Riding Season Begins!

Well I resisted a lot of warm weather lately that tempted me to get out my motorcycle too soon.  By too soon I mean 1) when there is still salt on the roads; 2) when it's really not as warm as one thinks; 3) the many potholes are not yet repaired - you don't want to hit one of those with a motorcycle!  But I did take a couple of 10-mile rides this week, and it felt nice to be back on the road.  Actually, I had hoped to be riding in Daytona this week, but that just didn't work out this time.

I'd like to take some more extensive rides this season.  This is a big country with so much to see, and the best way to see anyplace is from the seat of a motorcycle.  Despite having to put up with the elements, I enjoy feeling so much more a part of things, whether I'm driving through farmland or a big city.  Even on the freeway, I sense that I'm a part of the traffic rather than just someone passing through it.  Anyway, I hope to make some long-distance trips while I'm still able.  If I wait, I won't be any younger. 

Last year I started organizing events for riders in my church.  I'm finding out there are more motorcyclists there than I thought.  I plan a ride for a Sunday afternoon right after church, which usually involves riding about an hour to some diner, then another hour ride home again.  Eating together provides a good time to chat and get to know each other better.


Before I retired, I was a firm believer in riding to work, although my ride to work was only 6 miles.  I read somewhere that those who ride a motorcycle to work arrive with a better attitude to begin the day.  I found that to be very true.  Plus, after work I would sometimes feel that I "might just take the long way home today."


My motorcycle isn't a top-of-the-line model or anything special.  It's big enough for me to ride comfortably and it has nice luggage bags for carrying stuff.  I don't need to go real fast, listen to music or blind fellow drivers with my abundance of chrome.  My 1998 Honda Shadow ACE Tourer is basically a stock machine, nice and quiet - the way I like it.  The first owner added a few trim pieces and I've installed floorboards and a Mustang seat.


I've been riding about a dozen years now, having first obtained my MC license at age 49.  I've ridden to Ohio, W. Virginia and Michigan's UP.  I've run the Tail of the Dragon, US 1 to Key West and The Pacific Coast Highway - all wonderful rides.  So, where should I go this season?  Who has a suggestion?  Better yet, who wants to join me?  God made this beautiful country, and somewhere along the way He made motorcycles with which to experience it.  I am so ready to ride - thanks for reading.

Do you know your Congressperson?

Newsflash!  Congress is deadlocked, in a stalemate, unable to compromise to get anything meaningful done.  OK, so that's no longer news.  Everyone knows of Congress' inability to work as it should, and polls certainly indicate most Americans are dissatisfied with the current situation.  I expect most of us have our own thoughts about how to improve the situation as well.  I certainly have my opinion; but I was recently brought up short by reading an opposing opinion.  First, my own thoughts.

I look at the U.S. Congress and I see 435 members elected to serve the people, but who seem to be simply serving their parties' ideologies.  I don't understand how 435 intelligent individuals can ponder any issue and still vote consistently along party lines.  If they are only going to follow their party leadership, we don't need to be paying all those people to be there.  I say, cut the membership of the house in half; that's still a lot of representatives, and I'll bet they will still have a hard time finding agreement.  But at least each of them will be a little less anonymous and, perhaps, have to take an independent stand on issues.  That's my simple solution: reduce the number of representatives so each one has more responsibility to take an individual position, rather than "hiding" behind the curtain of "the party."

Now, I've said before that I am always willing to reappraise my position and even change my opinion when I see a better way (something else members of Congress need to learn to do).  While logging onto the internet the other day, I noticed a headline that caught my eye -- you can see why.  

What's wrong with Congress? It's not big enough.

This CNN article proposes just the opposite solution to fix Congress, and unlike myself, the writer actually presents factual information to support his claims.  You can read the article yourself, but the gist of it is that each member of the House of Representatives actually represents far more voters that were ever intended.  That is, the size of Congress has not kept up with the nation's increasing population.  The House did grow from its initial size of 65 members until it reached 435 in the 1920's.  One can understand why Congress voted to cap itself at that number, as continued growth would have reached many thousands by now.  Nevertheless, the writer of this article not only makes the case that "representative government by the people" mandates a larger Congress, but also that current technology makes it possible to have a proper sized Congress, assembling on a part-time basis, keeping in touch and even voting remotely, all while possibly maintaining jobs, careers and practices in their otherwise normal American lives.  

Still I don't think we will ever see a 3,000 member Congress as the writer suggests.  The same technology that could keep many members of Congress in touch can also be used to keep many citizens in touch with their congresspersons.  In addition, it may be time to reconsider the advisability of more wholesale changes to our 230-year old form of government.  I'm not an anarchist; I'm just saying . . . maybe there are better ways to do some things.  We can't be afraid to think "outside the box" once in a while, even with regard to those things we may consider most venerable.

So, a bigger Congress?  Or a smaller one?  What do you think?  Thanks for reading my thoughts; I'd like to hear yours.

Less grammar; more difficulty

Well you know that I like to talk about grammar.  I described my pet peeve earlier concerning the common misuse of plural pronouns where the singular is called for.  One of my comment contributors raised another grammatical problem -- when to use "you and I" vs. "you and me."  I appreciate Pamela for bringing that up; and yes, it irritates me when I hear that mistake made.  It's not at all difficult to know which to use.  In your mind, simply drop the "you" from your intended phrase (since it's common to both choices), and ask which makes sense in your sentence, "I" or "me."  I won't give an example, just try it.  The same applies to similar situations such as "my boss and I (or me)."

Today, I want to address the often misapplied adjectives "less" and "few."  I hear them misused all the time, and, OK, it drives me nuts.  Again, the rule is simple but a bit more difficult to explain.  It has to do with whether the noun is an item that can be counted or not.  The adjectives "less" and "few" refer to quantities of something, indicating whether one is speaking about more of the item or ______ of it.  If the noun is something that can be counted, such as pennies, bottles, keys, people or asteroids, then you may talk about more of them or fewer of them.  "I bought fewer gallons of milk this week than last because it wasn't on sale."  You can count whether you bought 1 or 2 or 3 gallons.  However, you can't count milk.  You can measure it, but you can't count it.  Therefore, the following would be correct:  "I bought less milk this week than last because it wasn't on sale."  It's as simple as that.  The test is, "Can I count it or not?"  Don't get caught up into whether or not you can actually count all the stars, asteroids or grains of sand.  The point is that they are "countable," and, therefore, you can speak about more of them or fewer of them.

I realize some people have a problem with the use of the phrase "more or less."  That's a completely different topic, one with which I have no problem.  The complaint is usually that some speakers seem to overuse the phrase, to the hearers' great annoyance.  I say, "Deal with it," the same as I must deal with those who are not concerned about making less mistakes  in their grammar, thus causing me fewer irritation [sic].


Thanks for reading and hearing my complaints.