Woe Is Me

In November of last year I traded in a Harley Davidson 883 Sportster for a Root beer Softail Custom. I had a sissy bar, bags, and a windshield put on. It’s got two miles on it and was in winter storage at the Harley dealer in Glenview. It’s still there.

As I mentioned I was at Lake Como on a writing project over the weekend. Pete and I called our buddy Dave and asked him if he would consider coming out so we could pick his brain, as he is familiar with our subject matter. Not only was he willing to meet us but he said he’d buy us lunch if we met him at the Starbucks in down town Lake Geneva. It was a very nice sunny day. We ate at Egg Harbor on Main Street. I had this Italian chicken sandwich with artichoke hearts, tomato and something else. It was very good, which is, for those of you who have known me for a while, an amazing thing.

But the reason I bring up Main street in Lake Geneva is because it was filled with the unmistakable rumble of Harleys going by every time I blinked, Sporsters and Fat Bobs and Dyna Glides, Street Glides, Road Kings, and of course, Softail Customs, all of them trying to pull my eyeballs out of their sockets.

Why, you ask? Why, if I have my very own Harley, why was I watching other people on there’s. Why am I not right now getting ready to ride on this soon to be sunny, eighty-degree day? Are you ready for the sad part of the story?

Last Thursday I went to Hines VA, on Roosevelt road. I’ve been going to Jessie Brown in Chicago, but Hines is where they do a driver evaluation to find out if a person can drive after he’s had a stroke, lets say. I passed my evaluation. I can drive a car. The Secretary of State was informed. There was nothing legal about my driving restriction. It was the doctor’s recommendation. It was explained it’s more precautionary. Like say I have an accident and I’m getting sued and they look in my records that it was recommended by my doctors that I not drive.
Well I’ve been officially cleared to drive a car now. My Doctor also recommended I not drive the bike until July.

I just called Glenview Harley. They said there wouldn’t be any problem leaving my bike there until July, except for the fact I cannot ride it.

Woe is me.