Ya Know, whether it's bikers, truckers, or just an old cowboy sittin' a horse back out in the middle of no where, no matter how the world tries to pound them into one group or another they will continue to live by the beliefs that have served them and others like them all of their lives.
Many people in the world will call them irresponsible because they refuse to let life slow them down anymore than they absolutely have to.
They won't give in to the aches and pains that age brings with it. A
more...Ya Know, whether it's bikers, truckers, or just an old cowboy sittin' a horse back out in the middle of no where, no matter how the world tries to pound them into one group or another they will continue to live by the beliefs that have served them and others like them all of their lives.
Many people in the world will call them irresponsible because they refuse to let life slow them down anymore than they absolutely have to.
They won't give in to the aches and pains that age brings with it. As best as they can they'll continue to look down the road (even though they've probably been down that very road before) with the same optimism and belief that they had the first time their butts hit the saddle.
These people aren't afraid of dying. That's just one more ride. More than anyone else they know the meaning of "It's the trip and not the destination that's important".
They do believe any ride is a good ride and it beats the Hell out of sitting inside somewhere and having someone tell them they have to do as they are told because it's what's best for them.
Having a plan about where you want to go and how to get there is a good idea. But if you spend your life just worrying about "getting there" you're going to miss out on the most important and interesting parts of your life!
Sometimes you might not have a choice about some of these things (like when some of your more important body parts quit working right!) but no one can take your having lived life to its fullest and your memories of that life away from you.
I'm proud to have known many of these people and I'm happy that I can say that I've lived my life pretty much following these beliefs.
I've been lucky that I have a wife who will go with me and has always been a help. She enjoys the ride about as much as I do. It's kind of like bad weather on a ride, the ride is good but good weather just makes the ride that much better. But either way being on the ride is the important part.
Besides you'd never know how good something is if you don't have something to compare it to.
Now, those of us that have been there have the job of trying to pass on some of what it means to be free and think freely to those who will follow us. Admittedly not many will understand what you try to tell them about living free and all of the benefits and responsibilities that go with living free.
Many of them will give lip service to wanting to live free and that they would be willing to except whatever the results of that life are.
The sad truth is that most of them are willing to talk about it maybe even spend some time and money on what they say they want. When it comes down to it though, they are only willing to risk about as much as an E-Ride at Disneyland. (It looks real but it's really only man-made to look that way so there's no real risk!)
In other words, they're happy to have the world think they are tough guys as long as someone is there to rescue them from whatever they get themselves into!
If you're lucky there will be that 2 or 3 out every 100 or so that will understand something of what you try to teach them. Those are the ones who will carry on the things that have made this the great country that it is.
They will do these things not because the world told them that they should be a certain way but because it is part of who they are.
We can't force them to be the way we think they should (neither could anyone else when it came to us).
What we can do is to guide them with our actions in our lives, and leave a few marks along our trail for them to follow.
Just Thinkin' Out Loud,
John Padberg
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