Paybacks, Tit for Tat, Quid Pro Quo…
Many folks don’t believe in some sort of higher order in which balance and symmetry tend to even things out over time… Karma, if you will. That good deeds sooner or later get rewarded just as bad deeds eventually get punished over the long haul. The link between causes and effects aren’t always readily apparent, however, so those who don’t believe in this quickly point to that seeming absence as ‘proof’…
Many of us do believe there is something to all of that, but we find it nearly impossible to convince others who don’t agree. It really doesn’t matter at all, as whatever folks believe is their own business and their right to hold those thoughts. Maybe there is and maybe there isn’t… I can’t make a convincing case for either point of view. I do know what I believe, though…
Take my traveling companions, as an example. Lately I’ve been asking myself if perhaps they’re having to now engage in some sort of penance, payback for past indiscretions. I have no idea what dark deeds might lie in the past of any of my dear friends, but… the price must be paid in full, and payment apparently has come due: The scales of justice must be balanced. Could it be the tab for some sordid period of chronic jaywalking confronting them? Perhaps some or all of them have recklessly run with scissors at some time long ago…
Taking an extended road trip with the notorious bug slayer might not be the sort of punishment that comes to mind when considering a capital offense sentence. Nor would it by any means be the sort of thing that one would gleefully respond to the just liberated genie from a lamp offering to grant three wishes. Something somewhere in between, I would think… A motorcycle road trip to Alaska is a most exciting prospect. Having to make it with said bug slayer, on the other hand, would be… well, there are several obvious downsides to that, I’m afraid!
Aging with accompanying physical stamina reductions, along with increased crankiness commensurate with the onset of curmudgeon-ness combining to wear down group cohesion and dampen overall enthusiasm. Accommodation and compromises must be made, which is another way of saying everybody is a little disappointed, so no one is majorly disappointed. We’ve worked through several of those kinds of issues…
I must say, however, that the group has come through all adjustments so far cheerfully and with no outward symptoms of regret or dissatisfaction. What generous friends my three dear pals have proven to be!
Mitch rode with Janice up the Icefields Parkway in Alberta early in our ride, so she would not miss one of the top rides in North America, in my view. Because a very long day would be involved, I was granted an ‘excused absence’ since I’ve ridden that ride many times and didn’t want to wear myself down that early in the trip on something I’ve already experienced. Trout Dude has also made that ride twice himself, so he elected to join me on a leisurely ‘short cut’ route after which we rejoined Janice and Mitch.
Once in Alaska, a ride to Denali NP was planned and executed… by the three more youthful members of our entourage while the less vigorous member took a day off and loafed. A very long day was involved but one not to be missed… by most! A good accommodation with a happy outcome for all involved…
The third accommodation occurred when the energetic threesome made a Marathon dash to Anchorage and Valdez on another very long side trip that allowed them to see things this previous visitor had already enjoyed… Another ‘excused absence’ and three easy days while my friends rode their tails off. We met up back in Yukon Territory to make our way towards Calgary again then back to the lower 48.
As I’ve been reliving this episode in my mind, an interesting corollary theory has bubbled to the surface… Just maybe they aren’t doing any penance at all… Perhaps their actions are the predicate for some monumental good that will come their way as a result of all the good will and forbearance shared on this amazing trek to the Northland… They surely deserve it!!!
DDT (12)
Some random photos provided by Sweet Cheeks…
