templa la vida

It’s cupcake day at the salt mine! (Taken with Instagram at Western Regional Medical Command)

Lucky dog on Flickr.

The back of my motorcycle helmet.

Going down

I am not a superhero. Here’s how I know.

I put the Versys down hard in a busy intersection Tuesday night.

It’s complicated — the incident included contact with another vehicle, and a high side with a six-foot free-fall body-slam. I’m thankful to Jesus I’m still here to tell the story.

A black dog, in the dark, darted into the intersection ahead of me, toward the path of the guy in front of me. I was closing in on the clear intersection; the light was green and in my mind green always means go.

They guy stopped briskly for the approaching dog, just beyond the crosswalk but not far enough into the intersection to open up the lane from the curbs on both sides. As he hit his brakes and moved left, I braked and moved left. I pressed hard on the back brake and squeezed hard on the front’s lever. The very long suspension on the Versys compressed, which seemed to take forever. Once it bottomed and the front brake bit, the weight shifted forward and the rear wheel began to slide.

Count with me. We are now at “one-thousand one, one thous…”

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Birthday breakfast with the son at Southern Kitchen in Tacoma. (Taken with Instagram)

Happy Father’s Day to me … :-) (Taken with Instagram)

Ships on Flickr.

Using this pen 20 years now to tabulate Scrabble scores.

Day 4 of 4: Leavenworth to Lacey

View Day 4 from Leavenworth, 09/09/11 in a larger map

Day 3 of 4: “Stuck” in Leavenworth. 9/8/2011

Day 2 of 4: The Dalles to Leavenworth

View Day 2 The Dalles to Leavenworth, 09/07/11 in a larger map

Day 1 of 4: Lacey to The Dalles

View Day 1 to The Dalles, 09/06/11 in a larger map

These guys are insane. Three hundred thirteen miles per hour.

NHRA Northwest Nationals. Kent, Washington. Top fuel, baby.

56th Army Band warming up.

Don’t drink and drive.