Harley Davidsons, Motorboats, God Kids and More Holy Week 2017

I’ve found pictures from the weekend.  It was a busy time with getting the insurance set up for the Harley and the Miata from Thaun Vo at Rand and Fowler.  Laura and I got up on Saturday morning to drive down to Trev Deely in my new Ford F350 Lariat truck.  It was a sunny day and everyone but me seemed to have got their motorcycles out on the road.  I was considering a lighter bike because of the weakness in my arm and my feeling the big bike was less maneuverable in the city.  Vancouver is the city of the worst drivers in the world,  Erratic.  A biker’s nightmare.  So I’d thought maybe I’d go back to a Sporster.  Thaun had told me he was going to be there at noon.  Gilbert loves truck rides, Laura and Trev Deeley.  

I talked to Stuart. He’s the go to guy on buying bikes at Trev Deely. I told him what I was thinking and he thought maybe the Heritage Softail. That’s the bike Dave has.  It feels so good.  I love that Trev Deely lets you sit on the bikes.  Even take selfies.  The main thing was when I sat on the 1200 Sportsters they just seemed too small.  Now Dave had suggested I reduce the luggage on my Electroglide.  

So back at the trailer park that’s what I did.  I took off the top bag and got rid of some of the heavy tools I keep in the side bags for touring.  Then I cleaned up the bike.  Wow!  My Electroglide was the best bike for the ride to Sturges from here, thousands of free way driving and the trip up to Merrit for Sturges North.  I love that bike. And without the luggage it was light.  Thank you Dave.  I rode out on the highway with the Doobie Brothers playing. It was heaven.

So what’s this got to do with Holy Week.  This was just God’s Grace. I don’t deserve a peach of a day like that. I didn’t earn the ‘high’ I had riding out on the highway. It just happened. I have been on my bike not enjoying it.  I have been in my head and I’ve missed out on the joy.  But this day with the sunshine and the beginning of Holy week it wasn’t quite like being Jesus riding into Jerusalem triumphant on a donkey but it was riding a Harley.

There’s a song “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”  The key there is that we think of ourselves in cartoons and stories and myths as the central actor or the heroin or hero.  We feel sorry for Jesus on the cross because we identify with Jesus.  But we don’t identify with Judas or Peter or Herod or all the Roman Soldiers or the thief or Pilate or the Sanhedrin or the wailing women.  But Carl Jung in his dream analysis says that we’re all the people in the dream. And as there is but one God and we are all parts of that one same God when Jesus was crucified we as human sinners were more likely than not , not Jesus. We’re becoming like Jesus but at that moment I was probably betting on his robe or sticking a spear in his side.  

In the afternoon we drove out to Tom’s in Slesse Park meeting up with Kevin and Anna to pick up my boat that Tom had been stowing. Tom and I had last used it to ride across Harrison Lake to the north shore where we’d hunted.  I’d hoped to get out duck hunting so it had stayed at Toms’ but the office disruption meant no weekend free for hunting ducks and geese.  Meanwhile Kevin and Anna love to go fishing with the kids but didn’t have a boat to do that and Kevin had a place to store the boat at his workplace where they keep all their machinery. I’d just like to see it being used. This summer Kevin and Anna are going back east and for the price of gas will likely drop the boat off at Hay Bay

Running late for our 1030 am Anglican church we ended up at the 1115 Cariboo Community Church service.  Anna and Kevin and the God kids were there.  They had communion on trays and Laura, catholic to the core, took a tiny cup, drank the blood of Jesus, put the cup back and crossed herself.  She didn’t know about the baptist and pentecostal bit of waiting till we all took communion together.  She was smiling. I’d gulped down Jesus myself so unlike the marshmallow test the server gave me more.  Meanwhile little munchkins were crawling along the chairs and floors.

After we had lunch at White Spot.  Lots of fun talking with Kevin about Lazarus and Jesus.  The beauty of the church is a share lexicon. We also talk about Stepping Stones. But it’s not like we work together so we don’t talk work or sports much.  We do talk Jesus and sobriety. And a little politics.  Nobody I know is looking forward to everyone sounding stoned like our Prime Minister does.   But Justin Trudeau’s legacy will be to increase the number of people who aren’t present in this life.  I certainly missed a few years of my life being unfocussed and wandering brained.  Wine and marijana days.  

Then there’s Syria and North Korea.  I think the Laura and Anna were talking recipes.  Laura’s got a new granddaughter on the way and she’s been waxing poetic about the years raising her son and daughter and talking about children a whole lot.  Being around the little rug rats gets that going.  Gilbert was back at the trailer and missed being with his buddies but sure loved being out at Tom’s with the kids and Tom and his girlfriend Panda.

Holy Week Tuesday.  I’ve got to get to work.  Jesus is in my thoughts. Along with Harley’s, Laura’s granddaughter, Gilbert and boats and such.  We’re kind of muddling along.  It’s a sunny day.  I’ll have the top down on the Miata as driving to work. Jesus would like that. Gilbert sure does.