Toys For Tots, 2012

 

            I recieved an email from a friend yesterday asking if I was going to the T4T run here. I had been thinking about doing it, but it gets cold here in the morning and The Runtyun is not too fond of shivering. I was not sure what to do. Then Ashley asked what my plans were.

I struggled with the whole thing for a few hours, and finally called some really good people and they jumped at the chance to help out. It turns out their daughter and mine are great friends at school. Can you say sleep over?

After dropping The Runtyun off I was bound for Walmart to get something as an offering. 

Finally the morning came and it was time to get going. 25 degrees and a solid frost on the grass. I have never found a decent pair of cold weather gloves and this was the day for it too. Let’s just say the coffee mug at the Breakfast Shop, in Swannaoa  did more than warm my insides.

Ashley showed and breakfast was really great! Time went by, we went to the Harley Davidson of Asheville and looked around for a minute then went to the start point for the ride. When we got to the start site, there were only a few bikes and everything was only getting started.

After a while more bikes would show up. Ashely and I walked around a little. I am not much of a talker, but Ashley was real easy to talk with.

After a while Santa’s elves came around and every body had to get a pic, I am not immune either.

We settled on the hill, this old guy’s legs were getting tired. Ashley showed her street creds.

As the departure time came closer, I got on the hill and took this photo. At this point there were only 

about a hundred bikes.

At this point, we had more than 45 minutes for more bikes to roll in, yet the staging area was more than ⅔ full.

About this time, Santa showed up with his police escort. I wonder if this is Rudolf?

Watch out Henderson County They got Beemers on the watch!

Then of course Santa and his bride came along. I wonder if she gets jealous of those elves?

The safety lecture.

Finally we were off. I have never ridden in a rally of any sort, so I did not know what to expect. Truth is, I thought we would be walking the bikes most of the time. We got into third gear and moved along pretty well. It was well organized and fun.

While we went through the Tunnel on Tunnel Rd. Ashely turned on the recorder (Turn up the base!)

So, I guess there were almost 2000 bikes on this run. Many kids who may not have gotten gifts for Christmas will have something under their tree. I am truly happy I participated this year, Ashley and I plan on doing it again next.

Thanks again, Ashley for that email. And a GREAT BIG shout out to my friends that had The Runtyun for the weekend!

OLC

What About 9-11?

I wrote this a couple of years ago on the anniversary of 9-11. However, a lot of these questions can still be applied after the last election.

I was riding on the highway getting wet from the rain when I let my mind wonder a little. Today is the ninth anniversary of the attacks against our way of life. I have avoided looking at the pictures that are being foisted upon us by the various media outlets. Actually, I am sitting on a porch listening to the rain fall from the sky. I am spending today as I would any other Saturday.

I wonder, sometimes, what the motivation of the perpetrators of the attacks were thinking when they planned and murdered all of those people nine years ago. Did they really think their short sighted and vainglorious attacks would really bring down the United States of America? Did they think that acts of aggression would really cause our great nation to self-destruct?

I was brought up as a Christian and have some of the sensibilities that come with that upbringing, but martyrdom is a form of suicide to me. And suicide, to me, is a coward’s way out. From a warlords point of view 19 deaths that caused over 4000 is a pretty good ratio. But the consequences of all those deaths seem to me to be outweighed by them. All of the people killed after the 911 attacks---the wars that started since then, and the sullying of two great faiths…

And yet, the attacks have succeeded in a way. Since that fateful day 9 years ago, our great country has become more divided and hostile toward itself. Democrats and Republicans have turned on each other and are too busy fighting one another to govern our country during our time of most need. There are idiot/fanatics that think burning holy books is a valid way to celebrate this day. We’ve got zealots who think it is funny making caricatures of our President with bones in his nose or skinny little, toothbrush mustache.

Granted, before September 11, 2001, our elected leaders had differences of opinion and there were those that burned books to make a point and we had political caricatures of politicians. But was it as divisive and violent as we see now? I have been actively listening and forming opinions on events for a while now and the truth is, it feels more hateful and partisan than ever before.

So I ask all of my loyal readers, are we more conflict-ridden since the attacks of September 11^th 2001? Or are we simply more exposed.

NO MORE COLLEGE FOR AWHILE

I posted this one on another site. Wordpress is a good place to post, but I did not like the way my posts were rendered. I write my ideas on my own system and then import them, cut and paste really, onto the blog. Well I spent some time putting together templates in Pages (my word processor) and want to use what I have stitched together on my posts. Unfortunately Wordpress does not facilitate that ability, but Blogger does. I wanted to share some of my older posts here, however I have lost their formatting, so please deal with the plain-jane vanilla formatting. However please have a look at what I said and leave a comment!

Originally posted on, September 7, 2010

At the risk of starting out this blog in a more personal manner than I want it to go, I am going to talk a little more about myself and my goals for this blog, One Lone Castaway’s Rantings.(now Rants and Brain Echos) For the past too long, I have been going to school to figure out what it is that I want to do when I grow up. Little did I know that I was growing up and living life while I was learning to live it! I have attained my goal and now have an Associates of Business degree. I am not putting this degree down, but we all know that an Associate’s degree is really only a stepping stone for furthering one's educational aspirations.

Having said that, I am letting everyone know that I am going to put off furthering my formal education and start concentrating on using the experience and schooling I have gathered over the past many years of life. It has been a hard decision, but one that opens many doors and opportunities for me, my family and this blog. In truth, I have always longed to look into various subjects and learn more about them. There may be a seeming randomness to my Rantings, but that is how my brain works, so deal with it and enjoy the ride.

During my reintroduction to education I learned more than the subjects had to offer. I hungered to write on subjects that I was interested in and try to get my thinking organized into a logical manner. The discipline that formal education offered helped in an incalculable way to do this, however I hope it did not quell my spontaneity. If you know me, you know that is a tall order. What I have found may not be logic but an outlook that I hope will mature and develop into a significant social and political commentary. I hope to take a subject and research it, study it and then send out my point of view on it.

And so, I have justified my decision to leave the formal system of education and start on the exciting and challenging one of using the experiences making up my life and outlook. It will be a ride of expected and unexpected turns. Sometimes I  will talk about something and my feelings will expected and predictable, others, I hope, will be significant and surprising and still other times I will simply go off on a rant about some insignificant subject that piqued my interest that day. In any case, I welcome any comments, positive and negative (as long as they are constructive) to my words.

Thanks for reading this far and I hope you will enjoy the journey and my Rantings. It might be boring sometimes, but I hope we can all learn something about our world and those who live in it. And maybe we will have an “A-Ha” Moment once in a while to make everything a little more interesting.

OLC

My Last Post

In my last post, I talked about a friend I found on Facebook. I talked about about how happy I was to find him. Also, I related some feelings dredged from the depths of my brain. I also stated I wanted to start another post talking about some of the feelings and more powerful memories I was feeling because of those events. Through out the night, I was prewriting the post traveling around the paths of memories. Finally, I got to a point where I felt I could write something cohesive and maybe a little cathartic.

Then I decided to take a shower to get the shit of the day off my body.

Showers are beautiful things, they take the dirt and filth off ones body and allow a clean start. Unfortunately, they tend to cleanse the brain too. I lost the flow of thinking I had been cultivating throughout the evening.

It’s too bad I had to learn this lesson on this occasion, I think I could written something pretty good. I did try and get something down, but my words did not have the feeling I was cultivating. It was more suited for my personal journal.

In the past I have had other ideas that I have lost because I let too much time go by before putting these ideas into words. It has been a hassle sometimes and the  truth is...I should have learned this lesson long ago, so let’s hope maybe---this time.

It is interesting how the thought of an idea can float around my brain, it will grow and develop and sometimes it will blossom into a flower of beauty. However, if it is not picked a the right(write time), it will spoil and wilt to the memory of a beautiful bud.

Any thoughts? Let’s talk about ideas and how they grow and become whole or lost.

A friend lost, A friend found

A few years ago I had this musician friend, a bass player. He was the best. We worked together and drank together, and played many games of chess, too. He got me work and I got him some too. Back in the day I played at being a cook and so was Eric. 

But mostly he was a musician.

One time his band had a gig downtown at a bar I used to go to. This was when I was married. I would get off work and have a drink. This night however, my beautiful bride and I were out having a fine time, so we went to see Eric. 

The band had played a set and was going back on stage for the next. Someone asked if they would play Melissa, by the Allmen Bros. The lead said he didn’t know the words. Eric stepped up and said he did.

Cigarette in hand he walked onto the stage and waited for his band to follow. They tuned for a minute, then struck up the song. Some one asked Eric if he wanted them to take his cigarette. No reply. He looked at the band and rolled the cigarette out between his fingers. The butt stayed there throughout the entire song.

I heard some one say, “Is he gonna sing that song? He’s black.” A friend must have shushed him up. Eric never opened his eyes during the song.

He sang that song with so much feeling, I could almost feel her loss. Though I don’t know the story behind the song, I felt a whole new level of feelings for it. 

This happened many years ago, yet I still remember it, even though  I’d had a few that night. It was one of the last times my former wife and I had fun together.

Eric and I drifted apart. I made a few bad decisions. I am not sure about him, but he seems to be doing fine now.

Facebook is a funny thing, some one posted something that came up on my page and I thought it was interesting so I followed her link to her home page. Her page pic was a woman and a guy who looked familiar. You can guess the details. To put it shortly, it turned out to be Eric. We friended each other.

olc

It’s SO frustrating--- Women!!!

Though I am the father of a wonderful child, we have no mother around.  I have a daughter that is my responsibility, my inspiration, my muse and smile in the morning. The truth is I have difficulty taking care of myself, much less someone else. She is wonderful and so full of promise, but I worry I am stifling her growth. So I reach out to various places to find help and guidance. One place in particular is very important to my daughter and me. On and off this organization has been a very important influence in my growth as a person, I hope it will be a good influence for the Runtyun.

This organization has a youth program that The Runtyun is involved with...This is Great! It gives her a chance to be around positive people and have fun away from home. The director is fantastic and very dynamic. She has organized many fun events the kids love!

When the Runtyun got involved with it, I did a little Google search on the director---checked out Facebook too. I felt due diligence was the right thing to do. After all I am entrusting my most precious possession to her care, so five minutes search seemed appropriate.

I found out that she does not like men and is married...very happily, I will add...to a true life partner.

Let me state here, for the record, I do not care about the sexual orientation of anyone. The truth is, I envy anyone who has a partner/lover they can count on. I will admit that when I first met her, I thought she was attractive, but left any other thoughts alone. Then I saw she was married...

The other day I was dropping off The Runtyun for an event with this kind lady. We rode up on my bike, The Grinner. As I was putting on my helmet to go off for ride while they were gone, she came to me and said that her “significant other, her wife” was thinking about getting a bike and would I be interested in helping her to find one. Of course I would. Anyone interested in learning about motorcycles is cool.

Now I am a little slow sometimes, so it took me a moment to realize this was a polite attempt to inform me that she is unavailable. (Please refer to the previous paragraph here.) I stewed on this for a bit trying to figure out a way to get the message to her that there was nothing to be concerned with. Finally, I let the whole thing go. (BTW, I still would like to help her get a new bike.)

A little while later, The Runtyun was to go to an event and I wanted to get some details straight, so I set out to talk with her. She was carrying a little bitty infant and they both looked so comfortable together, I had to say, “Wow, you guys look so natural together.”

Her reply was, “It’s a good thing I’m a lesbian, ‘cause I would have a dozen of them running around!” 

It seems that every time we have a conversation, she needs to remind me of this. Let me just say again, “I DON’T CARE!”

it’s SO frustrating. 

I don’t want to have a close personal relationship with her and I don’t think I implied that I do. I respect her marriage, and even if I did not---she does not like guys!

All I want is to have a positive relationship with an influential person in my daughter’s life.

Maybe I just need to let her say these things and let it go with that. Perhaps she needs to put up a wall against men so they will not invade her space, and I get the fall out.

Any ideas out there? Truth is, I feel uncomfortable every time time she brings up her sexuality.

A Little Ride in The Mountains

So I made the plunge the other day. I have been thinking about doing it for a while now, but for one reason or another I never done it. Maybe I was a little nervous about what would happen, maybe even a little scared. A lot of my trepidation had to do with the fact that I am becoming more and more like a hermit the older I get. I went online and had a look at Craigslist’s “women seeking men.” 

Gasp! What was he thinking!

The truth is I was drinking a little wine and I gotta admit that maybe I wasn’t thinkin’ so great! I saw an ad for some one wanting to talk. She sent a reply and we chatted through email Saturday night. Again, I had a little wine in my system.

Well, I went to bed and woke early and decided that the day was just right for a ride. I let my new Craigslist friend know I would be her way in a little while and wondered if she would like a cup of coffee. I told her that I would be at coffee shop in her town in just a little while. 

Turns out the place is closed on Sundays. 

We never met.

However the day was warming up nicely and the sky was a glorious blue inviting me to experience the beauty of Nature.

Now, as anyone who has read my blogs knows, I like to ride my Motorcycle, and I am privileged to live in one of the prettiest places in the world...mountains, lakes, valleys and coves, rivers and farmland all populate this region...lucky me! Even the city I live in is diverse and nestled in the mountains.

I finished my black bean and kale breakfast burrito and fantastic cup of coffee (ask me were I got it and I’ll tell ya’) and hopped on The Grinner. The cages got in my way as I was leaving town, but they have a right to be on the road too, I guess.

Passing by the University, the road opened up and I was able to put some distance between me and the city. I could feel the welcoming relaxation, my shoulders loosening and the tension in my back began to ease. 

The river running beside me reflected the sun making stars fly like little fairies. This part of the road, close to the town, yet far enough to give me a sense of isolation, looks like a fine fishing place, however I seem to never slow down enough to find out. Someday…

My little sportster has a small gas tank so I always have a part of my mind thinking about where the next fossil fuel outlet may be. The last one for a while came along and I tried to fill up. The pump was not having a good day, but I finally fed my Grinner.

At the gas station, a man and his son pulled in behind, they had a fishing boat. It turns out there is a lake up my road and I guessed they where gonna go fishin’ this fine Sunday.

The father and his son seemed to be totally in tune with each other. Little was said between them, yet I saw the team work and trust eachother. Those two knew what they had to do to get to the lake and they trusted each other to do it right.

State road #281 goes left off the road I had started on and it was my goal for this ride. At one point on this road it branches off to another place, but on this ride I wanted to stay on my chosen path. Eventually my road bumps into another road going back home and this was my riding goal.

I shook off the frustration of that silly gas pump before I slipped into second gear. 

Trust, now there is something. My brain went where it always goes when trust and relationships come up…

Fifth gear and a sharp turn coming. Front and rear disc brakes and do their job, a little sashay going out. Dunlap tires are so predictable. A little more gas, second to third. The rumble of that Milwaukee iron turning into a roar. Going up the side of the ridge, I feel gravity pulling my hands from the grips, another gear up. Then a curve, down two. Push left to go right, leaning onto my knee. Just a little contact with the tar sends a thrill of adrenaline. 

A raven flies ahead. I settle back and watch it soar. Is it circling, or just letting the wind eddies guide its path? Finally it drifts over a ridge. To my right is the lake the boy and his father will be fishing soon. The air is crisp and smells of mid fall decay, a sweet yet musky oder. The leaves have mostly left their summer homes and fill the sky, sometimes one will try to kamikaze into my face. Sometimes one will succeed to bounce off my leather jacket, making an audible impact.

Leaves litter the road and the curves are sharp around here. As I get older, I find that I don’t always need to slide into, and out spin out of every turn in the road. Sometimes there is something to see at the apex, besides the tar ahead. 

I ride this part letting the bike guide me, my mind wondering even further than the bike. The thrill of pushing the bike to its limits will always be part of the ride, checking my skill against the forces of nature, gravity, momentum and luck, yet as I get older I don’t need to push as hard all the time to get the euphoria...the sense of accomplishment, any more.

When I was a teenager, o so many years ago, my Father and I would go camping in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We would find the most spectacular places and simply be there. The moment would last for a moment. Some times we would be looking over a vast Wilderness Area, seeing nothing but river, trees and glacially cleaned bare rock. Others, we would be having lunch sitting by a cascading mountain stream, crisp and clear and oh so cold!

Riding this road gave me a feeling almost the same. The Grinner had disappeared or become part of me. I felt no compulsion to operate the vehicle, we just moved along the road ahead. Leaves blurred by at times, but then a glimpse of water or vast opening in the trees pulled me to a stop so I could see the grandeur around me.

At one point, I stopped at a lake that was drained and I could see the layers left behind. The dam was holding little water back, the water a deep green. I saw the fire circles of parties gone by. For a moment I experienced their fun.

The road twisted ahead. There were more houses than before, the homes of the partiers, perhaps? It did not really matter.

The bike and I rumbled on, leaning and twisting up and down the valley wall. As I got closer to more inhabited areas I noticed more dead animals in the road. There where squirrels, opossums and larger animals too. I wondered about that. Anyone out there, have an idea on that?

I saw many little turn offs that I want to explore. They looked like roads that might lead to adventures on foot. I’ll need to look into that with the Runtyun next summer.

Finally, my road lead to the more travelled one leading back to the world. I was lucky through out the ride in this fine wilderness, there were no cars anywhere. I did not have anyone pushing me from behind while I looked at the beauty all around me, nor did I come upon any cages slowing me down.

My road finally lead back home. Though I wanted to ride longer, I was left with the feeling that this ride was just right. I was refreshed and tired at the same time. I wanted to go on, yet I felt like the ride had been complete. How often does that happen?

olc

Why do people do silly things?

I went to the vampire store and let them take my life’s blood today. This provided me with an opportunity to watch T.V., something I do not do very much. As it turns out, the procedure I endured takes a lot longer then normal, about 2 hours.

I watched Pawn Stars. This program has everything that reality T.V. craves; middle aged stars whose children play a significant role, money, desperate people and conflict.

I think I watched 3 episodes of that program. It seems people take various things to this pawn shop to get cash. Most of the merchandise they show is unique and interesting. Yet, I could not understand why they were taking things like a WWII mine training set, or a beat up old Buick to a place like that. In almost every case where a deal was made, the customer took less than one-third of their asking price.

Now I understand why the pawn shop offers such low prices, they have to resell the item at a profit. But why would somebody sell something at such a devalued price? Are they so desperate that they give valuable things away, or so silly as to not know the worth of their possessions? 

I dunno, but I should think that with a little research they could find a better deal through Craigslist or even Antiques Road show.

As someone who has very little material items, I just don’t understand how anyone could be so stupid as to let themselves get cheated out of their possessions. 

Just sayin’.

OLC

The First!

Well, let’s get this first Post out of the way and get on with everything!

Welcome!

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get on with my writing, and your finding me fascinating.

Seriously, this is a place for everyone to read and help me to order my thoughts. I hope that if we do this, then maybe we all can get together and have a good conversation.

‘Nough of that silly stuff. I say, “Let’s get on with the blogging, reading and conversing!”

OLC

P.S. This site is still getting settled, so there may be changes, so please be patient. If you have suggestions or ideas to make it better here, leave a comment!