Have not ridden in quite a while, but recently got a deal I could not pass up. An 86 Yamaha Virago 1100 with only 14,000 miles on it for $400.
My first bike was a 56 Harley FLH "panhead", with suicide shift. Not a good bike to learn on. :-) About six weeks after I got my lisence, I got cut off by a tractor trailer, loaded with steel. If I'd been more experoenced, I'd have aboided him, but I bailed and dropped the bike. The trailer turned it into pretzled scrap iron. My next bike was a 250 Sprint (Aeromachi/Harley Davidson). I rode it till I got out of the Navy, then sold it. Bought a 150 Lambretta Speciale, which I rode for about twenty years, then sold and got a Honda CB500-4. Sold it in 2010, when i needed to replace a dead car. So have not had a bike for the last ten years.
Looking forward to getting the Virago on the road this coming Spring. Have to rebuild the fuel system, and put a pair of tires on it.
Any other riders on here? What's your current and past rides?
Schism of 1054 - I was double-checking my memory of the year, in a discussion about the RC church with a friend.
I choose D - None of the Above. My favorite part of a woman is her brain.
only can spy through keyholes
I'm like Buz (YIKES!!!)
A title comes to me, and then the story line follows.
Sometimes though, the title is part of, or gets shortened from, a line of dialogue that popped into my head and caused the story to evolve.
"Who wouldn't want to win a Dirty Martini award?"
I think this is a wonderful idea, and a fitting tribute.
Nicola, if you're following this, can we? Huh? Can we? (jumps up and down, begging)
Alan was one of the good guys. He will be missed.
Most famous I ever met? Well - lessee - as a high school band musician, I played for and was introduced to three presidents (although they weren't president at the time) - Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
As a Navy musician, I had a phone conversation with Admiral Tom Moorer, after I played Roast Beef of Old England on fife for him. He asked me to say hi to my dad, whom he knew from Westinghouse's Nuclear Instrumentation Division; and I played a concert under the baton of Arthur Feidler in 1976, after which he invited me to audition for the utility flute/piccolo chair with Boston Symphony.
I played for about six months at a club where Blaze Starr was part owner, and danced a few times. Shared drinks with her and the rest of the dancers and musicians between shows.
I suppose all those "count" as meetings, but the one I think is more important to me was the time I went to a blues club in Nashville. Turned out, it was jointly owned by "Boots" Randolph and Chet Adkins. "Boots" was playing that night, and between sets, we got to talking. So, after the gig, I went to his house where we sat around and drank Jack Daniels and played tenor sax duets together for a couple of hours. I have always considered that as having had a music lesson from him, because he said so many things about playing and performing that I have remembered since.
I think Robert Heinlein had it pretty close to right when he wrote in Time Enough For Love "The more you love, the more you can love -- and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just. "
That said, there is some merit to the argument that "true love" is indicated by the willingness to self-sacrifice. I can state with absolute surety that I am an example of someone who is unable to put a person ahead of my muse. Does that mean I place myself first? Not necessarily. I place music performance and the audience first. Consequently, I have played jobs when I was running a temperature over 100; I have played jobs when I was tired, both mentally and physically; I have played jobs where I drove over 100 miles and played for free. I have played outdoors in the rain, and in snow, and I have played indoors where there was not heat and the temperature was so low you could see your breath. After one of my best big band performances several years ago, I drove myself to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with pneumonia. So I would say that I did not put myself first; I made a sacrifice for the music.
MY third marriage ended because I felt so guilty taking time from us to play, that my wife said to me, "I can't let you do this to yourself any more. I am leaving you, so that you can play music without feeling guilty." I was so depressed, I nearly committed suicide, and had figured out how to do it, but couldn't get a substitute to play a job I had scheduled (and for which people had paid money for tickets), and couldn't figure out how to be sure someone would find my dog before she suffered. So, instead of hanging myself in the basement, I put on my tux, and went and played the job. Fortunately, during that performance, I had a request from someone to play in a pit orchestra for a show the following week. One job led to another, and now, seven years later, I am probably as happy, overall, as I have ever been in my life.
There is still one individual whom I love more than any others, but I know that I cannot commit to a person; I am already committed to music. There are others for whom I feel deeply - is that love? I think it is.
The last of a bottle of Sophia Blanc de Blancs 2012 , by Francis Coppola Winery, which I opened yesterday. (Yes, I have one of those spring-loaded capper thingys, that keeps the bubbly from going flat.)
Just took the survey. Was stumped at the favorite author question though, because I seem to be fickle. I suppose it all depends on what I am in the mood to read at any given time.
On this site?
24,157 words - Minuet In G
A young Army officer was severely wounded by a blast from a grenade. The the only visible, permanent injury was that both of his ears were amputated, although his hearing was unaffected. Since this didn't affect his ability to function, he remained in the Army.
Many years later he eventually rose to the rank of Major General. He was, however, very sensitive about his appearance. One day he was interviewing three servicemen who were candidates for his headquarters staff.
The first was a Captain, a tactical helicopter pilot, and it was a great interview. At the end of the interview the General asked him, 'Do you notice anything different about me?'
The young officer answered, 'Why, yes, Sir, I couldn't help but notice that you have no ears.'
The general was displeased with his lack of tact and dismissed him.
The second interview was with a Navy Lieutenant, and he was even better. The General then asked him the same question,
'Do you notice anything different about me?' He replied sheepishly,
'Well, sir, you have no ears.' The General dismissed him also.
The third interview was with an old Sergeant Major, an Infantryman and staff-trained NCO.
He was smart, articulate, fit, looked sharp, and seemed to know more than the two officers combined.
The General liked this guy, and went ahead with the same question, 'Do you notice anything different about me?' To his surprise the Sergeant Major said; 'Yes, sir, you're wearing contact lenses.'
The General was very impressed and thought, 'What an incredibly observant NCO.' He asked, 'Sergeant Major, how did you guess I wear contacts?'
'Well, sir,' the soldier replied, 'it's pretty difficult to wear glasses with no fucking ears.'
Offended? Never. But as some have said, I would probably be a little afraid of letting someone too far into my fantasy world, or of admitting some (what I consider to be ) kinky fantasies. I guess what it comes down to is how willing are you t let yourself be vulnerable? BY the time anyone becomes a sexual partner, we know each other well enough, and are comfortable enough together that I like to think I wouldn't feel as if I needed to keep any secrets. So my vulnerability wouldn't scare me so much as the possibility that I am stranger, odder, wilder, kinkier (select whatever word you like) than she, and it would put her off, or worse, ruin the relationship..
Liz said this, in her post on April 17: "It may seem like a throwaway, thoughtless statement, but you imply favouritism and therefore unfairness. That has never been the case."
I am walking proof of that. I have never received either a Recommended Read or an Editor's Pick award, yet I have been a story verifier for a little over a year now. My writing is not good enough that it should be awarded as outstanding, and I know that. I would be embarrassed to accept an award that implied I was in a class with Jaymal, or Frank_Lee, or LauraLee_sugah, or any of a number of other clearly excellent writers on this site.
I was invited to become a moderator; I did not ask for the position. I accepted because it was an honor, and because I felt I had something in the way of technical ability to offer writers, and because I have a deep respect for the rules on this site. I don't want accolades, or honors, or even special mention when I edit a piece for an aspiring author; it is reward enough to see authors improve because of suggestions I have made to them over the course of reviewing their work. I have had a few thank you notes, and I always try to share them with the other mods; they make our job a little easier, and our day a little brighter.
I DO get a little miffed though, when I feel I or any of my fellow moderators are unduly castigated or vilified. And I get more than a little miffed, when, even after the accusation has been politely denied, the accuser continues to make it, and refuses to apologize.
I suppose I might, though I'm sure I'd feel odd, accepting money just for spending time with someone. I think I'd be picky though: I don't care what she looks like, or even if she has all her teeth, but she'd have to be reasonably intelligent.
From a piece of flash fiction, Shut Out published on the blue site:
“I love you, you know. But I’m in love with her.”
I had to say "No", assuming the operative word in that question was "secretly".
I wonder how much the bookies made on this one. Always, always, always, follow the money.
I lived for seven years, from 1973 to 1980, in a polyandrous relationship. Like any marriage, it had its ups and downs. But as many will tell you, the relationship complications seem to vary as the square of the number of the people involved. A relationship of three people sometimes is more than twice as difficult than a relationship of two.
Best: A week vacation (the first in over twenty years) that I spent with a very dear friend.
Second best, but darned close: Moving into the house I am renting. I love this place.
Worst: The folding of Rich Rice's Blues In The Night Orchestra, because his cancer flared up again.
Anything you have to hide from your partner is cheating on the relationship. Many people say that masturbation is not cheating, but it is if you deny that you do it. The same with fantasizing (at any time - alone, or with your partner). You don't have to describe your fantasies to your partner, but refusing to admit to having them is cheating. Faking an orgasm is cheating. I guess what I am saying is, if you are lying to your partner, then you are cheating on the relationship. I would go one step further; you are cheating yourself, as well. When you lie or hide things from your partner, you demean yourself. You lower yourself from being someone who can look the world in the eye and call yourself an honest person.
