A New Day
The light at dawn, I’m convinced, has a special power to renew and restore the spirit.
Glow to gleam and on to dazzling light as I push the Vespa scooter into the driveway for a short ride to town. Sunbeams, medicine for the mind, food for the body, I stand a bit taller in the radiance that’s nature’s gift to humanity.
A simple event. A fine way to begin the day. My love of sunlight.
Heliophilia.
State College, Pennsylvania
Parked at my usual place. The sun shining brighter now as it climbs high enough to cause me to shield by eyes. Town feels empty as I park the Vespa in the motorcycle spaces on an empty street. Breakfast with a friend at the Corner Room Restaurant just a block away. My camera is in hand, hypnotized by the warm beams of light.
Light and Shadow
Medicare is not far off for me now. At breakfast my friend and I will speak of nursing homes, long term care and other remarkably grim topics representing a shift in our worldly concerns that I can only assume is common among those my age.
Still, I’m fascinated by my shadow in the world, a beacon steadily calling, “I’m here and I’m alive.”
It’s much the same while riding the scooter.
Allen Street
The world still seems asleep. At least as far as Penn State students are concerned. Odd for a Tuesday morning. It’s fine with me since I prefer to be awake before the rest of the world, coveting the quiet moments of the morning to think. To walk , or to ride anywhere in the morning is a simple gift.
It costs little for such rich rewards.
Waiting
I’ve lost the ability to schedule time. An unanticipated result of retirement, an unburdening of mind and body of the tyranny of plotting heartbeats to a clock and calendar. Even though I entered this breakfast in my digital calendar I seemed to arrive a half hour early.
A pleasure actually as I sipped orange juice and looked out the window. Writing these words it’s hard not to appreciate how absolutely lucky I am to have ended up in this place. One might say I worked hard to get where I am but I can tell you it would have been easy to screw it all up.
What a fine way to begin the day. What a miracle it is to have such a life.
Totally agree. Early morning on the motorcycle is the absolute best time. So good in fact, I often don’t feel like stopping at my destination – I just want to keep going. At least until that golden light wanes. Thanks for reminding us of those simple pleasures.
I’m quite familiar with the feeling that I don’t want to stop. Years of training and domestication makes it possible to generally act in a reasonable manner and be home by nightfall…
A fine way to start the day indeed. Reading this is a mirror of my thoughts. Thank you for putting it so eloquently.
Glad you found some value in this post Ken. I appreciate the comments. Hope your rides are going well.
“Lost ability to schedule time.” Ain’t it the truth. Since I’ve retired I HATE having to be somewhere at a certain time, appointments. A reaction I guess to getting up at 5:30 AM to to beat most of the traffic getting to work in Wash DC.
I didn’t have a terrible commute to campus here but I had endless meetings and things to keep track of and attend. Now I don’t and I have shut off that part of my brain!
The sun shining upon one’s motorcycle is heartwarming indeed….in Spring riding here in Colorado it really helps when the still cold winds pick up during a ride!
Sunshine in cold weather is like chicken soup for body and soul!
You gave my day a great start, thank you.
Glad to help. How’s the RE Himalayan doing?
The world seems asleep
Covet those moments to think
Yes a simple gift
Steve, your writing is poetry. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words Floyd. I appreciate them.
It IS a true miracle. Thank you for reminding me!
It’s raining here this morning as I write this comment. There are white flower pedals falling from an Allegheny Shadblow tree onto the cars in the driveway. My dog Junior is softly snoring at my feet and the house is quiet. Seems there are miracles everywhere.
After performing some morning chores I finally dragged out my ’83 750 Kawasaki yesterday. Even after 36 years the bike is amazing. When you crack open the throttle it straightens your arms. It doesn’t toss into corners like the 250 Nighthawk but it stops better with twin front discs. My wife urged me to cull the herd of six bikes and this past week three were dispatched to new owners. What remains is the Kawasaki, the Nighthawk and my 250 CF Moto Helix clone. Last season I sold off a Kymco Like 50cc and gave back a Honda CR-60 mini motocrosser to my bother. With my daughter’s Rebel in the garage the herd has been trimmed from nine to four.
These are the bikes I will live with for a good long time and the roads here, while not as wooded as yours, are still entertaining on two wheels. Now that I have a manageable sized fleet there will be more rides about the area.
The KZ750 (assuming that’s what you have) is a beautiful machine. Has a classic look that I love. Seems a fine machine to hold on to and ride.
Only having one machine in the garage I can only imagine the struggle to get rid of one let along three in a week. I suppose congratulations are in order but it seems bittersweet. More room in the garage though!
Best wishes for some fine rides ahead. Got really cold here again, at least it felt that way after getting used to things in the upper 60s. But warm weather all the time isn’t far off now. Be safe!
Waking up before the rest of the world seems to stir is the best part of the day, I agree. Kids aren’t running around screaming, neighborhood dogs and chickens aren’t making noise…..its just quiet. Well, except for the birds, those guys can be pretty noisy, but we appreciate them.
The older we get the less we sleep in. And by sleeping in I mean 7 am. Most weekends we are up at 6 even if we somehow manage to stay up until midnight. Perfect for this time of year. Watching the sun rise higher while drinking a cup of tea.
I definitely agree. Up before everyone else is great if you can manage it.
If it weren’t for our two dogs I would be sleeping later I think. But once it gets light outside I have a dog poking and prodding me to get up. At least they don’t crow.
Haven’t gotten to me tea yet today. That’s a personal failure…