Playing the Odds

Have you wondered where I’ve been? The blog posts have been sparse for April, because I’ve been to hell and back; felled by the Herpes Zoster virus. That’s Shingles in layman’s terms. If you have ever had chicken pox as a child, you have a 20% chance of contracting shingles. It did bother me a bit that while the odds are 80% a person will escape this torture; I drew the short straw on this one. I can be a bit of a gambler at times, within reason of course. I like a chance now and then, but I stop short of betting the house. One would have thought the odds were pretty good I’d never contract shingles. I was wrong.

As soon as I felt able, and to give me motivation to get 100% better, I decided to start investigating our options for a trip to Sturgis in August. I did what most people do; I checked our favorite hotels for availability. The first search came up zilch, all except for the casino hotel at $500 a night! I didn’t find it at all amusing that since I had been thinking of odds, that the only bed available was at a casino, and at $500 dollars to boot! The house always wins right? All the others were booked solid. I began to scratch a bit deeper and investigate the more obscure resources. I stretched my search out to all hotels, motels, B&B’s, and Mom & Pop’s in a 30 mile radius. There were some rooms available, if you don’t mind $250 a night.

Andy started getting excited. He has always liked the thought of throwing a sleeping bag on the bike, maybe a small pup tent and camping out at Buffalo Chip Campground . I draw the line at that. My camping days are over. However, in the interest of fairness, and compromise, I thought I’d check into cabins at campgrounds. I had some false hope when I saw the availability which looked promising. My hopes dashed when the price was still at $200 or more a night! If I’m going to spend that, I’ll take the Mom and Pop motel at that price.

All this internet search and research found me reading how the town of Sturgis blossoms from 6,500 people to more than 500,000 during the Sturgis Rally. If numbers don’t impress you, the advertisements inviting you to camp on the front lawns of private homes might. My daughter is checking out time shares for us. I wonder what my odds are. Considering the Zoster’s you would think I would throw my hands up in defeat. Not me! This just makes me all that more determined to find a bed at a decent price. I might be getting closer with a recent discovery of a room at $132. In true gambler fashion, I passed. The bigger the odds the better the pay out, right! Let me know if any of you are taking up a pool. I might like to get in on that to pay for my room!

The Sirens of the Motorcyclist

Through the fog I hear the horns
I pry my lids open and the fog evaporates
The horns are the throb in my temples
From the pain that jangles my ribs
Then the thunder begins
And I think “what now?”
But it’s the motorcycles passing
Below on Forest Road
Like the Sirens of Odysseus
It’s the rumble of engines
That lure me to full awareness
I’m resolved to recover
And rejoin the world
As I know, with the first breath
Of crisp spring air,
Nothing can keep me sidelined
Away from Blaze
And the open road.


Note:
I was privileged to hear David Surette yesterday as he read his collection of poems at the MWG meeting. His poems are like no other, and appealed to me. This attempt at poetry is a result of his inspiration.

ABCD - Will You Take Part?

Passing the Word as this sounds like fun!
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A Bloggers Centerline Day, or ABCD, will take place on Sunday 1st May 2011.

The plan is to inspire as many bloggers as possible to go outside and take a photograph of themselves on this day, wherever they are in the world. The photo can be creative, arty, contain more than one person, be in any type of location and can contain anything else you like. It must however contain the centerline of a road and at least part of you, the blogger.

There are 5 rules....

Rule 1 - the picture must be taken on 1st May 2011.

Rule 2 - the picture must be of yourself, and you must be a person that publishes a blog. You can include whatever else you like in the picture, including other people if you wish.

Rule 3 - the picture must include the centerline of a road.

Rule 4 – you should publish the picture on your blog on 1st May 2011, along with a few words about the picture and why you chose that location or pose.

Rule 5 - when you have posted the picture on your own blog, put a comment on http://garysusatour.blogspot.com/2011/04/abcd-will-you-take-part.html and include in that comment the address of your own blog post containing your own picture.

Gary France will then pick his favourite photos and publish these as being the winners. There will be a prize of $100 awarded to the overall single winner, as chosen by Gary.

In order to get this event known as widely as possible, please copy and paste this posting onto your own blog, including the title. Please do that today!

As a reminder to yourself to take the photo and post it, put an entry into your diary for 1st May 2011.

Let’s see if we can get as any people to join in as possible.
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Note: I have been in communication with Gary France and am assured this is legitimate. Check out Gary's blog and read of his motorcycling adventures.