Skip to main content

Motorcycle Lessons Over 60

My mom got in a motorcycle accident. She was driving. Taking lessons.

My mom married this really awesome man. She talked him into doing all kinds of things for himself that he never would have before knowing her.

When they met, for example, he drove an old sedan and started it with a wrench and because he's that mechanical type, he could've kept it running forever. And he would have. Even if he had the money. I'm not sure he believed he deserved nice things. But she talked him into buying himself a really nice truck.

She also talked him into buying himself a really nice Harley. He'd always wanted one. And they went for rides quite a bit. They loved it.

But then this awesome man died. And every time my mom thought about selling the Harley, she cried. Finally she sold the truck instead. And with the money, she bought a sidecar for the Harley in order to be able to drive it herself.

So she was taking lessons. But she's over 60. Learning the balance, and habits necessary isn't the easiest then. So yesterday she crashed. Left in an ambulance. She was joking and nice with her black and blue face and broken arm. Left arm.

Until... they said they'd have to cut off her wedding ring. She lost it. And flat out refused. She iced and worked it off her hand, because she was far too afraid to cut through the inscription on the wedding ring of her dead husband.

It makes me all teary eyed. I can imagine my mom beginning to heave in an ambulance about her wedding ring and all it represents. You can't cut through that. She's already been cut in half just by losing him. You just can't. They had a beautiful love and I'm glad at least that symbol of it got to stay whole. Even if her arm didn't. Even if it put a little crack in her resolve.

So I hope she heals her broken places inside and out and gets right back on that motorcycle.

(I should also mention that her plan is to put her 3 legged golden retriever in the sidecar when she's driving around. She's got someone working on developing a harness to seatbelt him in.)
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 21, 2010 at 10:21 PM

    YOU are awesome! Thanks for your understanding and support.
    mom

    ReplyDelete
  2. JudithMarch 22, 2010 at 1:18 AM

    I love how the story ends with your mom planning to be back on the motorcycle and the 3 legged dog in the sidecar.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Book Pimp

So I wrote this book and I think it's pretty decent. That's the feedback I'm getting anyway, which is bitchin' really since I have a degree in Education, NOT writing. Plus, this is my first try, so really I should be happy, right? But, turns out writing the book is maybe the easy part. The publishing is another story. You have to find a Literary Agent. To do this, you have to write a 1-3 page letter to many literary agents to convince them to read a sample chapter. Send it with a Self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and wait. there's more but I'm already experiencing a high level anxiety just writing about this part. In my letter, I'm supposed to explain who I am, what my book's about, why I'm qualified to write it, why its sicky illy good, who'll read it, and on and on. AHHHHHhhhhh! This shit scares me. Also, I'm supposed to be witty, clever, literary, and junk. Oh and explain a 300 page book in a sales pitch. I'm not a frea...
10 comments
Read more

Home birth- The real fuckin deal

So the end of pregnancy is for the fuckin birds. I'm sure plenty of you out there know this. There's nothing to say but that you're sick of being pregnant. You're a little sick of the sweet smiles and knowing looks from strangers. You're just all over sick of it. You're spectacularly sick of the: when's your due date how far are you are you having a boy or a girl I bet you're sick of this what hospital are you going to, conversations. You miss when people used to ask about the soccer game you played or the book you're reading. You're sick of swollen handsfeetfaceneckanklesEVERYTHING. Oh and from the beginning of pregnancy until FRIDAY, I had NO stretch marks. Friday my entire lower abdomen erupted into one. giant. stretch mark. So all weekend, I thought, please let this be over soon. Every cramp I felt I welcomed and thought, "whatever work my body does now, it doesn't have to do during labor." Little did I know how much ...
12 comments
Read more

Having Babies at Home

My whole life, I've heard the story of my cousin Anna's birth. And her sister's too. But I hear more about Anna's. My aunt didn't exactly have a lot of love for the medical profession. And her first baby had been a horrible experience. She'd had him wrenched from her at least as much as she "gave him up" for adoption by nursing staff who leered at her and called her unpleasant names. And she loved him when he was born. And she found him when he turned 18 and loved him till the day she died. When she had kids for keeps, she did it differently. She read books and assigned duties and had them at home. She was brave and surely faced many people who disagreed with her decision. But she stuck by her convictions and her desire for a natural birth and won 2 beautiful girls. My mom was there when Anna was born. So was her sister, Kristina. They both still get this sparkle in their eyes whenever they talk about it. My mom says it was one of the most ...
9 comments
Read more