Look at that bike. Isn't she purty? I call her Suzi. I just picked it up yesterday, September 12, at Friend and Friend in Orono. The ride back to work for my afternoon show on Q-106.5 was soooo sweet after having been without a bike since August 25, when a deer and I met in Kenduskeag--it totaled the bike as you may remember, and injured me slightly. I was blessed on that Saturday morning to escape serious harm. The good Lord--praise His holy name--kept me alive for His own purpose. I'm good with that.

I'm posting this little article so you can get a good look at my new ride, but also to dispel any thoughts you might have on my mental well-being after having been in a crash on a motorcycle. It seems like there's been a few here in Maine this year.

There have been a number of people who have been really concerned for me, which I appreciate more than you could ever know. And many have asked these questions a few times both to me and my lovely bride, Shirley: (To me) "Aren't you a little "gun shy" to get back on a bike again?" (To Shirley) "You think he's okay to ride after that?"

Shirley knows me better than anyone, and she'll tell you that I've always been a risk-taker and a bit of a dare-devil. I like trying new things, more than once if I like it a lot. I've sky-dived twice, white-water rafted in class five rapids, fell off a mountain cliff helping to launch a hang-glider (almost died), survived a couple of car crashes, and have also done some other things that I only share in one-on-one settings...yeah, they were stupid.

Now when I tell you that getting back on a motorcycle was not a big deal, believe it. I've settled down a lot now that I'm in my fifties. When you get a bit older you have a different perspective that you can't quite grasp in your younger years. But let me tell you this, even as I continue to age I refuse to sit on my tookus and watch life pass me by being fearful that something "just" might happen to me.  God gave me one life only in this world before he decides to call me home, and I'm going to live it out, brothers and sisters. If something should happen to me on a motorcycle, or should I choke to death on an onion ring (love those things) in a restaurant, know that I live by this motto: "To live is Christ, to die is to gain."

I choose life... how about you?

 

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