I was on 'Route 101', following the pacific Coastline and heading South through Oregon, .... and for me this was by far the most emotional part of Poor Circulation, perhaps the most emotional part of my life. The road was great, fast, clear and winding, .... the sun shone from a cloudless sky and the view of the ocean and dunes through a thin veil of early morning mist was beyond any words that I could ever choose. For me and the Tiger, .. this seemed like the most perfect place to be.
In March of 2007, whilst my Mother Barbara was in ward 32 of Darlington Memorial Hospital and receiving support from her many friends at St Teresa's Hospice and Cockerton Methodist Chapel, we had many light-hearted and emotional conversations. She was obviously aware that I'd inherited my parents love of motorcycles, .... and although she constantly worried about my working as a despatch rider in London, ..... she never failed to support my choices. During one of our last conversations she mentioned that she had few regrets in life, ..... but there were two things that she wished might have happened.
Firstly, she wished that my Father George Thomas could had lived to visit my brother Alan at his home in Boonville California and to have met his two newest grandchildren; Sam and Willow. Barbara had visited Boonvile in 2006 and had fallen deeply in love with both the area and the people, ... she said that it was a place where any free-thinking person would feel instantly at home, .... she knew that George would have shared her feelings.
Her second wish was that George could at some time in his youth have ridden his Triumph Thunderbird along the coast road, 'Route 101', 'State Highway 1' and then down through the beautiful redwood forests of '128' to Boonville. Barbara had travelled this road several times with my brother and his family in the car, she had marvelled at its beauty and instantly fallen under it's magical spell.
Today I was doing that same journey on their behalf, not on a Triumph Thunderbird, but on a Triumph Tiger. I was on '101' in Oregon and heading south, a little further north than my Mother had travelled, ....... but I know that George and Barbara were enjoying this ride every bit as much as I was. With thoughts of my parents constantly in my mind, ...... I braked early, kept well below the speed limit and attempted not to swear too loudly at other motorists.
As the sun sank towards the horizon and just North of the Californian border, I found a campsite deep inside a forest of the tallest trees imaginable. I felt like a 'Hobbit' in a giant wood as I pitched the tent and cooked the remainder of my food supplies. Tomorrow I would arrive in Boonville, ....... the purpose of Poor Circulation would be fulfilled, .... wishes would be granted, ..... belatedly, .... but late is always better than never.
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1 comment:
interesting article, i never knew about this until now
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