Dirty Chrome
Mood:  lucky
OK - yesterday, I took my motorcycle on a long trip on my own. I was looking forward to this trip and watched the weather (because it was very hot and humid). The TV dopplar showed clear skies - no rains and the news sites online stated this love comment "scattered storms???" Yes, the ? was in the forecast.
So, I put on my shorts and the leather chaps on over them and packed my leather coat and gloves in my saddlebags and headed off for the 90 mile one way trip. When I merged from one major interstate to another, I saw the sky getting black in the distance. I pulled over and put on my leather jacket and gloves to be safe...though miserable in the 90 degree heat.
Not long after that, the rain set in. Not a misting, not sprinkles, not even a shower...but full on wrath of God 40 days and 40 nights flood the world rain. A gust of wind came from behind me and I could literally feel myself and the bike being picked up from the road and moved sideways while on the interstate. I thought "Oh, no!"
I fought with the bike and managed to keep the tires down and shiny side up (in other words...I kept the bike right side up).
I stopped on the shoulder and sat on my bike so close to the interstate under and overpass. I didn't have flashers, so I was grabbing the brake handle and making the brake light flash. The rain was horizontal. It was massive. It was hard to sit on the bike but I didn't want to put it on its kickstand because it was so windy.
When the wind eased up a bit, I got back onto the interstate. The rain was really something still.
The rain eased up and I saw this amazing sky. It was totally black to my left (West) and then it was this rusty orange color like the setting sun...though it was five or more hours from sunset. I really thought that I was going to drive out of the storm...I had thought that I had seen the worst of if. Then BOOM - the rain and wind kicks in again. It starts stinging through my leather jacket, gloves and chaps. I think that this was the pea-sized hail the news would talk about later.
You couldn't see anything. The rain was so heavy. The wind was incredible. Fighting the wind, I pulled over again to an overpass. Then, cars started to honk on the interstate and northbound and southboun interstate traffic turned on their flashers, parked their vehicles and then fled to seek shelter under the overpass columns and everywhere else up and down the road. And then there's little ol' girlie me holding my 500+ lbs bike up.
Turns out, that a tornado had touched down very near there. The wind gusts, alone, were recorded at 91 mph.
I got back onto the interstate and made it to my destination. What really made me mad...it was sunny and dry where I was going. It was one of those ironic twists that pull at your strings.
I looked my bike over for hail damage once I got home. Luckily, the worst thing on that bike right now is just dirty chrome. I hope that I'm never in a storm like that again. It was very vicious. Very vicious indeed. I wouldn't have even wanted to be in a car driving through that storm.
RVs and semis were blown off of the same stretch of interstate that I was on. It's humbling to think about...

Thoughts on a dreary Saturday
Mood:  a-ok
OK, so I officially started a blog as opposed to writing everything on my home page. I never much understood these things - but I guess that they are helpful and fun in the process.

Yesterday, I attended a wedding of someone I've known since I was in elementary school. It's amazing how you fall out of touch with people even though you live so close. While there, I saw two other old friends I've not seen in many years. We all lived so close all these years. We were all different people, different ages, different interests; yet, we all shared one common friend. She was an elderly woman who loved life dearly and was more active than any young person. She had her gardens, compost pile, took walk through fields searching for those elusive arrow heads. She took ill a couple of years ago. I've not seen her for a couple of years. I visited many times in the hospital; however, it just tore me up. I've never seen her so frail in my life. I've had intentions of going to the nursing home, I've just never made it. I guess I'm just trying to keep what memories I have as they are. I will see her though.

If it weren't for the friends that I've just mentioned above, I would probably be a much different person than who I am now. I've stayed out of trouble and respected people. They were the first to ever read my poetry when I started writing...and believe me...it was horrible poetry but they encouraged me.

Definately not your typical group of friends you would expect to have through elementary to high school. It was so great to see part of the group restored yesterday at the wedding...I thought that would never happen again in this lifetime since all had gone their own ways over the last 10 years. I've known them for 17 years. Being that I'm 26 now, that is a big chunk of my life and memories.

That is what I am thinking on this dreary Saturday morning. Now, I must get ready and go to the license branch. :o( I bought a new car and must now get the plates for it. I dread spending that money, but what can you do about it? Oh well. No matter what you do in life, you have to pay - whether that be monetary, emotional or physical...we all have to pay one way or the other.