It's really hard to summarize oneself for the general public. I mean, really, what does the public want to know about me? Am I married? Yes. Do I have children. Yes, three, and they're all grown thank God. (By that I mean parenting is HARD. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm really glad our offspring have all reached adulthood.) Do I have pets? Yup. Two dogs. Since the kids are all grown, you'll read more about my dogs than my kids. Because that's what happens when you get old like me. I have three grand kids, too, so you'll read about them as well. But the dogs live with me and, when I am desperate for blog topics, they usually help me out.
I don’t usually think of my bike as having a lot of gadgets and gizmos. I mean, it isn’t really fancy-looking. It feels simple, kind of more utilitarian than gadgety. I haven’t added much stuff either.
The more I think about it, though, the more I realize there’s a bunch of built-in stuff that I’ve taken for granted. Of those, the power outlet is probably my favorite. It comes in very handy, all of the time. The “computer” thing is pretty handy, too. It’s got a couple of trip meters, thermometer, gear display, gas mileage/usage tracker, stop-watch, and a couple more things I can’t think of and rarely use.
I’m sure there are mechanical gadgets or gizmos, too. But, honestly, I don’t think about the mechanics of my ride. If I did, if FORCED, I guess I’d say the ABS is an extra that’s nice to have. And I can’t forget the heated grips. Those are cool gadgets, too.
Unfortunately, I’ve learned quite a few hard lessons in my time. These are life lessons I’m talking about. Some were a bit harder than others. Most involved pain. Some were more useful than others, too. All were memorable in their own way.
“Not everything is as it seems,” is probably one of the most useful lessons I’ve learned. It applies to things like this storefront.
That not a reading room, it’s a people-trap. I’m pretty sure if I went in there, sat down, and read a book, it wouldn’t be long before someone came over to talk to me. Who can read when someone’s talking to you?
It applies to people, too. Those lessons are usually the hardest. Love a man you think is faithful, he cheats. Befriend a person, learn to trust them, they betray you. Follow a country road that looks promising, sometimes you reach a dead-end.
So what do you do? Assume all people are liars? Fakes? That unknown paths never provide interesting journeys?
Do you shut yourself down, close yourself off, trust no one, no thing. Or do you keep on keeping on.
The hardest lesson for me has been realizing that lessons never end.
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This is post #5 in my second annual Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge.
This is post #4 in my second annual Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge. Simply put, that’s a way for me and fellow bloggers to get through February more quickly.
I call this a putt-putt road. It’s more about scenery than speed or distance.
This year, there are eight other bloggers participating (see list on right). Check out their blogs, it’s an entertaining group.
Today’s prompt is “annual mileage goal.” It’ll be interesting to see how people react to that one. It would seem as if I’m asking people to share their mileage target so I can compare it to mine. But I don’t usually set goals or targets. I did at the end of last year because I just wanted to see 20,000 on my odometer, to feel like I’d done at least some riding in a year where I felt as if I hadn’t been out enough.
I’m really more about the riding experience, not seeing how many miles I can cover. I’m much happier puttering along on scenic back roads, enjoying the landscape, than about covering long distances. I do like speed, however, but will choose a more curvaceous, less-crowded road any day over a slab.
The only thing odometer miles do for me is remind me thatve I’ve spent time doing something I love. The higher the number, the more time I’ve spent in the saddle.
Hubby loves covering long distances in short amounts of time. I love wandering. Usually we can balance the two, but sometimes I like to go my thing and he likes to do his.
My birthday is Monday. I was just going to let it slip quietly past, but some folks had other plans. One folk, to be specific. My youngest daughter, Amy. She arrived this afternoon. She drove all the way down from Indianapolis to surprise me. ❤️❤️❤️
So I’ll keep this post short.
I don’t like housecleaning, but the chore I seem to try and avoid most is emptying the dishwasher. I don’t mind laundry, I’ll clean if I have to, and even do most other things. But putting those dishes away? Nah. I’ll put it off as long as I can before doing it. I don’t know why. It’s not like it’s hard.
A few days ago, my friend reminded me of something funny that had happened while we were on vacation. I’d all but forgotten about the incident, but as soon as she mentioned it, I remembered it pretty clearly. As if it’d happened just last week and not five months ago.
Memory is a strange thing, isn’t it? Perhaps a few days from now, I’ll forget the incident again. Or, maybe since I’m sharing the story, it will forever remain etched in my brain. Then again, maybe not.
This image has nothing to do with the story.
The incident was nothing major, really. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things that turned out to be kind of funny.
Annelies and I were walking along a street in the lakeside town of Hallstatt, Austria, when I noticed a group of Asian women taking photos of each other. It was a beautiful, but very touristy, town, and it was full of tourists.
Normally, I would offer to take their picture for them. This time, for some unknown reason, I decided to photobomb them instead. So I ran up and posed behind one of the women being photographed. The woman with the camera got a shocked look on her face and squealed loudly, laughing.
I started to apologize, but then the ladies were all saying “No, no. Thank you, thank you!” They were all laughing, motioning me to pose, as if I were photobombing them again. Even Annelies and I were laughing by then. These women were so happy to have been photobombed.
Later, the more I thought about it, the funnier it became. People around the world who don’t see a lot of Americans and only know us through movies, TV, and the media can have a distorted view of Americans. Imagine these women having read about weird habits of Americans, including photobombing. Then, they go one vacation, and are photobombed by a large American stranger. They probably went home and told everyone Americans really do randomly photobomb people. Look, it happened to them.
I wonder how many times my photo has been shown around their village.
“Look, look, um, American photobomber! In real life. In some little town on the edge of Austria. We weren’t even in their country and she photobombed us anyway! Crazy, rude American.”
This is the first post in the Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge 2017. Yep, day one of a 28-day challenge and I’m less than two hours from missing the deadline!
Before I dive into post #1, I have to say I’m excited to see Mark, Rachael, Richard, and Steve returning from last year. And, check this out, three new blogger participants. Lynne of CurvyRoads, who many of you already know, Highway Lass (name as yet unknown to me), and Ginamarie from Two Wheels Two Feet.
I’m excited to see y’all joining in. Truly. I believe it will help keep me on track and, more important, it’s always fun learning more about you fine folks and meeting more like-minded people, too!
The topic of this first post was an easy one for me. Much easier than coming up with 27 other prompts that made at least some sort of sense.
This is a big year for me. In a few days, I will have been on this Earth for half a century. Gulp. I can’t bring myself to say that “F” word just yet. Yes, age is just a number. No, I’m not worried about the appearance of wrinkles, gray hair, and such. And I truly believe that getting old is better than the alternative. It’s just a hard word for me to use to describe myself.
Anyway. I figured I would celebrate by taking off on a solo adventure. Not in February, though. I’d like it to be a bit warmer so I can enjoy some beach time. I need to shed some pounds, too. My riding pants are WAY too tight. Even the larger pair I bought late last year. That’s another story.
It’s going to be one of those rides where I kinda-sorta have a destination in mind, but no real timetable. There are actually three states I haven’t been to in the contiguous US: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Of those three, the one I most hope to visit is Mississippi because it seems to have the prettiest beaches. It’s between the other two states, too, so Louisiana and Alabama would be hard to miss.
I’ll take my time getting there, stay as long as I want, or not stay if that’s what I feel like. I just want to be free for a week or two. Since I have survived into old age, I feel like I have earned it. LOL.
I don’t know when I am going, and I may not know exactly where, but I do know I’ll be going to Mississippi this year. I’m looking forward to seeing where everyone else is headed, too. So, ta-ta for now (TTFN).
