Rolling Thunder

I really don't have to try hard to find reminders of Jeff.  I only need to look at my boys... but there is something about Memorial Day and all the motorcycles.

Jeff loved motorcycles and he was very smart about his hobby, as were his parents.  Jeff wasn't allowed to have a "street bike" until after college.  As long as he was on his parent's dime: no bike.  But it didn't take long for him to buy his first bike after college  The Virago (above).  He joined various motorcycle riding clubs and generally had a great time.

Years later, and this is one of my favorite stories, Jeff bought the Harley.  As the story goes: Jeff had been talking for years about wanting a Harley Davidson motorcycle and finally one day his father said to him "You better go out and buy the bike before you meet a woman who won't let you have one."  Jeff bought his 2003 Heritage Softtail Classic in gunmetal pearl less that 3 weeks before we met.

Not that I would have prevented him from buying the Harley, but I just love that quote from his dad.  Jeff rode in Rolling Thunder on Memorial weekend for a number of years with the Virago and the Harley and when he didn't ride in it we would go down to the Pentagon and wander around looking at motorcycles and then staying to hear the thunder start up and honestly, it is louder than thunder, more like space shuttle launch loud.

A year and a half before he died, Jeff sold the Harley.  He started considering it after J1 was born and I refused to let him do it.  I did not want to be the wife that "made him sell his motorcycle".  It wasn't hard to convince him to keep it, but eventually he really was ready to let it go.  He wanted a bike that fit his current life and that included his kids.  He sold the Harley and bought a dirt bike to ride around in the swamp behind our house.  His plan was to use the extra money to buy the boys their own motorcycles and ride together.  Once I understood his plan, I agreed to him selling the Harley.

I'm glad he did.  I never would have been able to sell that bike after his death. 

When I think of Jeff and his motorcycle I think of the Harley.  I went for my first motorcycle ride on the Harley.  I went to Rolling Thunder for the first time on the Harley.  We have a picture of J1, fresh from the hospital, on the Harley. 

So, seeing all the motorcycles this weekend brings up all those memories of the bike and the times we spent with it.  My first thought was that maybe I should head out of town next year.  But then I got to thinking that was the opposite of what Jeff would want and so I've promised myself that next year I am taking the boys to Rolling Thunder.

It's OK.  No one will notice me crying over all that noise.

Sincerely,

Jeff's Wife