PMS

I was feeling fine until I got a sudden attack of PMS. (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome.) It struck with fierce intensity without warning while on my noon walk. The first symptom was a twist in the stomach. Then my throttle hand began to twitch and visions of byway scenes flashed before my eyes. I arrived back at the office with sweaty palms trying to analyze what had just happened. In the end, I blame the birds.

Yes, you read correctly. The birds are to blame for my sudden illness. A flock of robins in a tree behind the office to be more specific. Passing by, lost in my own thoughts, I observed a rather large flock of robins fluttering about and feeding on bits of seeds still clinging to the branches, while a great number feasted beneath. Like Pavlov’s dogs it triggered a reaction in my brain, and despite what the calendar said, to me it was March!

I park the bike for winter on December 1st. It’s an insurance issue really. On March 1st the policy kicks in again and I get itchy to ride. Last March there was no getting out of the yard. The ice and snow would not melt. I typically save a vacation day or two for March. There have often been 70 degree days in March when taking the motorcycle out after a long winter is just the ticket to lift one’s spirits. Not last March. To add insult to injury, I sat at home using my very last vacation day watching the snow pile up outside my window.

Still, I love March! In March the first robins typically begin to reappear as they head home from their wintering in the south. Not only does the insurance kick in, the snow melts, the robins come home, and spring begins, and my birthday falls in March as well. It is a month with more to celebrate, in my opinion, than any other. You can imagine the feeling I had after my walk, when the realization that winter had only just begun and that my bike has not yet even been parked for a whole month. I did not know until the walk, that the robins had conditioned me with their song. I don't know why they did not fly south, but now I am feverish for March. It’s going to be a long cold winter.