Your video – thank you!

When my dad died I wasn’t there. I’m not sure he was there either. The last time I remember seeing him he didn’t remember me. Remembering that now brings me in touch with wordless sadness. After he died there was an unexpected hole in the universe for years. No words for that just a hugh hole.

Earlier on when I knew his memory was going, I wrote him a letter and in it I wrote about the images I keep of him from my childhood, well the positive ones anyway, and my sister told me that he would ask her to read that letter to him while he was looking out the window.

I like to think that he was able to take those memories from me and carry them with him into his journey.

Be well.

(n.b. I previously submitted this as “anonymous” on 11/19/06. I was new to blogspot at that time and still trying to figure out how to post comments, etc.)

Your video – thank you!

When my dad died I wasn’t there. I’m not sure he was there either. The last time I remember seeing him he didn’t remember me. Remembering that now brings me in touch with wordless sadness. After he died there was an unexpected hole in the universe for years. No words for that just a hugh hole.

Earlier on when I knew his memory was going, I wrote him a letter and in it I wrote about the images I keep of him from my childhood, well the positive ones anyway, and my sister told me that he would ask her to read that letter to him while he was looking out the window.

I like to think that he was able to take those memories from me and carry them with him into his journey.

Be well.

I admire your exceptional ability to express your thoughts and feelings through “words and images.”

I feel a wonderful sense of kinship with your posts about scootering. I love my Vino 125 and the soul fulfillment that I get with long rides. It’s like a long cool drink on a hot day – refreshing and satisfying.

I also identified with conchscooter’s comments about the strong memory tug of scent. Have you ever walked into someone’s home and it smelled like grandma’s? Or maybe like the house of a long lost childhood friend? It would be cool to be able to capture scents like we can images through photography.

Thanks for your thoughtful postings, Steve. You have led many of us along a scenic road.

snark: The answers to the why I ride questions are almost not understandable to someone who has not ridden on a scooter or motorcycle. The risks and danger in their mind is so great that nothing can penetrate that concern. I’ve had more than a few discussions with people and they listen but they always end with “yeah, BUT you are going to get killed.” That fear is hard to bridge.

Keep riding.

I hope my tottering waits a few more years but I know you’re right about smell. I experience that already with aromas from my childhood.

gary: Your writing has helped focus on what to do with the noise of modern life. I constantly think about Existential Gravity. The Vespa and the things I have learned while riding and reading are pretty amazing. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

bill: Thanks for reading and posting. I know how many people have influenced me by saying or doing something to give me pause from my auto-pilot and look at things from a different angle as you suggest. I’m just passing it all forward….

Bill

Riding is certainly about trying to capture quality memories out of all the noise that is modern life.

Recording those memories with a camera, and in words… essentially “canning” them for storage, is a worthy endeavor. It helps to preserve them as they are, at the time, so they don’t get warped by our evolving perceptions.

Your use of video is especially powerful. Wow.

The sun is shining, and it is going to warm up to near 60 today. I’m going to think carefully about where to ride. I want it to be memorable…

Thanks, Steve.

Ride well,
=gc=