Since I was a teenager, I had dreamed of one day riding to Alaska on a motorcycle. That dream came true in the 2010 Hoka Hey. In doing so, I met two other riders that would become life long friends. Smiling Bob and Lizard. Both were retired cops and proved to be great people. When Smiling Bob found out the route I was taking to his home in Boston, Massachusetts, he laughed and basically said, Youll be lucky to make it here alive, Ill come get you. So on Saturday, he rides 180 miles and meets me in White River Junction, Vermont. He then leads me over one small road after another until we arrive at his home. I never see the huge and massive city I so dont want to travel through and see some of the prettiest little country roads Ive ever ridden. Bob and Lou are interesting people. Theyve been married 36 years, met in a bathtub (on a construction site) love each other deeply and are obviously fiercely loyal to each other. Their loyalty and support of each other is rare and refreshingly unique. Lou is a remarkable woman you cant help but love. She gives a lot to help others. She watches over her family, her sister who lives in a nursing home, her mother, and for 5 years, helped get the SHARE Program get started in their local area. Its a program where food can be given to people in need who are willing to donate service hours to the local community--thus it is a program of giving back, not of just receiving. Lou believes in God, and is searching for something she can cling to. Smiling Bob is not so sure about God or about having Him in his life. Lou believes God is all over Bobs life. Smiling Bob has survived being hit by two cars. Both as a pedestrian. Once as a young boy and once as a police officer. The last accident ended his police career. It crushed his left ankle and left shoulder and left him with injuries and pain that still plague him today. Hes has survived open heart surgery, survived a highly infectious and fatal bacteria which lead to brain surgery, which he survived, and while returning from the 2010 Hoka Hey, he survived going off the edge if the road, rolling and tumbling down a mountain side. When he managed to crawl back up to the roadside, as he placed his hand on top of the shoulder, a passing motorists happen to see it and helped him to medical attention. Bob said that for the prior 3 days, he didnt remember seeing another motorists. Yet on the day of his accident, there was one there, just as he reached the top and placed his hand in the shoulder of the road. One of his best friends, Jim, drove up to British Columbia Canada, just to pick up his bike and help him get back home. It was a time of real relationship building for Bob and Jim as they drove the many miles together, in the U-Haul. One year later, Jim died and Bob now cherishes that time together with his friend. There are many who are not sure about having God in their life. But sometimes we just need to look around and well see, ...that Hes already there.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:08:27 +0000
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