Who Am I?
I ask the question often. Usually in response to the latest puzzling act I’ve engaged.
Each word or picture posted on Scooter in the Sticks becomes part of a constructed persona tallied in the digital ether and searchable by Google, Bing and myriad other search engines. My mother only exists as a cryptic reference in a paid news site that archived obituaries. My father is one step ahead because his obit is still publicly available.
Engaging in the self-absorbed act of searching my name in Google (along with “Vespa” to differentiate from Tiger Wood’s caddy or Stone Cold Steve Austen), it’s strange to see the persona that’s presented; the reflections that resonate as me, and others that have me wondering, ‘Who is that guy?’
It’s interesting to see the history of change over time. Especially in regard to riding a Vespa and blogging.
Recently I had the opportunity to be interviewed by fellow blogger (and video blogger) David Masse. His work and experiences are presented on Life on Two Wheels. He’s posted two videos — one a reflection of a day long ride we took, and a second an interview with me where we discussed the realities of blogging and why we do it.
Personal questions no doubt. And perhaps only of interest to other bloggers or would-be bloggers. For me, the interview is a curious check of who I am at this moment in time.
Visit Life on Two Wheels to see the riding video. Especially if you’re interested in what a little trip through central Pennsylvania might look like on two wheels.
It’s not the first time I’ve taken part in an interview. Dave Mangano, creator of SCTRCST, the Scooter Internet Radio podcast, interviewed me three times during his run of 94 episodes covering a wide range of scooter topics. Even though his site is now gone, the episodes persist on the web. Mine were espisode 7, 8 and 34.
Much time and many miles have gone by since those early interviews. And a lot has changed. But riding the Vespa, making photographs and writing about the experience persists.
Cool, philosophical, a way to support your own beliefs. Not the same as your long term blog, but why I blogged my RTW (round the world) trip: simply as a diary.
It’s good for me to slow down every so often and think about what I’m doing. And why.
So that’s where the title of your blog came from!
Good interview! Your introspective writing style is something outside my grasp, I apparently just narrate what happened.
Kim is responsible for a lot of things in the blog. Ideas. motivation.
We’re all different writers. And we do what feels right. Narrating what happens is a fine choice.
Thanks for hosting the interview Steve and for an interesting post.
I thought I had listened to all of Dave Mangano’s scooter podcasts, but clearly I missed the three in which you were the subject.
I find it odd when bloggers, podcasters and vloggers just stop showing up for work. Often it’s not a good news story. In some cases, like Bob Leong, the reason becomes clear with great detail, and they leave the internet in a grand procession, only gradually fading from view.
In other cases, it’s like they slipped out of a noisy cocktail party unnoticed. It’s often difficult to see the things that are no longer there, details in your present that just kind of faded away leaving no discernible trace.
One of those cases was Keith Raske (better known to moto bloggers as CircleBlue). He was once a daily blogger, then not, but he occasionally commented on my blog, then not. When I met up with Dar Duncan (Princess Scooterpie) in Victoria in the spring, as we were reminiscing about Bob Leong, she mentioned that Keith had passed away after a short illness in January 2017. When I get unexpected news like that it’s like a shock to the system. It kind of stops you in your tracks.
I googled Dave Mangano to figure out what became of him, and found nothing really. I saw that he posted on Twitter in 2016 though. He had a FaceBook presence, but since I deleted my FaceBook account some years back, it’s like a locked closet in the attic and I’ve lost the key.
These things niggle at me more now than in the past.
It was a pleasure to sit for your cameras and probing questions. Thank you for putting it all together.
I feel the same way about people I follow on the internet who suddenly stop or vanish. Dave was one. Gary Charpentier of Rush Hour Rambling was another. I understand how things end but I just like to know something and they just didn’t drop off the earth. More than once I’ve considered writing a “last post” that someone can put up if I meet some unfortunate demise.
Dave’s Linked In profile seems to indicate he retired last year. But that doesn’t explain the sudden stop of his podcasts. Maybe he’ll return.
What a great interview. David is good at that. I guess he knew what questions to ask. Steve W came across as cool. As in Steve is cool (not Steve was cool to the questions).
It was fun to see David’s perspective on SITS and Steve’s work. People bring different things to the way they experience SITS.
Paul
Cool was never a word I associated with myself Paul. Quiet. Aloof. Loner maybe. But I agree, it was a good interview. Thanks for providing the stage!
That interview was a complete change of pace!
It allowed me to see a Steve Williams that to date has been mysterious;
hiding insidie a motorbike helmet
His somewhat rough-shod exterior is contrasted with an easy styl
David Masse seemed to require affirmation of his existence,. The word “right”
kept being heard, as if Masse was unsure perhaps of the entire process
The second camera to Steve’s left rendered much darker images.
The process of conducting an interview is something one must learn. Suspect Masse has done a few, yet as these sessions s continue; the entire process shall not seem as forced, for lack of a better term.
And the exterior light was interesting as well; daylight to darkness, with a motor vehicle passing outside at the conclusion of the interview.
In retrospect seeing the originator of Scooter In the Sticks as a real animated individual,
confirmed to me what we were viewing was a “real: person, more real than what many of us might have expected!
Oh, there are some other video clips buried somewhere in the blog. But David did a good job with this one.
Interviews are tough to do. Technically and content wise. And everyone has different approaches. David is a thoughtful interviewer and easy to talk with. I’ve done some with people who read a list of questions and just move from one to the next.
Good to know I’m an animated character! Now that the interview is complete I can slip back into the shadows…
I enjoyed watching the interview. David needs to post the outtakes. THe bits that didn’t make it into the final video…
A blooper reel!
I really enjoyed this post, Steve. I agree with Dave’s description of your blog as metaphysical vs. technical. There is an honesty and vulnerability in describing how riding makes you feel and that is something I probably appreciate the most as I read your posts and look at your photography. I have noticed that when I ride and get into that space where I am alone with my thoughts that often I am better able to identify why I may be feeling a certain way about something and what I may need to do about it. Perhaps this is what happens for most of us who ride, and one reason why your blog resonates with so many.
I have to credit my time in the School of Visual Arts for giving me the skill and courage to be open about my thoughts and feelings. That experience pushed each of us to think about what we were doing and giving it voice. It was a natural transition when I started blogging.
Riding definitely provides me a space for thought and examining how I feel. I always wonder how many others are in that space. And if they’re comfortable talking about it.
I appreciate your comments and reflections. They’re helpful as I try and figure out things myself.