Cool Weather, and sleeping in

Wow, is it chilly out there! I love autumn. I leave the windows open and pile on the quilts. God bless my Grandma Allen for making quilts. They are warm and tough and wonderful. I miss you, Grandma!

The mornings are cool, the evenings are cool, and the afternoons are quite comfortable. Tomorrow will bring rain, but that's OK. Rain will be fine. I work inside, anyway. Soon, I'll have to close the windows, but for now...quilts and fresh air.

This morning, I woke up without my alarm. I'm not sure if the alarm didn't go off, if I hit "off" instead of "snooze," or if I slept through it. However, when I woke up, I peered toward the alarm. I'm blind, just so you know, without my contacts. I saw 6:34 (which is actually 6:20...don't get me started on that) and thought, "Wow, my clock is wrong!" I stood up to head to the bathroom, and heard Kevin say, "6:30?! CRAP!"

OK, so I overslept by 90 minutes. I can still get to work on time, by H&H standards. I mean, I'm supposed to be at work by 8:30. The problem is that I usually get there around 7. 7:30 is the latest that I'm comfortable getting in. I have a TON to do, and it helps to get a lot of it done before the calls start.

So, I got stuck in traffic (being late puts me in the middle of Kansas City rush hour) but still got in by 8:05. Not bad, says I. I'll make sure to go to sleep earlier tonight (dang you, Farkle!) and double check my alarm. Spooks me to oversleep by THAT much.

Now, I'll enjoy the shepherds pie that I just made, watch some TV, and play on facebook. Farkle? Maybe one game. Just one. Or two. Lord, help me.

The end of the song

If you are truly a music lover, and more so if you commute to work, you'll understand what this is about. Sometimes, right before you get home/to work/to your destination, the best song EVER just gets started. What do you do?

The options are:

• Park the car and turn it off. You've heard this song 1,000,000 times already.
• Go in and find the song on your computer/iPod and listen again.
• Drive around a block or two, until the song is over.
• Pull into the driveway/parking spot and let it play.

The first option is NOT for me. All of the others are acceptable, but the final choice is the one that I usually make. I did this today. Garth started belting out "The Dance" as I pulled into town. I knew that I would NOT exit the car until the final piano notes had faded away. Good stuff, Garth.

I listen to country, and there are hundreds of songs that will make me exhibit this behavior. Most of them are newer country songs and others are classics, but some pull harder than others. Other people don't like country, but still understand this behavior.

For Kevin, it is Metallica's "One." I'm not moved by it, but he can't stop listening until it's over. We are a very musical-minded family. Jonathan plays guitar, Brett plays guitar, Monica plays guitar and trumpet, Natalie plays clarinet, and then there are the parents. Kevin and I play, too. Yeah, we play the radio.

It's not a talent, but it is the fact that certain music speaks to us...moves us...evokes emotion. We love music, and we're not afraid to sit in our car, in the driveway, after 12 hours away from home, and let the music tell the tale. Until it's done.

And then we move on.

Sometimes I Tip Over, and Pooping Donkeys

That is how Kevin explains my bruises to others. "Sometimes, she tips over." Yeah, it's true. I am not a battered wife. I walk into walls, trip over nonexistent things, bang my arm on doorknobs and generally fall down. I am a klutz. There is no way to explain how one person could get injured so often. I sometimes tip over.

I tell you that so you'll understand that today's events are normal.

I was driving home, and on a side road, when my right eye started feeling irritated. I wear contacts, and sometimes this happens. It wasn't "Oh My Lord there is SOMETHING in my eye!" It was more, "Hmm, what's up with that slight irritation?" Since there were no cars around, I removed my sunglasses and grabbed my rewetting drops.

No biggie, I do this all the time. If there is no traffic, I can hit both eyes with a drop each within 2 seconds. And so I did. One drop in the offending right eye, and one in the left...for good measure. I swiped away the moisture under my eyes, and decided that this had remedied the situation. Problem solved.

Then, I picked my sunglasses up off the passenger seat, pulled them toward my face, and STABBED MY LEFT EYE with the earpiece of my sunglasses! OUCH! Good thing the smokin' hot Neon knows the way home. I ALMOST DIED, PEOPLE! Or maybe not. It's all good now.

On another note:

I have a long commute, and often see interesting things. I've seen the Monster Energy Drink car, the Wienermobile, cows doing the cha cha, and wildlife defying death by crossing the road at the MOST inopportune times. Today, I saw a donkey pooping. Yeah, they always do this. Everyone poops, right?

But this is a little donkey that I enjoy seeing each day. He is cute and lovable and I can't stand it if he's out of sight. Today, he was there, but his back was hunched up. I wondered what was wrong. As I got closer, I saw that he was pooping. Silly donkey. I did NOT need to see that.

So? What's your point? What do YOU see on the way home? My little Eeyore was pooping. OK, I'll quit now. It was funny, that's all. I think I need a hobby.

Every Man For Himself Chicken

What an awesome, relaxing Saturday! The girls spent the night at Brett's house, so Kevin had to go pick them up this morning. When he did, he brought Kami home with him. We're keeping her until tomorrow evening. She had a bad case of the flu, but she's better now. Still a bit of a cough from time to time, but nothing bad.

I took a nap when Kami did, and Kevin went to the store this afternoon. Then, we went to see Mom and Dad for a bit. It's downright cool outside! I had to wear a sweat shirt and keep a jacket on the baby! Soon, we were hungry and ready to come home for supper.

I decided on Every Man For Himself chicken. This is something we really like around here. I cook up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts with random seasoning. After that, we all decide what kind of chicken we want. Kevin's gets cooked in salsa, while mine is drowned in wing sauce. The girls usually prefer BBQ sauce on theirs. It works. I make a few sides and we all enjoy a different dinner, but it's easy to make, too.

Now, I'm watching C.O.P.S. on TV, but Kameron pulls herself up now, and blocks 2/3 of the screen until we move her. She is SO mobile now! She is all over the place, and so content, just crawling from toy to toy, and climbing up to us occasionally to say "hi" and see if we're eating anything. It's so fun to have her around.

Tomorrow? We'll I need to clean house, including cleaning my oven. ick. I need to do many things. We'll see how much gets done before the pre-race stuff starts in Dover. Gotta tune in to that, you know.

My life, in bullet points

• I got home from Georgia, and was home on time. Hubby had the house clean and had dinner ready.
• Work is crazy busy.
• The girls both left to spend the night at Brett's house. I hope they get along. I've enjoyed the evening with Kevin, uninterrupted.
• We plan to keep Kameron all weekend, after picking her up in the morning.
• Missy is a creep. (just kidding.)
• 3 busy weekends in a row are coming up, so it's time for me to relax in preparation.
• Go Carl Edwards!
• I'm off to sleep. Ciao, babe!

Home!

Weird day, got home on time (earlier than expected, actually.) Rode between an arrogant ass 20ish dude, and an older lady who was batty-nuts.

She had hair died an odd shade of burgundy. She wore a black hat, brown shirt, jeans, pink socks, purple belt, and green and yellow scarf. She shouted out the window several times..."HELLO NASHVILLE! HELLO KANSAS CITY! WOW, WE TOOK OFF FAST! HE'S A SHOW OFF! LOOK AT THOSE CLOUDS! DID YOU SEE THAT? I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN FOOD, DID YOU GET FOOD?"

Sheesh, it was crazy. She was going to see her grandson. He paid for the trip. He's a pilot for the navy. Flies the big planes, like the one we were on. I know all of this because she told me three times. Oh, and when he graduated high school, he had 15 scholarships to all of the name-brand colleges. If I tried listening to music, she'd tap me on the arm so I'd remove an ear bud and listen.

*sigh*

I was never so happy to land in my life. It's chilly here, too. I've been sweating for 4 days, so this was interesting. The humidity in Jekyll Island is usually in the mid 80's. Shower, dress, walk outside, need a shower. I couldn't even see the ocean from the hotel! I could, from the convention center, though. The "Jekyll Island Convention Center" has a great view. (shameless plug for the manager.)

Anywho, I'm home and I'm happy. I'm in my bed, on the computer (with a FULL SIGNAL) watching TV with the girls alternating who lies with me here. It's good to have a family that welcomes you home. I'm all unpacked, and ready to chill.

Even the dog is happy that I'm home.

Jekyll Island, Day 3

So, today was fun. I cannot believe what happened, as the result of yesterday's blog entry! Are you ready for this?

During the trade show, this lady came over and asked, "Are you Rachel?" Ummm, OK? She had a name tag on with "Jekyll Island Convention Center" on it. She said, (are you ready for this?) "My manager saw your blog, and there are some problems with your booth?" WTH???

I said that I was fine, I had just mentioned the lack of carpet. She said that they don't DO carpet at this show, so I pulled out my paperwork. The page that mentions carpet and vacuuming is supposed to be with the folks at convention in Texas. When I saw "Texas" on it, I said, "Oh, that's what it is. I'm not supposed to have this page. No worries."

She asked about the electric, too. I said, "I needed it really bad, but he had me hooked up before the show started, so problem solved." I also explained that most of the problems that I've had here are on ME and circumstances out of human control, and assured her that I was NOT mad. She seemed relieved.

I told her that this blog is for me to explain everything that goes right, and everything that goes wrong. If you can't laugh at life's oops moments, what else can you do? I delight in laughing at my mishaps. I like to make people laugh, and all they have to do is see a bit of my life, and they'll laugh!

Me and the other venders around my booth all had a great laugh about my power. I told them that, now that this manager had read my blog, my readership had doubled! Now it's him AND my mom. LOL They said things like, "You're so powerful!" and "Wow, they didn't know who they were dealing with!"

Later, that same lady came back and gave me a canvas bag with Jekyll Island on it, a poster, and a seafood cook book. Wow, now I was feeling guilty! I said, "I'm fine! I'm not mad!" I felt bad that they were trying so hard to make amends for a problem that didn't really exist. I feel I owe them.

Attention: Manager of the Jekyll Island Convention Center. Ya'll did great. I was treated well and with respect by every member of your staff. You went above and beyond. You have a friggin' ocean outside of your windows! What more could I ask for? Thank you for your hospitality. Just do something about the humidity and this will be Eden.

OK, there. It's all I can do to fix the problem, but it's also all I did to cause it. LOL

Tonight, some awesome customers and another vendor (rock on, Magnolia Frames!) went to a home on St. Simon's Island. Tim and Michelle Brown are awesome, and Michelle's Dad went out and caught fresh fish this morning, to feed US in THEIR home! We had amazing boiled shrimp, grilled fish, sauteed fish, the best salad in the world, ratatouille, hot bread and more....OMG! It was FABULOUS! The company was pretty rockin', too.

Lonnie and Yvonne, Dean and Tracy (Traci?), Tim and Michelle, Karen and Buddy, and Pat and Jim made my night awesome. I'm sore, exhausted, homesick, and tired of sweating: A wonderful trip. LOL Seriously, this has been great.

Can't wait to be home tomorrow, though.

Day 2 on Jekyll Island

I went to the convention center early, to set up. Grooving along and realized that there was no electric. Hmm, we PAID for electric, so I asked. Dude comes over and tells me he'll hook it up, if I pay for it (again.) OK, pay I did. I have power. We also paid for carpet and a day of vacuuming. However, I have a tile floor with no carpet. What did they vacuum? I'm just sayin', things ain't going so smooth.

The trade show was slow, but good today. It's going fine. My lights won't attach to display the prints, and that would normally be death on this particular booth, but God blessed me with facing toward big windows. Full light on the booth. Problem solved. Yeah, I'm getting by, but by the skin of my teeth.

I was feeling a bit low about it, and my BWF Michelle called from Atlanta. She's doing another show. Things are JUST as bad for HER this weekend. She arrived late after delays, and found that the booth hadn't arrived. Oh yeah, baby. You can bet we talked for a LONG time, laughing and comparing notes.

I love my job, and I love that I can adapt to this stuff. I actually do better with a bit of curve ball thrown at me. I'm cool like that. So is Michelle. That's why the phone call was awesome and healing. That's why I love her. She made me feel better, since she's going through the same stuff.

Cheers, Michelle. Get 'er Done! I know that *I* will. See ya Wednesday!

Jekyll Island, Day 1

I'll make this short, but it's been a LONG day, so it'll be tough.

Up shortly before 4, breakfast at the hotel, quietly got ready and left so as not to wake Kevin and Natalie.

Out of KCI with no problems. Beautiful morning. Boarded on time.

Sat beside a delightful 9 year old, McKayla (sp), and her granny, who were on their way to Disney. She was a chatterbox, smart and funny, and it was a quicker flight for her being there.

Stop in Atlanta, say goodbye to McKayla and granny, find out my gate has changed...for the BETTER! Same terminal I came in to!

Get crappy slice of pizza and board plane to Jacksonville. Horrible rain storm keeps us on the ground, in the tight plane, for an hour.

Take off finally, land in Jacksonville. HOT, but sunny. My bags are SOAKED from the switch in Atlanta, but at least they arrived. Get rental car and start driving.

Get to Jekyll Island to find that they're in the middle of the Shrimp and Grits festival. Roads blocked off all over town. Took 20 minutes to find hotel (5 minutes away) and checked in. Walked 47 miles from car to room, checked paperwork.

Although I'm already late, the convention is NOT HERE! It's down the road at the convention center. Booth set-up hours are over at 4, and I arrived at 3:30. *sigh* They let me work until 4:30. And then my dear friends, I mean, just some "customers" showed up to say "hi."

I showered, felt 2000 times better, and we went to dinner at a restaurant on the dock. Beautiful view, and I had the shrimp and grits. AbsoFREAKINGlutely fabulous. Came back to check out the festival. Good music and time with friends, I mean, just some customers.

Came to room to call family for the goodnight bidding, no cell service. Find a spot by a window that will work, and call. Decide to buy a 12-pack of Diet Coke, so get in the car and GPS leads me OFF THE ISLAND! OK, fine. I find a store, who only sells PEPSI in 12-packs.

Great, drove 15 minutes each way for 3 - 20oz bottles. Whatever. Got back to hotel, got ice for the Diet Cokes to hang out with and kicked off shoes. Where's my phone? ARRGGGG! It's in the CAR! Walk 423 miles back to car for phone, and laugh so I don't cry.

Now, I'm in for the night. I have to be back at the convention center at 7 in the morning to finish setting up the booth. Should be done by 9, leaving me 3 hours to eat, get ready, and relax before show time. That'll be good.

It's not been a bad day, just long, with tons of walking and worrying. Tim and Michelle really saved the day, with dinner and conversation. It helped me forget the crappy parts. Thanks to the Browns! (Tim and Michelle...not the ones from Cleveland, although I like them, too.)

This was NOT a short post, but it was NOT a short day. If you made it through, you are a very bored individual, and I love you.

A (I hope) short entry

I have a 7:00 flight to Georgia in the morning. To catch a 7:00 flight, I must leave my house by 4 at the latest. Waking up at 3 is NOT what it's cracked up to be. In fact, it stinks. The older I get, the harder it is.

I asked our travel planner (I love you, Amy) to just fly me out on Friday and let me sleep in Jacksonville (I'm getting a car from there.) Kevin's idea was to stay at a hotel near the Kansas City airport. I told Amy that whichever was cheaper was fine. KC was cheaper. Coolio.

Then, I talked with Kevin about it and told him he should bring the girls up to hang out and swim in the hotel pool. Monica made plans to go to the homecoming dance and then spend the night at a friends, so my thoughts shaped up even more.

I changed my room to one with 2 beds (same price) and Kevin and Natalie are staying with me! We've hung out and taken it easy, ordered a pizza, and Natalie swam. We may go swim again later, if the annoying kids are gone. It's fun, and I get another night with my family before being gone for 4 days.

Oh, and I'll be on facebook during my flight tomorrow! I can't wait! Delta has gogo internet now, and they're offering a free trial through the end of the year. I have no need to be online, but I also don't turn down "free" very often.

See ya on fb tomorrow between 7:30 and 9:30 central! LOL I guess I'll be over 10,000 feet by 7:30. That's where you have to be to connect. I'm so hick.

Random Wednesday

Work was work. Life marches on.

Kevin is at his mom's, visiting his great aunt Virginia. She's a Nun whom I've never met, and she doesn't drive. This means that the opportunities to meet are quite limited. She had a fellow nun (or whatever a nun friend is called...I'm not catholic) who was going to drive within the vicinity, so she arranged to ride along to SW MO to visit family.

Kevin is having a great time, and has good stories. I told him to jot down some notes, so he can do a guest entry when he gets home. She sounds like a great lady. I can't wait to see the pictures.

The girls are used to sleeping until 6:30 or 7, since K is home. Tomorrow, they have to wake by 6 so that I can leave for work. We'll see how that goes. At least I had them shower tonight, so tomorrow will be easier. K will come home tomorrow, and I'll be packing for a trip to Georgia. I'm glad he's coming home. I miss him.

OK, I'm signing off. I got the kids and the animals to bed, and now I need to wind down. Maybe putting away the jalapeno cheddar Cheetos would help. whatever. They are quite awesome.

I'm just sayin'

stuff

Neighbors aren't building a fence, they just drove a line of posts into the ground, less than 3' high. LOL It's just posturing. Whatever. Who cares? I find it laughable. In fact, every time I take the dog out, I look over and laugh out loud. Life needs more laughter. Maybe that's why they did it. God knew I needed to laugh.

We had an awesome weekend. I took mom to the John Prine concert, and I didn't hate it. He really is a talented song writer. That's why Mom likes him, and I've gained respect for him. Listening to the stories behind the songs was worth going. The drunks were everywhere, and annoying, but I didn't let it ruin the night. Good dinner, too. Thanks, Mom!

We kept Kameron most of Sunday. We hung out at Mom and Dad's and she had fun. She rode on the mower with Kevin, took a nap in the stroller, and laughed (screamed) at the dogs. She especially like watching Sadie chase the frisbee.

Kevin's going to Carthage tomorrow. His great aunt Virginia, a nun, doesn't drive. She found a ride that will bring her to Carthage to see her sister (GG) and her niece (Grammy...Kevin's mom.) Kevin may never get this chance again, so he's going down to have lunch with her. I'll be on my own, but only for 24 hours this time. Frozen pizza for dinner? Probably.

With the neighbors wigging out, we're worried about what they may do, so we won't let Hawkeye out alone. They bait him over there with treats all the time. He must think he's under lock-down. We go out when he does, and make him come in when we do. Poor dog. Monica gave him a bath today, so I've let him on the bed a couple of times. I just feel bad that he is suffering due to crazy neighbors.

I'm leaving in 4 days for Jekyll Island, GA. I'll miss my family, but I'm looking forward to seeing some of my favorite customers. It'll be hard work, since I'm traveling alone, but I've done it before. It's pretty liberating, actually. Knowing I can do it alone.

OK, time for bed. I have a lot to do in the next 4 days. I need to get a hair cut, if possible. We'll see what happens. Otherwise, I'll go to GA looking like Kristy McNichol. It's happened before. I could cut the bangs myself, but then I'll get sympathy cards, and that would be embarrassing.

Neighbors

So, we have these neighbors. When we moved in, the previous owner warned us. I didn't listen. Various other neighbors warned us. We didn't listen.

We didn't listen for a reason. You can think someone is an ass, but I refuse to think that until I've had a chance to form my own opinion and figure it out for myself. Maybe those other folks were spewing sour grapes. Who knows?

So these neighbors have always been cordial to us. I would say they're a bit different, but you blog readers know that we're as weird as it gets. They're fine. We'd like it if they took a Weed Eater to the ditch a couple of times a year, so our kids weren't eaten with mosquitoes, but whatever.

They pointed out the property line within a week of us moving in. Almost sounding offended that Kevin mowed too far over. Where I come from (here) that is being courteous, not rude. Whatever. He stopped mowing that 6" of yard. We're all good. We're pretty darned easy to get along with, honestly.

Tonight, Kevin noticed that they seemed mad, but shrugged it off and went on about his business. He took Monica to a friends house after I got home, and while he was gone, I heard hammering. I went to investigate, and they were driving T posts into the ground, on the property line. Well, until we get the assessment, we won't know if they're truly on the property line. Seriously, I wouldn't have cared...but...

Kevin got home and walked out into the yard to see what was up. He asked how they were: Noses in the air, no answer. He asked if they were doing a bit of construction: Noses in the air, no answer. He asked what kind of fence they were building: Noses in the air, no answer.

Finally, Kevin said, "If we've done something to offend you, I'd like an opportunity to talk about it." Mr. Neighbor points his thumb toward Mrs. Neighbor, which I take as, "this is her problem, ask her."

Well, we know that won't go anywhere. She hasn't answered or acknowledged a single statement or question all night. What's up? What happened? It can't be the dog pooping in the yard or anything, they call him over and feed him regularly. It can't be the kids, since they don't go over there. Do they object to my fat? ACK! I can't fix that without diet and exercise! I can't do it! HELP!

OK, I really don't care. If they build a fence, it's 1/4 less fence that we have to build. I think it's laughable, but still...I'm curious. Or nosey. Whatever. I gotta know what set them off. Why? Who knows? Maybe it's my mother in me.

Places I've never been

I'm heading out next weekend for a convention. My work has afforded me many opportunities for travel, and my parents have shown me a couple of places, too. However, there are many places I've never been. Some, I'd love to see. Others, I'm curious about, and not sure if I'd want to go. The bottom line is, if I win the lotto, I'm visiting many of these never-seen places:

Chicago. Gotta do it. Was close 2 different times, couldn't make it to the city.

New York City. Scared, but willing (don't mug me.)

Australia. Would love to see it, hate long flights.

Hawaii: Oh yeah...private jet please?

Alaska: Going to do this one. We have friends there.

Montana: Hope to get this one through work. We have customers there.

South Dakota: Oh yeah, this is doable.

Los Angeles: I've been to CA, but not lived it up. I'm ready.

The list could go on, but I'm just sayin': I get to go to some awesome places, thanks to others (thanks H&H and Mom and Dad.) I'd love to have the fundage to travel with my family to more cool places. Someday...some day.

Update on the Holiday Weekend

Most.Awesome.Weekend.Ever.

Saturday, we helped Kami's mom move in with Brett (Kami's dad.) No, they aren't "together," but they are WORKING together, getting along, and solving problems. Now, Kami gets to spend 99% of her time with a parent. SWEET!

After that, we hung out with some AWESOME cousins that I NEVER get to see. We had a ball, playing around and visiting. Priceless. Even then, though, it wasn't over. We were invited to Fun House Pizza, somewhere my family frequented when I was a kid, and I got to share that with my family. SWEET!

Sunday, we had fun at the store with Kami (she spent the night,) and folks thought she was our baby. Sure, they probably thought we were old parents for a baby, but whatever. Then, we had my BFF Tammy and her hubby, Greg, over to hang out and BBQ. Tammy was 10 days post surgery, so she wasn't 100%, but we still had a great time, other than the frog leg.*

Monday, we went to Mom and Dad's. OK, I drove the lawn mower, 2 miles, down the highway, and Kevin drove the truck. It was fun to tool along, at under 5 mph, and see that nobody (in this tiny town) thought it was weird. They just waved and went on about their business. It was foggy and cool and a perfect morning for a 2 mile ride on the mower.

We helped Dad accomplish a lot after we got there, and Kevin BBQ'd for everyone. We had beef steak, pork steak, hamburgers, dogs, eggplant, peppers, and everything grilled to perfection. Mom made potato salad and squash pie, among other things. After we stuffed ourselves, we got back to work. More accomplished, includeing a LOT of visiting and playing.

Then, Natalie rode in the little trailer while I drove the lawn mower back home. We had a ball...even though she was dragging her hand along the pavement of the highway, and may or MAY NOT have touched raccoon poo. LOL She freaked, I laughed. Still, no weird looks...just waves from passers by.

I wish every weekend could be this good. It made me smile, every time I thought about it today. Let's not forget, though, that I get to go see John Prine this weekend! Who is that? I have *no* idea. LOL Ask Mom.

*so there was this dead frog by our back door, probably killed by a cat. It was drawing flies and we were trying to visit. I scooped it up in the dust pan and threw it into the yard. Later, Kevin decided to mow the back yard. I looked at Greg (Tammy was napping a bit by then) and said, "dude, knowing my luck, he'll hit that frog and I'll have frog guts all over my face!" Greg and I both laughed.

20 minutes later, I felt something hit my back and asked, "What just hit me?" Greg said, "Probably a frog leg!" We both laughed again, and I stood up. Stuck to the back of my chair was a frog leg! The very leg that had bounced off my back! The flesh at the top of the leg was suction cupped to the chair, and the leg stuck out like a prop from a horror film. I grossed out and gagged while running in to the house to change shirts. And I gagged. Sweet Jesus, did I gag!

Yuck. Double Yuck. Triple Dog Yuck.

To all of you motorcycle riders out there

This is a rant, OK? You motorcycle riders need to listen up!

My mother and father ride. Celeste, a blogger friend, and her husband ride. My brother rides. My HR director at work rides. Neighbor buddy Jimmy rides. I know folks with motorcycles, OK?

Many of you bikers preach about watching out for bikers. Look twice, save a life, right? Yeah, OK. Fine.

I'm so worried about my friends and family that I'm extra cautious when a motorcycle is around. It's fine, and I appreciate you looking out for me, too.

However, I have a bone to pick with a few riders out there. If you are doing a wheelie at 70 mph down the interstate during rush hour...you're on your own. If you're weaving in and out of traffic, gaining no more than 2-3 car lengths, you're on your own. If you're running hell-bent-for-leather on the shoulder, to pass a line of cars, you're on your own.

We need to share the road with bikers, but they need to share the road with US, too.

Fair? I think so.

I'm just sayin'.

P.S. None of my family/friends, listed above, do these things.