Friday, May 26, 2006

A change of plans

I had something else in mind today for a post. The weather is so rotten right now that I can't really get the pictures I want for illustrations. It's a law in Oregon that the weather has to get bad for a long holiday weekend.

The following came across my computer screen. May is motorcycle awareness month. This seems fitting on a weekend with heavy traffic. Please feel free to pass it on to your friends who ride or those who have lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident. Even though it is written more from the perspective of a "biker" we all have a stake here. Whether biker or motorcyclist there is more in common here than differences.

From bikers to the general public:

I saw you,
hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But, you didn't see me,
put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you,
pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But, you didn't see me,
playing Santa at the local mall.

I saw you,
change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But, you didn't see me,
attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you,
roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.
But, you didn't see me,
driving behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you,
frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But, you didn't see me,
when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you,
stare at my long hair.
But, you didn't see me,
and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you,
roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves.
But, you didn't see me,
and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.

I saw you,
look in fright at my tattoos.
But, you didn't see me,
cry as my children were born and have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you,
change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But, you didn't see me,
going home to be with my family.

I saw you,
complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But, you didn't see me,
when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you,
yelling at your kids in the car.
But, you didn't see me,
pat my child's hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you,
reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road.
But, you didn't see me,
squeeze my wife's leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you,
race down the road in the rain.
But, you didn't see me,
get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you,
run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.
But, you didn't see me,
trying to turn right.

I saw you,
cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn't see me,
leave the road.

I saw you,
waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn't see me.
I wasn't there.

I saw you,
go home to your family.
But, you didn't see me.
Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker,......
A person with friends and a family.
But, you didn't see me.



If you travel on 4 wheels, please look out for the motorcycles. Be aware of us on the road.



Dan

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another great post. I passed the poem along to two other boards I frequent, so you may get some new visitors.

On another note, I've been thinking about the "why we ride" question. I have several answers.

I ride because when I'm on a motorcycle I'm not the slow, fat kid anymore. I'm the leanest, fastest, most maneuverable person on the road.

When I prepare to ride, I don my armor of leather, kevlar, and carbon fiber and prepare to do battle with the dragons of Detroit, aka SUVs. Survival is the prize, but as any good warrior, I prepare with training, the best equipment I can afford, and practice the moves I'll use in battle. I feel alive and connected with my warrior past.

Finally, some of us ride to be cowboys; dressing in leather, riding steel horses clad in plastic and chrome. We long for the image as a rebel or drifter. One to be respected and feared, yet not really dangerous.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan,

Nice post, but who wrote that? I've seen it before somewhere.

Ride well,
=gc=

Steve Williams said...

Thank you Dan.

steve

Anonymous said...

davet,
I love your imagery in the comment. Especially the part about being respected and feared but not really dangerous.

gary,
this was sent to me by someone in the Governor's office. I'll try the first of the week to see who the original author was. I just wanted to pass it along.

Anonymous said...

You're welcome, Steve. Wasn't my work I just posted it here.