out dinner. But that's about it.

 We have a winter storm approaching and my wife and I have a rule that we should always have our vehicles filled up with fuel, just in case we get stranded somewhere in a raging blizzard.

And I thought, very wisely I think, that we should fill Max up too. Because you never know when you might be out riding your scooter and get caught in a blinding snowstorm. Wouldn't that be awful?

I even checked the tires. A few pounds needed in both tires.

I laid out the helmet and gloves on the seat. They had been in the top case since January. I was afraid that I would forget how to do the buckle on the helmet. Wasn't a problem. Got the heavier gloves out , but decided that I didn't need the red fleece liners. It was about 50 degrees (something like 14 celsius), an absolutely beautiful day.

I paused to take a reflection picture in the window of the famous Canadian Subaru before I left. The tree in the background is filled with about 400 lights and is quite a scene at night.

It is fairly busy at the gas station. Everybody preparing for the winter storm to come? I didn't forget how to use the pump on Max either.

A whopper of a total there on the pump. The tank supposedly holds 1.9 gals. Hell, I could have gone at least another 20 miles or so.

Once finished, I take off for the local Eddie Bauer store. I had an email that said everything was 40% off. When I got there, I discovered that everything had been marked up 35% the day before.

Oh well, Santa has elves, I have Target!   (supposedly)

For some reason I like shadow and reflection pictures. Above is at the shopping center, below in my driveway back home.

A short ride, but hard to describe how good it felt.

I go see the cardiologist on the 11th of January. Fingers are crossed.

Sincerely hope everybody has a wonderful holiday season.

I Guess I'm Gonna Have to be Patient

Something I am not known for is Patience.

Jack Riepe told me I needed to read something funny. I may have been sounding out of sorts on my blog recently. He suggested a couple of authors, and wouldn't you know it, one of those authors was himself. :)

The other recommended author was Lewis Grizzard, who I remembered from a number of years ago as being pretty funny. So I broke out the Barnes and Noble E reader, connected to the internet and searched for the authors Jack recommended. Jack Riepe didn't turn up on the search, at least not in the form of an e-reader book even though he has a book that you can purchase at his blog site, "Twisted Roads". There was also only one book by Lewis Grizzard in e-reader format. It was called "They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat". With a name like that I couldn't resist, even though at the time I had no idea what the book was about. I ordered it, downloaded it to the reader and started reading immediately. Turns out the book was about the author having had heart surgery about 25 years ago.

At first I was not sure I wanted to read about someone else's heart problem because I had just had some of that myself, thank you very much, and really didn't care to hear more about the subject. But as I read on I began to enjoy the author's lighthearted(pun?) poking of fun at all things medical in nature such as doctors, hospitals, nurses, ex-wives, beer and whatever else seemed to come into his mind, and the book turned out to be lots of fun.

When he was released from the hospital Lewis says the doctor told him not to have sex for 2 weeks and not to drive a car for 6 weeks, or was it the other way around. So, in the end he promised not to have sex while driving for 6 weeks and let it go at that. :)

And hence we get around to the purpose of this little blog post. Me, Driving, or the lack thereof as it turns out.
The last time I drove a car was on the morning of January 21st. I remember that day very well. At about 9:15 that morning I experienced a very classic myocardial infarction. I have not driven Max at least since then plus a few days, and I am not sure exactly when that was. Now my wife in particular and my kids have been very understanding and kind and provided me with transportation when needed. Their generousity has been wonderful. But let me tell you, there is a significant feeling of not being in control of my destiny, and a certain kind of feeling of dependency that exists now because the doctors have suggested that it is not a good idea to allow me to operate a motor vehicle of any kind.

For the first few weeks after it happened, I certainly didn't have any desire to drive. I didn't feel good and was very sore. I didn't do a lot except sleep, read and eat. My chest was very bruised and sore, primarily because two weeks after the original heart attack, I had passed out and they had to perform CPR on me and use those little electric paddles to revive me. I don't recommend going out and having CPR done on yourself just for fun. If done properly, it can result in bruises and sore ribs for many weeks. The idea of CPR is to get your chest to pump oxygenated blood through your body. It works a lot better with the cooperation of your lungs and heart as opposed to an outside force on your body doing the same function for you. It is an aggressive procedure. My wife really got to beat on me for a few moments there, and it was all legal. I can't sue her, according to my attorney. She gets a little twinkle in her eye when she tells people about this.

This little event of passing out and having to be revived actually occurred twice to me. The doctors seemingly don't even have a good name for what it is called when this type of thing happens other than to maybe call it a "sudden death event". In essence my heart went into what they call a fibrillation, a sort of fluttering, if you will, and no good oxygenated blood gets around to the other parts of your body, such as the brain, kidneys, etc. Death can occur in a matter of just a few minutes. Only about 25% of the people that this happens to actually survive it. I feel very lucky.

In essence I was "mostly dead" for a little while there. This has even become a little joke amongst the family around the house. I plan to use this often as an excuse in the future when I might screw up or forget something.

"I'm sorry, I was mostly dead that day!" I wonder how long I can get away with that. (Probably not long) .

Last Wednesday I had a visit with my cardiologist, who, besides the fact that he is leery about letting me drive, is an excellent person and one of the most knowledgable and renowned doctors in the known universe. I am living proof when you get right down to it. They did a sonogram and one of those treadmill tests and the purpose was to see how I was coming along and see how my heart was recovering.

I friggin' Nailed It! Okay, maybe I am not the finest physical specimen ever to walk the face of the earth, but considering what I looked like about 7 weeks ago..........

So, in my mind, we're talking with the doctor afterwards, and I'm thinking, "Where's the Keys?" and "I'm ready to Go!" and "It's been almost 2 months"

Then the doctor said no.

He was nice. He was friendly. He was Polite. He was Firm!

No!

I explained that my blogger friends expect me to come back soon and regale them with tales of my wonderful life on my Taiwanese scooter. He smiled at me and said: Your blogger friends will just have to be patient. You'll have to be patient , too.

Hmmmm.... My first thoughts were about how unfair this was. So I did what a lot of people would do, when confronted thusly, ..... I Googled It!

Damn it, but if there isn't some very good reasons for restricting my driving based upon my own particular circumstances. Just lucky I guess. It's not the physical problems anymore. I feel pretty good although fatigue is still an issue for me. The soreness is gone from my chest. I am very sure I can steer the car and the handlebars on Max without any problems.The problem, statistically (how I sometimes hate that word), is those two little "sudden death" events I had. There is some possibility, (remote) that they just might recur and if I am behind the wheel of a car or on the scooter, then bad things are likely to occur. Insurance companies and trial attorneys hate crap like that. Some recommendations for restrictions on driving might last up to a year for some people. I doubt it will be that long for me, but for now the doctors aren't committing themselves.

So patience I must have. Maybe I should be mad. I'm certinly a little disappointed. But then again, they have some very good reasons. You blog readers may have to be patient, too. Is that possible?

Taking things a little less for granted

On Thursday, a week ago, the recorded low temperature was a record of -17 (F) degrees. The high temperature yesterday, Thursday a week later, was 78 (F) degrees, a 95 degree difference. On Tuesday this week I sat on the back porch of the house with one of our cats. The temperature was in the 60's. There was still snow on the ground, but it was melting fast and I could hear steady drops of water in the downspouts around the house as the snow melted. The dogs were generally lounging around barking occasionally at the neighbor's dog, but enjoying the fact that they could stay outside and enjoy the weather. I sat and listened to the birds and other animals make various noises during their busy day. It was thoroughly enjoyable to sit in the warmth and enjoy the outside weather. I had a book I was reading, but mostly I just sat there and enjoyed the scenery and warmth, the sights and sounds. I had gotten out of the hospital (the second time) last week during the brutally cold weather. I remember the family and the nurses bundling me up before they would take me out to the car and get me back home. I had spent a total of 8 days in the hospital in January and February recovering from a heart attack and some related complications. I now have a stent in one of the arteries to my heart and an implant that serves as a heart monitor and defibrillator should I need it. I had to be revived twice by CPR and "paddles" during my second stay, and it's pretty safe to say that it is lucky I am still around. That's part of the reason I was enjoying the outside weather so much as I lounged on the back porch taking in the sights and sounds of the back yard. Part of me said I should be at the office, there was lots going on there. Another part of knew I am not yet strong enough to go back to work and I should just sit back and relax a bit. That's not easy for me, but I resigned myself to the fact that I really wasn't in any shape to go back to work yet. At age 54, I thought I was a bit young for this to have happened. It's not fair! I had done some things recently to lessen my risk. Thoughts of "Why Me?" occurred to me. Then again, I decided, it's not really worth dwelling upon. Not much I can really do about it now, just deal with it. Eveerybody, including the doctors, say I need a lot of rest. I am not supposed to drive for another week or so. I am not supposed to go back to work for a couple of weeks. Deep down I know they are right. And I know that after writing even this blog post, I will be tired and want to maybe take a nap. I have been sleeping a lot, apparently my body needs it. I was really enjoying my time on the back porch. It was warm. Many thoughts passed through my mind. Many sensations were experienced. None of them earth shattering, but at the same time, very pleasant and rewarding. I sat and listened to some of the cars go by on a busy street not too far from our home. The main streets were clear of snow but many side streets still had some snow. I even heard a motorcycle go by. I was thinking that it had been over a month since my last ride, almost that long since I had last driven a car. I know it will be a little while before I feel strong enough to ride, but the warmer weather has been making me think about it. It may be a couple of weeks yet, and that's okay. I just know that the first ride will be pretty special. I'll really want to drink in the sensations of the ride. In fact, in some way, I think all the of the rides from here on may take on a little added significance. Maybe I will take each ride a little less for granted, and enjoy each opportunity as it comes.

A Road Trip as a Survival Mechanism

A book report on a 50,000 mile road trip

Ghost Rider

Travels on the Healing Road

Neil Peart

The moment I realized I could get this book in e-reader form it was only a matter of time before I would acquire it and read it. I had been reading some mysteries lately and when I discovered this book I knew I wanted to read it. And report on it. For I know very well who Neil Peart is. I didn't know he was also an author. My knowledge of the author goes back to the 1970's. A time when I used to play a little electric guitar. We used to put a record on the turntable, plug in our guitars and play along to the albums. We would dream of playing on the big stage. Most of all we would just have a lot of fun. Sometimes we would nail the music sequences. Sometimes we could hit the 'licks', other times not so much. One of the bands we liked to play along with was the Canadian Rock Band "Rush". I remember a couple of their early albums very well. After more than 30 years they are still Rockin', even though there was a couple of years where they took a break. The author of this book, Neil Peart, is the drummer for "Rush". I didn't know until just recently, that the author had experienced some personal tragedies in his life. The kind of tragedies you wouldn't want to wish upon anyone. First, his 19 year old daughter, his only child, was killed in an automobile accident. Then, not too long later, the love of his life and mother of his daughter died. She officially died of cancer, but as the author puts it, she really died of a broken heart. Damn! Now, I can't begin to even try and understand what I would do in a similar situation. I just hope that nothing like it ever happens to me. But the author, also an avid motorcyclist, decided he would try and deal with his grief by going for a ride. The author thought that maybe riding would help him get his mind off the pain and grief he was experiencing. In an almost Pirsig like expression he talks about how riding his motorcycle causes total concentration and attention to the road in front of him. That would help keep his mind occupied and even lull him into a tranquility caused by the the constant motion and vibration of the motorcycle as the world passed by him. We're talking a lot of miles, hopefully a lot of healing and a lot of months all over the north american continent.

Peart's weapon of choice. A BMW 1100GS

I believe the author calls himself the "ghost rider" in part because of the many demons, memories and monsters that travelled along with him. He mentions that the world around him doesn't seem quite real and that he experienced a disconnect with the world surrounding him.

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In the book, the author really bares his soul, his deepest thoughts and that is part of what made the book so fascinating to me. Some of the book is also a compilation of notes from the road and letters to friends and family during his "self imposed exile". The effect is to make the words more immediate to the moment being experienced and more real to the reader. There's some great stuff here.

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Did I mention Pirsig like phrases?

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"And sometimes there was music playing in my helmet, too, as my mental jukebox transformed the white noise of the wind passing into a soundtrack in richly detailed high fidelity ... When the riding became demanding, the music receded into the background, but when it was just me and the motorcycle on a pretty stretch of road, my brain would turn up the radio."

. Man, have I been there. I constantly have my "music" with me when I ride. There's no stereo on Max, just my mind.

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Part of the book talks about the author's love for literature. He mentions various authors that he admires or has enjoyed. Names like Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Jack London, Sinclair Lewis and even Truman Capote are mentioned in the book. He would buy books in bookstores, then mail them back to his home in Canada to be read later or given to a friend. He even stopped momemtarily in the town I was born, Garden City KS. He was interested in Truman Capote's book "In Cold Blood" about the murder of a farm family occuring in the late 1950's. He wanted to stop by and see if he could find the farmhouse of the Clutter family. He did.

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I took lots of notes as I read the book. I enjoyed it that much. The subject, yes, is a bit gloomy, but the insight into his mind is fascinating. At one point as I read, I imagined how the end of the book would turn out to be. The author gives a couple of hints. In a silly fashion I imagined sort of a Hollywood type of ending, which of course didn't turn out to be the case. The issues were much deeper than my mind was envisioning at the time. The ending is maybe a bit peculiar, but as I think back on it more and more, the better I like it.

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A final conclusion I drew from the book is that life is just what it is.

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It Just is, Deal With It!

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Alex Lifeson on the left, Geddy Lee in the center and the author, Neil Peart, in the background to the right.

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They first played together as a trio in 1974, the year I graduated from high school.

I just really like their "sound". I always have. I'm not sure they are the greatest rock group ever to be, but three and a half decades later, they still tour and play together. I have never seen them in concert and had a chance to this year, but we had already bought tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band (who rocked the house, btw), and the family budget for attending concerts isn't unlimited.

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But I will tell you that I have a little CD player at the office and the "Rush" CD's get played as much, if not more than a lot of the other CD's I have.

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I highly recommend this book for a bunch of reasons. Motorcycles, Rock n Roll, philosophy and life. How good can it get.

Max Takes a Few Days Off

It had to happen sometime. We haven't had any snow this year, until Sunday and early Monday morning.

That's great for riding. Last year I had already missed out on a number of days. This year I haven't missed much..... until this week.

We woke up to this on Monday morning:

If you look close you can see tracks out to the treee. One of our cats always thinks he will want to go outside for the day even when it snows, but eventually changes his mind and comes back inside. This morning he went out to the tree and back, then decided it wasn't worth it. Too cold on them paws.

Max is safe and sound in the garage with his new cover that he got for Christmas.

Now you might ask why Max uses his cover even though he is safely in the garage. Well, it's partly because of the cats. They like to sit on his seat and you don't know how many mornings I come out to find cat hair on my seat.

There was about 3" of snow, not really a lot, but more was possible during the day on Monday. Schools were cancelled in some parts of Kansas, but not in Wichita. But the streets had not been plowed and travel was very slow on Monday morning. There were the usual accidents. Wichita has a plan regarding accidents in these conditions and they call it "EARP", the emergency accident reporting plan. In effect it says that if there is a fender bender and nobody is hurt and no one has been drinking, then just exchange insurance information with the other driver and fill out an accident report at the police substation later in the day.

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I drove "Monty", the famous Canadian Subaru, (the one with the heated seats) to work. We didn't have any problems, but don't think I got out of second gear except for a brief moment or two. I followed a Volvo sedan downtown for much of the way, I noticed the car had a "Ron Paul '08" sticker on it. Don't they know that the election was 2 years ago? And he didn't even make the finals?

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Thw weather is supposed to turn very cold this week, so the snow may stick around for awhile. Usually, with a snow like this, it's gone in a few days. Maybe I can ride again later this week, but I sort of doubt it.

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Oh well,,,,,,

Safe Crap

You can always do "safe crap"! Where's the challenge in that? Anybody can do "safe crap". If there is no risk involved, then why do it and where's the fun? These phrases were overheard on a recent Saturday afternoon when my wife and I went to a small lake in the area to help out our son. He is a high school cross country coach and he had helped arrange for his team to do a sort of mini triathlon at the lake. They needed a little help with manning some water stations for the athletes. We volunteered. It was a really hot day. Temps in the 90's, Humidity was almost unbearable. Swimming, then Bicycling, then Running. The distances were reduced because of the heat, but it was still grueling. The athletes did great in spite of the weather conditions, but it was obvious that the heat was having a detrimental effect. There was some discussion about the sanity of trying to do a triathlon under these conditions. Why couldn't they pick a better day? Well, you can't always pick the weather you want, especially in Mid-July in Kansas. Then I overheard somebody respond by saying that "You can always do safe crap". I mean, why would anyone even attempt a triathlon. It really can't be all that much fun. Maybe the motivation lies in the challenge. Then why would you complicate it by adding in a dangerous element, 100 degree heat. Maybe another part of the motivation is the danger involved. A rough quote from one of my favorite movies, "A League of Their Own", that stars Tom Hanks and Geena Davis, goes like this: Baseball is "hard"! It's the "hard" that makes it great! If it was "easy", everyone would do it! When I heard the statement about "safe crap", I thought about motorcycling. Some of us may actually like motorcycling partly because there is some element of danger involved. Safe and easy? Not entirely so. There are a lot of other reasons to enjoy riding as well, but you can't ignore the feeling that there is some challenge to it. Some people may lead their lives hoping to avoid danger. They might be the kind of people that would mention, at lunch, sort of in passing, that there sure seemed to be a lot of bad motorcycle accidents recently. The comment would seem innocent but you know it was directed at you. They don't come right out and say that they think you are an idiot for riding, but ......... Those people would also not go for a run in 100 degree weather. They would wait until later when it cooled off, go to the club, or maybe not go at all. You won't catch many of these people on a motorcycle. They consider it just too dangerous even though they would probably enjoy the hell out of a ride if they went on one. The observation is that there are some people willing to take some "calculated" risks in their lives. Maybe they will occasionally do something unusual or out of the ordinary. Maybe they are more prone to accept challenges. Other people seem to be just the opposite. They seem to always avoid risk and endeavor to always do what might be considered right, safe or predictable in all circumstances. I am not saying one way is better than another. But I do have an opinion about who is "living" and who may be just "surviving". I, for one, admire people that accept and respond positively to challenges. Those high school students on that day sure earned a lot of admiration from me.

It Might Rain, Or Maybe Not

To a commuter like me, sometimes there are days that you didn't ride to work and wished you had. I am serious about trying to commute to work with the scooter every day I can. Cold or hot weather usually doesn't stop me from riding. Some days the weather totally defeats the possibility of riding. Snow and ice are obvious reasons not to ride. Light rain I can handle, but I prefer to avoid thunderstorms, (I'm very afraid of lightning). We can regularly get some pretty violent thunderstorms here on the plains. Then there are days that the weather forecast might not look so good. On those days you might second guess the prediction of the forecasters. Maybe it's a day where the morning ride looks good, but the afternoon ride looks iffy. Or vice versa. Do you chance it? I sure hate those days when I decided not to chance it and the weather turned out to be nice. Some missed opportunities. Of course there are also days when the weather prediction looks good, but a surprise storm develops and you get caught in weather that you would rather have avoided. Can make for an interesting situation and possibly an exciting story. I personally don't get too crazy, but I do sometimes like to "push the envelope". Maybe I decide that the weather people don't have a clue. Sometimes the decision to get crazy and "go for it" just depends on whatever mood I am in. And then I fully admit that there are at least a very few days when I just don't feel like riding to work even if the weather cooperates. The reasons can vary. Sometimes I "wimp out" from just feeling lazy. Some days I might be tired (physically or mentally). If I'm tired, I get concerned about how alert I will be while riding. I seldom "wimp out" though. And on iffy days I am generally cautious. But riding energizes me. There is almost always at least a little rush of adrenaline. It's a great way to start and end a day. I hate to miss out on a ride. Hell, maybe I'm just preaching to the choir.

Watch Out, Out There

Recently, I had a couple of scary events while riding or driving that have caused me to ponder a bit about rider safety "out there" on the road. First: I was riding home on the scooter. It's about 10:00 pm. It's a 4 lane street and going the opposite direction from me was a motorcycle and a car almost side by side with each other. The motorcycle was in the curb lane. No big deal, really, but suddenly I hear the motorcycle engine roar and the rider does a wheelie for about 20 yards or so. Almost right in front of me. Startled the crap out of me. Didn't expect that at all on a somewhat lazy ride home at night with seemingly little traffic. We passed by each other and nothing bad happened except for a little jolt of surprise on my part. But as I rode on I wondered a bit about what might have happened if the other rider had screwed up the wheelie and maybe caused the car to swerve, possibly into my lane. How would I have reacted? I was being alert, but this was so totally unexpected. Made me think. . Hmmmmm. Second: The next afternoon I am driving the famous Canadian Subaru. We were on a two lane highway and we were executing a somewhat lazy left curve at about 55 mph. There was a car on my right, stopped at a driveway, waiting to make an entrance to the highway. I saw it early on and sort of kept an eye on it. There had been some traffic coming from the opposite direction. Unbelievably, the car pulled out on to the highway right in front of me making a left turn onto the highway. Thank God for a good car with anti lock brakes. I actually had to swerve to the right and drive off the road a bit, onto some grass and across the driveway. I ended up driving behind the car that had pulled in front of me. I don't think I could have stopped completely in time, but was able to successfully make the maneuver around the car and avoid an accident. I saw the face of an elderly looking lady very briefly as we passed by each other. There was some fear in her eyes as she was realizing that I could have easily plowed right into the driver's side door. But no accident. Just a fairly close call. As we drove on, I thought about my reaction. I thought I had done well in avoiding a potentially serious accident. I then considered what might have happened had I been on the scooter instead of in the car. The scooter does not have anti lock brakes. I was real glad I had them that afternoon. And the scooter brakes are decent, but not as good as the brakes on the car. I know that and try and take that into account as I am riding. Then I also thought about the maneuver I made and how different it would have been with the scooter. The grass could have been much more of a potential problem for the scooter. I wondered if my reaction riding the scooter would have been as good as my reaction was in the car? I'd like to think I would have been planning ahead a bit further on the scooter and been going a bit slower in the situation. You know, SIPDE. Also. I'd like to think that I would have handled the braking differently knowing to avoid allowing the brakes to lock (particularly the front) and potentially causing a skid. But again, this entire scenario was so surprising and unexpected. Hmmmmm. Third: That night on the news there was a report of a traffic accident near town where 2 people died and a motorcyclist was severely injured. The accident apparently involved a car crossing over the median on a separated roadway and striking another vehicle on the other side. A mother and her 10 year old son were pronounced dead at the scene. It sounds like the motorcyclist avoided the collision, but apparently laid the bike down in his effort to avoid the incident. A car suddenly crossing a median on a separated roadway is not something that I would normally even remotely anticipate. Let's hope the motorcyclist gets better soon. Let's also hope all our riding stays serene, ordinary, with little traffic and courteous drivers. But can you ever predict everything? Particularly when another driver does something really unusual and totally unexpected? Hmmmmm

Averages? Smaverages!

Ahhh, those weather people. On average we get about 13" of snow each year. We have had about 11" so far this year. On average the middle part of February has high temperatures of 45 to 47 degrees, with lows about 25 degrees. Not This Year! It has been much colder. For some reason I seem to feel obligated to take a picture of Max next to a pile of snow that has been moved around to clear a parking lot. I took a picture like this last year too. I wasn't able to ride to work at all last week, until Saturday. We had about 4" of snow early Monday that didn't melt off very fast. On Saturday though, most of the snow had cleared. It was in the 20's on the way to work, but about 50 degrees for the ride home. Nice!!! My sister in law lives near Washigton DC. They got about 30" of snow in the first round, and she sent me a couple of pics by email. Then that 4" snow we had was the precurser to another 10" for her and her second email to me began with "WTF"! I don't think she can even open up her front door. Maybe I should not complain about the snows we have had. What gripes me though is that we have had 4 small snows this year and each one has taken a long time to melt. I was able to ride a lot more last winter than this year. Oh Well!

Mini Max likes to ride too.

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Near our house is a busy street. With temperaures like we have had after a snow, a little melting occurs during the day, but then re-freezes at night. There is a low spot on that busy street that gets wet during the day as snow melts. Cars will splash the water for a block or two, which then turns into an ice rink later that evening. There have been some pretty mean car accidents. Wichita is very flat generally and this scenario repeats itself all over town. The point is that even though the streets appear to be generally clear, sometimes you never know.

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Then there is sand! Well I have learned to deal with that pretty well. Be careful where you put your feet down though. That can be very sandy too. I almost slipped and dropped the scooter last year when I put my feet down in some sand. Learned to watch out for that very quickly.

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Here's Max parked at the office. Looks slick, but really wasn't.

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The paper is really starting to fly at the office these days.

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The weather looks better for riding this week. That will help me.

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Why? . Because I am more awake when I get to the office after riding. I can still feel the need to wake up when I drive the car to work. I feel more ready to "get at it" after a ride.

Sunday Morning Thoughts

It is supposed to rain and then change to snow today, Super Bowl Sunday, and expecting maybe 5-6 inches by tomorrow evening. We'll see. May not be riding for a few days. Didn't ride at all this week. Snow first of the week, and took awhile to melt away. I decided to make coffee.

My thoughts turned to a couple of events of the past week. First, Conch had posted a link on his blog to an article about money and influence peddling in congress. Second, the author of that article was on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS the next night along with a Libertarian. Then finally, again on TV , last night was the renowned Sarah Palin speaking to the tea party convention in Nashville.

Hmmmm. Lots to digest from the week.

Liberal views, Libertarian views, conservative views.

What do I think?

I'm not a big fan of Sarah Palin. There were some things she said that made perfect sense and I couldn't disagree with. Washington is dysfunctional, etc.

There were other things she said that I cringed at. The politics of fear that terrorists are constantly out to get each and every one of us.

The tea party could be an interesting movement, but I think it is doomed to be a fringe movement within the republican party, unless it does a few things different.

For one thing, I saw only white people in the audience. And they still are very republican party oriented.

But to me, the frustration with Washington is the fault of both parties. Congress is essentially for sale. Votes can and are being bought all the time. Both parties are at fault. And corporate interests have become more important to congress than the intersts of simple human beings.

Sarah does a fairly effective job of tapping into that frustration. People stood and applauded many times during her speech.

My frustration is that I am simply not real impressed with people who complain about everything, but do not offer up new potential solutions. The tea partiers are like that to me. To them it is like their way or the highway.

Hell, the democrats aren't much (any) better.

A lot of different types of people (liberals, conservatives, green, yellow, etc) are disenchanted with how things work in Washington these days. Is there more common ground than most people think there is? Or is the big money able to keep that concealed for their own advantage.

I have a brother that lives in Finland. We sometimes use Facebook to communicate with each other. He says that Finnish people generally like America, but not real impressed with what we did in Iraq.

Sometimes I wonder about the good old USA.

We are nearly bankrupt. Our leaders are for sale. Action on problems seems incredibly slow.

If I moved, where would I go? Canada? New Zealand? Australia?

It is a lot to consider over Sunday morning coffee. Ahhh, maybe a little too heavy for this day. Jayna had a birthday this week, hence the flowers. We are planning soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden for lunch with all of the family. We get together almost every Sunday for a meal together. We will probably take in the Super Bowl later today too. I didn't get in much riding this week, but the week before I was able to ride every day to work. With the predicted snow today, it may be a few days again before I will be riding to work. Sometimes I think my life partially revolves around my decisions to ride or not to ride to work. Occasionally, thoughts about the world, politics, health care, philosophy, tax laws, religion and other sundry matters cloud my mind. I admit to not being able to provide all the solutions to the problems of the world. Just maybe some opinions. The decisions to ride or not to ride are a little simpler. Tech notes. All pictures today from new blackberry (3.2 mp camera). First post from home with the new laptop. Somewhere in the neighborhood is a free wifi link. I am not complaining. I just hate to pay for stuff that I can get for free.

Profiting from Misfortune

Please imagine the following courtroom drama. Yes, Your Honor, the car came from nowhere and made a left turn right in front of me. I barely had time to hit my brakes. The last thing I remember is seeing the car a few feet in front of me and looking deep into the driver's eyes. The look on his face was full of horror, surprise, guilt and remorse as he realized that he had screwed up big time. Even though I was only unconscious for a moment or two, it seemed like days, Your Honor, before I really felt fully conscious again. I still have trouble remembering things, What was your name again? And the pain! You have no idea the suffering I have endured. My hip caused me excruciating pain for months because my left leg was nearly jerked from the socket. And my shoulder, even months after the collision, still reminds me of the incident with frequent sharp pains and stiffness. Yeah Well..... Even though this is somewhat of an exaggeration of the injuries I sustained in my accident back in July, certain attorney friends of mine said that these were the types of things I should say to any insurance company adjuster that might be interested. It was almost a personal injury attorney's dream scenario. I probably could have pursued it even further than I did, but somehow, it didn't feel right. Hell, I was negotiating with my own insurance company. But the legal and financial stars were aligned, the cage driver admitted fault at the scene of the accident and he had no insurance. This combination of circumstances might not sound good, but under Kansas law, I soon became aware that I was entitled to various benefits that I was (1) not really aware of and (2) not really all that interested in, (at the time). I eventually became much more aware of the meaning (legally) of the concept of "Pain and Suffering". Then they started trying to throw money at me. To shut me up? I was confused. What was I to do? Refuse? My attorney friends said they would be glad to help me out (30% fee). But I thought I could handle it myself and knew that If attorneys got involved, it would just take longer to close the "case". It had already taken close to 5 months. I truly was more interested in just getting healthy again. The injuries really weren't all that bad. Yeah, I was banged up a bit and pretty sore for quite awhile. At age 52 recovery from something like that takes a but longer than I care to admit. But there eventually came a point in time when I could sense that the insurance representative was speaking a little more in a posturing sort of legalese. Ever been there? Sometimes it was what she said, sometimes what she didn't say. It was getting a bit wierd. After all wasn't she supposed to be on my side? Why was I starting to get the feeling that our relationship was beginning to be a bit more adversarial. Getting the medical expenses paid was never really an issue and I even refused to do some other tests that one doctor recommended because I thought they were unnecessary. The scooter was repaired long ago, mainly just some scratched body panels to replace. But they damn near insisted that I take some money for "Pain and Suffering". And no, I am not kidding. My attorney friends advised me that I could easily ask for a little more than what they initially offered. I did ask for more $. They didn't bat an eye and agreed immediately. I really wasn't trying to screw anybody, least of all my own insurance company. Apparently though, this money comes from a pool of money that lots of insurance companies contribute to by re-insuring themselves with other companies. So, in effect my insurance company may be writing the checks, but this money really comes from all of us who have ever paid a premium. So I thank you one and all. Darn near like winning the lottery. It's really not a lot of money, I am not retiring tomorrow, but it is sort of a profit. I didn't realize that riding a scooter could be so lucrative. I would really rather that it not continue in that manner in the future. The current legal environment in this industry apparently makes insurance companies do certain things to make people go away and avoid lawsuits. Good or bad, right or wrong, it is just the way things are. I didn't anticipate the possibility of receiving this money. At the same time, it actually bothers me a little bit. The attorneys say I should take the money and enjoy it. But somewhere, somehow, in the back of my mind, I feel like I am taking unfair advantage of somebody, possibly everybody. Ahhh, the money isn't all that important. It has just been a bit surprising how the negotiations and final settlement all turned out in the end, five months later. The worst part of the final part of the process was recalling the memories of what happened on that day. It wasn't exactly fun. I really don't think the money makes me feel much different or better. Maybe I am supposed to feel better now that I have been paid off, so to speak. But somehow, the bad memories of what happened outweigh the receipt of cash. Then again, it isn't taxable!

Decisions Regarding Snow

We don't get a White Christmas very often. When we do, it can be very special. This year we did get some snow on Christmas eve. Just a couple of inches, but it was accompanied by very strong winds and very cold temperatures. There were some drifts of 8 inches or more and places where the snow didn't even cover the ground or streets because it just blew somewhere else. It did however make for a nice scene on Christmas day. As I left for work on Monday I was faced with our street looking like this. Not a good day to ride, no matter how badly I wanted to.

The main streets were relatively clear, but even after a couple of days there were patches of ice and snow on the main streets.

Max was again forced to spend another day (or two) in the garage. He is not happy about it.

So even though the weather conditions do not make it good for riding, there are other alternatives.

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Mom in her fuzzy Crocs, I in my slippers, curled up in a blanket, fireplace going and watching a movie on the television.

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Things could be worse.

On Christmas day, this varmint appeared. More to come on this development.

Crocs in Kansas?

Native American Spirituality for the Holidays

The day before Thanksgiving I had a few errands to run and of course, I took the scooter. The sky had threatened to rain a bit, but didn't, and the temperature was in the low 40's. The sun eventually came out and it was a beautiful day to ride. One of my errands was to attend a civic club meeting at lunchtime. The club I belong to normally meets on Fridays, and we weren't going to meet this week because of the holiday. So, as we have done in past years, we meet with another club on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The guest speaker that day was a Native American Storyteller. He has for many years told stories using oral traditions passed down through many generations. I assumed he would talk about the first Thanksgiving with the pilgrims from a native American standpoint. And that is part of what his talk was about, but there was a little more to it than just that. Native Americans have a very interesting, unique, and in my opinion, a very wonderful sense of spirituality. They have a keen intuition about our planet and all of its inhabitants. Life, in all its forms, is very sacred to them. The Storyteller started off by talking about the animal kingdom. Of course all the animals had the ability to talk with each other. The animals were having a meeting and discussing, of all things, water rights. Some of the animals were a bit perturbed because the beavers had put up a dam on the river and blocked some water flow.

The fish downstream said they could not swim as easily because of the dam. Other animals wanted to use some of the water for irrigation purposes. The discussion went on and on, but eventually some progress was made and compromises were made to everybody's satisfaction.

During this discussion, however, a small argument developed between a Grizzly Bear and a Turtle. The Grizzly was bragging about how fast he could run. The Turtle was boasting about how fast he could swim. Then they said they could outdo each other and eventually challenged each other to a race.

Now, you can imagine that this is similar to the fable about the tortoise and the hare, and it is, but with a twist. They had a bit of a problem in deciding about how to do the race, because it was beginning to be wintertime and the river had frozen over. How could you tell how fast the turtle was going underneath the ice?

They solved the problem by cutting some holes in the ice at regular intervals. The turtle could pop his head up through these holes and let the others know where he was. The Grizzly would just run along the bank of the river. To make the story short, the Grizzly obviously had a huge advantage, but was lazy and overconfident. He would stop occasionally to scratch his back against a tree. Or goof off when he felt like it. The turtle made slow but smooth progress down the river. You could occasionally see the turtle's head popping up in the holes. The turtle eventually got to be ahead of the Grizzly and eventually the turtle won the race. There was much surprise that the turtle had won, but much rejoicing also. The turtle was carried off on the shoulders of some of the other animals and a little party ensued. Eventually the celebration died down and the turtle made his way home and was greeted by the rest of his family. The family members gave each other high fives and hugs and laughed out loud, for they all knew one thing. They had all been in the river that morning, each of them assigned to a particular hole in the ice, and each had poked his head out of the hole at an appointed time. The Grizzly never stood a chance of winning the race. Now there are many potential morals to the story such as outsmarting your opponent, perseverence, etc, but the Storyteller's point was how important it was for families to stick together and support each other. At the holiday time of year as families get together for celebrations, this is a fun story to recall no matter what tradition or background your family comes from. And that diversity of backgrounds was part of his point. The early Thanksgiving celebration was not so much a celebration of a harvest, as much as it was maybe a celebration of diversity: the ability of two so different peoples to be able to get together and celebrate something very meaningful to both of them. He ended his discussion with a reminder that families are important to everybody. He emphasized that we are all human beings regardless of our religion, skin color or other potentially divisive way of identification. There is common ground between us all. I wish everybody a happy and joyous holiday season regardless of how you choose to celebrate it.

Stay Warm And Ride Safe!