Every Thanksgiving....

Over the past few years it's become a family tradition to spend the weekend after Thanksgiving with mom and Russ and the Garrett part of the family. November 30th is mom's birthday so it gives us an excuse to have some big family dinners, usually a texas hold 'em poker tournament and top it off with a birthday cake.

The drive down to East Prairie from Wood River usually takes about 3 hours. Those hours give us plenty of time to listen to our favorite music....talk about girlfriends and boyfriends and life and death and all the stuff in between.

my favorite part of the drive is usually, twilight....if we leave in the afternoon, we drive through St. Louis around sunset.

This year I am particularly thankful. Mom finished up her radiation treatments on wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Next week she will meet up with her oncologist and they will come up with a battle plan for the rest of her treatment. Most likely it will involve a little bit more chemotherapy. Her doctor has assured her it won't be as aggressive as what she has previously experienced.

I can't tell her that I know what she's going through...I don't. I can't tell her I feel her pain.... I can't even fathom the pain she goes through. I can't imagine how strong she is....I don't know how to be that strong. All I can do is hope that it will all be over soon...that she won't have to go through this ever again...

All I want for Christmas...is a cure.

Wheels........

I first learned to ride a bicycle when I was 8. White, with red stripes and a basket on the front. It's been a loving relationship ever since. I would spend whole summers on my bike. Leave my house in the morning, ride all over town all day, come home for lunch, leave again till dinner. I have so many scars from so many bicycle wrecks.

The freedom of two wheels and the wind in your face can't be matched by anything else on earth. As I grew older, 4 wheels took the place of two. I got a driver's license and it was no longer "cool" to ride a bicycle.

When I turned 18 my parents divorced. Like most middle aged men his age....dad's first purchase was a motorcycle. I had a new obsession. I was so envious. I vowed then and there, someday that I would learn to ride. It was gorgeous. A Honda Goldwing. Black. Shiny. Fully decked out. All the bells and whistles. That was a beautiful machine. Dad would take me for rides. The great river road at sunset. The cornfields of southern illinois on a cool fall day.

Several years later, my (then) husband bought a Honda Shadow....*sigh* Not so fully decked out..750CC engine, nice windshield on the front and a couple saddle bags. He would take me for rides too. I love night rides the best...with a full moon lighting your way. *sigh* That bike represented the freedom I so desperately wanted in my life. I wanted to learn how to ride it..he promised to teach me. Like so many promises, that one was also broken.

This past year has brought many new adventures....I finally decided to tackle my biggest adventure. It was a three day class. Friday night was class time we broke into groups and discussed why we wanted a motorcycle license. We went over the handbooks, and discussed safety, safety, safety and equipment and techniques. The next day would be all day on "the range" on actual machines.

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright and cold. We were assigned our machines. I got a blue Suzuki. I was scared to death. I had a hard time getting it started, and the instructor was very gentle and understanding as he showed me that I needed to turn my fuel tank to the ON position. He called me HOMER...cause he said he was too busy to learn all our names. Everyone got a nickname. Strange...he learned everyone else's name...I remained HOMER. We got our bikes started up and I took my first ciruit of the range. In first gear. I didn't care. The feel of the wind on my face and the sun on my back was enough of a thrill for me.

We did several exercises that day designed to teach us the skills necessary to maneuver city streets and country roads. With each new skill, I gained a little more confidence. By the end of the first day, I was cornering and swerving around cones, braking...and even shifting into 2nd gear!! All day long I had been seeing my classmates take a few tumbles. We were doing an emergency braking exercise when I lost control of "BLUE" the bike started to fall to the right....I jumped off on the left and she went down. The handbrake was broken. I was a little upset. The instructor came up to me.. "Homer, shake it off. You're doing really well. It's too late to quit now. I'm really impressed with how quick your reflexes were...come on, back on the horse" I finished the day on an unfamiliar bike...visibly shaken.

We started sunday on "the range" and sunday afternoon we would be doing our road tests. Again we were assigned bikes. The instructor came over to me, "Homer, I got a special bike..just for you. Handles like a dream." It was a black Honda Shadow. Karma? I think so.

We spent the day sunday working on the skills for the road test. I aced the figure 8,cornering, emergency stops,and avoiding obstacles. I was feeling pretty confident. After lunch...we would do the road test.

I was tenth in line...I observed how everyone else was doing. The course was set up so that you got up to about 15 miles per hour...shifting into 2nd gear..cornering(within a defined path) and doing an emergency stop after a straightaway. The instructor checked to make sure that the bike was in first gear after you were completely stopped. That was the first part. The second part was a straightaway coming into a defined area..where you had to perform a figure eight within that area...and then leave following a defined path. Staying within the lines is mandatory.

When it was my turn, I patted "shadow", prayed, crossed myself, and took off. I loved the feeling of being in control. I went through the exercises just as I had been taught. After all the tests were done...we went inside for the written test while the instructors graded our road tests. The written test was basically just common sense. When our tests were handed out the upper right hand corner had our scores for the road test on it as well. Mine...had a note on it.. "see me after class, homer."

As it turned out....I didnt pass the road test. I had a problem staying within the lines. What can I say? I always did color outside the lines. : ) I talked to the instructor after class. "For someone who had never ridden before...you did amazingly well. I want you back here in the spring...you'll pass. You just need more practice. You can do this"

I'm volunteering to be a "range aide" so that I can help out with the courses in the spring, gain a little confidence around motorcycles, get in some practice while the students are on lunch break. I'll pass the course next time. I just know it. I'll get a bike. I'll take a cross country trip, and I'll write about it. I'll let you know when it's to be published. *grins*