Best time in your life?

Was it grade school before innocence was lost?
Was it High School when everything was within reach and you were golden?
Was it during college when you discovered yourself?
Was it during a time in the service?
Was it when you were young and had the world by the huevos (or at least you thought you did)?
Was it when you had your mid-life crisis?
Was it after the kids left, and life slowed down a little?
Was it when the children were married and gave you grand-kids?

For me at least, there were several times I can point to and say that these were just a few of the good times. Racing MX for several years in different countries and states. Riding across the top of New Mexico watching the sun change on the mesa's and smelling the rain in the air from distant thunderstorms. Riding across Wyoming toward Story and then toward Yellowstone. Yellowstone, what else is there to say? The grand Tetons are some of the most majestic mountains I have ever come across in any country I visited. Kanab Utah and Zion and Bryce Canyon and the North Rim of the big ditch. When I was in Germany, all the castles, old houses, really neat people and so much history you can get lost in it. Standing in the Schnee Eifel where the battle of the bulge began and you can hear the echoes. Sunday August 14th, when I took a moment to thank the greatest generation of Americans that ever lived. Did you think about it? Were it not for their heroic actions and their belief in freedom, we might well be speaking a different language.

Every day, thousands of WWII veterans die. You might want to think about thanking one before they're all gone.

Thanks

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.... Amen....

Dang..it's hard to come up with the best of times period. I wouldn't say high school..that's for sure. I had some awesome times in the US Army between Alaska and Panama. In fact..I took 10 weeks to drive from Anchorage to my port of call in S.Carolina to fly to Panama. Made 3 long back to back vacations out of that trip. Anchorage to Seattle, Seattle to Sacramento, and Sacramento to Charleston SC..10,000 miles! Each trip was with an Army buddy or my brother who did the coast to coast segment with me. Alaska was the overall best period of my 8 years in the Army. Panama was a place of the best of times and the worst of times (it's easy to get into trouble there..how I avoided it I don't know).

Still, I think getting back into motorcycling 10 years ago has giving me my best pleasure. I've averaged close to 1000 miles a month in the past decade and wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Sounds familiar there Marc. My wife callled it off 10 years ago. The day I got my final divorce papers in the mail, I bought a used XS650 w/2500 miles on it. Six months and 6000 miles later I bought a new Royal Star. Almost 7 more years and 93,000 miles on the Royal Star I bought the FJR1300. I've now put 18,000 miles on it in 22 months. So that's about 117,000 miles in just under 10 years (got the XS650 in Sept. 1995). I've never looked back.

Yeah, they would be makin beemers in milwaukee right now instead of HD's, all jokin aside we owe those guys a big thank you. Born to be wild don't sound too good in any other language cept my own.

They make beemers in South Carolina now don't they?... Each Nov 11th we see less and less of the Vets that gave us what we take for granted. A lot of them didn't want to talk about it but a simple thanks was well received. I was lucky enough to get to know some WW2 Vets quite well through friends and families and I got to work with some when I first started working in Calgary. These guys were special without seeming so. Some of the stories had you falling off your chair.....others never got finished..verbally, things got quiet. The silence taught you something that 10 history books couldn't.
So I guess that inspite of all that is going around us right now I'd have to along with that this is the best of times. I'm alive and getting ready to hop on the bike and see if I can scam a free can of beer from CD...I should pick up some hats for Seahag and myself for hogging the trivia last winter while I'm down there. Life's busy but I still get to ski, play hockey..not as good as I was once but still OK.
Lately I've been reminiscing of simpler times. mid to late '60's. For some of you this would have been turbulent times.....I was a kid in Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick. Hockey in the winter, track and field in the spring and summers were for bumming around. I don't know how many of you guys have seen "On any Sunday" but the scene at the start with the guys bouncing around on the bicycles sure gave me the knowing smile...Been there!! If any of you guys haven't seen this movie..check it out, it is a celebration of bikes..a great movie.
Stock Car Racing was pretty big there back then..two quarter mile ovals within 20 miles of town. Saturday nights at River Glade....hitchhiking out on the Trans Canada to get to the track..catching the racing..get over to the pits and bum a ride back with one of the racers..and if you were lucky, you got a couple of STP stickers to put on your lunchbox. I worked the concession at the other track..Mc Ewans Speedway....coke and fries at "The Home of the Modifieds"...Tuesday nights were great. small block chevys ruled. We'd get some of the Supermodifieds up from New England to put on a show for us...these guys were great.
Endless summer...it was great being a kid except for the music played on the local radio. I can't remember how many radio stations we had in town possibly just the one. and they played everything from Faron Young to Burl Ives..except for pop or rock for the most part. Friday nights you got rock from 9 untill 1 and you got the Big Beat Show live from a sock hop on Saturday nights and you got the top ten on Saturday afternoons..so what's a guy to do for music?
Same thing a lot you guys on the eastern seaboard did...when the sun went down the air got a little cooler and a little denser ,we turned the dial on the Philco 5 transistor Radio to 77 wabc, and Cousin Brucie was right there , clear as a bell..sure he was way out there in New York..wherever that was but he was talking to all of us and thanks to that reverb he sounded a lot better than the local DJ. Charlie Greer would come on after and work those wordy Dennison Clothiers commercials.
Hot summer nights with the radio tuned to WABC....fried clams and fries and a quart of Moosehead Beer that you got from the bootlegger..two quarts if you wanted to get a good buzz going..three was spin city.
Time moves on, I'm out west, fried clams are sketchy at best.....but thanks to Satellite radio I can listen to the Cuz again so when I'm in AZ riding around on saturday night and you guys see me bouncing around on the bike...it's just me enjoying the good stuff from the past to the good things from the present....courtesy of a Vet....so thanks..beer's on me, and I'm old enough where I don't have to go to the bootlegger to get it now......

Bob..you really liking that XM radio..eh? I've been thinking 'bout getting me one of those portables for the bike and truck. Even though I've got about 450 CDs burned onto my almost full 20GB Jukebox, I kind of get tired of searching for something different to listen to. I do like creating playlists for those 2+ hour non-stop stints on the bike.

I bought a home entertainment system yesterday..a Yamaha 5.1 receiver and 5.1 Infinity speaker setup. Sure brought out great sound to watching a movie on HBO last night (that and music sounds sweet through the Infinity speakers). I was looking at a different Yamaha receiver that was XM ready, but decided against it as I'd have to have a separate monthly contract from a portable (different serial numbers like dish satelite system) when I buy one. I can just hook up the portable to the new entertainment system like I would in the truck or bike. No matter what..I sure like listening to music when traveling hundreds of miles at a time on a bike across this great land of ours.

Music is great, especially when you're alone on the bike. For years I've always thought that the sound of a healthy motor is music enough but I really noticed it..or lack of it...when I went from the Glide to the Road King a couple of years ago..As pretty as the King is..I like this bike a lot better. I actually got a Sirius setup....cheap cheap and it goes where I go..slick little setup.

best times??

I don't know about the best times but I know about the learning times that made my life better. I made some lousy choices in my life that made my life the worst times
I guess life is about learning.