I sat in the audience surrounded by friends of the riding persuasion, and I passively watched. We were not the largest segment of folks at this gathering, but we were significant in number nonetheless. It was a rather large group gathered that hot, humid afternoon in southwestern Louisiana, and it was a rather somber purpose we were about…
We were gathered to witness the exchange of vows, pledges of desire to join two people together into a new ‘one’, and to express their love for each other. My long-time friend and riding bud, JP, was tying the proverbial knot… things were about to change!
It was a nice wedding ceremony, to be sure, and we were all dressed-up far more than usual. I’d even stopped by and bought some new duds just for the occasion, and I must say they felt… unfamiliar! For the past two decades now, I’ve worn only jeans and riding shirts except for the occasional wedding, funeral, or other more formal event… No tie, mercifully, but what the hey, it was all for a good friend.
Standing under the floral arch waiting for the bridal party and to perform the official functions of this elaborate contractual engagement was none other than another good friend and serious rider, Hotglue! I’d heard somewhere back in the barely recallable past that he had sent off for and received some online credential legally enabling him to do such things… Well, that indeed turned out to be true.
Soon enough folks in suits and ties, gowns and bouquets, began to make their entrance one at a time, all with that straight ahead stare, and all doing their best to appear serious and ‘happy’ at the same time. Truth be told, I’ll bet their thoughts were more about not tripping or flubbing their role in this unfolding drama…
Except for JP’s two sons, plus two other guys, the other male members of that entourage were VRCC folks… an ‘A’ list representation of Valkyrie celebrities, barely recognizable with their suits, ties, and boutonnieres on their lapels. No grease under any fingernails, either, that I could see.
I thought about such events, and why it is that we do them… Tradition, habit, custom, expectation? I suspect there must be more to it than that, but… what? I asked the ‘Reverend’ Hotglue what he thought, and he speculated it could be confirmation…
Rituals of this sort reinforce, confirm, who we are. More, they remind us that our way of life is valid and proper. We need such things, I suppose… us human beings alone and isolated in this vast undertaking we call life… There is comfort in knowing we are not alone and that we ‘belong’, that we are doing things the ‘right way’, and that who we are is not a waste of life… Good point, Mark!
Naturally, my mind was racing along pondering this then that, as it almost always does, but there was this one recurring theme… I was happy, too! Yep, I was nearly deliriously happy that I was sitting where I was and merely observing, and that I was not standing next to Hotglue under the arch answering those meaningful, binding questions! We each had our place that day, and I was in the one I favor most of all… Am I down on marriage? Not at all…
There is a time and place for that, and I have certainly had mine… That was then, and this is now. The new life I undertook more than thirteen years ago was such a stark change from what I had previously known and accepted as ‘the way things are and are supposed to be’. It has been remarkable since, however, and it has been the best period in my entire life. It did require a major adjustment in my thinking, though, and it challenged my thinking like nothing before had.
This new adventure has some drawbacks… like most every choice in life does… Prominent among those is the necessity of being solo… This would not be the same adventure if even one other person were along with me… A price too high for most to consider or be willing to pay, but essential… For yours truly, that price has been quite heavy, but the value received has more than compensated for the loneliness and isolation that goes along with it much of the time… To each his own, I reckon…
Well, the exchange of vows wasn’t the only interesting dialog I got to witness… and the ones that came outside the ceremony included some opportunities for me to speak some, too. At the reception, a group of us Valk pilots were seated at the ‘River House’, one of the properties ‘Mrs. Hard6’ owns, and we were heavily engaged in big-dogging-it and earnestly swapping yarns, like we always do whenever we congregate…
Somehow the topic of fishing came up, and I felt a need to share a story… Once upon a time my ex and I along with another couple were on a sailing trip, and we decided to try our luck fishing off the stern of the boat, once we had anchored and called it a day… Yes, alcohol was involved…
My bud, Bob, cast out his line with some bait on the hook, and just as the bait hit the water a seagull snatched it up and took off… Bob was fighting that thing, and it was a site to behold! The bird finally gave up and relinquished his meal, but Bob swore that was the best ‘fight’ he’d ever had with a rod and reel… Way better than any fish, and the action was three dimensional, not just below the surface!
Listening intently to all of that was TJ, our good bud and long-time rider from west Texas… He offered that that tale reminded him of prairie-dog fishing, then he asked if we’d ever heard of that… “Heck no! Please tell us…”
According to TJ, it all starts with a little preparation… You’ll need a lounge chair, a cooler properly stocked, a rod and reel but no hooks, and a loaded pistol. You first pay-out line to a hole, fashion a snare around the hole, then have a seat in the lounge chair. Next, retrieve a brew from the cooler and relax. When you see a prairie-dog stick his head out of the hole to have a look around, give a good yank on the line… sort of like setting a hook when fish fishing.
The prairie-dog will fight like the dickens, and you’ll have much sport. As you reel in the line, the dog will fight ever harder… until you get it about twenty yards from you. At that point the dog will realize he isn’t going to get free, so he’ll reverse his tactics, stop fighting, and run straight at you… and that, my friends, is why you brought the pistol. Texans always make the most of any situation or circumstance…
Some of the ladies also had their own dialog going, too…
DDT
