DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4112
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« on: May 14, 2022, 05:17:00 AM » |
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Friday The 13th… Superstitious?
I’m not… really… However, I see no percentage in taking foolish or unwarranted chances. Besides, I’d already had a spate of bad luck the day before…Truthfully, it was more like a brain fart (cranial cramp if you prefer), but it did still alter our trajectory and completely disrupt our lack of plans… Remedial action became necessary, and an unexpected ride back to Florida… OK, let me explain…
The day had become longer than I’d anticipated, the temperature had increased a bit more than I’d hoped for, and my body was starting to let me know a stop soon would not be a bad thing. No inviting motels along that stretch of highway in a more remote area of West Virginia. The ride itself had been quite exhilarating, though, and it was more than worth the absence of creature comforts more prevalent among other routes for us to come this way.
Such roads are not without a few distractions, however. Every now and then, we’d slam into an unnoticed pothole or some other imperfection in the pavement producing the usual reflexive profane utterance. Actions have consequences, choices produce outcomes, and decisions often set in motion ripple effects unanticipated or desired… Road repairs being a prime example…
When the COVID pandemic blindsided the world, politicians (so called leaders!) all scrambled to show proper concern, bold vision, and decisive action. Never let a crisis go to waste, and never be seen as sitting on ones’ hands during trying times! Also, never ever be seen as one who failed to act promptly to protect ‘the people’… Lockdowns became ‘required’ along with many other shot-in-the-dark measures all designed to add luster or at least avoid tarnishing the image of the elected officials in charge.
People were sent home and kept there away from their usual pursuits. Not entirely, of course, but enough to radically impact the ‘work’ of a large percentage of the labor force, much of which simply was stopped… shut down. Well, that resulted in lost earnings… and that produced reduced taxes and government revenues at all levels. The feds just printed more, but for states and locals, enormous belt-tightening was called for. One of the largest budget items for any state or local government entity is… yep, road work. Ergo, improvement projects were pushed out even further than they already were, and… there I was cursing the jarring blows being absorbed…
Still no motels came into view and the day wore on… Finally a store in some small hamlet showed some promise, so a break was taken… As I stood outside relaxing in the shade and sipping some cold water, I glanced admiringly at our girl, then… Hmmm, why are those bungee cords dangling like that, I wondered? Well, no wonder! The bag they’d been holding onto the pile of other bags was missing! Dang!
I’d been forced to buy another bag so my Gerbings liner and chaps could be carried outside the usual bags that had slowly been filled to the point of straining seams with new stuff. I’d been fairly disciplined over the years about taking on additional stuff so we could avoid having such a load… Lately, however, I’d done a wee bit of backsliding, so additional ‘space’ had been created to accommodate the additional ‘necessities’. Obviously I hadn’t secured that new bag sufficiently, so a momentary bit of laxness had turned into an expensive boo-boo.
My first instinct had been to retrace our route and look for that bag… Nah, it could have been anywhere along our long ride that day… I couldn’t recall actually checking our load like we all should at any of our last few stops, so… Better to just go on and accept that I was going to have to buy new stuff, it was finally concluded… We’d need to alter our glide path some, though… Venturing farther north without proper gear for the cooler temps would necessarily require postponement.
That day turned into an unusually long day, as I continually passed on ‘indoor corridor’ motels and searched for one more convenient for an older guy with gimpy knees and lots of heavy bags! Finally one was discovered as the sun was about to singe the horizon… It did have the advantage of a McDonalds and a truck stop across the street, plus a restaurant on the other side of the motel… Hey, they even had a guest laundry!
The following morning, I decided to reward myself for being so productive lately… Yep, we’d returned to solo riding, braved an unpaved mountainous road, successfully extricated ourselves from grave peril, then we’d survived the longest day we’d had in some time, all the while loosing valuable gear, but ordering replacements that very evening. WOW! I was rather impressed with myself! OK, time for some much-needed laundry, and maybe a much-needed lazy day complete with a couple of naps…
I called my landlord (BIL) and filled him in on the goings on… I also informed him the ordered replacement gear would be arriving there in a few days, and since I needed to return to Montgomery the following week anyway, I was thinking about dropping by… I wouldn’t stay but a night or two, but… we’ll see… Heck, I may need to remain over a weekend so he and I can take a ride together… He has the bug now, ya know…
I did take Friday the 13th off… No, I’m not actually superstitious, but why take any unnecessary chances…? Besides, I was tired, down to wearing my cleanest dirty clothes, and I’d been traumatized enough!
DDT
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