The month of May always freaks me out. I just wanna run around and smell everything. That line John Sebastian wrote in the song “Daydream” when he was with the Lovin’ Spoonful, about the day making ya wanna “fall on your face in somebody’s new mowed lawn”, really means something to me. There ain’t NOTHING better for your soul than the smell of fresh cut grass, especially when you’re tooling down the road on your scoot and you pass by somebody else doing the cutting. And the flowers! I still remember the sweet, luxuriant smell of a big old lilac bush my parents had outside my bedroom window. What a way to wake up! Julie planted one in our yard, but it’s still sorta small and scraggly.
I stayed in California for a while a long time ago, but I never felt like I actually lived there. There, every day more or less seems to be the same all year long. And that can eventually drive ya nuts! Maybe that’s why the people who really do live there are so damned crazy. The mere fact that here in Ohio we’re forced to do without warm weather for a while helps to keep things in perspective, and makes the month of May that much more appreciated. And that very first ride of the season when you can actually ride in a T-shirt (if you’re so inclined) always puts a big smile on my face, as I know it probably does to most of you. But in fact I’ve learned to appreciate all the seasons for various reasons.
Of course summer brings plenty of sunshine and warmth. I recall the absolute joy of getting out of school and the planning of adventures in the sun. With summer’s heat comes the chance to finally go swimming! I love water and anything to do with it. I can spend hours swimming and floating in a pool or a lake (a fat guy can float like a sumbitch! I don’t even hafta use a raft!) It seems I have a primal need to feel water in all the pores of my skin, and I totally immerse myself in it as often as I can. I even love just looking at it. Whenever I help to plan a bike run, I try to make sure it passes a lake just so people can take a break on a causeway or at water’s edge to gaze at it for a while if they like.
.Autumn always has that nostalgic, almost homey feel to it. I tend to remember coming in from many a brisk autumn ride to a warm, cozy kitchen. It seems I’ve always entered the kitchen first when coming home from a long putt, because I either came in from the garage (when I had one) or through a back door (when I didn’t). When I was younger, it was all about coming in from a chilly day’s neighborhood football game to a mug of tea or hot chocolate.
And I can remember the smell of burning leaves. It seems people just don’t burn leaves anymore, probably because they’re so self-conscious about offending their neighbors. And I’m sure there’s all sorts of laws about it these days. I sorta liked it. I’m just too damned lazy to rake ‘em up and do it. And I liked the excitement and prospects (good and bad) of beginning a new school year and meeting new people.
Winter can literally glisten and sparkle. It seems the whole world is covered in a clean, white blanket of snow. It’s the time to rest up while ya sit around watching television or reading a book in the warmth of your home. The thought of warm, gooey oatmeal cookies comes to mind. I don’t even mind the daylight growing shorter so much then, because it IS the time for relaxing, kicking back and taking it easy. And I’m pretty good at doing that. Even the cold doesn’t bring me down (at first) because I know I can always turn up the thermostat (but I do get tired of paying for the heat).
Spring is all about promise: The promise of new beginnings. If ya pay attention you can actually watch, on a daily basis, life poking up from the ground. You begin to hear more and more birds chirping every morning. Julie has taught me to listen for little critters called Spring Peepers as night falls, though I’ve still never actually seen one. She says they’re like little itty bitty frogs. I’ve always thought that sound came from crickets and never really paid that much attention to it. Now I do because that signals that it’s really springtime.
But May seems to me to be a season all unto itself because it’s in between spring and summer. We have a “Holiday” season don’t we? We have “Football” and “Baseball” seasons. Hunters have “Hunting” season. We bikers have “Riding” season and snobby people have the “Social” season. May (to me anyway) is the “Boogie” season. It’s the “Get off yer ass and smell things” season. It’s the time to really appreciate life and all that encompasses. But unlike the other seasons, May only lasts 31 days, so we gotta enjoy it while we can.
And by the way, ABATE was the primary force in having May designated Motorcycle Awareness Month here in Ohio. Obviously the purpose of that is to help make drivers, who might have forgotten over the winter, to be aware of the many motorcycles appearing on the roads and highways. But I say that it’s also time for you to be aware of your own motorcycle. Give it a safety check, if ya haven’t already (actually, I usually try to have this done by April Fool’s Day). At least inspect your tire pressure and tread. Make sure everything is tight, that the brakes are working properly and that ya check all the fluids. And if ya ride on the back, make sure your partner does all this because it’s definitely for YOUR safety too!
Now, moving on..........
Like many or you, I’ve been riding for more than a few years. And probably like most of you, increasingly over those years I’ve noticed that beginning in May the summer calendar has become so packed with runs and events for various causes that we often have to “weed” through them every weekend to select which to attend. The competition for your hard earned money has become such that a lot of them (that can afford to) have actually started investing lotsa bucks to advertise their events on radio and television, something we simply cannot afford to do.
Like I’ve said many times in the past, ABATE of Ohio Inc. is the most righteous organization I’ve ever been involved with. Though we are by design a bona-fide corporation, we’re completely grass-roots. The only one who gets paid anything (and not nearly what she’s worth to us all) is Laura, our poor overworked office secretary in Columbus. We’re respected and admired nationwide by other state’s motorcyclist’s rights organizations. And MOST importantly, we’re effective.
ABATE is often sought out by the politicians we deal with for our legislative council and opinions. To be frank, these people are usually so busy trying to make everyone happy, that they don’t always completely read and understand all the ramifications of the bills they’re being asked to sign, or even sponsor. This is one reason why we urge these politicians to speak at our meetings: Their presence can sometimes inform them of the key points of an issue that may or may not have an effect on motorcycling. And it teaches them that we’re not just a bunch of bonehead biker jerks. It shows them that we are indeed many, and can actually influence their re-elections, which is always of paramount importance to politicians no matter what their agenda is or how honest and effective they are. Not to mention that it’s ALWAYS good for anyone to get to know their elected representatives on an individual basis. Ya just never know when you might need to call ‘em up for personal reasons, and it would be good to have a reference point to begin the conversation when and if ya do.
Throughout the year we try to provide the motorcycling community with all kinds of events. These events not only raise the funds we need to exist, since we truly are grassroots, but also help to bind us together in our efforts to create an atmosphere that encourages motorcycling to flourish here in Ohio.
So, for those of you who have dug into your pockets to pay your very much appreciated dues each year, but haven’t gone any further than that, why not go that extra distance and take full advantage of your memberships by seeking out and making it a priority to attend ABATE sponsored events, functions and meetings? If they’re not free admittance (like all our meetings are of course), they’re at least very affordable. Ya see, we’re honestly dedicated to motorcycling, and not just out to get your bucks like some of the more questionable fund raisers are.
If ya do, I think you’ll find a whole bunch of new friends to ride with, who, probably like you (and remember, for all I know a few of you might be real ass-holes), are the very best of what our lifestyle has to offer.
In the meantime, get out and smell something good. IT’S MAY!!
Bummer
