Words of Truth

I was surfing the net tonight, and I found several blogs complaining about the Republicans discussing Ayers’ ties to Obama. “Obama’s not a terrorist like Palin said he is,” one blogger said. I am going to repost what I put on one of the blogs, because I feel like saying it, and I don’t feel like repeating myself. The blog said, “Sarah Palin called Obama a “domestic terrorist.” The shout of “kill him” followed a Sarah Palin rant on Obama’s relationship with radical Chicagoan Bill Ayers.”

So here’s what I said, “The point about Ayers is that he’s a terrorist. He blew up stuff, killed innocent people, and got away with it. Now he says he didn’t do enough. And Obama’s campaign was launched in Ayers’ living room. THAT’s the point, not that Obama is a terrorist, but that he is friendly with known terrorists. Add that to the dirty laundry list of all the other people he has associations with (His pastors, for example), and it paints a picture. ”

Obama is guilty of consorting with terrorists, not being one. Let me give an example of what Obama should do: I have a friend. Some of you know him. If he came out and said, “I think all black/asian/mentally retarded/etc people (pick your group) should be killed.” I would have to stop being his friend, because he stands for something that goes against every fiber of my being. Obama should repudiate his relationship with William Ayers. He won’t. That’s the problem.

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As many (both?) of you know, I bought a motorcycle back in June. I signed up for a rider safety class put on by ABATE of Indiana. The class was September 8-10 in Indianapolis. I passed the class, which enabled me to not only be a better rider, but also allowed me to get my motorcycle endorsement on my license. So I am now a card-carrying biker. Not that kind of biker. Anyway, I have been riding my bike to work ever since I graduated, and I have really enjoyed it.

I enjoy the “fun-ness” of riding the motorcycle. I enjoy the camraderie of the other bikers who wave at you just because you are also on a bike. I enjoy the 55-57 miles per gallon I get on my bike. It used to be that, when I got off work in the morning, I would tolerate the 30 minute drive home so I could sleep. Now I get off work and say, “Hey! I get to ride my bike for 30 minutes now!” Sometimes I take the long way home for scenery. With a bike, the shortest way isn’t always the best.

I am getting better at riding with every day I go out. At first I was nervous on the interstate getting up to speed. The more you go over 60mph, the more vibration you encounter. Also, there is more wind with higher speeds. At first, everyone was passing me because I was going 60 in a 70. Yesterday I passed someone who was going slower than the limit.

I had assumed I would stop riding my bike at the end of September, since it would start getting cold. I was loathe to put my bike away, but what could I do? Well, I am still riding my bike, even though temps in the evenings are in the 60’s (still ok for riding) and temps in the mornings are dipping into the 40’s and 30’s. I have been layering with long underwear, wind resistant jacket and pants, and I bought a balaclava (a ski mask type thing for bikers to wear under the helmet), which works great.

I plan on riding my bike until the temps are in the 20’s and 10’s. Then we’ll see. Also, no snow or ice. Since I live in central Indiana, I figure that will be about two weeks that I won’t be able to ride. I’ll let you know. I don’t have a name for my bike, and I guess I’m supposed to come up with one. I thought of “Olive Oyl” (for the color), but it doesn’t sound right. I didn’t have any small animals get caught in the spokes like Dad’s. Even if I had, “The Vole” doesn’t sound like a good name. I am still considering what name to pick. But name or no, I am really enjoying the open road.

Sometimes it’s hard being a fan. Last year, when the Cubs backed into the playoffs, I wasn’t mad when they got swept by the Diamondbacks. I figured that our team was good, but evidently not good enough. We needed to be better.

This year. We had the best record in the regular season for most of the year. We were ranked at or near the top of the “power rankings” all year long. We led the league in certain stats. We picked up Fukudome, Edmonds, and Hardin. Marmol and Wood were closing like mad. All our hitters were doing great.

Then the post season hit. It’s like the Cubs just gave up. “Yaay. We made it to the playoffs. Now let’s get this over with so we can go home.” I don’t know what the problem is. We have good pitchers, we have good defense. We have good hitters. We have had, arguably, the best team in the entire league.

I have really enjoyed this season, but it is going to be a long time before I hold out lots of hope again. I will enjoy watching the Cubs. I will always be a fan. But 100 years of disappointment say that I shouldn’t get my hopes up too far again. At least I have a life to live and the Cubs losing doesn’t really mean much in light of other things.

Ah well. Back to football.