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 29, 30, 31”
Of the 2026 Cavalcade
4873 miles
We left Eastland TX around 10:30 or so. We’d only 178 miles to our next stop.
We arrived around 14:00, @KevinProudTexan said he could hear us coming. He’d offered his lovely ‘Lake House’ as an interlude from the ride. He graciously let us stay two nights. Which allowed us to ‘recharge’ before the final 770 miles to GA. The first night they ( Kevin and his wife Kim) made Fajitas. The second night we four went to a local barbecue joint, my darling bride and I picked up the bill. It was the least we could do.
The next morning we were up bright and early. Had our coffee and said our goodbyes.
We’d barely gone a mile when I received a phone call.
I couldn’t tell whom it was from, and I couldn’t answer it, because I was doing 60mph on a motorcycle.
So I let it go to voice mail.
Another call, this time I could see it was from Kevin, whom we’d just left. I pulled off the road, and attempted to answer.
I wear leather gloves, ear plugs, and my goggles are shaded and ...
“Making like”
A baby, and heading out.
The most excellent @KevinProudTexan and his ever lovely wife Kim have been the most gracious hosts. The short hiatus from the ride they gifted us, recharged our batteries for the next two days.
We’ve swapped enough ‘stories’, that it seems as if we’ve known each other for years.
We then went to supper last night at a little local ‘hole in the wall’ that had excellent barbecue.
It’s now time for the final push to The Big Blue Beast, in GA.
I’ve consulted GROK and the weather will be in the ‘70s with no rain expected today or tomorrow.
We’ve almost 13 hours of seat time over the next two days to get there. We will do the longest segment today, 391 miles. Our longest segment of the entire ride.
While 6 hour rides in a ‘cage’ (automobile) isn’t too taxing, on a scooter, it can be exhausting. Especially at our ages. Your ass in general and hips in particular take a beating. I usually start popping Advil Dual (Acetaminophen and ...
