curmugeon | Living

Life experiences. I've been living life to the fullest as much as possible. I've explored, I've discovered. I've triumphed, I've failed. I can say I've seen life from both sides, from the viewpoint of living and from the perspective of death. I used to do a lot of bicycling and later that translated to motorcycles. There is something about being out of the box and experiencing the environment with your full senses. The wind in your face, the sting of rain and sleet. The heat, the cold. The experience of a large gathering and the joy of solitude. I enjoy travel. The landscape changing as you move to the horizon.

I can remember the feel of San Francisco in the Summer of Love. I can recall the first smells as I stepped from a cab in Berlin in 1969. I've stood on top of mountains. I've roamed through forests. I've encountered a lot if interesting people, from gypsy folk in Europe to high society at a formal dinner in a manor in Sheffield. I met mids and rockers and police and anarchists. I followed the antics of the Bader Meinhof gang in their surreal crime spree. I a few times experienced life on the fast lane of the autobahn. I remember the cafe racer culture of motorcycles in Berlin. I enjoyed the company of my high priced call girl neighbors in Berlin. The tales they told. I've come too close to being killed too many times. From an angry biker with a knife, to an angry "goat roper" (a derogatory term for a Texan who thinks he us a cowboy but only has the hat and a pickup truck) in a Texas bar with a gun. I still love all the women I knew along the way. From sassy bar maids to the flower children.

Life was meant to be lived. I've been doing my best for the last 68 years.