life Archives - Scooter in the Sticks Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle. Sun, 02 Oct 2022 06:07:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 71084491 Singular Focus While Riding a Motorcycle https://scooterinthesticks.com/2022/10/singular-focus-while-riding-a-motorcycle/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2022/10/singular-focus-while-riding-a-motorcycle/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2022 06:06:56 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=10775 Chocolate Chip Cookie How is it that a chocolate chip cookie is so important to me? Is it really a talisman of some mindful focus on the present moment? Or merely a reflection of a lifelong addiction to sugar? I choose to believe the cookie’s oversized importance points to something greater than sugar. A magical […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2022/10/singular-focus-while-riding-a-motorcycle/feed/ 8 10775 Riding is Magic https://scooterinthesticks.com/2021/11/riding-is-magic/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2021/11/riding-is-magic/#comments Thu, 04 Nov 2021 04:05:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=10490 It’s always a surprise what triggers me to write an essay for Scooter in the Sticks. This time it was dragging the garbage can to the street for pickup and seeing frost on the car. There are hints that winter is approaching; leaves descending from trees; geese honking overhead; squirrels and chipmunks growing fatter and […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2021/11/riding-is-magic/feed/ 25 10490 Giving Thanks https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/11/giving-thanks-2/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/11/giving-thanks-2/#comments Thu, 23 Nov 2017 13:25:26 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=8095 Giving Thanks Fueled by Hot Chocolate While sitting at the window in Saint’s Cafe last night, a short interlude during errands, fueled by hot chocolate, the moment provided space to reflect on Thanksgiving and what giving thanks really means to me. As a kid, Thanksgiving Day was always about food and hanging out in front […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/11/giving-thanks-2/feed/ 34 8095 Happy Ending https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/06/happy-ending/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/06/happy-ending/#comments Wed, 28 Jun 2017 07:13:03 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7613 End of the Road I often find myself at the end of the road when riding the Vespa.  Continuing on isn’t possible or desirable.  A change in direction is necessary for the journey to continue.  It’s uncommon to arrive at the end of the road and think of it as a happy ending.  Remembering miles […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/06/happy-ending/feed/ 42 7613 Looking Out the Window https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/06/looking-out-the-window/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/06/looking-out-the-window/#comments Wed, 14 Jun 2017 11:24:23 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7584 Morning Water and Vespa Scooter I always look out windows. Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, there’s a hope of actually seeing the world. Sitting in the back seat of the car next to my granddaughter it was interesting to watch her young eyes peer out the window at the world.  I wondered how different […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/06/looking-out-the-window/feed/ 6 7584 Oddness and Other Life Experiences https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/05/oddness-life-experiences/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/05/oddness-life-experiences/#comments Thu, 11 May 2017 11:12:11 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7505 Riding into the Sunset or Sunrise? Today promises to be an odd life experience.  I’ll be interviewing a person who may replace me at Penn State.  Writing questions last night I found myself wondering if we need someone like me, or someone who can address gaps, pain points and a future I don’t even know […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/05/oddness-life-experiences/feed/ 35 7505 Mental Constipation https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/05/mental-constipation/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/05/mental-constipation/#comments Sat, 06 May 2017 07:57:36 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7492 Riding is the Best Medicine The Urban Dictionary defines mental constipation as “An inability to articulate one’s thoughts or ideas, resulting in significant psychological distress and frustration.”  That comes as close to the state I’ve found myself in for the past couple weeks. That inability to articulate, the decline in posts, is a reflection of […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/05/mental-constipation/feed/ 19 7492 The March of Time https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/the-march-of-time/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/the-march-of-time/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2017 05:12:11 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7280 Days 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 […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/the-march-of-time/feed/ 34 7280 Thoughts on Church https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/thoughts-on-church/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/thoughts-on-church/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2017 05:19:26 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7191 Those Places Central Pennsylvania is dotted with churches.  Some dating back to the arrival of the first white settlers. Others are modern facilities complete with media installations to support an array of electronic age preaching. I see the buildings while I ride and am curious about the people and services that take place inside. I’ve […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/thoughts-on-church/feed/ 19 7191 Simple Pleasures https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/simple-pleasures/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2017/02/simple-pleasures/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2017 05:10:28 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=7187 Cafe 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 […]

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