For a guy who was such a sleepy-head the first half of his life, I have sure turned out to be an early riser in the later stages of this ongoing drama\u2026 Oh well, after putting a pot of ebony miracle fluid on, I went out on the porch before dawn to do my usual start-up meditation and to allow my mind some quiet time to come to terms with the fact it was no longer going to be at rest. I suppose my early-riser-hood is, therefore, more of a physical thing than a mental one after all\u2026 Hmmm, that would tend to explain a lot of things\u2026 anyway\u2026<\/p>\n
Now, at my new, sort of, residence we have a situation not uncommon to many middle-class Americans\u2026 too many vehicles and other stuff, but not nearly enough garage space to hold it all\u2026 Since there are two rather nice late model cars with only a two-car garage available, obviously, some triage of a sort has become necessary\u2026 And, ALI being the most senior vehicle by more than a decade, well, she is the one that drew the short straw and gets left outside. It helps that I also have a cover for her\u2026 It also helps that this is usually a circumstance of only short duration\u2026<\/p>\n
Well, proximity comes into play anytime I\u2019m sitting on the porch\u2026 From the chair that I sit in, I can look straight ahead and see our bike comfortably resting on her kickstand\u2026 and looking directly back at this absent-minded and occasionally neglectful rider of that now famous Valk.<\/p>\n
We do communicate openly, frankly, and frequently. In our own silent but distinctly intelligible language that we use with each other, but make no mistake about it, we do share feelings, aspirations, issues\u2026 stuff just like any other couple does\u2026 She appeared to be brooding, and she made it clear she had a bothersome feeling to share with me\u2026 I inquired\u2026<\/p>\n
Ever since we\u2019d returned from our most recent trek, more than three weeks ago, now, we\u2019d only been out one time, and that only for a day ride. Even though we\u2019d taken a long cut going and coming to and from the Florida Valk riders\u2019 picnic gathering at Salt Springs, we\u2019d still barely managed to log a meager hundred miles\u2026 She was getting stiff in her joints, she informed me, and she was also feeling neglected\u2026 Any chance for some relief, she pleaded?… Funny you should ask, I responded\u2026<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been corresponding with my cousin\/brother in No Head City, NC, the day before, and we\u2019d agreed I\u2019d drop by there as soon as I departed Alabama later in the week. I had to return to Bama, because one of the three doctors with whom I\u2019d had an appointment the week before had had to cancel\u2026 I\u2019d rescheduled another visitation for this coming Friday.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been forced to take my car on the previous junket due to rain, but it appeared a weather window might be opening for this upcoming venture\u2026 opening ever so slightly, though\u2026 Close, to be sure, but PMS being what it is, I\u2019d decided I was willing to take the risk\u2026 ALI was so proud of me, she exclaimed! Quite relieved, too, she added\u2026<\/p>\n
I hate to impose upon anybody, and I hate to appear to \u2018invite myself\u2019 to someone else\u2019s home\u2026 I\u2019d mentioned that to Nick and that I didn\u2019t want to just barge in\u2026 He\u2019d responded that I would not be barging in\u2026 I would merely be coming home! Dang!<\/p>\n
That sure does sound nice. We\u2019ve shared a roof before a couple of times early in life, and he\u2019d even lived with me briefly in Bama a couple of years ago, \u2026 In between we\u2019ve continued to visit with each other\u2026<\/p>\n
He refers to his place as \u2018The House of Harmony\u2019, and that is indeed a very fitting name for it! No arguments, fussing, rude or obnoxious behavior is ever allowed. Things always have a serene, \u2018everything is OK\u2019 feel to it, and\u2026 if you didn\u2019t know better, you might suspect we were home, home on the range there\u2026 Where never is heard a discouraging word\u2026<\/p>\n
Now ALI and I are confronted with another dilemma\u2026 I still haven\u2019t changed her oil & filter from the last trip\u2026 Of course, I know I should just go ahead and take care of business. I have already been to the various places to acquire all the needed stuff, so all that remains is simply to execute the task.<\/p>\n
Sounds simple enough, but\u2026 Do you recall me ever mentioning that I am, among other things, a life-long procrastinator? Of course, I may not have ever gotten around to actually mentioning that, so if I haven\u2019t, I do apologize\u2026 Anyway, I am\u2026<\/p>\n
This is a perfect situation tailor-made for one such as I\u2026 I could simply carry a filter with me, I reasoned, do another purchase of oil and a catch\/drain pan in No Head City, and then perform the task in Nick\u2019s garage. It was even easy to rationalize this to be a good idea! Yep, I would then have the pan available there for future use\u2026 Practical, too, as I do go there a couple of times a year and the need will surely arise again down the road sometime.<\/p>\n
Also, a good idea because it would allow me to put another thousand miles or so on this not all that old oil, thereby leaving the new oil even fresher for the next leg of our upcoming winter campaign\u2026 No, we don\u2019t have a plan just yet on where we might be going\u2026 but\u2026 we will be leaving Nick\u2019s at some point, and we don\u2019t particularly want to return to domestic activities\u2026<\/p>\n
And, I most surely don\u2019t want to plant my tookus in that conniving, ever-plotting recliner for the rest of the winter! I know it\u2019s wanting to lure me into doing that very thing, so I must remain strong and fight it\u2026 hard\u2026 I\u2019m going to go put an oil filter in my travel bag right now! Yep, a penchant for procrastination is paying off\u2026 again\u2026 It\u2019s a gen-u-ine comfort to know this cloud has a silver lining\u2026<\/p>\n
ALI and I are currently in a lamentable situation\u2026 PMS and all that\u2026 However, unlike my winter-bound pals up north and my work-bound pals everywhere, our situation is about to change for the better! Starting tomorrow morning, we\u2019ll be back on the road again\u2026 doing what we do\u2026 Yep, we\u2019ll be visiting friends, taking care of business, exploring America, seeking adventure everywhere along the way\u2026 Just taking things as they come, all the while living large and loving life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For a guy who was such a sleepy-head the first half of his life, I have sure turned out to be an early riser in the later stages of this ongoing drama\u2026 Oh well, after putting a pot of ebony …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=792"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":793,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions\/793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}