Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

The March of Time

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wall calendar with picture of granddaughterDays on the Wall

The last day of a month long series of blog posts based on specific writing prompts.  This one — the February image on your wall calendar.  So here it is, the calendar hanging in our kitchen, the only one in the house.  It’s a 2016 calendar made up entirely of photographs of our granddaughter and we move through the year hanging pictures of her to look at again.  The month and days are unimportant.  Kim keeps a day planner and I utilize my iPhone and computer to track the days.

Ah, the march of time.

As startling as it is to watch how fast a baby turns into a little person, that same speed applies to life in general.  Frightening really, how swiftly time marches on.

The month long writing prompt challenge has been enlightening and challenged my ability to produce content quickly.  It’s also helped form a ritual to conceptualize and produce on a daily basis.  On more than one occasion it introduced me to sloth and procrastination. I’m glad I participated.  And I’m glad it’s over.  Not sure I have the energy for one more post.

Reflection of Steve Williams in mirror at Saint's Cafe in State College, PennsylvaniaThe March of Time: What’s Next?

I’m always wondering what’s next.  At work. At home.  On a ride on the Vespa.  And now here I am with Scooter in the Sticks wondering what I’ll do next. I have a list of topics, ideas and goals.  And probably all of them will wait until I retire at the end of June before I leap in to action.  Or maybe stroll.

Until then I’ll just post whatever happens to cross my path or occur to me while riding to work or dozing in an easy chair.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

Simple Pleasures

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breakfast in cafe at Perkins Cove, MaineCafe Moments

If I close my eyes and think about moments of simple pleasure, I always see the same scene; me sitting alone in a quiet cafe, watching the world go by.  This photograph was made almost seven years ago in a small cafe in Perkins Cove, Maine.  I had walked along the ocean on a rainy morning watching the waves crash onto the rocks before finding myself in the cozy warmth of the cafe.  I’ve repeated this ritual hundreds of times and it retains its glimmer.

Simple pleasures.

Saint's Cafe, State College, PennsylvaniaWatching

I like to watch.  It’s likely why photography became such a big part of my life.  The looking, the gaze, being a voyeur.  Sitting alone in a cafe with a cup of tea, my thoughts and watching is a simple pleasure that is endlessly fascinating as I watch the interactions between people, imagining the stories they’re playing out, all from the safety of a quiet perch masked by a tea cup and journal.

There are other pleasures — dogs and family to name a few.  But what clouded my thoughts today were the momentary escapes I find anywhere I can sit alone and watch.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

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Man dressed as a vampireA Healthy Respect for the Supernatural

Mummies, zombies, vampires and a host of supernatural and not very nice beings have drifted through my consciousness since I was a kid.  I was convinced that my closet door would open late at night, just as I was about to drift off to sleep, and allow monsters into the room.  I saw it.  Felt it. And despite my parents explanation of dreams and nightmares, I carried the knowledge along with me.  There are moments when I’m suddenly superstitious.  Or I sense something dark, malevolent.  Perhaps rooted in the youthful mutations of my brain from watching scary movies on Chiller Theater.

Perhaps it’s no surprise I crossed paths with a vampire in college.  Vampire Larry with a coffin at home to sleep in, custom tailored vampire clothes and real vampire dentures.  He was also a table tennis playing friend who sold bible reference books during the summer in Oklahoma.  Or maybe Nebraska.

This contact sheet of 4×5 negatives was some of my first large format work — created in 1974.  I won’t identify Larry since I think he may have become a captain of industry and probably wouldn’t appreciate the trip down memory lane on the internet.  I don’t really know.  Haven’t seen him since 1976.

Vampire holding woman at night in graveyardWho Stole the Fear?

This photograph was made for his “Silent Night” Christmas card.  Funny what young minds come up with.  Late one night in a graveyard, three fools making vampire photos.  And this long before Twilight, True Blood and the rest of the vampire life genre.  Larry was a follower of Christopher Lee.  Bela Lugosi was nothing.

I think about this photograph and wonder where the fear has gone.  Fear of money, health, retirement, bills.  Not much anymore about vampires.  Or zombies.

Perhaps I need a little more of the beliefs and faith I had as a kid.

Just saying…

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

Avoiding Chores

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Vespa GTS scooter is self wash bayAvoiding the Obvious

Almost any chore can be undesirable or oppressive.  The difference between that and something that done with ease, or better, an action that provides a reward, is attitude.  At least I like to think of it that way and not just a matter of laziness.

Washing dishes, mopping a floor, raking leaves — just some of the activities that can provide, when my head is in the right place, a quiet meditative experience.

Not so washing my Vespa scooter.  I never enjoy that chore.  In a post titled Annual Vespa Wash I confess to a “…pathological disinterest in maintenance…”.

I can’t remember the last time I washed the scooter.

Vespa GTS 250ie scooter in snowWhy Clean When You Can Ride.

Riding is the important goal and there are enough things that intrude (health, weather, work) that I have no control over that I don’t want to manufacture more things that will keep me off the scooter.  At least that’s the delusion which animates my spirit. And I accept the genuine possibility that it is a profound character defect that exacts a price in dollars.

But so far, I just don’t care.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

Special Memory from 2016

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Steve Williams, Vespa rider

Photo by Gordon Harkins

What Do I Remember?

A blogging challenge has me thinking about a special memory from 2016.

Sorting and categorizing memories is tricky business.  What’s special one day if forgotten the next.  The scary, awful stuff seems to forever float near the surface of consciousness while the fun stuff takes work to recall.  This in part fuels both my journaling and photography — an action focused on building and retaining memory.

Riding and Recall

The rides have started to blur together making it difficult to choose one single ride as special.  There’s a subtle pressure to narrow a choice to family and loved ones as if there is a hierarchy of importance when it comes to memory.  I’ve accepted there’s no accounting for what my mind chooses to remember.  When I ride the Vespa scooter the world slips away leaving an open expanse to think and recall memories.  At least when I’m not thinking of the future.

The future — that has something to do with the most special memory of 2016.

It’s a memory about something that won’t happen for another 148 days — retirement.  Or more precisely, the special memory is a recollection of the jumbled thoughts and feelings related to my decision to accept a buyout offer for early retirement.  As early as nearly 44 years of employment can be.

foggy country roadThe Thrill of the Uncertain Road Ahead

The days leading up to to the deadline to accept or reject the retirement buyout offer were painted with dreams of adventure and stained with anxious misgiving of letting go of something that has been a steady beat my entire adult life.  I reflected on those concerns in a post titled Retirement: A New Adventure.

While many exciting and delightful things have happened in 2016, those days in September stand out as unique, strange, and special.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.