Chapters

Since early this year my mother has had lots of trouble with her dogs. Two Rottweilers, and a Chihuahua. So much in fact that all three have past since this past winter.
Alex of Kidney failure, Buff of bone cancer, and Renae of tumors.

I feel terrible for my mother. She loved them like no one I had ever witnessed before. When Buff was a pup for example he was diagnosed with Hip Displasia. Vets suggested putting him down, but one suggested hip replacement. She spent nearly five thousand dollars to put titanium hips in that dog, and was told he might make three years before complications set in. Well he had a run of Ten years. Which I am told is the average expectancy for a Rott.

his bone cancer wasn't diagnosed properly for a long time, and by the time it was recognized for what it was he was in serious trouble. Images showed serious structural degradation including ribs that corroded in two. Buff had been given pain meds for some time, but no one really knew how bad it was until he began to have difficulty with his mobility. I have had fractured ribs before and I know first hand what kind of pain that creates. Still, Buff never turned his pain to anger and attempted to take that anger out on anyone. He was an amazing boy...

Where have I been lately?

Alright - so the pace of life has gotten to me lately. I finish my work day (relatively speaking) and want nothing more to do with computers, therefore I do not take the time to "Blog".

So, what has happened since last-

Well Amelia did actually graduate from Holly Tree and it was a fantastic little event.

I truly felt like a parent. We had a great time with this school and although staff changes during our time there raised our eyebrows on occasion we look back on it with fondness. Amelia definitely benefited with a broadened education and really good friends.

The graduation brought on a new chapter as we had to decide on public or private school going forward. We got lucky and found a really good private school (which she had to scholastically qualify for) that came recommended. First rumors were that the school was more strict than other available schools, but after Sarah and I toured and met the administrator we felt that we had found a good place for foundation learning. She started the summer program with them immediately after Holly Tree and so far she loves it. In August formal classes will begin complete with a uniform.

Growing up

I took my daughter to school today which is a rare thing as I am frequently out of town with my hideous choice of a career. In the past she has always instructed me on the morning routine. How how many vitamins to give, where the breakfast is served, when the teeth get brushed etc.

Today was no different as we arrived at school early enough that there were no other children there. She asked me to sit in a rocking chair with her. The chair belongs to the teacher and I am sure no children are allowed to jump on-board during the regular day. This is apparently something she does "everyday" with her mother, so I obliged her. We sat in that chair for only a couple of minutes, but it was important to her as it was a normal part of her day.
She took the opportunity as we sat and gently rocked to point out her art work she and the students had covered the walls with, each piece with a classmates name written somewhere prominently. The lion with a big orange head (and pink legs), the elephant she had drawn jewelry on, a two dimensional woven basket. She was very proud to show her work to her Dad who doesn't get to see these pieces in the "production phase" very often.

As she explained other aspects of her classroom I began to reflect on the past and how little she was when she first attended daycare while we lived in North Carolina. The huge amounts of anxiety her mother and I felt when leaving her to someone else for all of her needs and the feeling of worry that she wouldn't adjust well.
Adjust is what she did well actually and after four years of "daycare" in a learning environment she will be attending a tiny graduation ceremony tonight. Excited is the adjective and she is determined to look her best. The dress is picked out, new shoes, even toenail polish-pink of course! She is nearing a new phase in her life as she starts in an actual school next week. I will be out of town tomorrow and probably won't see the inside of Amelia's current daily routine again.
This was "the time" I thought to myself. stop yourself. soak this in. remember this. pull her a little closer- this moment will never come back.
All these moments seem to be going past us too quickly.

A little envy toward Chris

Chris is a slum lord in SoCal. No - really I think he is. He owns a lot of property in San Diego County and I think a few spots around Los Angeles. I have seen pictures of the literally hundreds of bikes he owns, but still haven't met him. I only know him from a SoCal based internet message board of notorious reputation.
He recently took this 1977 TZ750 for a ride up and down Mt. Palomar. This is possible because his "ranch" isn't too far away. He had a couple of local buds flank him and his seriously non-street legal race bike for the trip. Good Christ I could not image the heartbreak should he have gotten pulled over and CHP or SDCS impound it.
Leaned against the deck railing at Mother's in this pic I really miss the time I spent in San Diego. The "Lunas" at Mothers weren't that great. In fact I was never really impressed with the food at Mothers. The riding and the riders kept me coming back- and the chance to ride a bike like the TZ750 on the east grade at Palomar, then down Montezuma highway, into Borrego and back...........oh yes it is envy.

Forked over by the previous owner?

I discovered a leaking fork seal on the Suzuki recently forked, and while I was terribly reluctant to start tearing the bike down mostly because I had just done so as a winter project. Sarah knows that I turn into a moping whiner when I can't get something done on the bikes so she pushed me a little.
In fact she jumped right in to help. I could never have suspended that bike off the ground without her. She threw some really good ideas at me. Eventually we got the bike off the ground. I was/am concerned about stability, and as it turns out she and I suspended that bike to within half a degree of perfectly level. Just dumb luck I suppose.

I have a couple of REALLY old bikes, so I know what dated, exhausted, chemicals smell like and let me tell you the....... "liquid" that came out of the TL's forks was something terrible. I fear with genuine concern that I just took the original (that's right twelve year old) fork oil out and poured it into a bottle for measurement. I mean fork oil doesn't really smell all that great to begin with, but DAMN this was some funky fork juice- and the darkest shade of gray that I had seen without labeling it black. I really began to wonder if the previous owner ever changed the oil forked.

The forks are tricky to disassemble, requiring either special tools, or 2.5 sets of hands. Well I had neither-forked
I then put out a call for assistance to some of the local riders I know. John called me within a couple of hours, he shopped around for me near Columbia but came up with service cost numbers only slightly less than the original quote at the local shop forked again.
So after having purchased all the parts, fresh oil, and even jack stands in an attempt to correct the problem- I may be forked into paying someone to replace the seals for me.

I feel the years adding on.

What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.
Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?
Sterling Hayden

I feel every aspect of what Sterling is saying, however the terms in which he speaks only apply to an individual. Those terms take the same meaning of triviality as the "preposterous gadgetry" he mentions when his concept is applied to a person who is responsible for a child.

and yet I feel the years adding on...

For now Blogging is the path less traveled (by me). Often I find some beautiful images and thought provoking reading on someone elses blog so I guess I am minimally inspired to start my own.