Showing posts with label Motorcycles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motorcycles. Show all posts

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mothers go where angels fear to tread...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

Happy Mothers Day!!!

Sorry I was off a couple days...places to go, people to see and all that! Plus my lovely wife turned 21 AGAIN on the 9th. and I thought it safest to spend my time with her rather than writing! I mean if my writing generated George R.R. Martin money, I'm sure she'd be fine with it! Lol...

So today we honor Mothers...new mothers, young mothers, old mothers, Grandmothers...this is their day.

Should we not honor them all year round?
Oh sure they make us crazy at times...lord knows my Mother has me, perhaps more commonly than most.

Yet always, her heart has been in the right place.

I could bore you all with the myriad kind and wonderful things my mother has done for me over the years...but where would be the fun in that?

Instead, I'll relate a time when my mother embarrassed me....almost unto death!!!

I had been dating a girl a few years my elder, and we did those things young people in love are prone to doing.

My mother, always being a practicable woman admonished me from the time such thoughts bestirred my mind, that gentlemen ALWAYS wear condoms!

Wanting to be a gentleman, I took these words to heart.

Of course, keeping them where they would be most at hand I kept them under the seat of my truck.

Things ran their course, as young love often does...and soon I was single again.

For months they remained under my seat, out of sight and ostensibly out of mind.

I graduated from High School and started working full time, with little time for chasing skirts.

Eventually, I met another girl, this one a couple years my junior. This made her a young lady of 16 years to my 18.

We had gone out, but a couple of times, when a trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula bear hunt briefly derailed our romance.

My best friend Bradley and his Father drove their motor home up for us to stay in and thus my truck was left parked at home. You can read a little of our misadventures there, here.

For ten days, I walked and stalked the woods of Northern Michigan with naught on my mind but shooting a bear! But upon my return, my thoughts returned to that sunny-haired girl and the way she looked at me! *sigh*

Returning on a Sunday, I found myself home alone.
Mom and Jerry were out with their friends in the Goldwing Roadriders motorcycle club, enjoying the beautiful day.

My sisters out and about with their boyfriends.

So I called my girl and jumped in the shower.

Clean and shaved, hair done and cologne added, I hopped in my truck and went to get her.

We grabbed a bite of dinner, and then decided we'd head back to my house to hang out and relax.

As we pulled into the driveway, I could see that Mom and Jerry had returned...the garage door was up, lawn chairs arranged around 6 full dress Goldwings.
The ladies occupied the chairs, as the men folk busied themselves wiping off dirt and polishing chrome!

My mother got up and went into the house as we exited the vehicle and walked up to the group, probably getting refreshments.

I recognized them all, as they had all been to the house numerous times before...I considered them my friends as well, as I had been allowed to join the group riding on several occasions though not a member nor a Goldwing owner.

I made the introductions, and God love him...Jerry tried to warn me!!!

But I was too pleased showing off my new girlfriend (with but few exceptions, I've always dated above my station)!!! 

His subtle gestures and eye movements should clearly have screamed "RUN!" had I noticed, all went unheeded.

Mom came "stomping" out of the house...that's the best way to describe it...no refreshments in sight...marched into the circle of her friends, raised her arm and holding something above her head said:

"What the FUCK IS THIS?!?!?" As she hurled to the ground, my open box of Trojan™ ribbed condoms!!!

As the box hit the ground...
Hurled with sufficient force to split open upon contact with the pavement and scattering condoms across the driveway! My new girlfriend's face froze in horror!

Birds stopped singing, cars screeched to a halt, even the clouds in the sky arrested their trek to oblivion... the silence was deafening!!!

"I.....we...I mean, we never.....I SWEAR!!! I've never seen those before!" She stammered and turned on me... "Where did those come from???"

Feeling every once of blood in my body rush to my face, I tried to deflect... "Mom, can we talk about this later?"

But she was having none of it, fully into one of those piques of anger I've previously mentioned...my mother was having a full blown conniption fit!

"We're gonna talk about it right FUCKING NOW!!!"

"Well, can we at least discuss it in the house???" I said, scooping up the condoms and leading my girlfriend through the garage and into the kitchen. Mom, hot on our heels!

I asked my gal to wait in the kitchen as I kept walking, upstairs to my Mother's room. When she came in, I closed the door.

I had started out mortified but was getting madder the longer I thought about the situation...

"First of all," I asked, "what were you doing snooping in my truck???"

Side note: this has never been adequately explained, Mom tried to throw my sisters under the bus by saying they had found them after she had sent them to see if I had any clothes in my truck that needed to be washed, and brought them in to her...right. My sisters maintain... it was solely my mother that went snooping in my truck just to see what she could see, with me gone for 10 days and no chance of catching her.

"That's not important!" She said, "What are you doing with those?!?"

"Mom, you always told me, if ever I was to be sexually active to always wear a condom...I'm doing what you told me...why are you freaking out?!?"

"Joseph Robert!!!! She's sixteen years old!!! What the fuck are you thinking???"

"Mom, please keep your voice down...I didn't buy them for her...remember the last girl I was dating??? The OLDER girl??? We had been discussing it, and I thought I would buy a box just in case. You know, be prepared...like you told me. We didn't even use them..." I lied.

"Then WHY IS ONE MISSING????" she countered.

"OH MY GOD MOM, YOU COUNTED THEM?!?"

I dug out my wallet and pulled out the one stored there, and held it up for her to see. Thank God for brand loyalty!!! Not the time to tell her we were on our third box...

"Oh...." Mom said....all the steam running out of her.
"Well, I guess...I just never thought...I was just surprised is all..."

"I was doing what you asked..." I said.

"I know...I know...but I still don't have to like it.."

"I've got some major explaining to do downstairs now...I won't be surprised if this is the very last time you'll be seeing her..."

"Sorry about that...but I was mad!"

"Yeah, I got that..."

So...Mom went back to her friends and I went down to face my new girlfriend and do some very fast talking!!!

I gave her the selfsame explanation as what I gave my mother and to her credit she accepted it and we moved on.

Despite the mortifying start to our relationship, she went on to be the most serious relationship I had until I met my wife! We were together for five years off and on.

So there you have it...the most embarrassing thing my mother ever did to me!!! Hope it gave you a laugh or at least made you cringe...
And keep in mind...this was the MOST embarrassing, certainly not the ONLY embarrassing thing!!! Lol

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear







Monday, April 21, 2014

That time of year again...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

It's that time of year again! The time of year thousands go out to their garage, throw up the door, pull off the cover....and fire up that motorcycle for a ride!!!

Likely you've seen them out already.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be careful when driving, take an extra second...that's all it takes...to make sure there are no motorcyclists coming before you pull out!!!

I haven't ridden in a few years but I have MANY family and friends that do, and I want them home safe and sound at the end of the day!

I got a call on my cell phone Saturday about 5 o'clock from my Boss, Bill.

Now Bill NEVER calls me at home...I was intrigued.

"Hey Bill, what's up?"

"Joe? Joe?!? This is Bill..." Good God, he sounded drunk.

"Yeah Bill, I'm here...what's new?"

"Awww shit...*unintelligible muttering* awww man I'm hurting!"

"What happened? Are you OK? Where you at?" 
I asked, worried now.

"Inna hospital...wrecked my bike...oh God...I'm probably not gonna be in for a couple months, hurtin' bad!!! If I sound funny, I'm onna lotta of morfin, morphine..."
*background noise, lots of talking*
"Let me call you back *more mumbling* OK?"

"Yeah Bill, let me know what's going on, OK?...bye"

Poor Bill, last year I helped him in his search for a new bike. Tired of the bike he had, he needed a new baby! Lol

He was picky, he knew exactly what he wanted...year, model color, engine size.
We found and discarded dozens that we're almost perfect, but not quite. 

Finally by September he'd found it, made an offer, and one of his buddies took him to go get it. He was over the moon when he rode it in to work the next day, and we were all envious as it was just beautiful.

The only bummer was the season was almost over, but he put as many miles as he could on it in the time left.

This year he was eager to get it out....
He took his bonus check, and spent around $1700 on custom painted parts, and chrome. Just Thursday his special order gel seat arrived and he installed it before coming into work.

When I asked him of his plans for the long holiday weekend, he told me he was going to his sisters for Easter...then with a wistful look in his eye said:
"Other than that, if the weather cooperates...I'm gonna ride!"

I didn't hear from Bill again until almost 10 that night.
He was still in a lot of pain, 5 broken ribs and a broken collar bone and some "road rash". Seems he was on his way home, had just turned left onto a major thoroughfare when a wrecker waiting on the first side street on the right pulled out, making a left turn right in front of him. With a wrecker broadside, blocking the road...there was nowhere to go!

Luckily he was only going about 35mph. He says witnesses tell him he hit the back of the wrecker, but he has no memory of that...he was only about 30-40 feet from him when the guy pulled out, he remembers hitting the brakes and the bike going out from under him.

He had not been wearing a helmet lately, as it just became legal to go without in Michigan...luckily he had it on Saturday! He doesn't think he lost consciousness or hit his head, but when they took his helmet off it was in two pieces!

He said himself, had he not been wearing that helmet, he may not have made it...

His bike was totaled, and I think he's sicker about that than that he's hurt! 

So because of a moments inattention by the wrecker driver, instead of Easter dinner with his family he spent Easter in a hospital bed on a morphine drip!
A better outcome than the morgue, but still...

Who among us would want that on our conscience?

So please folks, as you go about your day...going to work, running errands...take an extra moment to look,
REALLY look before you pull out! Or change lanes, or make that left hand turn.

You just may save a life, and that makes you a hero!

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear