The Dance...I was riding out to the prison last night. As I was going along, I thought of how I was in the middle of a wonderful dance, in the middle of the dance floor. If I was driving my Subaru Outback, even with its turbo-charged engine...I'd be pushing a broom on that dance floor. But I wasn't.
Instead, I was on the dance floor with the most wonderful partner anyone could ask for. Light on her feet. Instinctively knowing where I wanted to go and what to do. For as much of a klutz in dancing as I am, she made me look good. And perhaps even more importantly, she made me feel terrific.
I almost took the "broom" tonight. The sun was going down when I left the house at about 4:45 pm. Rain was threatening, but with any luck, it would pass me by. So I decided to take my dance partner instead for the night.
There is something wonderful about motorcycle riding that cage drivers will probably never understand. I get a thrill out of simply giving my partner some gas and feeling her respond immediately beneath me. Thought and action are one. A lane change isn't just a boring move of the "broom" from one angle to the next, but a chance to feel my partner move with me in this dance where we respond to each other and the heart and mind soar.
I get to the prison and as I'm taking off my gear, one of the women visitors remarks to me that it must be cold. I surprise her by saying that with heated gear, I'm very comfortable and since my gear is waterproof, I'm also dry.
Long ago, I learned that the only difference between riding in the summer and riding in the winter was a layer of clothing. I could enjoy riding in rain at 35 F just as much as riding in the middle of the summer if I dressed for it. So I can be with my dance partner that much longer and feel my heart lifted, even in the otherwise mundane part of going down a road much traveled. In the "broom", it is just killing time. With my dance partner, every moment is wonderful.
The day will come when I will have to push the broom on the dance floor. Whether that is a Subaru Outback XT or a Mazda Miata I don't know. But they will still be a "broom". Till then, I can enjoy the "dance".
Chris
Instead, I was on the dance floor with the most wonderful partner anyone could ask for. Light on her feet. Instinctively knowing where I wanted to go and what to do. For as much of a klutz in dancing as I am, she made me look good. And perhaps even more importantly, she made me feel terrific.
I almost took the "broom" tonight. The sun was going down when I left the house at about 4:45 pm. Rain was threatening, but with any luck, it would pass me by. So I decided to take my dance partner instead for the night.
There is something wonderful about motorcycle riding that cage drivers will probably never understand. I get a thrill out of simply giving my partner some gas and feeling her respond immediately beneath me. Thought and action are one. A lane change isn't just a boring move of the "broom" from one angle to the next, but a chance to feel my partner move with me in this dance where we respond to each other and the heart and mind soar.
I get to the prison and as I'm taking off my gear, one of the women visitors remarks to me that it must be cold. I surprise her by saying that with heated gear, I'm very comfortable and since my gear is waterproof, I'm also dry.
Long ago, I learned that the only difference between riding in the summer and riding in the winter was a layer of clothing. I could enjoy riding in rain at 35 F just as much as riding in the middle of the summer if I dressed for it. So I can be with my dance partner that much longer and feel my heart lifted, even in the otherwise mundane part of going down a road much traveled. In the "broom", it is just killing time. With my dance partner, every moment is wonderful.
The day will come when I will have to push the broom on the dance floor. Whether that is a Subaru Outback XT or a Mazda Miata I don't know. But they will still be a "broom". Till then, I can enjoy the "dance".
Chris