The Ride of a Lifetime

It was a heart-warming, albeit repeat, episode of "American Chopper," seeing the excitement of a grown man who had a customized motorcycle built in his honor (complete with self-portrait medallion insert.)

Where was the very first destination he was, by his own admission, travelling on his bike?

"I'm going to Atlantic City to win back the money I spent on this."

Reminded me of the funeral for an antique car enthusiast. With the deceased sitting embalmed in one of his classic beauties, a mourner paying respects was overheard saying, "Now that's living!"

The woman I love instructs 3 to 5-year-old children. You remember that age of innocence before being corrupted by money? The classroom is a no-holes-barred labratory for experimentation. The children are kings and queens in a kingdom of adventure. There is no fear of controls (discipline?) holding them back - only mentors guiding them forward by pointing them in the right direction. Indeed, these easy riders have no need of being entertained when they are being engaged.

This Paradise Lost is a ride of a lifetime. But soon, children graduate to bigger and badder things. They/we get side-tracked by rules and regulations. Told what is good for them and encouraged to spend lots of money to get it. They will forfeit their royal prerogative to play for the strenuous pursuit of a brass ring on the merry-go-round of commerce. They/we will, most likely, hit upon a dead-end job after being led down a road to nowhere.

Yes, I sense they, too, will think, "this is living", when they are buried under the myth of adulthood.