Steamed Vegetables

Yesterday started off inauspiciously. I headed off to work not knowing what would lie in store but then again, I never really do. When I got out to Little Antelope I got word of a scene I needed to go take pictures of. Down around milepost 302 on northbound I17 a couple of truck drivers decided to stop and steam some vegetables. Seems that they were driving from California to Montana with a load of various types of vegetables. They decided to set their load on fire, call the fire department who would then come and steam their vegetables for them while the fire was put out. I suppose that a truck load of steamed vegetables might be just some restaurants would need, but most prefer to do their own steaming. Fresher that way. Somewhere south of MP299 the refrigeration unit on the truck caught fire. It burned the trailer and truck to the point that when the wrecker pulled the tractor away from the trailer several feet of the front stayed with the tractor. It took six hours, two tow trucks, three dump trucks and one fire truck to get the mess straightened out. Oh, and five ADOT workers. I've got pictures but they aren't available to me right now. I'll get them up later.

My darling wife's birthday was celebrated in the evening. The Flagstaff six plus Mary Lynne and Lela all went to Outback for some beef. Good friends good family and good food. I surprised Linda with some tickets to one of her favorite singer/songwriters; Gordon Lightfoot. Well at least I thought he was one of her favorites. She likes him, but not better than anyone else. Last year was supposed to be Andy Williams for Christmas. I bought the tickets and was all set to go but then it snowed. Dang I hate that stuff. Want to know the first day of significant snow this year? I'm sure it'll be October 24th, the day of the Lightfoot concert.

Just a quick update on the last two weeks of recuperation. I'm still a little sore but doing well. My skin is still pretty sensitive where the stitches were. When Barkley decides to sit on me he has to sit on my right side or bad stuff happens. Fortunately I've been given some assignments at work which haven't taxed me too much. I rode The Beast to work a couple of days this week. Felt good.

Frankenbike is at a doctor's office getting some much needed attention. Fork seals, carb tune, and most importantly, brake cylinder rebuilds. I'm old enough that stopping has become as important as going fast. And at my age going fast includes less actual speed than it used to. Truth be told, I'm at the stage where the flash is more important than the substance. But regardless, I'm anxious to ride the Honda. The next day or two should include an update on Linda's latest challenge: Stan wanting a sidecar for Frankenbike.

Stupidcide

Well I tried to commit stupidcide yesterday. Lela and I went to Phoenix to attend a memorial service. It was outside, in Phoenix, in September. It was HOT. Not as hot as it could be but when you compare it to Flagstaff, it was HOT. I was standing up outside of the tent when I started to feel faint. I leaned over and put my hands on the back of the chair my mom was sitting in but that didn't seem to help. I worked my way over to where my sister Loretta was sitting and demanded her chair. Actually she graciously offered me her chair. I sat down and my lovely sister-in-law Rose told me to put my head between my knees. Have you seen me? Put my head between my knees? I haven't been able to do that since 1931. But regardless, I took her advice to the point that I could and put my head down. After a few minutes I began to get my wits about me again. This surgery thing has made me dehydrated and it caught up with me yesterday. Needless to say I'm drinking lots more water now.

The Flagstaff Six, possibly minus Linda, who is attending a conference, are hoping to go out for a bite to eat this evening. I haven't been on the bike for almost three weeks now and I think that is the real cause of yesterday's event; motorcycle withdrawal. Well, could be.

I'm at home after getting some surgery done. Minor, but dang I'm sore! I'll leave it to the reader's imagination as to the nature of the procedure. I'll just say that the pain killer and antibiotic taste horrible. And Linda is making sure I get every ounce that I'm supposed to. Relates to the question of which is worse; the disease or the cure. I will be better later but right now the irritation is irritating.

I'm well enough to go downtown and look at the cars lined up on the streets. It's the Route 66 Car Club's annual show. They shut down registration at 366 but I don't know if I'll have enough strength to see them all. Pictures may follow.

This is a sign on the way to the North Rim. Linda's brother might get a kick out of it. Of course his name is Larry.

I've got a lazy bike. The dang thing just rests whenever it wants to. Last week I was at the credit union, just leaving the parking space when The Beast decided to take a nap. I mean I wasn't going more than 5 mph and making a hard turn when it just laid over on it's left side. I stepped off and listened to it snore. As I stood there pondering how to wake it up, 13 midgets in a minivan pulled up and helped me right the thing. Actually it was a skinny guy in an old Ford Econoline, but between the two of us we stood it up and I was able to throw a leg over it and steady it. I don't understand why the thing did that to me; I feed it premium fuel, wipe the dust off of it, try not to ride in the rain too much, but still it got lazy on me.

Today is the 27th anniversary of the day Linda and I said "I do." I am so amazed that she is still with me. I'm grateful for that and anxious to start the next 27. We plan for the future and enjoy the present. Thanks Linda for helping us be a complete family.

The problem I'm finding with blogs is that posts always go on the top. When I'm writing a story, the reader starts with the last post when the story actually starts with the first post. I'll wander around the blog site and see if there is a way to change that. In the mean time I'll figure out a way to tell the reader which posts continue a story line and which ones are just miscellaneous ramblings.

Not much new this week. Been working hard. Hot days out on the asphalt. I rode the Beast to work today and intend to do so tomorrow. I'm pretty stoked though; at dinner this evening Angela told me that Tommy T has some handle grips with fringe. I gotta go get them. Remember, it takes a real man to have fringe on his scooter.

I'm gonna have a bit of time on my hands in the next couple of weeks during which I'll attempt to further describe the cycle related adventures of the Flagstaff Six. We're working on Colorado for next summer but it may be possible that we'll do a two day trip to eastern Arizona before winter hits.