give and you shall receive...

Among the loot I was spoiled with this year, I received two books: The Biker Code: Wisdom For The Ride edited Stuart Miller and Geoffrey Moss and The Che Handbook by Hilda Barrio and Gareth Jenkins. It takes some thought to give a book as a gift and I smile when I think of the love and acceptance that came upon my sis and pops as they made their selections. Many Klecos Ger and Dad =) I love you lots!

The Biker Code is a compilation of advice from Harley and sport riders, men and women from all walks of life with riding experience from a year or two to over 60. Here are some of my favourite quotes so far:

"I am a quiet person. When I'm riding, all of that goes away. I enjoy taking risks and having the skill you need to stay alive."

"Make a decision, keep your head straight, relax, go."

"For some there's therapy, for the rest of us there's motorcycles."

"Bikers are some of the funniest people I have ever met. I love being around a lot of down-to-earth people."

The Che Handbook is a like a mini-encyclopedia of Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna's life full of quotes, pictures and other tid bits. Those of you who know me, know that I am a big fan of Che. Those of you who really know me know that I believe we must seek to fully understand the man. It is important to reach beyond his visual iconic status and appreciate not only his uncompromising, charismatic nature, but also his single-minded determination, for the better and worse.

As I leafed through the book I found a quote I had not read before but liked immensely:

"And if it were said of us that we're almost romantics, that we are incorrigible idealists, that we think the impossible: then a thousand and one times we have to answer that yes, we are."

Who knew W was a romantic? :I