By Bill Kenney
Yeah, hitting 70 in a couple weeks!
Yep, for some of the older members in the group ( like 80% of you who have already hit this milestone ), Mr Wonderful is hitting seven O in a couple weeks. The odd part about it is that I am not overly concerned about health, career, taxes etc. The major concern is how long am I going to be able to keep riding on two or three wheels? How long will I be able to go out to the western US to revisit or see new sights? Carl keeps reminding me how long it has been since Alaska, Utah, Oregon and the like. It’s scary when you realize the years are flying by and I am on the downward side of fifty.
I have some short ribs going on the smoker today and realized I didn’t have enough pellets to finish the smoke so off I went to Fredrickson’s to pick some up. It wasn’t till after my arrival that I remembered they were closed. After a quick phone call the next stop was Scituate Hardware where the nice lady said she had twenty pound bags of mesquite in stock! Off we went….we meaning Starr because today is National Dog Day. Actually when not on two wheels she usually rides in the truck with me anyway. Getting back to the age thing, as I was going down the road I wanted to see an old house that I always admired. When I moved to the area the trees were newly planted along the road leaving a beautiful view of this castle type home. Today the home is no longer visible as the trees are blocking the way! That is when I realized that I am getting older and that the trees I remembered as a youngster are fifty years old and older by now. Kind of made me think that geez EVERYTHING is fifty years or more OLDER by now….including ME!
So,what is the solution? Live each day as if it means something, RIDE AS OFTEN as I can, enjoy the company of my friends and fellow riders, love my Dog, Wife, Family, most friends and tolerate others the best I can. The best days of the week for me are Tuesdays for BMW breakfast, Thursdays for my AA home group and Saturdays for our morning breakfast rides that at times bring us all over New England on some awesome roads. It’s funny that with age comes an increase in Dr visits, banking decisions/meetings, EMT work in my case and other commitments. The first question I ask when scheduling an appointment is , “What day is that on?” and if the response is Tuesday I let them know that the day will not work unless in the afternoon. It is also a rare event if the family makes plans for Saturdays unless it is absolutely necessary ….after all that is what Sundays are for!
So for the upcoming decade my plan is to stay as strong and as healthy as possible, be active with family and ride with the people that enjoy two wheeled adventure and food as much as I do. As I put together this ramble that Joey asked for, I realize it is not fear of getting older but fear of wasting time that I have. My wife and I are blessed as most of us are. Great people in our lives, healthy, some money in the bank, comfortable home, Son Bryan is a great husband, father to my two granddaughters and I have a garage full of motorcycles. What more could anyone ask for?
I have two goals in life. One is to die broke and the other is to become half the man my dog thinks I am 🙂