I'm always up for a challenge,

So when Trobairitz asked

What's in your wallet (or something like that) I immediately dug into my pants and jacket to see exactly what I do carry around with me while riding.

Unfortunately, it turns out that I'm a piker in the "Put it in yer 

pock-et league".

First, the jacket.

In the Left pocket sits the garage-door opener.  Stopping, dismounting, entering the code, re-mounting, starting and driving into the garage is no fun.  I'm a push-the-button kind'a guy.

Even though I'm a righty, it's in my left pocket because I've learned that trying to push the button with one's right hand while holding onto the throttle, can produce some fascinating - albeit short - rides.

In my right pocket is my backup water spritzer - just in case my water bottle runs dry.

Although I'v shown my key, it really doesn't sit in my jacket pocket. Instead, I loop it around my belt and clip it to it's ring.  That way, I know it's not going anywhere.

As for my pants – well, on my left hip belt sits my phone, on my right hip belt resides my pedometer ( my BRW wants to see 10,000 steps each day - one of the wonders of being married to a nurse), followed - on the right side with my primary water spritzer.

My left front pocket holds my cash ( I never seem to have much in that pocket), while my right pocket holds my change - which seems always to multiply in adverse proportion to my left pocket contents. By the way, the coin on the left, kind of by itself, is a gold dollar, one of our county's big mistakes.  Someone figured that if you can carry paper money you can carry coin money, totally disregarding that ten bucks, even in one-dollar bills, weigh nothing.  Ah ha! Do you know what ten coins weigh?  Enough to keep you hitching up your pants every 3 or 4 steps.  Ah, well.

The right rear pocket keeps my handkerchief safe and sound.  I say safe and sound because no one can reach into their rear pocket while riding.

My left rear pocket holds my pouch - hand made by my BRW - within which resides my lucky rock and my "keep-safe" fetishes.  Important stuff.  Not that I'm superstitious - but I am a sailor, and we have our good luck items, without which doom and gloom with prevail.

Honest.

The red thingy is an RCA combination camera and video machine.  Unless it's February, or thereabouts (which in Maine, trust me, can be brutally cold) I usually wear chaps over my regular pants, and the camera snuggles into the pocket of my chaps.  Otherwise, it sits in my left jacket pocket.

So, that's it.  Not much, but Hey! Think of Agnes Martin, Frank Stella, Philip Glass and John Cage.

Okay.  This a real call for help on a very important subject.

Now that I've got your attention, here's the deal –

Should we upgrade from the Honda Elite 110 to an Aprilia 250, or buy a motorcycle such as, oh, I don't know, a Honda Shadow, or a Suzuki Boulevard, or a BMW Roadster.

Clearly, I'm in over my head except that the Elite can't do what we need: something that will hold at least 50-mph (or a bit more) steady, with two people aboard plus the usual weekend "stuff".

We went the scooter route - even though we both hold motorcycle licenses, because of my concern about handling a bike.  In particular, holding the darn thing upright.  My fear was, has been, is, that if it starts to tilt, the game is over.

four years ago this wouldn't have been a problem (real or imagined - i'm not sure) but my bout with cancer took 20 some-odd pounds off my 5' 8'' frame, most of it muscle, leaving me with 143 pounds to do my stuff.

So, I'm reaching out for some advice.  Any suggestions as to bike versus scooter and which bike (if that's the suggestion), would be most appreciated.

Or, in the alternative, allaying my fears about keeping a 700 some-odd pound object with the wheels on the road and the handlebars on top.

In the meanwhile, we will continue to merrily chug along on the 110.

ZOOM, ZOOM!!

Can I do two blogs in one day?

Shameless, I know, but here is a out and out plug

Join us: Ray, Adam and myself, at radio station WMPG, on Monday (every Monday) from 1:30 until 3:00 PM, and listen as we take on the ills of the world and solve each and every one of them.

Okay, so we don't solve ALL of them, but..... those that we fail to solve, were clearly not worthy of our divine problem solving powers.

Okay, so we can't solve all the problems.  But, that doesn't stop us from ripping it open and searching its entrails seeking the answer.

For those who are not in the listening area of Greater Portland, Maine, don't despair, we are streamed - live, for your pleasure - at 

WWW.WMPG.ORG


AND THE PROGRAM IS....


SPEAK FREELY! And we do.

I mean, where else can you listen to three people, spanning three generations, express their opinions on such earth-shattering matters as

Who hit Nellie in the belly with a five-pound flounder?

and other deep, dense topics.

Ray and Adam are in the air-conditioned studio, while I

sit in the dungeon on the other side of the glass...

looking at their mugs.

At any rate, it's great fun.

JOIN US.  WMPG MONDAY 1:30 UNTIL YOU GET TIRED OF LISTENING --- OR, 3 PM COMES AROUND.

It really has stopped raining.

I believe all this rain is really all the snow we didn't get this year.  Come to think of it, I only ran the snowblower three times this winter.

While it did, in fact, stop raining, it did not, repeat, not, turn nice.  Rather, the day started off rather blah.  Lots of nothing to see, nothing cheerful.

Dull grey sky.  Dull grey Sun.  Dull.

But.  Never to be daunted, the bright side of all this Seattle weather is: The flowers are up and at 'em.

The Hens are coming....

Followed by the Chickens.

I think that's what this delightful plant's called.

AND.... to really spice things up, some new plant has decided to join us....

I haven't a clue as to what these (there are about 3 of them) beauties are.  They have just decided to join in the parade.  Anyone know their name?  Martha?

But, I did, after all, get out and ride a bit.  Gotta have our Dunkin' Donuts, so off I went.

Now, it ain't easy carrying coffee containers on a scooter: there's a bit of work involved.  The deal is: place the containers in a carry tray, put the try into the corner and fill the remaining space with your bag (or whatever it is in which you carry all your paraphernalia).

 

I carry a over-the-shoulder leather bag which is perfect for getting the coffee home – it jams in real nice.

Coffee away! Arriba!

Do You See That?

It's Raining again!

Another day of rain would be hard to take,

were it not for yesterday

When...

I opened the front door to grab the paper

And

The sky was blue.....  I rushed to the kitchen window, peered out and...

The Sun!  The Sun!!

Quick Mama, Grab your gear and let's Scooter!

Move the car,

Fill the tank...

And let's scoot along the back roads to breakfast, at...

A place that's welcoming, cozy, and puts on a great spread.

Wot I mean is..... A great spread...

Breakfast for two.  How can you go wrong?

We eat, drank, and staggered out to ride the backroads home.

Stopped to take-in some sights,

And drove home.  And.... as my friend's young son said, when asked how his summer vacation trip was... "We went out, we ate a lot, we had fun, then we drove back. And that was fun too."

It's Raining again today.

Seems like that's all it does lately.

Rain, rain, rain...

No Scooter riding today.  Again...

Well, if you're Italian, and you're stuck inside, what do you do?

Tu cucinare e si mangia!

You cook and you eat!

First, start the tea.

Then, let's see, some asparagus, green onion, spinach, and a bulb of wild garlic - picked from the backyard...

Then some leftover loin of pork smothered in thick gravy...

A couple of slices of that 60-mile bread...

Then too, something to stick to your ribs – it is raw outside...

A dish of this, with a hefty slab of Irish Butter, and a heaping spoonful of brown sugar – that should fortify anyone against the rain.

And then, to clear the palate, orange slices, sprinkled with shaved cheese, drizzled with good olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar, should nicely end the meal.

Put it all together with, butter, jams and the Times, and what more could one ask for?

Not too much...

Si Magia

Gli italiani sanno mangiare

I drove to Brunswick today.

That's 30 miles.  One way.  So, let's see... 

That's 60 miles round trip.

Now, if I had to drive up there, I'd have a fit.  But scooter up?  No problem.


Now, for what reason, you might ask, Would I drive 30 miles, no, make that 60 miles?

To buy a loaf of bread.

Okay, not just any bread, but 6-grain bread, baked fresh at

Wild Oats Bakery.  Yum.

Truth is, I'd not been out of the house in two days, and I was pretty much climbing up the walls.  So, when we finished up the last of the bread today, I looked at the sheet of paper stuck onto the refrigerator  and said, "Hmmm, looks like they're baking 6-grain  today.  I think I'll go up and get a loaf."

And off I went.  And, as a friend of mine's son used to say, when questioned: "I went out.  It was fun.  I came back.  That was fun too."

Now, Route 1, to Brunswick, also happens to run right through Freeport, which is perhaps the most famous town in the country - although hardly anyone thinks of it.  Freeport's the home of L. L. Bean.  Everyone's heard of, or bought from L. L. Bean.  Even folks in Joice, Iowa: population 245.

And, if truth be known, Bean's is where I really wanted to go.

The biggest expense for us, if we go away for one or two days, is hotel costs.  In Maine, in the summer, you count yourself lucky if you can get a "stripped bare, no-nothing comes with it motel (NOT Hotel)" room for less than $175.  Get a room for $150 and you think you've just been blessed.

So, my BRW and I have come up with a plan: Camp the night away.  Not really camp, all we need is a place just to sleep.  So, our plan is to get a tent and just sleep in, so to speak.  Something like this:  Leave home, have fun, eat out.  Find campground, setup tent, sleep, get up, shower, pack and head for breakfast.  In that way, we can get a two-night trip in and save - at a minimum, $300.  You can buy a lot of spaghetti for three big ones.

So, on the way home, my bread clutched firmly to my breast, I dropped in a L. L. and picked up a closed foam sleeping pad for my BRW.

Tossed it into my "luggage compartment" alongside the bread and headed home.

At home, I stowed the bread

And put the pad into the saddle bag.  Correction, I attempted to put the pad into the saddle bag....

Hmmm....

Clearly, this is going to call for a bit more thinking.....

More to come.... Stay tuned for the next exciting Chapter....

*** Note to Deb, who is the proud owner of a Honda Elite - which is what I have - DEB: I saw you bought saddlebags.  If they attach as mine do (with straps that secure them on top and have them free-hang alongside the body) buy some soft material and attach it to the side of the saddlebags - between them and the body.  They don't move much, but they do move just enough so that after about one month, the paint on the body is all pretty much rubbed off.  Not pretty.....