... this morning roger and i drove to brunswick to have lunch with eric ... on the way north i lost roger, due, i'm sure, to my rather vague "which way we're headed" instructions ... i lost eric, too, but that was mostly because once he's out of sight there's pretty much no way for me to catch up with the rocketship he calls a motorcycle ...
... riding north on route 24, shirtsleeves rolled up and wishing i hadn't promised my daughters i'd always wear my helmet, i noticed eric parked on the side of the road next to a robin's eggshell blue vespa ... wondering how in such a short period of time roger could make it back to waterville and then return on his little 150cc antique italian moped, i was a bit confused, but then i saw that eric was conversing with a stranger ...
... this is chris ... he's got a last name, but it's one of those eastern european monikers with multiple consonants and scarce for vowels, thus difficult for me to easily remember ...
... chris restored this little 1965 (?) vespa ... i was most amazed when he told us how he'd taught himself to weld so he could fix all the cracks, breaks, and holes in the machine's frame and sheet metal ... he'd even designed and built a clever little stand so that if necessary while on the road the spare tire could be mounted ... he was interested in finding out more about the vespa sidecar roger might have for sale ... when we spoke of taking his little six-year old daughter for a ride in it he was a bit hesitant, i said, "do it ... minimize the risk as much as possible, of course, but if that's what she wants, do it" ...
... i don't think i'd be as happy doing my wanderabouts on a little put-put like this, but i'll admit that i wouldn't mind having a motorcycle this color ...
... day's half-over, but when it's 80+°f on an afternoon this late in september, the trick is stretch it out as long as possible, so, soon as this is posted, i'm off for a swim in east pond, then a barbecue down in mount vernon ...
... what a beautiful day ...