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You Gotta Put The Work In Baby!

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Well, it looks like hard times are still ahead for our country. The economy, while showing signs of growth, is still a damn sight away from healthy or vibrant, and now more than ever, people need a reason to head out to another hard day’s work.

In times like this, I have no choice but to reflect back on stories from my own youth. Now I know that I have delivered many tales about my grandfather and his tireless work effort but in these times, I think an editorial reflection of my great- grandfather might be in order.

His name was Joe but to us he was Papa. As a young man, he returned to the East Coast on a buckboard from Arkansas to take a job with Pittsburgh Plate Glass. He worked there until he earned the golden watch but he and my great-grandmother went through hell during their life. They survived the Great Depression, but the scars always remained visible. In spite of the fact that they had a little money, they lived very simple lives. They only ever owned one new car from what I can remember, and much of their food was grown in their one and a half acre garden, canned in the family kitchen and stored in the root cellar. At 70, both of these people could have worked anyone I know under the table, and that was well into their retirement. Papa would man the pumps at my grandfather’s gas station all morning and garden with my great- grandmother all afternoon. They would show up each morning, 7 days a week, to manage this garden that was across the street from my grandparent’s house, like they were clocking into a job. I swear to God, the only time I ever heard either of them complain was the time they were ready to buy a used car; she wanted something nice while he demanded a station wagon, so he could haul manure, of course. They had a massive argument that lasted one night. She spent the night at my grandparent’s, and although neither of them raised their voices throughout, the next week, a nice little hatchback sat in the driveway as they worked their crops.

These two soft and gentle people, as it turns out, were probably the most rugged I would ever come to know. They were born near the turn of the century, saw inventions like the electric light, microwave oven all the way up to the space shuttle but were so unassuming about it all, they never veered off from their personal goals or realization that hard work is just part of life. Of course, like most things, looking back on all this I am amazed, especially when I think about the fact that these were not extraordinary people of their time, they were AMERICANS. In their generation they witnessed hard times, and they struggled through when they had nothing. They raised families and fought wars. In short, they made this country what it is now. When compared to what the average American is willing to do today for what could be referred to as an average life, is probably about half of what they did. Today there are so many among us with this huge sense of entitlement, feelings of superiority that somehow they are due an easier pass. Well, it’s just damn disappointing my brothers, I have to say it. Where are those with pioneer spirit; the patriots who would give all in the name of freedom? Who accepts responsibility for their people and their country in our world today? Have we any of these people left at all, I wonder? And then I look around the world of motorcycling today and at once I realize, this is why I am here. This is why I am drawn to the eclectic group of warrior poets and journeymen philosophers. This is why I can call any place on the road, in their company, home. We are the artisans and craftsmen, the laborers of the blue collar workforce. We are the patriots who have served on foreign soil in the name of freedom. Among our subculture today you can find people with as much heart and as staunch a work ethic as any generation before us. And as we toil away in the back alley garages at the intensive craft that fills the every corner of our finest dreams, the songs of patriotism ring clear. We are who we are; we are a proud and opinionated group, strong and stubborn, ready to work, filled with ideas and dreams, and we have arrived.

I write this editorial today because as I said, we are a far sight from being out of the woods. There is still a heavy burden to be carried and as the load gets awkward and tiresome, I just wanted to r e m i n d you, you must not quit! We have great menand women to live up to who taught us the way and all there is left to do is follow their example, and put the work in baby.

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