The Visit

I hadn't seen my father in quite a few years. You know the story, we're a busy society. Life is hectic and we tend to get caught up in the day-to-day grind and somehow, life seems to slip by. For me, time seems to go by much faster as I get older. Perhaps it's not just me. Maybe that's just the way life is meant to be.

Dad was a special kind of man. Firm in his beliefs about life, family and running his own business. He never mixed politics and religion in his world of radio and television repair. He mentioned to me on more than one occasion that these were two topics that a self-employed businessman should always avoid.

His visit was a surprise to me. Trying my best to bring my dad up to speed, as they say, about today's technology was somewhat difficult and after our visit, I realized that I hadn't even scratched the surface. Dad retired from his career in 1989. Twenty plus years is a long time for electronics technology to advance.

During our visit, I showed him photos on my BlackBerry of Eric, Adam and Kristin. "What's a blackberry?" he asked. His facial expression spoke volumes about his disbelief that photos could be taken and displayed on a phone. He was totally amazed at today's technology of texting, iPods and navigation systems. What caught his interest more however, was the fact that his grandchildren had grown into such wonderful adults.

Dad spoke about the radio and television business that he started in the late thirties and the fact that television was in its infancy. He described --as he sat and looked at my fifty-inch plasma t.v.-- what television first looked like and how simple but complex the idea of putting motion and sound into a box really was back then. Even though at first, he appeared amazed at the huge screen on my television, there was also a hint of sadness in his eyes. I felt that it may have been simply that he was overwhelmed with how advanced the electronics field has become.

My father spent the majority of his life performing his magic inside of televisions. From the time the television became a commonality in most people's homes, until May of '89, when it was decided that he would retire, his life revolved around repairs. He kept notes on all of his customer's radios and televisions, and often his writings were in French.  He loved his work and his customers loved him. He was a man of great respect and he earned that respect everyday.

Like many things in life, the visit ended too soon. Just before leaving though, dad stopped in to meet Patti and acknowledge his acceptance to her as my new partner in life. As he sat at her table, in his own way he simply let her know that everything was fine.

Dad, thanks for taking the time to stop and see us. We all knew that you were tired and needed to retire from your long and sometimes never ending days in the shop and on the road making house calls. Your timing --although a struggle for us-- seems now to have made sense. As advanced as electronics technology is today, it has become a disposable industry. The days of "repairmen" have come to pass. Life is too busy and people are too impatient. Rest well, and know that you touched many people's lives.

Maurice L. Xavier  06/30/13 - 05/16/89  Reposer en Paix



~Safe Riding~

-The Chief

Leaving Home

The flight out was no more than an average flight, and flying to Orlando is nothing new to me. Typically my ground trip once on land in Florida finds me heading east to the Daytona area and usually for a motorcycle event. But not this time. This trip was for a totally different reason, and because it would possibly be a lifestyle changing event for me, I was accompanied by the woman who fairly recently jumped head first into my life and seems to have her head a little more securely attached to her shoulders than I do.

Patti --as I affectionately call her because well, that's her name-- and I have spoken often and at length about the advantages of living in Florida. Our conversation at thirty seven thousand feet included a re-visit of the list of pluses for moving to a warmer climate. Patti was on a mission on this trip however. Her mission, which was disguised as a visit to see her mom, was to show me around the "Villages" which are in the central Florida area. A location that she is more than familiar with, and felt that I would be attracted to.

Our first day in the Villages left me speechless. Actually, my first two hours there left me at a loss for words. Understand that I have traveled to a lot of nice places around this nation, and I have seen many areas that appeal to me. What I haven't seen before of such great magnitude though, is an area devoted solely to the older generation. A community of what some might refer to as retired folk. A retirement community - but not really.

Okay, so I guess if I try and mask what the Villages may appear to be to the younger generation by simply attaching a different title, will if nothing else, make me feel better. But my feelings are really what this is all about anyway. I'm not moving to a retirement community - "God's waiting room" - as my friend Matt so cleverly refers to Florida as. The Villages appear to me to be so much more than that.

What my eyes observed was a fun and exciting playground for kids my age and older. A runner's and Harley rider's paradise. A place on this earth where winter jackets, extra blankets, high heating bills and scraping ice from windshields doesn't really exist. A playground that includes more recreation centers, pools, golf courses and restaurants than a man could ever hope for, all placed neatly in the center of the Sunshine State. Nightly live entertainment in two different town squares and ninety nine cent beer had nothing to do with my excitement for this place that I want to call home.

Upon our return trip to the much colder north east, and after several more conversations with Patti regarding a possible move, the decision was made. My belongings and I will be making a road trip. As stated in my last report, my Harleys will love my decision. This will be the first winter in my fifty odd years on this planet, that I won't be putting outdoor running, motorcycle riding and lawn furniture on ice for five months (pun intended).

Retirement community? Perhaps --but I'll breathe life into my new neighborhood. Get ready Florida, here I come!

~Safe Riding~

-The Chief

If I were President (A Rant)

Let me state right up front that this is not an Obama bashing. I for one, would never write about politics and my views regarding this great nation of ours and its leaders.

Instead, I will take a few minutes out of my hectic schedule of sitting here on a cold and rainy day thinking about things to do, and go off on a rant about three things in my life that totally disgust me. Three little concerns that I have a hard time dealing with mentally and that I have found to irritate me enough that I tend to spew out nastiness to anyone around me when I witness these horrible plagues on our society.

My title - If I were President - I chose because if I did in-fact have the power and or authority to help and correct these three atrocities in life, I surely would.

First, I would enact a federal law that would give everyone the absolute right to use deadly physical force to prevent or terminate left lane drivers. Actually, it wouldn't be a "right". My legislation would "command" the use of force to help and remove these mouth-breathers from the nation's highways. The justification is obvious. If a motor vehicle operator is piloting a motor vehicle on the highway and is constantly being overtaken by vehicles in the right lane while they continually tie up the left lane, they should be taken out of their misery. Left lane disease is fatal anyway and is easily recognized by two other symptoms which include the operator's hands being firmly placed at ten and two on the steering wheel, along with their gaping open mouths and blank stare. This will also aid in population control.

Second, I would form a committee whose primary focus would be to locate a manufacturer that could produce a new type of shopping cart that would deliver around fifty thousand volts directly to the unsuspecting shopper -also probably a mouth breather - who upon unloading their cart, is too lazy to return it to the sidewalk or cart tender.  This earth has no more room for lazy people, than it does for left lane drivers - period. I would totally enjoy sitting in Dunkin Donuts® each morning and watch shoppers dropping like flies in the parking lot as their empty cart rolls into an innocent person's vehicle. Now that I think about it, I get to watch that everyday anyway. Lazy!

Third and thankfully last, I would also enact a law that absolutely prohibits the playing of christmas music in stores months before the event. Now for all of you "I love the holidays" type people, I would simply encourage you to get a life. Christmas no doubt is a fun and festive time of year - but it doesn't happen in October or November! When I walk into a store three weeks before Thanksgiving and have to hear "deck the halls" on the radio...well it just isn't right and besides that, it distracts me from picking out a really nice Valentine's card. Violations for this absurdity would not constitute the death penalty although a stiff fine would be in order along with weekends in the local jail, complete with twangy country music piped in.

Well, I feel much better now. You can surely see that if I were president, the world would be a much nicer place. Please remember to vote and don't forget me in the next election!

~Safe Riding~

- The Chief

Autumn Leaves

It's funny - I've lived my whole life in New York and now I am considering a move to a warmer climate. I know, I've talked about hating the cold winters of New York for the past several years, but now I think I am finally of the right mindset to actually make the move.

New York has been a good home to me. Without any doubt, there probably aren't many states in this vast nation of ours that have more scenic or enjoyable areas to visit or call home. I've been fortunate enough to live in several different locations throughout the state and although the Hudson Valley - where I currently park my car - is exemplary in boasting vivid and varied sights all along the Hudson, tends to come with a hefty price tag.

I'll save the drama here and rather than go into a long and rather boring dissertation regarding my thoughts on exactly why it costs so much to live forty five minutes north of the city - you know... the one they call "The Big Apple" - I'll just say that the area is damned expensive.

The cost of living in New York is not what this story is about though. I want to talk here about the weather. New York does have weather. On the surface, the fact that New York offers up four distinct seasons could be an attractive attribute to the great Empire State. Had I been the one to design New York however, I think I may have limited that number to three. Three seasons seem to be more than adequate.

It's Autumn in New York right now and although the landscape is ablaze with an amazing spectrum of colors, I can't help but think - as I exit my condo via the garage, walking past an array of motorcycles and a pair of cross country skis - about the weather that we will soon be dealing with.

Yes, I did say "cross country skis". You see, several years ago when I first realized that I pretty much detested cold and blustery bone chilling weather, I had an idea on how to deal with it. I remembered a time in my life when I actually enjoyed winter and I also remembered why I enjoyed the snow, the ice and the cold. Fun was the reason. Simply stated, winter was fun. We made it fun by various means like sledding, snowmobiling and sculpting forts and castles out of the massive piles of snow that fell from the sky during some of the worst storms of the sixties and seventies.

The cross country skis in my garage now symbolize my feeble attempt at bringing back the fun into winter. It worked, but only for a few short years. Skiing was fun but it had its limits. Fun that has seemed to fade away, as this aging man does what most aging men do - age. A man set in his ways to spend the remainder of his years with water evaporating off of his body from sweat and swimming pools, rather than from melting ice and snow.

So with that in mind, I venture out looking at homes in warmer climates along the east coast. My skis will surely dislike my decision but truthfully, my aging bones and motorcycles will love me for it. Where I'll end up is a mystery to me at this point but one thing is certain - the time has come to move on.

~safe riding~

- The Chief

Butterfly Kisses

Next March I will be celebrating twenty years of running and racing. It's hard to imagine sometimes, when I think back to my earliest days of hitting the streets to help tone my body and mind, that my littlest of offspring was only six years old.

Kristin, my third born, used to accompany me at many races as my personal cheerleader and as the years marched on – while she was growing into a beautiful woman – enjoyed some of her own running and competing on the Cross Country team that I coached. Ah, those were the days!

Fast forward now if you will, from those days of Kristin's childhood and the days of “yours truly” bringing home the gold from race after race, to present day. The date – October 10th, The place – The Little White Wedding Chapel, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Many thoughts raced through my mind on the flight out west to meet up with my soon to be son-in-law and my daughter. Thoughts and memories, memories and thoughts. Where did the years go? Will he treat her as well as I expect that he should? Why wouldn't airport security let me bring my gun collection to show her soon to be husband? Many thoughts...

One thing that I have to say about Kristin and her adult years – simply put, she makes good decisions. Upon arrival at the airport, I was greeted by “Manny” whom in two days, would take the title of “son-in-law”. Not only was I instantly impressed with Manny, but I also realized that he followed Kristin's orders to pick me up and without delay. Men are funny animals. We do exactly what we are told without question, when we are in love. I know this first hand.


The wedding turned out to be a truly wonderful experience. The rehearsal dinner, wedding and the reception following were all very nicely managed. Walking Kristin down the aisle was fun. I know, most fathers would probably use a different descriptor than “fun”, but it was fun!

Kristin, as much as you have been my cheerleader for a great part of my life, I want you to know that on your wedding day, I was your cheerleader. You and Manny make a really nice couple and although we are miles apart, I'll always be in the background cheering you both on.



~Safe Riding~



-The Chief

Running Out of Time

Running and time. They simply go together, at least for many of us. I could probably count the number of times on one hand. The number of times that is, that I didn't wear a watch during a run to aid me in converting "time" into "pace". Time to me, is a very interesting and thought provoking phenomenon.

For the past nineteen years that I have been running and racing, time has been of utmost importance to me. Looking back now, I realize that I had put way too much emphasis on such a trivial thing. After all, did it really matter where I placed in a race? Was there really a necessity to constantly bore my friends with explicit racing and running details as to just how fast I traversed a pre-determined distance? My guess is - probably not. Time back then was only important to "me" and truthfully, I never really got it. It just didn't matter to anyone else. End of story. Well, perhaps not.

The minutes and seconds that I was so often concerned about, have played a little trick on me. The trick is - all added up, those minutes and seconds have aged me. Aged me horribly. Okay, so maybe in years on this earth I am not that old. But time (there's that dirty little word again) and heredity I suppose, have greatly affected my running times.

We need to go back in time to just one year ago. Like now, it was the end of summer. Fall is a great time for running in New York. It offers some of the best scenery, coupled with very manageable temperatures. But last Fall was different for me. It was a time that I noticed that it was becoming more and more painful to get out of bed in the morning. Sore joints and muscles in the evenings followed by excruciating pain in the morning. Within in a few short weeks of the onset of this joint soreness, I found that I was unable to dress myself one morning. Tying my shoes, which I've done most of my life, was now impossible. In fact, I couldn't even reach my phone to call for help.

By mid winter, after numerous doctor visits and blood tests, I was diagnosed first with Rheumatoid Arthritis - an auto-immune disease - and then Lupus. Auto-immune diseases are funny. Not laughable funny, stupid funny. There's a difference. Some days, I felt pretty good and walked like I was well. Other days, without notice, I walked and felt like a ninety two year old man. My running was more or less on hold. I hated the world last winter. I was on numerous medications then, and more than hating the world last winter, I hated ingesting toxic chemicals into my otherwise drug free fifty year old body.

Warm weather appears to be my best friend. I enjoyed a summer filled with running this year. My times - not so good - as in past years. What I enjoyed mostly, was a summer full of pain free and pill free running. That was a gift. A gift that I felt was here to stay. Managing a disease with exercise worked for me - as I had slowly detoxed my body in early spring from the harsh chemicals that I was assured that I needed.

Now however,with the onset of colder weather, I know that my days of pain free running are slowly fading away. I feel it daily. It's inevitable and I'm thinking I'll be slipping once again into that all too familiar pain. My splits have been slowly deteriorating again, and without much doubt, I probably appear to the coherant motorist - you know, the driver who is driving rather than texting or talking - as simply a little old man hobbling along the roadside. But to me, in my mind and my world of running, I'm still the King of the Road.



~Safe Riding~


-The Chief