You Need Me On That Wall!: Riding

Friday, November 24, 2006

Riding

Once while riding my motorcycle in Arizona I passed through a swarm of bees. In Arizona you pretty much assume all bees are Africanized, that is "killer bees." But that's not really the important point.

What really strikes me is that when I mention this to people I usually slip and say "I once flew through a swarm of bees." I never consciously decided to say "flew" or ever even thought of saying it that way. But that's how it has come out on the three or four occasions I have mentioned this in the three years since it happened. I did it again last night.

Funny. I guess deep down I equate motorcycling to flying. After giving it some thought, I realize now that when I'm on the bike for a while on the open road (not stuck in traffic) the bike itself disappears. Like I'm just flying three feet above the ground.

I can't get over how it took a slip of the tongue, and several years, to reveal that to myself.

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Col. Jessep:

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. ...my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!