“It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.” ― Albert Einstein
I am thinking this an introduction to something I will get back to tomorrow, having no idea what it will be about. I am pretty sure it’s going to rain this Sunday, completely submarining my ritual motorcycle ride with the Sons of Kauai. Now, this meteorological intrusion means I will wake up Sunday morning, a morning when I purposely do none of my, obsessive-compulsive rituals, which involve a morning Zen sit, a 100% repetitive, Yoga practice and my time on the stationary bike. I got nothin’ but time without all that.
I have to comment about the bike. Around three years ago, I had to give up running, a part of my life for at least forty years and if you think that’s just a number, it is closer to a life time. You need to think about that number for just a second. I started running in my early thirties, suffocating in a dying marriage and choking on a way of life that felt incredibly foreign to me. My running shoes and shorts went wherever I did in the world. Geography and weather were irrelevant to me for all those years. I just had to run and I always did.
When I came to Kauai years ago, I had a short list of what I wanted to do as soon as I got here. I got a tattoo on my right shoulder, which hurt like fuck. I got a kayak and proceeded to go out by myself for years, during whale season. Did you ever look a whale in the eye? Did you ever spell their salt sea breath, blasting out of their blow hole? I got my motorcycle pretty quick and found myself adopted by the Sons of Kauai, my two wheel family, truly experiencing the heart of ohana.
With the best intention, I wanted to experience some of the “local” culture and found a canoeing group that met weekly at Hanamaulu Park. You know, I thought it would be cool to go out with a group of people in a six person canoe, an outrigger. I was definitely not prepared for the intense competition, a serious Type A experience. I met with this highly motivated group each week and we went out to challenge the Pacific, a losing proposition if ever there was one.
One night, we ended up capsizing and I cut my shin very badly on the wooden seat in front of me. In 100% shock, I drove myself to the ER, the sheath of my bone exposed for all to see. For those of you, who don’t know, Hanamaulu Bay is a fecal paradise, guaranteed to infect any open wound it encounters.
Christ, this story is already far too long and I really didn’t mean to get off on this leg tangent. All I wanted to do is tell you about my new stationary bike! I went through an incredible, life changing experience regarding my leg and let’s just say it was certainly physically compromised. I busted my ass to rehab my leg, recovering from three surgeries and a skin graft. I can’t begin to tell you how hard I worked to get back to my routine. The Zen sit was the easiest to fold back into. Yoga was a fascinating experience, because you get to talk with your body and see how you can ever so slowly get back to where you were before the leg nightmare. It was very slow going, but I was totally, single focused and worked my ass off.
I remember very clearly trying to run, once I was able to walk down the stairs of my second story home. For months, I lowered myself on my ass from one step to the next, throwing my crutches down to the ground. Running meant the world to me back then and all I wanted to do was to be able get my wind back and run passed the pain of my past.
My left leg was terribly compromised by the experience and I tried to block it out from my memory. The truth is, at some point, this leg was going to tell me it had enough and it couldn’t run with me any longer; enter the stationary bike. Man, it took a while to get here! I managed to get another fifteen years or so of running, but it was really starting to feel like enough already and as luck would have it, my leg decided to say no more.
The thought of no longer moving my body every morning was out of the question. I went online and got the cheapest, stationary bike I could find, but it was also one of the very few that had moving handlebars, allowing you to row as your legs pedaled. After nearly three years of constant abuse, all of the necessary moving parts, including the chain, decided their time was finished. Pedaling a bike with zero resistance feels dumb, so I very recently went back on line and ordered a replacement.
Finally, we are back to the beginning of this damn story. Yesterday, because it is now the next evening, I began by writing about wondering what the hell I was going to write about. I also mentioned that the weather forecast sucks for tomorrow and I will wake up to a Sunday with a completely blank slate. When I started this on Friday, I was pretty certain Sunday would just bomb and I’d be at a loss as to what to do, especially considering I was going to finish a story to you before then.
Shit, I’m sorry. You know, I might even write another story, rupturing my once-a-week compulsion. Meanwhile, my second generation of stationary bike is really good. You know, it’s like driving a really lousy car everyday, something you simply take for granted, until the Jaguar pulls into the driveway! I am loving the difference and just felt like telling you about it.
Do you want to hear the news of the week, like you have never heard it before?
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1292459
Two guys, seemingly having nothing in common, put on a weekly show of what it’s like to be friends.