Yearly Archives: 2012

What’s the Best Motorcycle Ride?

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Every biker has a different opinion about “the best” ride. Some like to take long journeys by themselves; go where they wish, stay as long or as little as they like at pit-stops and final destinations. Some like to travel with friends, so what to them makes a great ride is the joy of sharing it with others. Some like to seek out new sights, while others like to discover roads seldom traveled in their back yard. Some like to challenge their riding skill by “running through twisties” while others prefer more gentle hills and curves on their route.

The answer to the question subject of this post is…
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Skydiving Injury Returns

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Man, back in the days of my youth, I was seriously “into” jumping out of “perfectly good airplanes.” Over 11,000 times, some of those jumps from rather extreme altitudes. The rush, the view… what thrills. I still jump from time to time, but not nearly as often as “the good old days.” Back in the day, it was common for me to jump eight to ten times a day, two or three days straight. My buddies formed a very tight group.

While I am fortunate that I did not have any major injuries, such as broken bones from a bad fall, I have had the unfortunate experience of breaking my left eardrum — not once, not twice, but three times. All due to a thermocline.
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Long Pants, Boots, DOT-approved Helmet

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I learned that the U.S. Government agency that studies injuries and fatalities published an article on June 15, 2012, that confirmed my point all along, that wearing a motorcycle helmet should be required by law:

The main points of this study are as follows:

In states with universal (meaning, they apply to all riders) laws, 12 percent of fatally injured motorcyclists were not wearing a helmet. In contrast, states with partial helmet laws saw 64 percent of the fatally injured motorcyclists were not wearing a helmet. In states without a helmet law, that rate climbs to 79 percent.

Looked another way, from 2008 to 2010, 14,283 motorcyclists were killed in crashes, and 6,057 (42 percent) of them were not wearing a helmet.

What do I think about this?
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Watching Cops Compete

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Readers and friends are aware that I enjoy watching skilled motorcycle riders — motorcops — compete in what is commonly called a “police rodeo.” I have had the pleasure of watching many of these competitions and serving as a judge for the past two years at one of the largest such competitions held on the U.S. East Coast. So naturally, a friend asked, “are you going to attend the motorcycle skills competition on the 23rd in Wayne, New Jersey?”
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What To Say When You Don’t Know What To Say

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As my family, friends, and readers of this blog know, my partner has been, and remains, ill with symptoms of a persistent infectious disease caused by a spirochete transmitted by a tick bite. It’s a disease that can happen when living in an area populated by deer.

My friends in the boot world and blogosphere have heard about this long-term difficult situation in which I am engaged.

It can be sad and depressing when one is experiencing a life event and he only hears silence. There are times when silence is deafening.

Most people have trouble dealing with these matters, because they want to show concern, but do not know how to do it. Also, they are human. Most people do not want to think about bad things. To some, ignorance is bliss. To the one affected, ignorance presents questions like, “are my friends fair-weather friends only, and disappear when it rains?”

Here are some suggestions on what to say (or do) when you don’t know what to say….
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Pride Again?

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Ooops, there I go again, once more, I have forgotten that it is “[gay] pride” weekend in Washington, DC. Last place my partner want to be is out in the sun baking in downtown DC. What am I doing today instead?
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Credit and Debit-Free Month

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I was reviewing the joint financial accounts that my partner and I share. We go over “the books” (which I keep on Quicken) at least once a week. He trusts me, but I insist on going over our income and expenses regularly with him so there are no questions about how we are doing, what the amounts of our regular bills are, who is due what, and so forth. One of the most frequent reasons couples (gay or straight) argue is about money. My partner and I have had our share of disagreements, but never — in all of our 19+ years — have we argued about money. Why?
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Forgotten Boots, Part 3

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Completing this series of related posts on this blog, I am posting about a discovery of three pairs of boots that my partner found in our attic, which had been stored there since we moved to our house in 1998, and long forgotten. Two pairs of Wesco boots were found among a cobra…
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