tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post3388676079473371448..comments2023-10-25T08:13:19.644-05:00Comments on Sojourner's Moto Tales: Vermont--"Green before it was cool"--and "Don't Trash" it!Sojourner's Moto Taleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235661849993752840noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post-7627773950544455312008-08-27T05:15:00.000-05:002008-08-27T05:15:00.000-05:00Earl, I too am glad that your wandering led you he...Earl, I too am glad that your wandering led you here. Thanks for dropping by and wanting to return. I didn't think I was the only one for whom VT has a special appeal. You're lucky to live close enough to take in a piece of it when the desire strikes. Ride smart.Sojourner's Moto Taleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02235661849993752840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post-60615780879754082772008-08-26T22:10:00.000-05:002008-08-26T22:10:00.000-05:00I understand what you mean about Vermont. Twenty ...I understand what you mean about Vermont. Twenty years ago, when I lived in the Saratoga area of Upstate New York, almost to the point of ritual, I would ride to Vermont and spend the day there.<BR/><BR/>I didn't need a sign telling me when I had crossed the state line, there was something special about Vermont that would casually remind me the instant that I wasn't in New York anymore; there is a difference.<BR/><BR/>I am glad that my online wandering has found me to your site, I look forward to returning and reading more your posts.<BR/><BR/>E.T.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07081927514870722367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post-66113991292593654182008-08-21T22:44:00.000-05:002008-08-21T22:44:00.000-05:00Jack, your note is so meaningful and special to me...Jack, your note is so meaningful and special to me--that's a powerful story of your experiences in Northern Ireland. Yeah, if people can treat folks who look like them in these awful ways, imagine how "easy" it must be for some to marginalize those who appear really different. Humans are an interesting bunch! I will always remember now to ride my bike like Sidney rode Rod Steiger in one of my favorite movies, "The Heat of the Night." That slap scene in the greenhouse still makes my hair stand at attention. <BR/><BR/>BTW, had I not been traveling with my family with whom I had to negotiate stops and sights, I would have been freer to make decisions about where we went and where we stopped. I appreciate your generous offer, which I've made note of for the future! Thanks.<BR/><BR/>Your #1fan!Sojourner's Moto Taleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02235661849993752840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post-64874240481434393742008-08-21T22:30:00.000-05:002008-08-21T22:30:00.000-05:00Hi Bob, Thanks for stopping by. I think no matter ...Hi Bob, Thanks for stopping by. I think no matter how imperfect the world is, we can't afford to lose sight of the good parts. I really do believe (most times, at least) that they outweigh the bad...Sojourner's Moto Taleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02235661849993752840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post-2097330968920160812008-08-21T21:49:00.000-05:002008-08-21T21:49:00.000-05:00Dear Sharon --This is an abbreviated note. I sent ...Dear Sharon --<BR/><BR/>This is an abbreviated note. I sent the whole one to you elsewhere. <BR/><BR/>Ride your BMW like Sidney Poitier rode Rod Steiger in “The Heat of the Night.” Always keep your mouth moist enough to spit in the eye of stupidity and intimidation. <BR/><BR/>I have had a remarkable experience with unbelievable, pure hatred. Racial bigotry’s finest hour, in fact. I have been in a situation where white people have made a science and a passion out of hating other white people. I was the guest of a Catholic family (hardly strange as I am Roman Catholic) in a suburb of Belfast, in Northern Ireland.<BR/><BR/>Imagine driving down a street in a major international city and passing a billboard on which six hooded characters, holding assault weapons, proclaimed unity and liberty through the efforts of the Londonderry Brigade or the Ulster Rifles. I saw four variations of this same nonsense in a ten-block area. It was exactly as if I had seen a billboard for the clan or for Nazi skinheads.<BR/><BR/>Imagine what I thought when I offered to go to the butcher shop to pick up something for dinner, and my host directed me to a particular one that was for “our kind.” (Did you know that white people had “a kind?” I didn’t. I thought it was the same club.) Early the next day, I ventured back into town and bought some pastries in a bakery that was not for “our kind.” It was for the other kind of white people... The whiter white people. There were two kindly-looking old ladies behind the counter and four other customers chatting away when I entered. <BR/><BR/>Catholics must have a secret unpleasant aroma. All six looked at me like I had just stolen something. My perfect melodic, US, Jersey City accent bought me some courtesy. I was served first, in silence, and shown the door. <BR/><BR/>I was made to feel exactly as you are most often afraid you will be made to feel. I remember thinking, “Stay cool, Jack-O. You’ll be outside in a minute, imagining how these fine folks would look kissing your fat derriere.” <BR/><BR/>I cannot believe you drove past here and made no attempt to contact me. I would have introduced you to our local club. You could have stayed here. For free.<BR/><BR/>Fondest regards,<BR/>JackJack Riepehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07531160098262862027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32557834.post-47924922545993566702008-08-20T15:03:00.000-05:002008-08-20T15:03:00.000-05:00I too am from a visible minority. I experienced p...I too am from a visible minority. I experienced prejudice when I was younger but things seem to have stabilized in recent memory. It's only the poorly educated that seem to be the problem but now there is greater acceptance . I actually find that there is extreme prejudice amount riders of 2 wheeled machines between cruisers, sport bikes and scooterists, although we are cut from the same thread, have to take the same courses to earn our motorcycle endorsement, subject to the same dangers on the road . . . (but that's another topic)<BR/>The world is not perfect but we can't let these things stop us from enjoying life and the things we like to do, like Ride.<BR/><BR/>bobAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05258612401956399482noreply@blogger.com