We needed tough lessons as children. An occasional playground fight was expected as the norm, and if we complained to our mother that we were being teased, we were treated to this glorious aphorism: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” My mom used to say that all the time, one of the seemingly endless adages she had at her disposal to deal with any of life’s problems. To this day I think long and hard about the practical application that dogma had on my life.
The idea that you could actually choose whether or not to be hurt by words: that was huge for me. Even though it has been repeated ad nauseam for generations, “sticks and stones” really is a powerful bit of philosophy to a kid. That’s one of the great things about being a parent: you can spout nothing but clichés, and yet, to your child, you come off as one of the great thinkers in Western culture.
–from MEAN DADS FOR A BETTER AMERICA, by Tom Shillue
Heres a little travelogue- with focus on the travel part (i left my phone in my bag all weekend)
Thank you for reminding me. I wanted to talk about our post-show hangout in Memphis and here it is:
“Day 28”
Of the 2026 Cavalcade
4280 miles
We finally left Monahans, TX around 11:00.
After riding for little more than an hour, I stopped because I was sure my love was frozen.
I was correct.
I had her go into the restaurant attached to the gas station, while I finished filling up.
It’s difficult to judge a restaurant by its exterior. A place that looks good can be terrible, a place that looks like a ‘hole in the wall’ can be the best food you’ve had. The place next to the gas station was the former.
We had ‘breakfast’.
We later stopped by a Walmart to get more cheese and summer sausage for our ‘Hotel Bed Picnic’.
Yes, I let my love eat ‘Crackers in bed’. She can eat crackers in my bed…
Anytime.
By the way, my scoot has a ‘Remaining Miles’ feature. How many miles, based on my current riding habits, I can travel on my remaining fuel. It went from 92 on the windy day, to 125 yesterday (because of the trailer).
I forgot to mention the Customs and Border Protection traffic stop we ...
