RIP Dana

It doesn't look like any of us are going to be able to make it out to your neck of the woods this year, which means you won't have some Masshole leaving you a quarter on your stone.  That doesn't mean we don't think about you, or that your name doesn't still get mentioned now and then (don't worry; all good stuff).

We all hope that you and the rest of the guys are looking down on us and smiling.  Or scratching your heads and thinking WTF is wrong with them...

We miss you all.  We'll hoist a beer again at some point.

RIP Dana

Russell Remembrance

They say as we get older, time seems to slip past faster and faster.  That seems evidenced quite plainly as I sit here, thinking about you.  How can it be 12 years already.

Seriously...12 years?

It doesn't square in the mind...

This year's remembrance goes back to '03 or so.  I don't recall the exact year so much as the circumstances.  I'd semi-recently picked up my Fatboy and that was '02, so I'm thinking '03 is a safe guesstimate.

At any rate, your bike had been down for a while.  I forget the specifics, but suffice to say it'd been a while since you'd enjoyed some wind therapy.

You'd planned one of your weekend sojourns down here, arriving sometime during the day on Friday.  I was going to be at work, so it only made sense for me to take 4 wheels to work that day so you could take the bike out for some fun.

When I got home that evening, you were in a grand mood!  You talked about where you'd ridden, how great it was to be astride a bike again; the leaning, the turning, the thrill...you had a HUGE grin on your face!  You were truly happy, and it was so awesome to see.

It wasn't until some time later you commented you'd had it up well over 100...

Uhh...say what?...you seemed to have left that part out of your initial retellings.

Haha, we had a good laugh about that!  :-D

Man, it was so awesome to see you in such a good mood.  It goes without saying that I wish you were headed down again for one of your stays-of-unknown-length.  I think everyone down here would love to see you again.

We miss the hell out of you, Brother.

Victrola!

Happy Birthday, Russ

Sorry Chum, I'm late in the day for posting this. But since you're looking down on us, you know it's been a busy day so far. POW/MIA vigil In the early hours, then off to a 22KILL support run. But it doesn't mean you haven't been on my mind. I've been looking for a brief respite to get this posted.

We still miss the hell out of you, and we wish we could see your face, listen to your stories, and especially hear your laughter.

But we'll have to wait til we meet again for that.

Victrola Brother

Absentia In Excess

Holy crap! Has it really been over a year and a half since my last post? (In all honesty, I did mention that I'd been contemplating stepping away from this thing.)

I guess it would be interesting if I explained that I'd been on some grand, worldwide adventure or something, and that's why I haven't been keeping up to date.

But alas, that's not the case. Like most folks, I've been working too much and being laid too little.

I just noticed that my phone changed "paid too little" to "laid too little". I was going to correct it, but then it dawned on me that either statement is equally accurate.

Anyway, the reason I'm here after such a lengthy absence is because I was scolded for not keeping current. I can't promise it won't be another long stretch before I pop in again, but I did want to stop in real quick and say...

...Hi Mom McCarthy, I'm doing ok. Thank you for caring. :-)

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Timing is Everything

I woke this morning, thinking abou thtis blog.  I've obviously been not paying much attention to it so I was actually pondering whether or not I should post a final entry. Something like "It's been a great ride, see ya around" (or some other equally triet and cliche saying).

I didn't come to any concrete decision, but the thought was still floating around in the back of my head.

And then I stepped outside to find a package had been droppd off - sometime either last night or this morning.  Huh.  I haven't ordered anything so I'm not expecting anything, I wonder what it could be?

Bringing in inside, the return address was from Mark - sweet!  I wonder what that prankster has sent me!?!

I opened up the outer box...to find an inner box.  Oooh, I like this game!  Let's see what's inside this other one!

Hmmm...it says "Dave" on the side of this inner box.  Odd...if he were sending me something, why would he need to write my name on it?  Unless....

Wait a minute...there's someone else that lives at that address...

Opening up the second box, I found...a coffee mug!  Cool!  And it's got pics on the sides!!

LOL, oh boy...

And it all became clear to me.  The writing says #1 Son, but it's a pic of both Zig and I...ergo; who is definitively the #1?  (This also explains why the inner box had my name on it - I'm certain that Zig received a mug as well.  And let's not forget about Kate.  I imagine she received something as well)

The other pic on the mug is absolutely apropos!

Oh Mom...stirring things up again, I see.  :-)


Ok, so maybe this blog still has a purpose from time to time...

Global Warming

We just set a record for the lowest "high" temperature today.  We made it all the way up to 6 degrees in Boston (out here in Walpole, we enjoyed a balmy 15).  I didn't really pay attention to the weather report or what the lady was saying, but I did hear something about coldest high temp ever recorded for this day (Dec 28th).  The records go back 100 years, so for this year's Dec 28th to be the coldest ever...well...that's saying something.  Ain't it ain't something good.

Tonight's temps are going to drop even lower tonight so maybe we'll set a new record.  And, the temps don't look like they're going to climb out of the cellar for at least a week.  Awesome.

We don't usually see these kinds of temps until mid-Feb and while it sucks, it at least signals Winter has reached its peak. From there on out, the temps usually begin a maddeningly slow increase, but at least; upward.  Having these temps so early in the season makes me kinda nervous about what kind of winter we're in store for.

On a lighter note, Kate, Zig and I are heading out to Olean tomorrow, for New Year's.  King texted today to say that they had sub-zero temps going on, so we're not exactly improving our warmth factor but getting to see all those great friends will go a long way toward warming us up.

Here's wishing everyone a fantastic close-out to 2017, and a healthy and happy New Year's!

(Wishing I was able to) Ride Hard, Take Chances

Winter Solstice

As I'm sure many of you know, today is the winter solstice.  AKA; the shortest day of the year.  Sunrise is 7:10 am and sunset is 4:15 in the afternoon.  That's right; in the afternoon!  It's still the afternoon when we lose our favorite ambient light source!  But thankfully that will begin to change - very slowly of course, but still; the days will begin to get a tiny bit longer each day.

That's the great news.  The bad news is that today is also the official start of Winter, so while our days will be getting slightly longer, they'll also be getting colder and snowier.  (It's already been a shitty season so far; lots of salt and black ice, meaning the bike has been parked for a few weeks...hence the onset of winter anxiety I'm feeling).

Oh well, we gotta take the good with the bad I guess.

Ride Hard, Take Chances