To Wound A Sparrow...
Say what?! Talk about catchy titles... No, I have no subconscious desire to harm small critters, although I have had to come to terms with the inevitable slaughter of insects and the occasional other critter that goes with bike riding. There is a story behind the selection of that particular title, though, as you no doubt suspect, but first... I had other birds with which to deal...
Yep, for example I had some crow to eat at the FCR, as I'd known I would. I'd gone to some length explaining to several of my dearest friends why I was not going to be there this year. All of that stemming from the recent and sudden passing of my landlady. I'd actually decided to forego all group activities for the foreseeable future...
I'd just figured I was going to want to spend much time in the saddle alone to collect my thoughts, place things in proper context, and arrive at a place where I could continue on as before. The suddenness and finality of it all had caught me largely flat-footed, so time was needed, I'd reasoned, for... all that follows such tragedies...
I'd travelled some distance, too, in my aimless wanderings while undergoing some rather intense wind therapy. I smiled as I unexpectedly wandered into a smallish village in upstate South Carolina and realized where we were when I spotted a certain sign... Good timing for a break, I'd thought to myself, and there was an unmistakable photo op as well...
You see, we have a redneck fellow Valk rider who is from very near there... just a teensy bit west of there, in fact...
Anyway, all that wandering around solo riding had cleared most of the cobwebs from my thinker muscle cavity, and my coming to terms with recent events had progressed much faster and smoother than I'd feared they might. So, I was in a favorable posture already when Sweet Cheeks happened upon the scene and planted the seed...
Admittedly I wasn't a very tough sell... The FCR is one of the premiere Valk events of all, and SmokinJoe has consistently done a fabulous job of orchestrating a most enjoyable weekend for all who attend. It also happens to be attended by many, many folks I've come to know quite well over the years, and with whom I always look forward to spending some time.
What finally turned me around, though, were the comments of some of y’all. Janice had posted something on Facebook about our encounter, and there were some mighty nice replies made to that entry. She showed me what others had said, and that’s when the scale tipped and I swung completely around… All of a sudden, I felt an overpowering urge to go amongst such fine folks, so arrangements were quickly made…
Following the FCR… now this may come as a bit of a shock to some of you, so grab a hold of something solid if you’re going to read on… I had no plans whatsoever! Nope, I had not a clue which way we might go next. Big Wolf interceded once again, as he has many times before… “You could always drop by the house for a few days…” Well, our girl just happened to be due for an oil & filter change, so… that became a plan… As is typical, a couple of other things ended up being addressed, as well…
The port-side fork had been seeping a wee dram of fork oil now and then, as it had several times before. Jerry has one of those handy tools for sliding under the fork seal and cleaning away ‘gradoo’ and such, so that simple task was undertaken. After around a thousand miles later, though, still no fork oil seepage! Thanks Jerry, good job!!!
The oil & filter were changed without incident or boo-boo (not always the case with this non-mechanic involved), and then it was decided to replace the spark plugs. Again, no problems or issues arose! We were on a roll! Our girl does start now like she has throughout most of her life, so apparently I’d been neglectful lately yet again…
It was time to hit the road again, so with the usual mixed feelings I said farewell to my hosts and pointed our girl in some random direction. I had no idea how or where we might spend the following week or so killing time and scrapping miles off as we meandered generally towards Montgomery and my annual appointment for a physical. Perhaps we could go west? Or east? North? Or south? Yes, we did…
Lots of smiles as our route continually changed throughout each day! No set route, just zigging and zagging hither and yon, mostly dodging forecasted rain… It turned into a delightful ride that brought us to a suitable locale for a lay-over and much needed day of rest… Monroeville, AL.
Some of you may know that as the home of Harper Lee and Truman Capote… She is the author who penned the novel
To Kill A Mockingbird, which was later made into a movie starring among others Gregory Peck. Well, I’d been unable to figure out how she might have come up with that title… so I asked some locals…
Everybody asked was familiar with that story, but nobody had a clue how that title had been selected. I seriously pondered on it myself. Later, a very nice lady suggested that maybe Harper and Truman had collaborated on that choice… which might explain it, I suppose. However, I finally decided that great authors can come up with just about anything, even if having nothing at all to do with the story itself, and hang it on there just for attention-getting. The prerogative of the masters, so to speak…
Naturally, I have no inclination to include myself in the same conversation as the masters, and nothing I’ve ever jotted down would be in their league by even the longest of shots; however… I do aspire to be far better than I am now. So, it struck me that maybe by adopting some of their quirks and style points I just might could bolster the standing of my own stuff…
To Wound A Sparrow... now does that sound catchy to any of y’all…? It works just fine for me…
DDT