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.

There's a Book Report Coming

You may just have to wait for it for a few days. I had told a few readers and friends that I hadn't been feeling very well for the past couple of months. I was pretty sure the problem was related to a drug I was taking to help me quit smoking. Chantix is a ridiculous creation of the drug companies, with all sorts of weird side effects, and only one benefit. It sometimes can help people quit the nicotine habit. I emphasize "sometimes" because I'm not convinced that the manufacturer knows exactly how it works. I'm just here to say that it makes you feel kind of shitty, and not even want to smoke. The good news is that the last cigarette I had was 2 days before Thanksgiving, and the last time I took the Chantix was about a week and a half ago. The bad news is that my symptoms of not feeling well were sort of masked by the effects of Chantix. There was another, more serious, set of symptoms involved that I mistook for the effects of the drug. I had a heart attack last Friday morning. I was incredibly lucky. The paramedics and ambulance arrived quickly. I got to ride "Hot" with sirens blaring in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The people in the ER were waiting for me. The OR was ready. The cardiologist was "in the building". In a very short period of time, they had done a catherization and placed a stent in an artery supplying blood to me heart. A lot of very competent people saved my life. I was doing so well afterward that they released me on Sunday afternoon and I am back at home. No, I don't feel 100%, yet, but considering the circumstances, I can't do much better. I am taking a few days off of work, then gradually ease back into it a bit. With the time off I plan to finish up a book I have been reading on my Nook that will be the subject of a book report for the blog. I don't want to say what the book is yet, but I am enjoying the heck out of it and just need some to finish it up. I am doing fine and will try and finish the book this week. I do have a little extra time, now. There are even some possibly interesting parallels between the book and my own life that may get explored a bit. So, just hang tight and I'll be back soon with a book report.