Never Been A Millionaire

That’s a funny title for a post huh? See the name of the song below that this post was composed under and you will understand. Well, I just noticed a few minutes ago that this is the 6 month anniversary to the date where my “business partner” shoved a knife in my back and tossed me overboard halfway to Hawaii. Of course he did not physically toss me overboard on a real sailboat but it might as well been that way. Greed and Sloth got the better of him. For all practical purposes I was thrown overboard with a knife in my back and set adrift. In the past 6 months I have learned a lot more about the situation and he is not having the best time. Some folks think they know how to ride a motorcycle but when they step up to the plate things don’t go as planned. I give that fool another 6 months or so and he will be belly up and asking for $5 for a chicken dinner as he once did to me in 2012. Certain birdies have kept me informed on what has been going on and it is not pretty for him. But he thinks he is Midas and can do it all. We’ll come back in 6 months from now and see what has happened to him after a year.

This is exactly why I am a loner and introvert at heart. In my life I have rarely come across anyone that can be trusted. Yes, for the little things for sure. But somehow when money starts getting involved for some reason most people have a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde personality. I have seen this over and over and over again until I am sick to death of it. That’s why I do best on my own. No one to blame except myself. If I goof up I know how to fix it asap. Independence rather than dependent. Freedom rather than slavery. Self-reliance rather than blind obedience. That’s the life for moi.

Freedom Easy Rider

 

Gloria Struck In the Wind At 91 Years Old
Gloria Struck In the Wind At 91 Years Old

 

Gloria Struck At 25 Years Old
Gloria Struck At 25 Years Old

Chartering unknown waters. Going to places you have never gone before. Seeing sights you have never seen before. Pulling out in the morning with no particular destination in mind. Driving down the highway with the wind in your hair. Having the courage to do it and know that at any time your entire life could change in one second. But you still do it because the Freedom is worth it. All of us roll the dice every time we get out of bed in the morning. At the end of the day you just might not be coming home, at least not vertically. What I have learned is that big game we are all in is nothing more than learning to overcome your fears. Ever since I was a young tyke that’s all I ever did. Learning to overcome my fears. Learning to ignore the mass opinion and strike out on my own. Learning to make things happen rather than letting things happen. Finding more pleasure being alone by myself for a month or two by a quiet lake than cooped up in some big city with people living their lives like sardines in a can.

Your Inner Voice
I think most folks have lost their intuition and their imagination. Those are two things I value the most. When I listen to my intuition I’m right 98% of the time. When I don’t, well, let’s just say it is not pretty. Call it what you will, a funny voice in you, a feeling, a premonition, a voice that speaks without a voice, whatever you call it it’s best to listen. I could talk for hours about this. I could give you hundreds of examples in my life. One example was a long time ago in Los Angeles. I was on the southbound 101 going up the hill into Hollywood. A semi was ahead of me and I was keeping a safe distance unlike the other 99.8% of drivers in LA. Well, about this time I got a feeling or a silent voice or an out of the ballpark thought (whatever you want to call it) that I should be more careful around this truck. That feeling/silent voice kept coming. About this time 20 seconds later a VW cut across a lane and forced the semi to brake hard. The next moments went in slow motion. The semi started to jackknife and his trailer started lifting up off the left side wheels. The trailer began to tip over to the right. In slow motion I am watching this trailer go more and more over. It must have been 25 or 30 degrees over and I really thought this was it. I was blocked in by traffic with nowhere to go. Well, somehow that rig driver got a hold of the situation, straightened back out somehow and I watched as that trailer came back down and bounced back and forth. Just a bit more over and that trailer would have tipped and crashed. The VW swung wide and exited at Barham. The rig driver kept going but I’m sure he had to change his shorts at his next stop.

Little things like that have taught me I need to listen to my intuition. For the last year before Oct. 2016 my intuition was in overload condition about this “business partner” of mine. I sort of shrugged it off most of the time but my silent voice inside my head started going off more and more and more in the spring and summer of 2016. It reached a point where I decided to take major precautions and about 2 weeks later the proverbial shit hit the fan. If I had not listened to my intuition when it was basically screaming at me in my head I would have been in a world of hurt. But I did listen and what could have been a major catastrophe was little more than a hiccup. A hiccup now as I look back but at the time in Oct. 2016 it seemed massive. It was massive but my intuition helped me to prepare for it.

On the way to Texas a funny thing happened. I was being followed by a monster pickup that acted like he was hooked to my bumper. This was in a construction zone with double fines. Speed limit was 55. So here I am minding my business listening to some of my favorite tunes and this guy behind me decides he can’t take it any longer. He floors it in a construction zone (on a double yellow line while pulling a trailer!!) and leaves us in the dust. Watch what happens.

 

 

 

 

Free Spirit
I will leave you with these two thoughts to ponder on.

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

P.S. Darcy is doing well on her gofundme page. She indicated she has a major update she’s going to talk about tomorrow. Sooner or later her dream will come true too!!

P.P.S. What’s coming in 2017? What new adventures await? Here is a sneak peak to get your imagination going.


L

Somewhere In Texas

“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”

something2.jpg

This post was composed under the magical influence of True Blue by Rod Stewart

The Value Of Life Can Be Measured By How Many Times Your Soul Has Been Deeply Stirred.

Soul Has Been Deeply Stirred

From One Honda To Another – Somewhere Out In The Middle Of Montana

Well, I did it. Instead of continuing the journey this year on a Harley Ultra Limited I decided while in Needles, California (121 degrees!!)  to continue this year in a roadster. A very special roadster. A 2002 Honda S2000. Yah, an AP1 that revs to 9K. Oh yea!!  I was honestly looking for a Ultra Limited on my stopover in Needles and by chance ran across this one owner, babied S2000. I’ve owned many roadsters in my life, MG’s, Midgets, Spitfires, Vettes, Fiats, Kharmen Ghia’s, Wranglers but I have always had a soft spot for MGB’s. The late 60’s to mid 70’s MGBs. Whoa!!!!!  There are no words to describe them. Especially the MG Midget, that was just an insane car.

1975 MGB
1975 MGB

 

With roadster memories stirring in my head I motored on down to Temecula and picked up the S2000 for the 2016 journey.

Palm Springs Traffic Nightmare
Palm Springs Traffic Nightmare

The S2000 is a pretty rare car, the S2K forum estimates only about 40,000 of them are left in the USA. I can vouch for that. Since leaving Temecula I have seen just 3 of them on the road. I started playing a daily game while driving. Count the other S2000’s, count the other roadsters of any make and count the motorcycles. Roadsters are a rare breed I’ll tell ya! So many more motorcycles I see daily than roadsters. Some days I see no roadsters, some days one or two. The S2000’s are few and far between. While in Billings, Montana I saw this yellow one in a parking lot. The local Honda dealer said he knows of 3 S2000’s in the Billings area. Rare as a hen’s tooth!!!!

Yellow Honda S2000 Billings Montana

1930's Roadsters
1930’s Roadsters in Red Lodge, Montana

 

There’s something about a roadster (in much the same way as a motorcycle) that simply cannot be explained. In many ways it’s as if you are flying a biplane a few feet above the ground. An old Stearman or a Travelair.

 

Travel-Air-4000
Travel-Air-4000

 

Travel-Air-4000
Travel-Air-4000

 

I was watching a video about the head engineer that designed the S2000. He said it’s not a car, it’s an experience. I cannot agree more.

The Value Of Life Can Be Measured By How Many Times Your Soul Has Been Deeply Stirred.

I love this quote. How many times in your life has your soul been deeply stirred? I mean DEEP! Beyond words deep. Can’t explain it deep. Words pale deep. The Place Where There Are No Words deep.

A long time ago when I was going through a lot of challenges in my life and my business I met by chance a most interesting character after my vehicle broke down. He gave me a ride to a gas station and on the way somehow the conversation got around to what we do for a living. He mentioned to me a few years before he was homeless living in a van near Malibu, California. But even though he lived in his van he had a burning desire inside, he wanted to create a new product in the hair care field. That’s all he ever thought about he said. Even as he lived on pork and beans in his van. Flash forward a few years, this homeless man was sitting next to me driving a Mercedes. He said it was rough but he never ever gave up. One day he said he met someone who believed in him and offered him the opportunity to develop his idea. Even though he was homeless he was schooled as a chemist. Funny eh? A fully trained chemist living the homeless life in Malibu. He said all it took was one good idea and his life took off. His products were picked up by salons all over the US and Europe. He became a multi-millionaire within a few years from the hair care products and bumped into me on Sunset Blvd in Pacific Palisades. I still remember his story to this day and wonder where he is now. He was definitely stirred by something. A deep, all-consuming burning desire. It drove him, it consumed him, he thought about it all the time and one day, in ways he could never imagine, his dream came true.

Illusions-Richard Bach
Illusions-Richard Bach
2015 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited
2015 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited – Coming in 2017??

 

L

Somewhere In Montana

“Something is about to happen. Something very wonderful.”

something2.jpg

This post was composed under the magical influence of One – ZooTV Live In Sydney by U2