Tuesday, March 07, 2006
The End Of An Era
Change is good. Right? Yes, for the most part, change is good. But sometimes, change can be bittersweet. And that's how I feel about Mr. Chick selling his motorcycle once and for all.
Back in the early 90's when Mr. Chick and I began dating, he purchased a motorcycle. A big one. He was such a rebel! He bought the bike as an undergrad and we went on many long, fun rides together through the hills around town. We took a couple of trips out to the coast. It was thrilling because there was an element of danger involved. And by danger I refer to both Mr. Chick AND the bike. My mother was none too thrilled to learn I'd been riding around on the back of a motorcycle, believe you me. But it was so fun and exciting!! That first summer of our courtship I had graduated and moved to the Bay Area for my job. Mr. Chick came with me. And so did the bike. It was his only mode of transportation that summer. We took lots of trips all over the Bay Area on that bike. That motorcycle represents the beginning of US in many ways. It's silly, isn't it?
As the years went on, Mr. Chick rode the bike less and less. He graduated and got a professional job. It wasn't practical to ride the bike to work in a suit. It became an occasional thing at best. Then we started our family and it seemed so irresponsible and careless to ride the motorcycle anymore. And it started to need some TLC that Mr. Chick just didn't have the time or motivation to do. We talked about selling the bike when we moved here for law school. What were we keeping it for? But it didn't happen before the move, so the bike came with us. And stayed in exactly the same spot it landed in as it came off the moving truck for the duration of our time here. In front of one of the garage doors with the garbage & recycling cans in front of it. It lended us a fairly "white trash" look. We kept saying that we'd sell it to a student, but it just never happened. A few times Mr. Chick tried to get it started, but the battery had died. But then he figured out that it wasn't the battery after all. It was something else preventing the bike from even starting. It was no longer in working order. And so it's sat, in my driveway, immoveable, for nearly 4 years. Sad and dejected.
And then along comes Craigslist! Mr. Chick spent an hour or two shining up the bike and taking pictures of it. He put an ad on Craigslist, finally committing to selling it. And he got several responses immediately. I mean, it IS a cool bike. So the very same day the ad goes up a guy drives 45 minutes each way, with cash in hand, to come buy the bike. It sold the same day. Amazing. And so closes a chapter in our lives. The motorcycle that was such an instrumental part of our early days is no longer with us. As much as I griped about how unattractive it was to have the bike just sitting out in our driveway all this time and just sell it already (!), I feel a little bittersweet about it now that it's gone. Nostalgia will do that.
And so I present the Before & After images of The Motorcycle:
Mr. Chick, looking cool and studly, on his motorcycle at the Oregon coast. Good times! Can you sense the danger?? ;) I spent many hours on the back of that bike clinging to him, enjoying both the feel of him, the motorcycle, and the beautiful scenery one can only appreciate on the back of a bike. (and yes, we wore helmuts when we rode the bike. Just not in pictures.)
The next generation on the bike. The biggest reason we SOLD the bike. It's a little surreal to see this picture, because Nicholas looks like Daddy and Lauren looks like me, and here they are in a very same pose as Mr. Chick and I when we were on the bike together. Strange indeed! A bizarro mirror...
Good-bye, motorcycle. May you be restored and appreciated and not broken up and sold for parts. We'll miss you, in a strange way, but will always cherish the memories we have of our times together. You rock.
Back in the early 90's when Mr. Chick and I began dating, he purchased a motorcycle. A big one. He was such a rebel! He bought the bike as an undergrad and we went on many long, fun rides together through the hills around town. We took a couple of trips out to the coast. It was thrilling because there was an element of danger involved. And by danger I refer to both Mr. Chick AND the bike. My mother was none too thrilled to learn I'd been riding around on the back of a motorcycle, believe you me. But it was so fun and exciting!! That first summer of our courtship I had graduated and moved to the Bay Area for my job. Mr. Chick came with me. And so did the bike. It was his only mode of transportation that summer. We took lots of trips all over the Bay Area on that bike. That motorcycle represents the beginning of US in many ways. It's silly, isn't it?
As the years went on, Mr. Chick rode the bike less and less. He graduated and got a professional job. It wasn't practical to ride the bike to work in a suit. It became an occasional thing at best. Then we started our family and it seemed so irresponsible and careless to ride the motorcycle anymore. And it started to need some TLC that Mr. Chick just didn't have the time or motivation to do. We talked about selling the bike when we moved here for law school. What were we keeping it for? But it didn't happen before the move, so the bike came with us. And stayed in exactly the same spot it landed in as it came off the moving truck for the duration of our time here. In front of one of the garage doors with the garbage & recycling cans in front of it. It lended us a fairly "white trash" look. We kept saying that we'd sell it to a student, but it just never happened. A few times Mr. Chick tried to get it started, but the battery had died. But then he figured out that it wasn't the battery after all. It was something else preventing the bike from even starting. It was no longer in working order. And so it's sat, in my driveway, immoveable, for nearly 4 years. Sad and dejected.
And then along comes Craigslist! Mr. Chick spent an hour or two shining up the bike and taking pictures of it. He put an ad on Craigslist, finally committing to selling it. And he got several responses immediately. I mean, it IS a cool bike. So the very same day the ad goes up a guy drives 45 minutes each way, with cash in hand, to come buy the bike. It sold the same day. Amazing. And so closes a chapter in our lives. The motorcycle that was such an instrumental part of our early days is no longer with us. As much as I griped about how unattractive it was to have the bike just sitting out in our driveway all this time and just sell it already (!), I feel a little bittersweet about it now that it's gone. Nostalgia will do that.
And so I present the Before & After images of The Motorcycle:
Mr. Chick, looking cool and studly, on his motorcycle at the Oregon coast. Good times! Can you sense the danger?? ;) I spent many hours on the back of that bike clinging to him, enjoying both the feel of him, the motorcycle, and the beautiful scenery one can only appreciate on the back of a bike. (and yes, we wore helmuts when we rode the bike. Just not in pictures.)
The next generation on the bike. The biggest reason we SOLD the bike. It's a little surreal to see this picture, because Nicholas looks like Daddy and Lauren looks like me, and here they are in a very same pose as Mr. Chick and I when we were on the bike together. Strange indeed! A bizarro mirror...
Good-bye, motorcycle. May you be restored and appreciated and not broken up and sold for parts. We'll miss you, in a strange way, but will always cherish the memories we have of our times together. You rock.
// posted by MP @ 9:48 AM 
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