Motorcycles, Guns, and Nerves

As I've lived these forty-some years, it's my pleasure to have been introduced both to guns and motorcycles at a very early age. And it has been my curious fascination to observe the nervous reactions, even raw fear, of people unfamiliar with each.

At least a thousand times in my life I have seen the wide-eyed reaction of someone when I've described the methods involved in leading a skeet target, or breaking down a semi-auto handgun for cleaning, or recounting the thrill I experienced when my father presente dme with my first firearm at the tender age of nine.

And at least a thousand more times in my life I have seen the wide-eyed reaction of someone when I've read off the list of motorcycles I've owned, places I've ridden, races I've competed in. And also when I recount for them how I earned enough money for half of my first mini-bike (parents paid the other half) at the age of ten.

There are those people in my life who know of both halves - the firearms and the motorcycles. I'm not sure if they think of me as some wild-eyed neanderthal with a Type A personality or if they think I was merely the unfortunate child of careless parents. But neither of those is true.

All I am is a self-reliant American, and one that was fortunate enough to have parents who were not chicken-littles. My father taught me about firearm safety long before I had a firearm. He taught me how to hold the gun, to aim it, to fire it, to clean it, to store it, and to anticipate what might go wrong. I learned these things in the full confidence and calm environment of a man who had my best interests in heart. A firearm is to be respected mightily, but need not be feared.

So too, a motorcycle or a snowmobile. When the lessons are taught young, by a caring and experienced parent, the environment is not wrought with fear, but with respect for the vehicle and its capabilities. I've never felt that a motorcycle was something I was "hanging on to" within an inch of my life. It is a vehicle that I control and do not fear, because I learned it while young.

Life is not about fear. It is about learning and mastering. Do not fear that which you do not know. Find a mentor, learn the object or the discipline under their tutelage, and then use it with reverance and respect. Never mind the fearful looks of those who do not understand.