Topic: My Dad

[azuredesign]

As the pounding of my heart has now subsided, I can smile a bit as I think about my 88 year old dad walking into my garage this morning as I was polishing some insignificant piece of hardware. I was chatting with him, and everything was classic good feeling, Sunday morning, long Memorial weekend, when out of the corner of my eye I saw him go to sit on my old Beemer which was on a side stand, and immediately high side as the bike went down on top of him. Adrenaline kicked in as I pulled the bike off of him, to find him laughing. No damage to him or the bike as I have the floor of my garage rugged with a pad underneath, mostly to absorb oil, and to make it easier to find lost parts.

I'm kind of proud of him, although he is now banished from the garage.
As I think about alternative outcomes, it's a bright beautiful day now and everything looks wonderful.

Best wishes for a great weekend,
Ben

[kghost]

Glad he wasn't hurt.

Look on the bright side ...now you can tease him 

[troppo]

Glad to hear he wasnt hurt mate, but i agree you can now tease him "behave or i`ll sick the beemer on ya" lol

[333]

He sounds like he at least deserves a ride around the block!  Besides, those BMW side stands come up on their own, don't they?

[Rocking-M]

I think your Dad just saw the bike falling and jumped under it.
You should give him the " Motorcycle Distinguished Cross" award. 

Glad he wasn't hurt trying to save your bike.

[bill440cars]

        I too am glad your Dad wasn't hurt. TRUE Dads don't come along every day and we sure need to be thankful for those who are TRUE Dads and for the time we have with them. BTW, My Dad is 81 and I know he wishes he could get back into motorcycling. I'm with 333, ya ought to give him a ride. Father's Day is a comin'  

[Raul CB750K1]

You know what he was laughing, don't you? He just paid you back the scratch you made with your bicycle in his brand new car 30 years ago.   

Don't they say that retaliation is a cold dish? 


Glad your dad is OK. There is only one dad, and medical bills are probably way higher over there than paint shop bills.

[azuredesign]

I think your Dad just saw the bike falling and jumped under it.
You should give him the " Motorcycle Distinguished Cross" award. 

Glad he wasn't hurt trying to save your bike.

Thanks for the spin, that's the way I'm going to look at it as well!

All best to everybody, I'm sending my dad over to your garages,
Ben

[Terry in Australia]

Send him over here Ben, there's heaps of stuff he can trip over, but he better like beer! Cheers, Terry.

[mick750F]

   Glad your dad is okay Ben. Yesterday must have been the day for Dads in shops sitting without thinking. My Dad was in my shop yesterday and out of the corner of my eye I spotted him sitting himself down on the little CB200 like it was a bar stool. I made a move towards him but realized that with the bike on it's center stand and tucked up against my jointer his now considerably light weight due to shrinkage was in no danger of tipping it. I let it pass but have to remember to keep an eye on him. He's pushing 84 and the old brain box ain't what it used to be. 

Mike

[Raul CB750K1]

Guess I don't have such a problem; my dad and I haven't talked to each other for 12 years now... 

[Terry in Australia]

Guess I don't have such a problem; my dad and I haven't talked to each other for 12 years now... 

Well go and talk to him Raul, and "bury the hatchet" or else you'll spend the rest of your life regretting it.

My Dad and I had quite a few fights (including fist fights) when I was young, I've been away from home for over 30 years and only saw him a couple of times a year, but now he's 81 and quite ill I drive 400 miles a week just to spend an evening with him, and I only wish I'd been closer when we were both younger.

You can't buy back those 12 years mate, but don't throw away any more............... 

[mick750F]

Guess I don't have such a problem; my dad and I haven't talked to each other for 12 years now... 

   I'm not going to pry Raul but 12 years is a long time and life is short...and keeps getting shorter. Most likely if you two don't patch it up then a day will come when one or both of you will regret not having done so. When I was younger my dad and I weren't that close but now I treasure every moment with him...even when he sits without thinking. 

Mike

[DRam]

Treasure those moments.  Dad has been gone for sixteen years now.  Our best conversations took place in the shop while turning wrenches or just sitting.  If only I'd told just how much he meant to me.

Raul, you have my sympathy.  If there's any chance of healing the breach between you and your dad, take it.

[azuredesign]

Send him over here Ben, there's heaps of stuff he can trip over, but he better like beer! Cheers, Terry.

He does like beer. He arrives at Melbourne on Quantas tomorrow evening, good luck!

[azuredesign]

   Glad your dad is okay Ben. Yesterday must have been the day for Dads in shops sitting without thinking. My Dad was in my shop yesterday and out of the corner of my eye I spotted him sitting himself down on the little CB200 like it was a bar stool. I made a move towards him but realized that with the bike on it's center stand and tucked up against my jointer his now considerably light weight due to shrinkage was in no danger of tipping it. I let it pass but have to remember to keep an eye on him. He's pushing 84 and the old brain box ain't what it used to be. 

Mike

Ditto here as well. I'm very proud of my dad, but he does need more watching out for now. He'll probably be moving over here in the next year or two. I'll finally get to even the score when I tell him he has to be in by 11pm, and no large parties.
Hope that job is over and you and Sammy are ready to ride.
Ben

[bill440cars]

Guess I don't have such a problem; my dad and I haven't talked to each other for 12 years now... 

        Raul, like the others have said, I sure hope that there's a way to patch things up between you and your Dad. I've got that problem with my brother (as most of you know) and could care less about him, but my Dad is different. I think it's a very sad thing when there's a problem between the parents and a child of theirs. 

        Seems like there are several of us with Dads in their 80's and we sure do need to look out for them. I'm going down this Thursday to see mine.

                                Take care, Bill

[azuredesign]

You know what he was laughing, don't you? He just paid you back the scratch you made with your bicycle in his brand new car 30 years ago.   

Don't they say that retaliation is a cold dish? 


Glad your dad is OK. There is only one dad, and medical bills are probably way higher over there than paint shop bills.

Thanks Raul,
Yeah, I have plenty to pay my dad back for, but he's never asked for anything like that. We've shared taking care of an old Corvette for the last 30 odd years, and he's never given me any grief for how I've driven it or what I've done to it. I did find him under it about 7 or 8 years ago changing out the front end. I couldn't believe that the darned thing lined up when he was finished with it.
Parents are a weird deal, kind of like families in general. The glue there is usually strong enough to tolerate significant insult. Good luck with your relationship with your dad, I hope you have a chance to speak with him again sometime soon,
Ben

[Raul CB750K1]

Next thing I know is that I'm writing this..... 

[azuredesign]

Hey Raul,

People change as they get older and pride starts to take a back seat to mother nature. I hope your dad comes around.

All best,
Ben

[Sam Green Racing]

Hey Ben, glad your dad came out unscathed, us old ones sure need a bit of looking after

Sam.

[azuredesign]

Hey Sam,
With your enthusiasm for things fast and fun, if you're in the same generation as my dad, I have a few questions!!
Thanks and all best,
Ben

[Sam Green Racing]

Going on 62 Ben, but it sure dose feel like 82 at times

Sam.

[DarkRider]

I agree with the others...treasure the moments you have with your fathers...Some of us never got the chance to do so and regret it later..myself included..my final memories of my own father include a major arguement and me taking off in a large cloud of tire smoke...

[Raul CB750K1]

Funny thing is that I have always read from sons regretting the time lost without their fathers because of arguments, and never from dads for time lost with their sons for the same arguments.

Shouldn't fathers be the first ones to regret it? Being older, they should start to realize the clock is ticking before their sons do, and therefore build bridges before their sons do.