Of all the fruits given us by God, none has inflicted more punishment on man than the simple grape. Perhaps the fruit Eve gave Adam, thus banishing them East of Eden, but we have no idea of it's true identity. Regardless, never has that sweet and noble orb been so exploited… Read full post »

There's a common scene in the modern day heist movie where the techno-thief reaches into his or her pocket and tosses a bit of baby powder into the air. Suddenly, the seemingly empty room is illuminated, crosshatched with laser beams of light just waiting to be broken, calling the dogs… Read full post »

In 1985, I nearly made the biggest mistake of my life. I ran away from my girlfriend, who is now my wife. I went back to my post-adolescent roots in Georgia and moved in with two former roommates, Doug and Steve.

They were both motorcycle men, Doug the mechanic, Steve the… Read full post »

I straddle two worlds, one with fixed boundaries and one with fluid. One world is often filled with noxious fumes- a byproduct of doing actual, measurable work in my garage. The other a cubicle or board room occasionally contaminated with fumes that are produced by myself and my colleagues.… Read full post »

^{Earth rise from the surface of the moon - Dec 22 1968 - Apollo 8}

It was Christmas 1980, Two years had passed since I left home to live on my own, I was twenty. I was still living in Mountain Park,a small lake town in the north suburbs… Read full post »

Many first time visitors to Colorado are surprised at the seagulls. I’m not sure if these were bad navigators who were blown off course, outcasts or perhaps a migrating flock who descended upon a landfill that was just too bountiful to leave. Whatever the reason, I spotted two of them this… Read full post »

A halcyon is a mythical bird—often identified as a kingfisher. During the winter solstice, it breeds in a floating nest at sea, where it charms the wind and waves into calm. The term originates from the Greek myth of Alcyone.

In modern terms, it can also mean to harken back… Read full post »

12/05/1980 – BOSTON, MA---Studying the rings of the ancient Bristlecone pine gives us a view of historical events that would otherwise remain a mystery, events known but to God. A close look at the rings of these and other witnesses of the ages can reveal things like fire, mega-droughts and som… Read full post »

^{John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas governor John Connally, and the latter'}… Read full post »

We endure, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not. Regardless, we are refined by our trials.

Of putting the garage door down on the pristine tank of a vintage Vincent Black Shadow, of dropping your new phone in a beer or the toilet, of throwing a… Read full post »

After one year on this hallowed ground of literary sewage treatment, I’ve learned this: There are really only two things in life worth writing about; God and Motorcycles. If you think about it though, that covers a lot of ground.

There is a proverb that reads something like : A… Read full post »

In 1982, I was on a temporary job assignment in Columbia, South Carolina for a company called Intertec Data Systems. I went to work as a "job shopper" for a guy named Bob who had just started his own consulting firm. He had a pretty blonde trophy wife, a new baby,… Read full post »

I don't often have crying dreams, but when I do, I remember them. I still remember one from when I was in the sixth grade. I was meeting my mother and sister for lunch in some sort of torpedo factory. I was late and they hung themselves.

It was a… Read full post »

"That’s not flying! That’s…falling with style!”

                                      … Read full post »

There are trees you have seen and there are trees you have known. I saw the apple tree in Cynthia’s field every day. I walked past it on my way to kindergarten. It was nice to look at, but not maintained and not really a climber.

Then, there was the… Read full post »

My lifelong journey down the Road to Patina began with mini-bikes and a green 1971 Honda SL125 in the blackened, strip-mined hills of northeastern Pennsylvania.

Nearly twenty years and a dozen or so motorcycles later, I was racing a… Read full post »

At nineteen, I believed I'd arrived.

I had just secured a cushy welding job on the container line, having been mentored on kingpins at the Strick trailer factory. I was one of only two guys in the factory that had this privilege. Then, in a surprise move to my peers, I up and qui… Read full post »

Just so you know up front, the second and third times weren't intentional. The first two times we were only kids.

#1 - The Rag

The first time he tried to kill me I was only 5 and he was 13. The city had just started to pave all the streets… Read full post »

 Dawn was beginning to break and the dark June sky exposed its veiled clouds in a subtle blend of reds, yellows and violet. These were the mornings I'd grown to love. To be awake at sunrise is a gift of life in many ways. You are treated to a private lesson, observing… Read full post »

Unloading. Getting off. Launching. The Lowside. The Tank Slapper. HSW (high speed wobble) The Flying W. The Washout. Flipping it. The Endo. The Botched Stoppie. The Pommel Horse. Gone Rubber Side Up. These are but a few of the profusion of methods on the art of how to exit your motorcycle. If… Read full post »

Greatness occurs in many lives, far more often that we would be led to believe. Media, storytelling, legend and lies make it seem larger than life and unattainable.

Ordinary Greatness best describes Garth Trumbull.

Garth was born on a leap year, February 29th, 1960 in the front seat of a 19… Read full post »

I am one of those people who invents things, writes stories and poetry or conceives abstract thought in his half-sleep. Awake but not. Over the years however, I've learned that many brilliant ideas I had at that early time of the morning  made much not-so-much sense when re-reading them aro… Read full post »

The Slawtoe brothers live next door to Nelzo. Generally accepted as our own private National Treasure on a regional basis, they were second only to our pride and joy; the Archbald Pothole. They were closer to my brother's age, seven and eight years my senior, and greatly feared in m… Read full post »

^{"Warning! Viewer Discretion Is Advised" - This rambling essay contains distastful references to the BIBLE and other things like God and Jesus and stuff, that are offensive, naive and just plain stupid to a lot of otherwise perfectly normal people.}

So here it i… Read full post »