I hate to have to take a time out from Modern Buddy, but a family member's serious health problems mean that I will no longer have the time to devote to moderating on this board.
I did have one last thought I wanted to pass on. I haven't posted this before because I was afraid it might seem kind of "heavy" for a generally light-hearted board like Modern Buddy, but I though you might appreciate the following. From time to time, folks have run threads on MB asking, "Why do you ride?" The answers are all about fun and looking cool and saving gas. In fact, that is not the case with me at all. I ride bikes because it's an obsession that began on Christmas Day 1960.
The backstory to this is kind of funny. For years it's been a joke between my parents and I about my riding motorbikes. My folks would lament, "Whatever got you started on this motorcycle thing?" And I would reply, "It was all your fault. You all gave me my first motorcycle and got me started." And we would all share a hearty laugh. My Dad passed away a few years ago, but one day a few months ago my mother and I were joking about this, and she said she had found a photograph of me that Christmas morning on my little motorcycle.
I couldn't have been more surprised (so I thought) and asked her to send the photo to me, which she did. I said I thought I could not have been more surprised, but I was wrong, because when I pulled the photograph out, I realized that it was taken on Christmas Day 1960, when I was three years and two months old. When I saw that, I realized the primary visualization of my life for the past 46 years
has been that orange plastic motorcycle. It's an amazing and scary thought that an a three-year-old could form such a long-lasting and life-changing obsession from a toy motorcycle, but there's no doubt in my mind that's what happened to me.
Note the date stamp from the photo-developing lab in the bottom left corner. Also, note that the body of the bike was orange but all the trim was painted silver which wore off over the years.
And so, the subject of this PM is not "Goodbye," it's "Ta Ta For Now," because I know at some point, somewhere down the line, I'll be rolling down the road on a motorbike on a sunny day with a smile on my face again.
Thanks all.
Sincerely,
John Smith
