Ramblings

 Yesterday I watched this movie on Youtube called What the Bleep Do We Know?It left me with the impression that we are all part of this universe, and each of us is a world within worlds.  There are so many moving parts in our bodies evergoing change, and our thoughts have some effect on those changes.  For instance, if I have the repetitive thought "I'm smart enough to achieve anything!" Overtime this thought will be my response to stress, failures and challenges.  

Last month I finished reading a book, Night Driver by Ronald Colby, It was a non stop thrill ride about a man who is hunting the people who murdered his wife on the streets of LA as a taxi cab driver. Now I'm reading "Unbroken," by Laura Hillenbrand.  I've reached part III, and it's been an awe inspiring story of resilience and survival. 

Today I saw an old disabled man gripping onto the handrail of a staircase.  His wheelchair rested at the bottom, and this man slowly took each step down the stairs as though it was the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life.  With each step he shouted "Praise God! Thank you Lord for giving me your strength."  He said other prayers and I began to feel a surge of energy. It was like the lense of a camera being pulled into focus. Just being in the presence of someone praying had this effect on me. That's how powerful thoughts can be, and right now I'm thinking "Praise God for spell check!"

Memories of when I tenaciously applied all my mental and physical strength play like a movie in my mind.  A day when I rode a Kawasaki Vulcan Motorcycle to the dealership to get custom teardrop mirrors installed.  Then I drove my Toyota Tundra pick up to Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California for a 1 day Formula Car Racing School. This was the racetrack I had watched motorcycle Superbike legends like Miguel Duhamel, and Aaron Yates compete in the Superbike Challenge Races.  They would dive down the corkscrew shaped road and sweep through turns scraping knee pads with the determination of a Samurai wielding its blade swiftly through the battlefield.  Total control. Total focus.  Later that day I would pick up my motorcycle and ride back to San Francisco for a ballroom dance class, but I never made it because I crashed into the back of a pear white BMW.  I was running late, and probably exhausted from all the activity of that day.  The racing school had adrenaline flowing through my bloodstream.   Total focus. Total control..So I thought.  As I exited the Caldecott Tunnel westbound on Highway 24 a pile up in the second to the fastlane involving a bus ignited brake lights glowing crimson red.  There was nowhere to go, so I grabbed on front and back brakes hard, but the bike was so heavy I couldn't even feel any speed scrubbing.  I heard the screeching of rubber as the cars ahead catapulted closer. I tried to centerlane between the cars.  I could hear the alarmed voices of people watching.  The engine case guards hung out too wide and clipped the back of the BMW, flying over the handlebars head first.  Missing most of the car, I flipped over the back right side and landed on the ground below.  My bike lay in a heap of twisted metal, but I was miraculously unharmed. After refusing the obligatory ambulance ride to the hospital, I accompanied the driver that towed my disappointment home. That was the last motorcycle I would ever ride.  

Thinking now of how all the dreams of the past that I fought and lost were actually transformed into something that serves a greater cause.  After all the pursuits of self gratification, a noble cause to serve others in the form of paratransit bus driving prevailed.  All those weekends I would take my motocross bike to ride the Hollister Hills and technical track with the vision of one day winning a trophy and sponsorships as a racer were transformed over time into a career of safe professional driving.  

"Praise God!"