Saturday, May 3, 2014

Be Careful

I ride my motorcycle to work every chance I get. It’s little. My friend Nick says it looks like a “little kid’s bike.” Can't remember why he's my friend.

Even though it’s a “little kid’s bike” Nancy mandated some rules. I have to wear a helmet. I have to wear a riding jacket. She even bought me a backpack, so florescent yellow, you can see it from the moon. I’m supposed to wear that too.

And every time I leave the house she says, “Be careful.”

In fact, everyone says “Be careful.” Nick says it. Ron says it when I walk by his office to leave. My boss Pete. Pastor Greg says it. Heck, even the guy at the post office when I pick up mail.

There was a time in my life this would have really bothered me. Because of my bent, my youth, my insecurities and my tendency to read subtext into conversations, I would have hated it.

Be careful? What do you mean? Of course I’m careful. Do you think I can’t drive? Am I not capable enough? Responsible enough? Don’t you trust me?

One of the beauties of getting old is a lot of that stuff seems to fall away. There's so much less to prove, so I can hear the words for what they really mean. These people care about me.

Like "As You Wish" from the Princess Bride, what they are really saying is, "Love you!" Hearing it so often makes me think everyone should ride a motorcycle. Oh, and it reminds me why Nick is my friend.  

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