The Bostonian Abroad

This ride was to honor the memories of those law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, and also to raise money to help the families of these officers. The ride stopped at the different memorials for each law enforcement agency: Raleigh Police, State Troopers, and the Wake County Sheriff's Department. About 300 bikes/bikers participated in this ride, most of whom were either in law enforcement or connected to it in some way. Everyone was very respectful, and the ride was conducted in a very safe manner, along winding, back country roads. The police escorts for this ride were expert at blocking traffic to make a safe path for us, and overall I think for my first group ride, I could not have chosen a better event. The only problem I had was that the lady on the rice rocket next to me was not maintaining the staggered formation, and she kept revving up and passing me, only to slow down again and get behind me. This was needlessly dangerous, and I ended up just staying wa...

So I've joined you, techno-savy rabble! I received a Nano as a gift, and I jumped into the next wave with both feet! Now, I'm sitting at the computer for lengthy hours, loading songs from CD's (how quaint!) and buying songs for a buck a pop at the iTunes store! I'm hip! I'm with it! So why do I still feel like a reluctant, old, techno-hating curmudgeon? Why, I'll tell you why, young whipper-snapper! It's because this is the 4th time I've seen the basic music medium change! I was born in the age of records and 8-track cassettes. Then, audio cassettes came out, and by this time, I was old enough to care. My sisters were screwed because they had the older format, and had to buy all new versions. Then, CD's came out and I was screwed too. I ended up buying close to 800 CD's and I even have a CD tower that holds up to 1200 CD's! Now what am I going to do with all those increasingly irrelevant disks? Keep them? I know I will for now, a...

I'm not really that old, but I feel it sometimes. I feel it when I don't work out for a couple of days and my joints begin to ache and crack. I feel it when I work out and I have stiffness and pain for a few days afterwards. It is especially evident in the lines on my face - though these are still subtle. The grey hairs I am beginning to notice are the final calling card, letting me know that I have passed a milestone. You read all the time about this kind of thing. Movies are made about it. It's a tired, old story about realizing that you are getting older and that youth is going or gone. My rephrasing it is most likely only of interest to me - a sort of middle-aged self-indulgence, but I feel my view on it is worth putting down. In my case, getting older means realizing that the endless wellspring of energy I once had is now not endless. I used to feel that I could go on forever if I wanted to. That whole concept of ferever has changed too. Forever, back when I was younge...

February 1st, and the snow was flying! Well, at least, for a few hours. Then it turned to rain, and by the end of the day, my face-down snowman was all that remained of a "winter wonderland." Truth be told, I actually miss getting snow in the winter. To only have cold days, without the beauty brought by the occasional snowfall, makes winter just a grim, sad time, with little to see that makes one feel good inside. Snow, for all its cold, has the effect of making you feel all warm and cosy in your house, curled up in a blanket in front of the fire, drinking cocoa. In North Carolina, everythintg closes, pretty much, because there is nothing substantial to clear away the snow and ice. People are not used to driving in icy conditions, so accidents abound. Northerners complain about the "pussies" down here, but they are too short-sighted. Why spend the mega-bucks required to prepare for a serious winter storm when you only see one every three to five years? It...

Assing into a turn- I only started riding in March of 2006. As of now, that is about 9 months. I can hardly consider myself an authority on anything to do with motorcycling, but I I can say that I have noticed something about how I ride. I was taught that when cornering, the mantra is Slow-Look-Press-Roll (Slipper). I have used this, and sometimes find myself saying this aloud when I am trying to be careful. But I've noticed too that I tended to over-press, then had to compensate. My turns were not graceful at all, but slightly wobbly, meandering affairs that might get me pulled over for drunk driving, even though I'm stone-cold sober. Then, in those moments when there is no one up my ass or trying to outright pass me on the small 2-lane backroads I frequent, I notice that I tend not to press so much with my hands or arms, but lean into the curve with, for lack of a better word, my ass. I call it "assing into the turn". Whenever I let my ass do the leaning, and...

Being that I've put 3,000 miles on my new Harley since June, I thought it wise to check with the dealer to make sure what all had been done on my bike before they sold it to me. I called the dealership in Rocky Mount, and - lo and behold, nothing at all had ever been done! They sold me a motorcycle without ever having changed the oil or even inspecting it! When this oversight was discovered, the service man immediately offered to do it for free. I was very satisfied by this offer, and I immediately took him up on it. Today, after a long and boring drive home from Lillington in my VW Golf, I hopped on my Road King and quickly set off for Rocky Mount. What a great ride! The temperature was barely 66 degrees, the sun was shining, the sky was clearing out after yesterday's rain, and the leaves were in the midst of their yearly color-dance. It was magnificent! Mindfull of the cooler weather, and of the fact that I'd be doing 70 mph or more up route 64, I dressed in layers,...

I'm tired of being embarrassed, ashamed and confused by my country. Each day it seems to get even worse, too. And this obsession we have in this country of labelling people as conservative or liberal, republican or democrat - it's utterly absurd, and ultimately, hurtful to the entire nation. There seems to be no room in the national discussion for people who don't identify entirely with one side or the other. Actually, it isn't even a discussion anymore, it is a constant, nerve-wracking, mud-slinging, evil debate, with only one goal in mind - power. We've lost the purpose of government. We've lost the ideal of participation. We've lost our sense of belonging to a greater whole. Nowadays, we all feel like we are entirely divorced from the forces which dominate our lives. We don't really even care anymore, unless we are terrified into making knee-jerk reactions. Where did America go? I want to live in a country I can be proud of again, a place I fee...