Memorial Run

Anniversaries are not always................
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We are coming up on an anniversary. Maybe not one you want to celebrate, even though we probably should. Easter Sunday, 2008, my mom started another journey. That will come later, this is the story about, what I've called "Mom's Run".
When you make a choice to live 1000 miles from home, you have to know, part of the cost, is "the call". You must know and accept the fact that it is going to come.
When it came, I knew I was leaving, not sure how to pay or whatever, but I had to go. The cheapest way for me was the Harley Davidson Electra Glide sitting in the garage. Long ride, hadn't done that before. But as it would turn out, it was the only way to go. Sure, it had it's drawbacks, that I survived, but then it became something else. I decided to call it, as I said, "Mom's Run".
A couple of the lessons I learned were, for one, when wearing steel toed safety boots, when the toe gets cold, it will stay cold. Regardless of what the temperature does during the day, they will not warm up. I ended up stopping and buying some of those hand warmers that hunters use. You open the little pack and when air hits the stuff, it gets warm and will stay that way for several hours. At the time, I didn't realize that they made different ones for your shoes. But they worked and I keep them in the saddle bags always. Like the rain gear and the leather, it stays with the bike. I also realized that, as a friend once told me, you don't need a radio on a motorcycle. You listen to the music in your head. Songs you've liked forever come to you as you ride along and without those annoying commercial breaks I detest. The motivation has to come from somewhere, to keep your spirits up and keep you going, maybe longer than you normally would. It's not anything like spending hour after hour in a car. The weather and your own body challanges you, tempting you to stop and rest, when you know you shouldn't.
I never will forget one defining moment on that trip. I was riding the unending highway leading from Macon, Ga. on down to Statesboro, Ga. I had an old favorite "road" song going through my head as I was being passed by a car. I was at the part where they say, " I'm out on the road and I'm not gonna stop, gonna roll til I'm old, gonna rock til I drop........", like that song, and I look over at the car passing me. The old man in the passenger side was looking at me. I'm used to that, I rarely pay any attention, for a reason. But this time was different, he was looking and I know he couldn't see much, black bike, black leather, black full faced helmet, dark visor. But when I did decide to look over, he raised his gnarled old hand, with years of painful arthritis clearly marked and manages a "thumbs up". He couldnt see my smile, but he did see my black leather glove sending back a thumbs up. Never will forget that moment.
The ride into Statesboro was beyond words. The warm sun, the azaleas and other flowers bloomed out and the grass greener than green, beautiful. My mom had picked a wonderful place and a wonderful time.
The ride back, somber, colder. The first leg got me back into Nashville, missed the break I'd planned in Whitwell, so I kept going. As I was drinking that wonderful motel room provided coffee, I was looking outside the window into the dark evening watching my motorcycle being covered with snow. Man. Come daylight, or close enough, I took one of the towels out and began cleaning off the snow and frost. My motel neighbor was loading his mini-van and stopped to watch me. Standing there shaking his head. Needless to say, my next stop was 750 miles away, Rush Springs, Ok. where I was hoping it would be warmer. I did make it, something like 13 hours, stopping for gas and a stretch and go.
There is much more to this story, but what it started was my memorial. A memorial to my mom. When I first saw her, I exclaimed, "hey, I just rode over 1200 miles to see you and you just gonna lay there?! Get up and let's go for a ride!" I always teased her about how a couple of us would get together and put her on the back and tie her to the back rest and go for a ride. Anyway, the ink I will get someday will say, "Mom's Run, 03.22.08".
And by the way, I did make a memorial run last year, on Memorial Saturday and I'm planning this year's run as well. Those stories are forthcoming, soon.