Nothing to say....

It's been a few days since my last update.  I try to do at least one update - even if it's something silly or stupid  or just a time waster - once a week.

Yes, me in shorts in December.  Eat your hearts out.

This past week or two there has been little to report.  Nearly all of the riding I've done is back and forth to work, I spent one beautiful weekend on my roof cleaning out the gutters and mowing grass (Yes, even in December you can mow grass in Florida).  In other words, I've been trying to play catch up on the never ending work of being a home owner.  Being on the roof did give me an interesting advantage to observe a family of Cardinals however.   I was also considering accepting another independent job, which would have doubled my monthly income, in the end however I turned it down...sometimes mental health is more important than money.  Still it was nice to be offered the job.

  

Our tree 

We spent an afternoon putting up the tree and decorating it, while various holiday songs played on the computer thanks to Pandora, although I believe that Handel's Messiah was a bit over represented.  The lovely Sue will actually be leaving later today for a week meaning that I will be a free man for a change.  I might have more to write about then, as I consider finishing the Green Swamp ride or a few other places that I've been meaning to go to.

I considered posting something to the challenge laid down by Princess Scooterpie, for I've had some wonderful Christmas pasts and some not so good.  If you ever spent Christmas night eating Chinese food and going to a strip club for something to do, then you know loneliness.

Considering the events at Newtown, CT recently anything that I write seems to pale in consideration.  I can't even begin to imagine the emptiness that the parents must be feeling.  It's put a damper on the Holiday spirit here, and in a way has made the holiday all that more special as families will pull each other closer.  The memories that will be created will be all that more special for those with small children, knowing that despite your best efforts...tragedy can happen in mere seconds.

If any good can come from this, it's knowledge that life really is a wonderful, precious and amazing thing.   I'm lucky to live my life in peace.  I only hope that those who lost loved ones recently - friends and family - can find some peace.  Some hope in the coming days.

A quick one

UPDATES - I just got back from vacation    I'm tired, my ass feels like it's still in motion but overall it was a wonderful time.  It's good to be home.

Bob - my neighbor and friend is still recovering and although its unlikely he will live by himself again, considering how I was saying goodbye to a friend in the last post (and how the family was going to remove life support on Friday) I see his recovery as nothing short of a small miracle.  He was actually smiling and laughing when I saw him late tonight.  Sadly he is still not able to walk or talk but at least he's making progress.  Thank you all however for your kind thoughts and well wishes.  Let's keep that positive energy flowing.

I have some images and thoughts in the back of my head that need to settle first, bags to unpack and laundry to do before this blog can be seriously updated.  Soon I promise.

For Bob - a memorial.

Oct 22, 2012 - A sad day.

My good friend Bob died after a long battle.  He was surrounded by friends and family and passed quietly.  I  will miss my neighbor and friend. His daughter Bonnie is now part of our family.  I think he would have wanted that.  Enjoy tuning that old 52 Chevy my friend.

Bob on the Left, me on the right

Sept 19, 2012 - UPDATE!!!

Bob's condition, while still dire, is getting better.  He's moving about and showing some signs of recovery.  It's still not know if he will make a full recovery.  But it's better than no recovery at all.  Keep the prayers and good vibes coming Y'all!

_________________________________

I am saying goodbye to a good friend because I don't think I am going to get the chance. Well that is not true, on Thursday I will be saying my goodbyes.  On Friday morning I am leaving on vacation and will be out of town to October 1st.  My plans can not be changed.

Bob Bushart is my neighbor and friend and I've known him for about three years now.  He's a few years older than me and suffered from a variety of ailments and issues.  Still though, he was full of life and willing to do anything, try anything and help out where ever he could.  He and I told stories of misspent youth in bars and questionable nightclubs; playing a little game of who was telling the bigger lie.     He was a car guy and very well known in his home town of Rochester, NY and often told stories about how he rebuilt this or that.  I often tried to get him to help with the Burgman.  "Your blind and I'm an mechanical moron" I tell him.  "What possibly could go wrong?"  

A little over a week ago he went into the Hospital to clear a blockage.  Something happened, the doctors are not sure what, and my friend entered a coma.  He is not expected to recover and this Friday, they will be removing him from life support.  Due to circumstances we will not be here when they do that.  I would love to provide a shoulder for his loving daughter during that time.

If any good comes from this it's the knowledge that life really is for the living.  It really is a crazy, beautiful thing and I'm glad that I got to share a all to brief piece of my life with him.

Good bye Bob.   We will miss you buddy.

Looking back and looking forward. 1 year over and done.

I was going to let the one year anniversary of this blog pass unnoticed and quietly.  Then I thought I might project myself 10 years into the future where the Mayans were right...but how the end of the world was basically a bunch of Vegan Zombie's just wanting grains!  And how a time travel kit installed on the Burgie made it impossible to be fashionably late.

Thanks to Aerostich.com

Instead I've been taking stock of all that's happened in the past year to me.  How suddenly and completely expectantly I've become a "rounder", or someone that rides their bike the entire year.  How I intended to eventually replace my car with my motorcycle...I just never expected it to be so soon.

How I have to do a "big job" on the bike - the replacement of the CVT belt (which I finally ordered and have in hand), and how confident I feel that I can do that, thanks to the friendly people at Burgman USA and some video's on You Tube (Thanks Mitch!)

I would also be lying if I didn't admit that lately all I have been feeling better about riding.  Over the last three days I've been able to do some recreational riding.  Just seeing where the left hand turn goes where I normally make a right, or what lies behind that blind curve up ahead.  Commuting back and forth on my bike is good and all but frankly I want to do more with it than just run to the store or to work.  Getting out, even if just for an hour on unexplored roads with the sun beating down in a clear blue sky has done wonders for my soul.

You would not think so...but passing by a farm that was burning something brought back memories of my parents fireplace when I was a young boy.  The wood smoke so thick in the air that I'm tempted to brush it aside like a gauze curtain.  These memories are triggered by smell and is something I don't think I would have experienced in the car.  I had not thought about these things in decades...and then suddenly I'm that young 6 year old boy shivering and wrapped in a towel that want to go back into the water as I catch a whiff of chlorine from a nearby pool.

Or how good some random drops of rain feel on the skin as I ride through the hot air.

All this is part of riding.  There are some unexpected little discoveries as well.  Like an old tattered flag still flying proudly from someone's home which speaks volumes about this political season.  Or a spot I've dubbed the "worlds loneliest train depot"  which is a single chair sitting near a railway bridge which seems so out of place but somehow belongs there.   A strange house that looks like a anthill/beehive in the middle of nowhere which has to be some sort of artists abode.  I stopped to take photos of all these things only to find my batteries were dead...so a trip back is in order.  If I can find them again, some things might only exist in that moment.

All of this comes as a revelation to me.  This reconnecting to the world, what started out as a way to save some cash has turned into something more...something new.  Reminding me that not everything has to be about work and there is always a life outside my door.  Something wonderful.  That philosophic rambling is for another time

I sit here in my house, protected from the first outlaying rain bands of Hurricane Issac that promise a couple days off the bike I count my blessings, drink my hot tea and smile.   Soon, I'll be back on the road soon and seeking new adventures.  Remembering to always check the batteries in the camera and keep my eyes and ears and heart open to possibilities 

Gary B

At 45 years old I am both surprised and saddened by the amount of people I have known that have died.

I was just starting to get to know Gary.  He seemed friendly enough, generous - he gave me a pair of motorcycle gloves and was willing to share his knowledge of the Burgmen's inner workings with me.  Helping me out with my first oil change and checking out the transmission for me.

When he and another friend were out one day, an animal run in front of the other guys bike and he went down on the side of the road.   Not only did Gary take care of his friend, but also the bike...getting it to a safe location.  He had character, something I feel is missing in this world. 

We went out on a few rides.  Over the hills of central Florida...I even had a private nickname for him that I never shared with him; "Mr McTwisty".  The funny thing is he sent me a map of the route a few days before.  I plan on making a memorial ride over that route in a few days in his honor.


His death on Saturday of a sudden heart attack is leaving me feel a little numb, and I can't imagine what his wife and kids must be feeling.  My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Some say that once something is put on the net it's there forever.  That nothing can truly be deleted or disappear.  While my friendship with Gary was all to brief  the effect that he had on peoples lives will never disappear.

The family has established an account to benefit their three children. For details on how to contribute, please contact Autumn York at autumnyrk@yahoo.com.

Ride well buddy.

Feeling homesick this time of year. Riding in the fall.

I always have mixed feelings with the arrival of fall.  Living previously in Western Pennsylvania I was blessed with remarkable colors, cooler nights, football (both the European game and my beloved Steelers), sharp apple cider - either spiked or not, warmed or not.  Egg Nog - again spiked or not and either served with or without chocolate favored whipped toppings.

It was also depressing as the nights grew longer and the days hinted of winter just around the corner.  Where I have always enjoyed working in my yard, raking leaves is a never ending task...perhaps better suited to the horrors of Hades.  I've often wondered if Sisyphus was given the choice of pushing the rock up the hill or raking leaves.  I'm sure he chose the rock.  I will not mention the four letter word starting with an "S" that always replaces the raking of leaves with another back breaking labor.

Now that I live in Central Florida there is a much subtler autumn.  Marked by the migratory arrival of the grey and blue tufted snowbirds, the drop in the Gulf's water temperature from "warm bathwater" to "bathwater" and the cooler days and nights designed for riding.  Although the other day when I rode to work the ambient temperature gauge on my Bergie said "93".   That is "Freaking Hot" for the understanding of my international readers.  When I left work at midnight the temperature was a much more manageable 73 degrees.

When I ride home at night, I normally just throw a sweat shirt on under my bright yellow riding jacket and that is the extent of my winter gear.  I certainly cannot imagine such things as heated pants and gloves and other equipment that many of my northern friends either have or are considering to extend their riding season.  Some I am sure have already started to put their bikes away.

I can picture what it must be like right now in my home state of Pennsylvania, the leaves blazing with color.  Riding at a leisurely pace along the back roads just living in the moment, pulling over in some small road side cafe', where the locals bring their own coffee mugs that hang proudly displayed behind the freshly made pumpkin pie.  I can just imagine what it would be like to put my 400cc Burgie into the twists and turns of my home.

It's not that adventures and twisties can't be found here in Florida.  A simple trip to get gas lead to my going out of my way some 60 odd miles just to ride on a clear and sunny morning, where I passed someone on a 1980's era Honda Elite that looked ecstatic to see another scooter rider.  It's these moments I am starting to realize, is why people ride.   I also begin to feel that the scooter is well suited for me at this stage in my life...where I am more interested in enjoying the journey than rushing from point A to point B.

If this is what growing older is...I can live with it.

Lets take a moment.

I was going to write a big remembrance piece today, about where I was and what I was doing.  Some moments stay with you.

I was lucky, I didn't know anyone that was directly affected when the towers fell...indirectly and profoundly changed yes, but no one who lost their lives or the lives of a love one.  No one that I know suffered the loss of a loved one indirectly either.

Illustrations By Richard Dorgan (Dick Dorgan) U.S.N.R.F. Published in 1918, by Frederick A. Stokes 

Since then, yes.  To war, to accidents...to disease.

On such a day as this I will remember the little things.  Remember how quiet it was, how strangers hugged.  How blue the sky is, and how the song of a bird seemed so sweet at that moment.

I will kiss the girlfriend and hold her tight.  I will call my brother, a volunteer firefighter, and thank him.   I will tell my friends and family I love them.

These are the moments we need never to forget.