the very day

The very day after I write about lagging brain development in young people my nephew gives me an example.

We talked about a motorcycle trip together for a week and did so again this past Sunday. Come Monday he wants to know again when the trip is because his children are coming to stay with him for the summer.

"Oh, you forgot to mention that. Since they get here the week before we plan to leave and this is the only time you get to see them I think that means we aren't going on this trip."

"I guess not."

uncle chris' little joke

While with nephew or neice whenever the chance arises to question the judgement of a young person I always explain to them that the juvenile mind is not developed.

"Young peoples's brains don't work right. Give them time and they will develop."

"How long will that take?"

"I think the brain will be fully developed by (the listeners age plus two.)"

Gets them everytime.

preparedness vs readyness

I've been doing some small jobs on a motorcycle of mine.

Everything could have been done in an afternoon.

That is, if I had been prepared for the work.

Days have stretched into weeks and before too long weeks will stretch into months.

Now then, I was ready for the work but readyness is different from preparedness. Being ready is a matter of confidence. There was nothing about this work that I had not done before and I had all the tools I needed.

I wasn't prepared for the work.

First of all the bike is in a distant garage. And that garage has been hijacked. Rather than being a place for tools and the work they do the garage has been severely imposed upon by other things.
There are now three other bikes in the garage.
There was a stack of boxes in there belonging to one fellow and upon the removal of the boxes more moved in from another fellow. The bad example had been set. Since then another stack has appeared but it should leave soon.
There is a lot of other stuff, normal stuff, like the boxes that actually belong to the household.
Outdoor furniture, lawn mower and tools and clippings blowing around.
It is the start of the virus I call stuff.
The obsessive gathering of things that might be used someday, but probably won't.
Stuff infects a great many of us and few are cured.

Then we must compound these issues with various stops along the way.
These O-rings are no good, order more.
These O-rings are the wrong size, order more.
This part is missing, order a new one.
This retaing ring is lost, go get a new one.
Oops! Should have done that step before the one I did do.
It just goes on.

More recent experience would have helped here.
A space would have been prepared, tools laid out on a bench, parts all set down in order.

So there you go. It is one thing to be ready to do a job, it is another to be prepared to do a job.

I'll be back in that garage tomorrow.

planning a trip

A bike trip.

With my nephew who just got out of the army.

A snippet of the route here, a snippet of the route there.

There is a destination but it's secondary.

More or less, write down the segments to ride and string them altogether.

Goals are fine but sometimes it's not about the destination.

Sometimes it's about the journey.

Vistas need to be seen, hollers explored.
Small restaurants need to be found.
Low cost motels in the back country need to be discovered.
Enjoy the ride and wave at people.

I'll have him read Kerouac and I will read, hmm, what else, Pirsig.

We shall both write.

We will visit the Parthenon and turn back north on a different route.

Never the same road twice.

If the stars are in our favor we will hook up with other riders along the way.

There is a mobile community out there and we are members as long as we ride.

Leave the bike parked in the garage and you are merely a pretender.

Ride, just ride.

With friends.