Never Say Never Again!

I guess you can never say never!
My intention when I purchased my Yamaha Vmax was for it to be the last bike I own. I guess that in hindsight that was a crazy idea. Motorcycle owners are notorious for swapping and trying out different bikes. I do love riding a Vmax, but I realize that riding with the people I hang out with, a sport bike is really the right set up for me.

As for the Vmax (Sharky's Machine) I was most attached to two things, the insane amounts of raw power and the fact that it had connections to my daughter Ariel (1989 model and her birth year, teal is the color of our hockey team, the San Jose Sharks). When I chose to swap it out, she was surprisingly unsentimental to those facts since she likes sport bikes more anyway. Oh well!

How I came into getting the bike is where I think that God showed himself. During us having a garage sale, I ended up delivering some patio furniture to a neighbor. Inside their garage was one of my all time favorite bikes: a Kawasaki Ninja 650r. I offered up my compliments: "Nice bike." What I wasn't ready for was his response, "You want it?" He then went in to the details. It was his son's bike and that it was a 2009 with only 2500 miles that was sitting in his garage for two years. His son was unhappy with it because he laid it down rashing the right side, breaking off the right rear view mirror and bending the back break peddle (all cosmetic damage). The price was shockingly low. So low, I could sell the Vmax and get it for about the same amount. I told him I'd work on things and see what happened.
I put an ad for about the amount of the Ninja for my Vmax. I got two calls. The first was very interested but said he'd need a couple of days before he could get back to me. The second rode it that same day and said he'd think about it. Here's where things got weird. He came back the next day and rode it. What shocked me was that the Vmax died while he was riding it! I thought we had a deal and I could get my cool Ninja bike and it looked like things were falling apart. Anyway, he said he'd think some more about it and get back to me. Ugh!

This is where I see the difference that God made. In the past, I would have taken my frustration to anger and then complain to God. Why show me such a cool bike? Why did this stupid thing happen to my Vmax? What's going on here? Instead, I talked to him about my frustration and then, I realized there's peace here. Do I need a 650r? Am I content with my Vmax? Is God trustworthy? The answers were all obvious. I could then just pray that whatever happens happens and I'm good with that. I tested the battery and it was bad so I went out and got a new battery for the Vmax. I was told by the battery salesman that the guy who was looking at the bike actually called as well. That was a sign he was still interested. He did call me to say he was still interested and that he knew that I had replaced the battery. He appreciated that. Anyway, we ended up doing the sale! The next day, with cash in hand, I bought the 650r! God is good!

My mark is still there!

This past weekend I got to take it out on my favorite ride: Foothills Parkway, to Deal's Gap and then on the Cherohala Parkway. This was a group ride with the Knoxville Rockets. It's always nice to be around others who loves sport bike riding. First comments from them were admiration for the new bike and then surprise at what a great deal I got. Riding with the group pushes me to get out of my comfort zone and try to ride more aggressively (not crazy) which pushes me to become a better rider. I really appreciate that.
As for the bike, it's great! Compared to the Vmax it's a lot smoother. The raw power isn't there, but it's so smooth that I was easily hitting the 90 MPH range without much effort. I felt a little awkward going through the Parkway and the Gap mostly in terms of getting used to the bike (it also helped to pump up the tires which I forgot to check!). By the time I got onto the Skyway, I was really starting to get used to the handling. I know I need more seat time to get really comfortable with the bike.

I got the perfect gift for my new grandson!

Anyway, my best gauge for the bike is that I'm getting anxious to ride it a lot. That means I'm loving the ride. The lighter frame, better handling and sleeker look wins over the insane raw power of my good old Vmax. I don't regret having it, but I realize I'm probably a sport biker at heart. God has a way of getting us to figure things out. His direction is always good so getting back to a sport bike is part of His process. So here's to another season riding!

Number Two Is Also Number One

Your first picture!

Mom And Dad Hanging Out.
I hope that we have lots of times hanging out as a family!

To My Second Grandchild,
Hello, this is your grandfather or Jiichan as you will likely call me. I want you to know that it was such a great surprise to hear that God had created you. Your mommy texted me with the great news and since I was on the road, we spent an hour on the phone, talking about the exciting thought of you coming into our lives. You have made me twice the grandpa (as your mommy has said) which is truly an amazing thought.

Your Mommy On Her Wedding Day. Isn't She Beautiful?

Mommy Is Carrying You In This Picture

I want you to know that I love you even though we haven't met just yet. Why do I know this? Because you are part of a very special and beautiful person (your mommy). I loved her so much as a little girl and love even more that she's a grown woman. Also, you were created by God as a special blessing to the whole family. I know that you will bring us all joy and happiness just because you are who you are.

Some Great Times With Your Mom: Motorcycles And Gun Ranges!

I want you to know some things about your Jiichan. Unlike your mommy and daddy, I am not an artist. They have both taught me a lot about art and beauty that God has created but I'm mostly into sports (basketball, hockey, baseball and football), geeky things (Star Wars, Star Trek, engineering) and motorcycles. Your mommy and I love to ride motorcycles together and go to gun ranges. I hope that we can do the same when you're a little older. As Jiichan know that there will be many times when we can spend together doing things that you like and I'll be sure to spoil you with lots of gifts. Most of all I hope to share with you the love that God has shown to all of us. He has the greatest gifts for all of us since He is our Father. Like all good Fathers, He loves us a lot (actually more than your parents or me).

Mom In Her Prom Dress

A Cool Portrait Mom Drew Of Our Dog Mazie

Mom And Jiichan At Homecoming

I wanted to especially write to you since you are my second grandchild. Sometimes it sounds bad that we are second. As your great grandpa used to say about poker, the worst hand is the second best one (I'll explain that some other time, but that has to do with the Nakamura tradition of playing poker at all family gatherings). Anyway, I want you to know something very important: number two is still number one to me. What that means is even though your cousin Maddie was born first and I love her, I love you just as much as I love her. Your mommy is my second child, but I love her just as much as her older sister, Auntie Ariel. They are both my daughters and are very special to me. In the same way, you are very special to me and I love you just as much as Maddie. Because of that, you're still number one (ichiban)!
So look forward to times when we can share stories, eat baked cookies and laugh together. I can't wait!
Love,
Jiichan

Something Is Sweeter 'Cause We Met Along The Way

Ephesian 3:20-21
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

"Happy, happy, happy."
Phil Robertson

Random thoughts from a new grandfather...

First I have to say Happy Birthday to my beautiful and amazing granddaughter Madeline Brow. Welcome to the wonderful and crazy world that God has created for us! After the year that I have been through (losing my dad, losing my cousin, having shingles), Little Maddie, as I'm going to call her, is a very welcome gift from God.

From Wikipedia, here are some people that share a birthday with Maddie:
1903 – Walter O'Malley, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1979)
1940 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (d. 1980)
1940 – Joe Pepitone, American baseball player
1944 – John Entwistle, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (The Who) (d. 2002) (I got to see The Who on my birthday only a few months before Entwistle passed away)
1948 – Jackson Browne, German-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
1953 – Tony Shalhoub, American actor (Monk)
1954 – Scott Bakula, American actor (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Enterprise)

1958 – Michael Pare, American actor

1958 – Mike Singletary, American football player
1960 – Maddie Blaustein, American actress (d. 2008)
1962 – Ōnokuni Yasushi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 62nd Yokozuna
1970 – Kenny Anderson, American basketball player
1975 – Sean Lennon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (and John Lennon's son)
One notable event occurred on October 9th: The Cincinnati Reds win the 1919 World Series over the Chicago "Black Sox".

Last night, the San Jose Sharks (the team Ariel, Maddie's mom, and I follow) gave Maddie and early birthday present with a 9-2 win over the New York Rangers. 19 year old Thomas Hertl scored four goals including one of the most amazing goals in hockey history:

Looking back the whole process started with the stunning news of my new found role as a grandpa. I was driving to the mall for some reason and just got into the parking lot. I'm thankful I was parked since I think that I would have put my car in a ditch if I was on the road. Ariel just said the words, "You're going to be a grandpa!" I think she thought I would react, but I was in stunned silence. It was like I was hit by a tidal wave. There was so much emotion: happy, excited, scared, and old. Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" was playing in my head. I wish that I could have reacted more excited for Ariel, but I think I was in shock. It was a good shock, and after a moment it felt really good.

The next big news was finding out the baby is a girl and her name is Madeline (I'm going to call her Maddie or Little Maddie). I think that Ariel was connecting the name to those wonderful children stories of the little French girl Madeline. For some strange reason I kept connecting the name to the TV show Moonlighting which had the character Madeline Hayes. I think that's the first time I really heard the term Maddie used for the name Madeline. No matter what, I really love hearing the name. It now reminds me of someone very special to me.

My new motto!

Going forward I am looking forward to being a grandpa. Wow, that word still is going to take time to get used to. I'm wondering what memories we're going to have together? I'm looking forward to Maddie giving me a hug. Maybe she'll like hockey or ride motorcycles. Perhaps she'll be more into ballet and reading. To be honest I don't care. I hope I can read stories with her or eat ice cream with her at the mall. I like the thought of being able to spoil her with gifts and have lots of fun with her. I hope laughing is one of our favorite things to do together. Some day, I'll get to see her in a prom dress and tell her how beautiful she is. Even further down the line I can see her in a wedding dress and tell how proud I am of her. These are awesome thoughts that make me long for times to bond with her.

It's so strange to think how fast this has happened. Somewhere between graduating college and now, I've had three kids coming and going through my life and today a grandchild enters the picture. Being middle aged forces us to face the past and the future with some sobering thoughts: past triumphs and epic failures; great moments and missed opportunities; exciting challenges ahead and facing your own mortality. There's a lot there to take in. Somehow a little baby grandchild can put it all into perspective. She provides so much hope for the future, a legacy and another life to influence. She shows me that life will continue on even when I'm long gone and a distant memory. She will also carry a shadow of my self (both good and bad) in her. These are awesome thoughts.

So today I venture out to a new realm and new title. With it comes all of the joys and challenges. It will somehow be an adventure.

We'll walk by night, we'll fly by day...

After having to remove my dad from my address book, it was nice to add this to my calendar.

More pictures:

Route 66 Meets Mad Max

In one of those convergences of life, both Amanda and I ended up simultaneously getting motorcycles. Both were located north of us and so we ended up doing a road trip picking them up. For Amanda and I nothing seems to be conventional. Our daddy date nights consisted of motorcycles and gun ranges. She's the artist in the family. More than just that, she's truly has an artist's mind. Having her in my life has opened my view of the world as she exposes me to seeing life with more color and nuance. I am so deeply grateful for her as she is not only beautiful, she brings beauty in the way she creates things.
Jodi's cousin, Hope, was kind enough to give Amanda her 1989 Virago Route 66. It's a 250cc standard. Considered by many to be the ideal starter bike. I found my dream bike on Ebay for a great price: 1989 Yamaha VMax. It's one of those bikes that has almost a mythic air about it. It looks like a standard and has the power of a sport bike. It has many nicknames: The Widowmaker, The Instruement Of Death, Muscle Madness and of course Mad Max. It's scary fast.
The trip was one that took us from Knoxville, to Nashville, to Louisville, to Merrillville (all those 'villes'!), to Chicago (to pick her bike up), to Fortville (just outside Indianapolis), to Florence and back to Knoxville. About 21 hours in the car!
A big shout out to my friend and co-worker Mike Hill who lent us a trailer which saved us the trouble of renting and all of that hassle and cost. The first few hours in the car was just wonderful catching up with her. She's in college studying film making. I can say without parental bias that she has almost unlimited talent to succeed. Her films have already won awards and her stories are so deep and amazing. It's also fun to hear about her pets and her job at Jersey Mike's (Mmmmm, Philly Cheese Steaks!). Our first stop was at the Louisville Motorcycle Superstore Outlet. To be honest, the prices weren't that impressive even though the selection was great. We did eat lunch at a killer Japanese restaurant (another one our "things" that we do together). We got to talk about Japanese culture and someday travelling together to Japan. She ate her usual Bento box. I had Katsu and Philly roll sushi. We holed up in a Red Roof Inn in Merrillville (nice for the price). Dinner was at the food court in a local mall. My fortune cookie hit the mark:

Sometimes God gives you something really cool. I guess He knows how much I love launching myself down the road on a two wheeled rocket. As I said, somehow He reveals himself to me there!
The morning was on to Chicago where we hit tons of traffic, but allowed me to get a shot of the New Comiskey Park:

I would usually plan in a ballgame, but both Chicago teams we were out of town. We met up with Hope and found her bike in decent, but non-functioning state. The front brake was seized, the throttle was stuck, the rear tire was dry rotted and there were small patches of rust. Here's the bike with a beautiful model on it:

We loaded the bike and headed through the north side of town. That meant driving by Wrigley Field. I've been to Chicago so many times and have never seen a game there!

Heading down to Fortville which is just east of Indianapolis. Of course we were crazy enough to go through there on Memorial Day weekend. If you don't know, that's the same time as the Indianapolis 500! Thankfully, we missed most of the traffic. There we met up with the VMax. It's old and rough looking, but that belies the fact that it has power. Lot's of power. I test drove it and knew that this bike will be something special. My hope is that this is the last bike I own. I'm sure I'll never need any more power and speed in a bike. Just hope I don't get old and scared.

I think that Amanda has found love (at a Burger King):

We made it home where I'm working on getting her bike running. I'm also finding new ways to launch myself through the horizon.
So why blog all about this? Because it will be a memory that I will have forever with my beautiful daughter. Beyond getting two cool motorcycles, I will cherish that God granted my two and half days with just me and Amanda. When your kids become adults, the time that you had taken for granted becomes deeply missed. For me, with her it's gun ranges, motorcycles, and Japanese restaurants. There's so many little things I love about my daughter, her blue eyes, her ironic and dark sense of humor, her love of films, her inexhaustible creativity and her sweet laugh. So my next date night will either be flying to Tokyo with her, or cruising down  Foothills Parkway. Route 66, meet Mad Max!