Sad Day in Mudville

A small part of my world ended with a whimper yesterday. It marked the end of a piece of my life that spanned about 17 years. Its trajectory was like a man’s long life - full of joy, innocence and vigor early on, then the long tail of inactivity fueled by unnamed fears, then, finally, indifference.

Conchita is no more. Her long reign in our family has come to an end. She was only a year old in 1977 when my father-in-Law, Bill Pinedo, bought her. He was in his 40’s I think. He rode her faithfully and manfully back and forth from Queens to his job at RCA in Manhattan for many years before he stopped riding and parked her in his garage. It was after this period that I, too, caught the yearning and the fever. I was also in my 40’s.

Two days ago I signed over the title, and Dominic, the owner of Lovekraft Motorwerks in Ft. Worth, trailered it down to Houston.

Last night Dominic stopped by with the cash, and this cycle of life is complete.

cycle of life was complete.

So close...!

Headline: ROLLINS REGISTERS CONCHITA
Byline: Gladys Thornclotz, special to the Keller Daily Report

Keller, Texas - Defying the odds and his critics, local ne'er-do-well David Rollins traveled to Southlake this morning to register his motorcycle "Conchita."

"It is the second-to-last step in this long saga" commented Rollins. "They wanted to sell me an antique or classic license plate, but I held firm and went for the no-frills plate. Everything went smoothly...surprisingly! Now I'm just waiting to get the bike back from the shop which should be this weekend."

With local temps in the 20's and 30's, Rollins doesn't mind the wait.

Keller skies through the windshield, Samsung Galaxy II.

Well, as my wife says, 'hombre propone, Dios dispone.' Alas, no motorcycle yet. Sigh.

Had it delivered back to the house the other day, started it up in the driveway and it immediately flooded and started leaking gasoline... My mechanic stood by, shook his head and said it must be the carb seals, which weren't a problem at all when he thoroughly test drove it earlier that day, but sometimes do fail in this way when they are old. So, he took it back to order the parts and replace the seals on his nickel (he's a good guy).

To top it off, got turned away from registration for having the incorrect papers! It's a conspiracy I tell ya'!

So here I am, still waiting... Freedom is still on the horizon.

The new plan is to register Conchita on Wednesday with the correct paperwork, and take delivery of Conchita on Wednesday afternoon. THEN, I will be free! Hahahaha hahaha haha ha. yah.

Took this photo heading east on Hwy 121 in N Dallas some months ago. On my motorcycle. Had to slow down from 90 to about 65 and stand on the seat to get a good shot... ;)

It's Friday!

Today is a big day. Freedom awaits me!

For a year I've been without transportation. Oh sure, I've had my wife's car to drive around... when it was available... which was. Basically. Never.

My father-in law, God rest his soul, gave me his old '76 BMW /6 to ride after he stopped using it some years ago, but it's been languishing in my garage. This month, my dear mother-in-law gave me title to the bike. And today, TODAY, I go to Motor V to get it registered in MY name and back on the road as early as Sunday or Monday!

Free at last!!

I've named the /6 'Conchita'

Pics to follow...

The Beauty of Creation, by Saint Augustine (+playlist)

Rosy cloud bottoms

The heavens proclaim...

Afternoon view from my office window in Plano, Tx

The heavens proclaim the glory of God and the firmament shows the work of His hands.
I tend towards the dramatic for the photographs I use on my YouTube channel (more later).  This photo was taken with my HTC phone from my seventh floor office window, looking west.  I boosted the color a bit in iPhoto to add a touch more drama.  The afternoon sun is shining on Lake Dallas, seen in the very bottom of the photo.  Though the phone is pretty good, the photos are a bit grainy.

As you may have guessed, I am not a professional photographer.  I'm just a guy who loves the sky and its beauty.

why skykindaguy

It's simple, really.  I love the sky.

When my oldest son was very young, I would point out cloud formations to him.  He would say, "Dad, why do you like clouds?"  I'd say, "I don't really know, Luke.  Guess I'm a sky-kinda-guy."

This was taken with my phone at sunset up the road heading towards Roanoke, Texas a few months back.

What now?

Ok. I now have a blog. Um...now what??