Friendship And Its Perks

I hang on to people.  Once you're my friend, you're my friend for life.  I don't understand why people toss friends away.

A long time ago, I worked in a law firm.  So did Nancy.  She was one of the secretaries.  I got to know Nancy and she was nice to me.  I was nice back.  We became friends and have remained friends ever since, even after she moved to another part of the country.

Recently, Nancy moved back to New York and we re-connected.  I told her about my blog and she was supportive.

For no reason, Nancy just sent me a big box from David's Cookies.  At first, I thought it contained only cookies but I was wrong.  In addition to packs of Lemon Coolers and Butter Pecan Meltaways, there were two cookie jars -- in the shape of handbags!  Aren't these the cutest?!

Do you hang on to old friends?

A "Sweet" Prom Dress

A high school student in Michigan's Upper Peninsula came up with a cool idea -- to make her prom dress out of Starburst wrappers.  She asked her classmates to save their wrappers and she collected thousands.  With them, she made a prom dress, matching hair-band and purse.  She estimates it took 18,000 wrappers to do the job.

The project took five months to complete and her friends and family assisted.  Her story is here and this is what the results look like...

Riding At The Edge

Life can be as exciting as you want it to be.  Today, I took a big gulp of excitement.  My experience of riding my motorcycle at the racetrack was exhilarating. 

I rode faster than I ever did before.  I rode harder than I ever did before.  Most importantly, I rode better than I ever did before.  The track allows you to push your skills to their limit and, while you're out there, you improve quickly and dramatically.  I learned so much and came away from the long day a much better rider.

On the track, you can go as fast as you have the power and courage.  But there is more to riding than that.  For example, on the straightaway, you nail the throttle and hit triple-digits.  My bike reached 140 mph on that stretch.  But at the end of that straight line, there are two sharp right-hand turns which cannot be made at high speed.  See this diagram of the track:

What you need to learn is how to carry maximum speed around numerous turns of varying radius and direction.  This is where racing-skills come in.  You set up for a curve by moving to the outside of the track, selecting the right pace, picking a "line" (path) through the turn, hitting the apex of the turn on the inner edge of the track, and then accelerating out of the turn as the bike straightens up.  What assists the effort is moving your butt off the seat onto the side of the bike, throwing your knee out and leaning your body into the turn as far as you have the nerve to go.  With practice, you actually drag your knee on the track at the apex, which is why racing-leathers have detachable "pucks" to protect your kneecap as it scrapes the pavement.

You'll notice, on my bike, that all lights and glass have been taped.  You do this so that, if you crash, your bike doesn't litter the track with debris.  During the day today, there were five crashes.  Fortunately, only two of them required ambulances. 

The most common cause of a crash is going into a turn too "hot" (fast) and being unable to stay on the track.  This is a completely preventable situation.  Sportbikes have amazing ability to lean and it is the rider's loss of confidence, not the motorcycle, that causes the crash.  It's very scary to be in this situation and the second someone loses faith in their ability to complete the turn, they fly off the track. 

I faced this predicament squarely today when, entering a sharp turn very hot, the only way to avoid crashing was to lean my bike deeper than I ever have before.  It would have been easy to crash but -- DAMN IT! -- I decided I was not going to end my day that way.  I kept my head, mustered every ounce of courage in me and pulled the bike down until it was scraping its side.  The bike performed as it's designed to and I narrowly completed the turn.  Willpower is potent and can overcome even extreme danger.

The day was certainly thrilling.  Wildly exciting, occasionally terrifying and constantly challenging.  Racers say that riding on a track is demanding mentally as well as physically.  I agree.  You attack the track like a chess-game, trying to figure out how to handle the 13 curves with maximum speed and smooth, fluid technique.  Every second out there requires total focus and intense concentration.  At 100+ mph, things happen very fast.



My friend Jim took video of my riding and a professional photographer took phenomenal pictures of me traveling around the track.  Both will take a few days to get; as soon as they arrive, I'll share them with you.  You'll see, in both, my intense concentration and total commitment to the endeavor.

Friends tell me that racing at the track is addictive.  Now I see why!

The Perfect Dress

Have you ever found a dress and realized it was made for you?  Just you.  They put it in stores to pretend anyone could buy it but, really, it was intended solely for you.

On Friday, I found such a dress.  This item suits my style perfectly.  I was also amazed to see that its colors are my favorites -- pink and black. 

Fate made this dress for me.  Not only that, it was in a thrift-store, so the $24 price was a bargain.

Here it is.  I took my new orange lipstick out for another ride around the block.  That color is growing on me...

80's Prom Party

One of my favorite bloggers, Gracey from Fashion For Giants, is going to a 1980's-themed prom party.  A real one in real life for adults with a sense of humor.

Gracey invited her readers to join the party by sending in a picture of themselves in a prom dress.  Of course, that's an offer I couldn't refuse!  So I hightailed it to my favorite thrift store. Luckily they had a pretty prom dress that looks vintage.  It cost only $12 so I snapped it up.  Here's what it looks like.

Oh, and this is my first experiment with orange lipstick; I bought some on my way home from work today.  It's very different but I like it.  What do you think?

Kent State

Most of you are too young to remember what happened at Kent State in 1970, but it is important in the political and cultural history of our country.  I mention this event because it happened on May 4th -- today -- forty two years ago.  The picture shown above is the iconic image of that event.

The Vietnam War, begun in the early 1960s and accelerated by President Nixon in the latter part of that decade, was increasingly unpopular as TV news showed us its human casualties on a nightly basis.  Tens of thousands of young people were being killed.

Opposition to the War emerged and grew.  And grew.  Its power was harnessed to the "Generation Gap" between the young and old.  Young people, experimenting with rock music, drugs and long hair, were less likely than their parents to accept Nixon's justification for the War (the "domino effect" that losing Vietnam to the Communists would have).  Young people forcefully argued for ending the war.

That battle became epic.  Everyone had an opinion on the war and even the length of your hair was seen as a symbol of your politics.  Fights broke out over dinner-tables throughout the country.

In the midst of this chaos, Kent State occurred.  It was both a reflection of and catalyst for social upheaval.

Students at the university were protesting the war.  As was common, they were controlled by National Guard soldiers.  At one point, which is still in controversy, the soldiers started shooting their rifles at the students.  Four students were killed and eight others injured.  Many believe (and there is evidence to suggest) that the soldiers were ordered to shoot the students; others contend the soldiers were acting in self-defense.

The "Kent State killings" inflamed the nation.  Nobody could believe that, here in America, college students could be shot while walking around on campus.  Young people blamed Nixon and the older generation for the deaths.  Neil Young, a hugely-popular musician of the time, wrote a song ("Ohio") which became both an anthem of rebellion and a big commercial hit.

Have you heard of this?

She Is Red

I'm always looking for good new fashion-blogs to follow.  I enjoy reading other blogs as much as I enjoy blogging myself.  We can learn so much from each other.

I recently stumbled across She Is Red, a lovely fashion-blog by Alexandra.  Alex is a natural redhead in her twenties with a fabulous sense of style.  She lives in Oregon, and she's also lived in Denmark.  Her most recent post showcases the most beautiful floral peplum blouse over a pencil-skirt.  It's a real winner.

Pay her blog a visit!