The Walking...make that RIDING trail today

When the pandemic hit and we were all under house arrest, I took to the patch of St. Louis road in front of the house and headed west, as Horace Greeley once suggested a long time ago.

My walks have been published here, along with some solitude musings. It was all we had for a great while.

In that time, I found an appreciation for taking pictures. I am not still often. I may appear to be…but my mind is usually looking for the next song to write or the next story to write. The pandemic slowed a great deal of that for me. It was the fear of the Great Unkown that had me unhinged. I saw, in photographs, things I had not paid much attention to before. For that, I am thankful. Inspiration doesn’t always have to find you working. Wondering is a source that we can’t discount. For me, being still and listening can be an inspiring time. All of us are wired differently. We used to know that.

So today it was not a walk. It was a RIDE! Was it ever.

True story. Gather around, kids.

MANY MANY years ago I was on the back porch in winter time. The crops in the field behind the house were cut and gone. The trees between the house and the field were bare. In the field, Jarrett was taking Cody for a ride on our 4-wheeler. I was taken aback. You are running your younger brother WAY TOO FAST on that ATV, I thought.

When the boys got back to the house, I took Jarrett aside and told him he needs to slow it down when Cody is riding behind him on the 4-wheeler. Jarrett took it well. With a couple of exceptions over the years, he usually did. Then, he looked at me. “Do you want to take me for a ride ?” he asked. I told him sure.

As I was driving and he was holding onto me, we are talking twenty years ago, we took off for the field behind the house.

When we reached the entry to the field, I didn’t waste time with the throttle. ZOOOOOOM!

A few seconds later I could feel Jarrett’s grip on me tighten considerably. And then, I heard his voice like I had never heard it before as he leaned into one side of my helmet (yes we were smart enough to wear helmets), “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”

I was going too fast. That is what I was doing. I have yet to ride a 4-wheeler since. Much like the last time I rode a motorcycle was when I was in high school. I had a wreck testing my limits with speed. Haven’t been on two wheels since.

The irony? Cody and I rode roller coasters at Opryland and Kings Island that Jarrett would never think about getting near when they were kids. But, later down the road, Jarrett had his legs hanging out of the back of a Chinook taking off in Afghanistan. Jarrett spent more than his share of time hanging out of Blackhawk with a 50 caliber maching gun between his legs over Afghanistan and Iraq. Those were not pleasure trips.

Though some things change, some do not. I pushed the envelope in that Polaris RZR today. I caught myself in a curve going just a little too fast and I was in doubt for just a second and I liked it way too much.

I have a love affair with the gas pedal. I don’t need to ride that thing alone again.

But it sure was fun today.