Catching up on my reading.

Without going into to much detail, I started to feel ill the last day of my mini-vacation.  By Tuesday, a day when I traditionally run one of my routes, it turned into a full blown flu.  When I called off from my normal job on Wednesday, my supervisor did not recognize my voice.   It is only today, Saturday, that I am starting to feel more like my old self.

Needless to say my riding experience this week was confined to reading blogs and the wonderfully written "The Ghost of Scootertrash Past"  by Mark Tiger Edmonds (originally published in March of 2003).   Mr Edmonds is actually an English professor at nearby St Leo University.  Which means that at one time or another I've probably waved at him on my scoot.  I got the feeling from reading "Scoottrash" that he's not the type to wave back.  Not because my choice of ride is a Kymco scooter, it's just because Edmonds comes off as a bit of a curmudgeon.  He's got damn more important things to do than to wave back at some damn fool.

I learned about this book from the In The Desert Scootin blog and frankly picked up this book when I saw it at my local library.  You can read his review of the book here.   I was not that far into it when the following quote hit me like a ton of proverbial bricks; "You ain't got to decide but two things, Boy. You got to decide what's important. And you got to decide what it's worth. And then you're done deciding, and you can get up off your ass and get to it."   Rough, ready and to the point.  I think I'm going to like this guy.

The problem is that as I continued to read the book his writing style started to grate on me a bit.  He be waxing poetic about the Oregon inlets one moment then off on a tangent about Waitresses.  Then a line or two of pure brilliance....then I have to wait for something, anything to catch my attention again.  I know I may not be fair here, reading while I was sick an all.

A book should grab you, force you to not want to put it down.  Sadly with Scootertrash, I had to force myself to pick it up at times.  The book does have some fun moments.  One of my personal favorites is where he and a friend are riding through south Florida in the heat of summer when suddenly "[A] chipmunk broke from the cover on one side of the road and ran across it.  We both came to an abrupt halt right there in middle of the remote thoroughfare.  To begin with, chipmunks are not native to this part of Florida.  Secondly, this on was about three feet tall and scampered on its two hind legs.  And it was wearing what appeared to be smaller chipmunks on its feet."  He describes seeing a skunk follow the chipmunk and the unmistakable sound of Disney like cartoon music with someone screaming "You are all HAPPY animals."

"I feared," Edmonds writes, "this was the dreaded flashback we heard about."

It's a weird, wonderful and completely unexpected moment that a rider might actually come across. It's moments like this, when he writes about what he sees and experiences; be it a shooting star or a moon lit rainbow that Edmonds is at his best.  The people, the places - be it a cheap motel room or a dive bar out in the middle of the sticks don't really stick out.  These things are just secondary and at times annoyances to him.

At times the prose does demand to be said aloud, Edmonds is a well known poet, and parts of the book will send a chill down your spine with the beauty of the open road and this thing called America.  I agree 110 percent with the Desert blog on one point.  One passage of this book is more like a spoken word poem as he and a young lady discuss their views of the road...in this case Edmonds playing the bad guy.  “She giggled and asked about the sunshine and unfrozen rivers and flowers and birds and butterflies in the air. She asked about alligators and the Southern Cross and the Spanish moss. And she wanted to know about manatees.
But I told her about the heat and the cold, about just getting' old, and about thousand mile days. I tried to tell her about border towns and local citizens' frowns and about how the highway will wear you down out there between the Mohawk Valley and Tampa Bay.” (Seriously - read that last bit aloud).

By the end I was not disappointed.  I was not that satisfied either.  The book didn't really make me want to go on a "long ride."  Maybe because I seek out what he seeks out.  An experience, a chance to see something new...something unexpected and wonderful.  I think that is what most "serious riders" want - and yes, I'm including myself in that group (that's another post for some later date).  

In the end it's a good travel book, but you really don't need to be on a motorcycle to enjoy the sun rise over a desert.  The smell of wildflowers in the morning air, the touch of your lovers hand watching the sun settle into the sea...what you do need is to be open to the experience.  Edmonds certainly is and more often than not he excels in bringing that moment to life.  I just wish I didn't have to slog through so much....hold on!

On second thought  and this just occurred to me, his book is a lot like riding a motorcycle.  You have to go through the boredom, the heat, the bugs, the pedestrian to get to that magical moment.  

Well I'll be damned.

Well I know famous people now....sort of

Recently two friends of mine have been published.

Alan Seeger has written two books and both are rich with imagery  imagination and general weirdness.  Pinball is a fun little jaunt into what may have been and what should have never been.

Lucid Dreaming is a series of essay's, stories and odds and ends about the unimportant stuff of Life, Death and Rock and Roll told in a fun and entertaining way.

My good friend Brook Harwood has also just finished his first novel and is in the process of putting the finishing touches on it before publication later this year.  I've been asked not to say to much since this is getting the full publishers push.  I've read it parts of it, and frankly it's not my cup of tea.

For fans of epic other worldly adventure with a firm understanding of mythos and horror then Brook's soon to be published epic is sure to please.  More to follow on that I promise.

So congrats to two good friends and their works.
It also now is confirmed that there will be a whole series of works by Brooke.  I wonder who plays me in the movie?

A short post about Spam, Gloves and Neil Peart

SPAM!  We all love it.  After all it recently deserved posts in the "Flies in your Teeth" blog as well as "Find Me On the Road" blog.  Seems like were all getting hit by the same marketer or marketing program.

As of late I've been willing to let a marketer go ahead and post something,  if I got the feeling that the low paid intern or who ever searched out my blog...actually read what I wrote (or so I hope).   So I let a few comments slide by even if the name was just "saddlebags" and the link was to a commercial page.  For example, recently someone commented on a post of mine where I mentioned my interest in urban gardening and included a picture.  They asked me if it was a tomato plant...that at least tells me a live person at least scanned my article.

Yes, that really is my car.

I own and run a small magazine and publication distribution company on the side which provides me with about 1/3 of my yearly income.  I'm to a point where I don't need to advertise my services, but at one time I twisted  every arm, shook every hand I could to promote that business.  Luckily their are only so many publishers and publications and once you reach a certain point your name is all you need.  Knocking on those doors was tough in the beginning...but you got your name out there.  So I can sympathize with these "spammers" although I don't particularly care for what they do.  But make an effort at least.

Recently I had a bad apple ruin it for all the low paid intern's out there, trying to get the product into the public's eye.  Sorry "John Smith" (really?  Could you not have found any name even close to original?)  your comment promoting a bike dealership was really not that interesting or in-depth AND not related to my topics at all.  Nor did the copy and paste impress me as your comment was left on a few of my blog entries.

Sorry....no more spam.  I moderate the comments I get now, and will no longer give anyone a free pass. Although I do not see the need to ask you to "prove your human"...yet.

Here in Florida we've been experiencing a cold snap.  People are bringing plants in, there is frost on the ground in some places late at night or early in the morning.  I've been wanting to get gauntlet style gloves for some time because I'm tired of the cold air and rain blowing up the arms of my jacket.  On Friday, I finally got my ugly butt a pair. The only issue I have with them is that they are slightly larger than my hands, I ended up getting the 2X where a simple X size may have worked.   But then again  they are nice and tight again my jacket above the wrist and that is exactly what I was looking for.

They are thinsulate filled and that creates a "less than sensitive"  feel than I am used to.  Considering how I used to wear thick orange hunting gloves on cold nights that protected my hands but did nothing about the wind, this is a improvement.  Those old things provided no sensitivity.

By "sensitivity" I mean the way I feel the throttle and brakes in my hands.  In my regular riding gloves my hands are light and that means I keep a light touch on the throttle and brakes.  Barely moving the throttle as I strive to maintain a consistent and safe speed.  With the thicker gloves, I have to apply more pressure for the same results.

Now I need to find a good, reasonably priced "summer" jacket.

Thanks to blog.motorcycle.com

Finally I started reading Neil Peart's "Ghost Rider".  I've just started chapter 6 and so far I'm enjoying it.  It's a mix somewhere between travel log and memoir although so far I feel like Peart is keeping a major part of himself hidden from the reader.   Considering Peart's loss of both his long time common law wife and their daughter within a year of each other you can't really blame the man.  I don't think many men would be able to recover...becoming just ghosts of themselves.  Peart's answer is to this is to run.  Run as far away as he can on a BMW 1100 Adventure into the wilds of America, Canada, Mexico and Belize.

Peart is probably best known as the drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush.  Well I have always been a fan of the band, I sort of lost interest in their music sometimes in the 90's, this is the first time I've ever read any of his non-musical work.  It's a light and easy style that deals with a hell of a subject matter and frankly I keep expecting his style to turn dark.  In the early chapters at least he is still in shock and in a deep depression...I'm curious to see exactly where in his 55,000 mile journey he comes to terms with life, loss and returns to art...perhaps the only thing that makes life bearable for him.

Self-Sufficiency and other things

Even though Hurricane Issac never really threatened the west coast of Florida, it did effectively kill safe riding for a few days.  That being said it did affect our fellow riders in and around New Orleans.  If you wish to donate time or money to the relief effort I highly recommend Florida's Foundation and of course the American Red Cross.

As it so happened I had a few days off and I decided to use my time effectively and catch up on my reading,  my TV watching (I watch maybe 3 shows religiously and other wise would have the TV off) and a few other odds and ends that needed done.   I even managed to do some weeding in the garden, and get bit by a few fire ants in the process.    We even found time to take in a movie at the local cineplex and wash the bike.

In other words the hurricane did something for me that I was not expecting.  It slowed time down and gave me time to do things.

I've also been reminiscing a bit lately due to one of the books I've been reading; Eric Brende's Better Off - Flipping the switch on Technology.  I am all about trying to make my life simpler and ever since watching a 70's British sitcom titled Good Neighbors on my local PBS station, a wonderful little sitcom about a family that decides to go off the grid...in the middle of London.  Imagine raising pigs, chickens and goats in the middle of a city block!   I have been in love with the ideas of self sufficiency and later permaculture.

That in turn, lead me to my explorations in gardening, canning, cooking, Taoism and reducing my carbon footprint and environmentalism.  At various times in my life I've either been without a car or lived with just one car, preferring to take the bus or bike somewhere.  I've lived in areas where this was not really a problem for most of my life.  If there has been a problem with me accepting more of this type of life is that I'm lazy.  Weeding the garden takes time, canning can be a pain in the ass.  I've not always lived in areas that were conducive to that lifestyle either.  Plus I'm more a theory guy than a actual practitioner.  It's easier for me to run to the store and buy that bland tomato even though I've eaten the ones I've grown.  There is no argument about which tastes better.

If your not familiar with Brende's book, it basically deals with his 18 months living in a "minimalist" community, where all but the most basics of technology is shunned.   So he learns about craftsmanship, community and how time actually opens up when you take a slower route.  Time to spend with friends, family and learning new skills, all without the benefit of most modern technology.  In a way this applies to bikers, as I have made new friends and learned new skills...simply because I took a different route.

It's an interesting book, and full of  interesting idea about the roles technology plays in our lives.  In becoming a one car family, we have reduced our carbon footprint; and in theory saved money as well on things like gas, insurance and other "incidentals."  At the same time I find myself looking into the idea of getting a Smart Phone with GPS and other functions.  Something I really don't need but I could see using in the future.  That's the problem with technology...you always want more of it.  Which in turn complicate's your life...and my cell phone bill.  Which is the theme of Brende's book.

Looking for a new phone, learning how to replace the belt on my CVT, installing a rain barrel to catch rain run off to reduce my water consumption and water my organic garden.   Simple machines that become complex.  Simple easy ideas that people have forgotten.     What role does technology play in my life?  Why would I gladly give up TV but not the computer for example?

I guess I just have to find my balance.