Drug Problem?

I didn’t write this, don’t know who did, but it’s oh, so true.

Read on:

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ”Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?” I replied: I HAD a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me. I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad’s fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed. Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

~author unknown~

Ah, the first grass cutting of the year.

It’s usually a special time, getting the mower ready, always finding something wrong, taking the time to fix said issue, then getting it done.

Yesterday was that day.

Surprisingly enough, the mower was good to go, no flat tires to plug, the gas stabilizer did it’s job and what not, it started first crank.

2 and half hours or romping around on the mower and the grass is mowed. The kids did a great job picking up all the sticks and branches that had fallen. We now have a half a dozen good size piles.

The mower of course needs new blades as it does every year but we typically wait until after a few cuts cause you never know what you’re going to run into or over.

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Maria spent most of the evening riding her scooter.

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Even after she crashed and burned this weekend, it hasn’t slowed her down a bit.

A good way to start the season.

Yesterday I took off early to meet some folks from the FJR Forum.

I got up at 0 dark-thirty and took off to meet up with Nate and Mike. Nate was riding in from West of Indianapolis, and Mike from Louisville. Our meeting point was exit 112 on I-70. I got there promptly at 9am, which was a task given all the fog.

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The three of us then rolled on over to exit 202 I think, to meet the rest of the gang at a little po-dunk gas station.

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We rolled away from there around 10am, and ran route 800, 255 (which was horrible from a gravel stand point), 26, and a few other numbers.

We stopped and took a little break then picked up a tag-a-long VStrom which made us a pack of 8.

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The roads were all good except for the one that was 25 miles of gravel, sand and cinders. It was pretty amazing that no-one went down considering the conditions.

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We rode a good few hours and ended up in Marietta for lunch at a Ryan’s steak house. It wasn’t my pick, and surprisingly everything was pretty good. Good time, good riding, good company. That’s what it’s all about.

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After lunch we headed back to where we started. Another good hour and a half of riding through more twisties up 26. We stopped that the gas station, and said our goodbyes.

Mike, Nate and I headed back towards home. We arrived together, we might as well leave together since we’re all headed the same direction. Things were fine until we started to get on I-70. The entrance ramp there is a bit funky. You cross over the highway, turn left on a side street, then an immediate left onto the ramp. Mike almost over shot the ramp, turned left quickly and then *boom* down he went. The exit ramp was covered with gravel and sand.

He went down hard and fast, then slid a good 25~30 feet off the side of the road into a ditch.

Nate and I stopped and helped him pick up the bike. Mike was fine because he was AGAT (All the Gear All the Time). His jacket and pants saved him from any road rash and his helmet kept him from busting his head wide open. He went down pretty hard and bounced right back up none the worse for wear.

His bike though didn’t do so well.

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Damage included pretty much everything on the left side, upper and lower fairings, his highway peg was trashed, as were his aux lighting on the left as well. Left side exhaust was scraped up, and he even got the left side of the top case.

Again, Mike was fine, because he was covered. His bike mechanically was Ok too. He rode it home to Louisville. Nate and I followed him to make sure he and the bike were OK.

Outside of Mike’s episode, it was a great day. I put down almost 700 miles and Mike and Nate did almost a 1000.

 

The Cincinnati Enquirer just sucks.

Check this headline: Carroll out of jail for new trial.

Anyone familiar with the Liz Carroll case is going to think “What the…” I can’t believe she’s getting a new trial!

So you click on the link and learn she’s been moved from her regular jail to the Justice Center in Hamilton County.

Pardon me, but getting moved from one ‘Jail’ to another ‘Jail’ doesn’t constitute ‘being out of jail, which is how that reads’.

I’m really glad I don’t pay for the enquirer, they are getting worse every day. On the other hand I do read it for free and I guess I got what I paid for.

Sheesh.

Tire Changing, what fun

OK so yesterday I pulled the wheels from the FJR and tossed them in the back of the Excursion.

Today we broke in the new No-Mar Tire changer.

Dad had already unpacked it an put it together by the time I go there. We have it temporarily mounted to a 3/4 sheet of plywood and that worked out pretty well.

If we ever figure out a permanent home for it we’ll permanently mount it 😉

We started with the rear tire and took our time. I brought my laptop so we could watch the DVD as many times as needed.

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And we needed too…

This tire changing thing is an art, that’s for sure, there are tricks and stuff to getting it just right.

We struggled quite a bit with the rear. Mostly because (a) we didn’t use enough lube, and (b) the FJR’s rear rim is very shallow. But none the less we did get it off without breaking any knuckles nor a single cuss word was uttered. That’s a good thing.

The front came off and went on very very easily.

So far this no-mar thing is a good thing, today I saved between $50 and $100 by mounting my own tires. It won’t take too many times to cover this cost of the machine 🙂

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