Stories from Scootin' Da Valley
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Nature Comes Calling
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Sep 10, 2011
I was away on August 23rd when an earthquake struck in Virginia. When I got a call to ask me if I'd felt it, I had to admit that I hadn't because I'd been in the car for much of… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Electric
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Happy New Year?
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Sep 3, 2011
Last month, I believe, was my longest, official dry spell here. This was not the summer I had looked forward to as the dark, short days of the past winter began growing longer and lighter. Not at all. I did not measure it in scooter rides as I did the past few summers since I started riding on two wheels. I measured too much of it in personal heartache and self-pity. I had planned, as the freedom of summer vacation drew nigh, for three delicious weeks away, free from all concerns, cares, and worries. It was in the middle of… Full Story »
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Vehicular Anthropomorphism - A Farewell
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Aug 9, 2011
It was ironic that in my last post, before I left town for the last of my long, summer get-aways, I mentioned the fear of breaking down with the scooter because before it was time for me to make my way back East… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Schwinn Hope
- Vehicle
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Gone Fishin'
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 31, 2011
Okay, for starters, I'm not going fishing. I only did that a few times in my life and never seriously. I remember catching a few sunnies once, but it was total luck because my attention was positively riveted on my girlfriend in her yellow bikini and it… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Piaggio USA
- Scooter
- Piaggio
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Order in the Court
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 25, 2011
I left the house yesterday, intending to ride for about an hour because later I'd need to pick my daughter up for her grand homecoming from California and wanted to rest a bit before having to head up I-81 to the airport. As usual, I pulled onto the street having no idea whatsoever of where I'd go. I made my way to where I'd cross the Susquehanna River, figuring along the way that I'd take the frequent, relaxing ride up and down the rather flat main stretch of the west side of the valley, and put myself into the rightmost… Full Story »
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Giant's Despair
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 22, 2011
An acquaintance from high school who is now a Facebook friend read something that I had posted on Facebook last week and suggested that I take the scooter for a ride up the mountain road that we call Giant's Despair. it sounded like a good idea but I did not have the opportunity to make the ride until today. When I set out this morning I almost turned back to the house because it was already in the 80s when I got up at six o'clock and even hotter when I rode the bike up from the yard to the… Full Story »
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Master of Indecision
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 21, 2011
I think I became an indecisive person in 1962 when I was four years old. Planter's Peanuts was headquartered right here and one of my dad's friends from the church choir worked for them. It was he who gave my dad a collection of little Mr. Peanut figurines, each cast in a very rich hue of the primary and secondary colors as well as white, black, and brown. (Back then, I think we kids had more common sense than kids seem to be born with these days because I was allowed to play with the little guys with nobody fearing… Full Story »
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Be Careful! My Family's With Me!
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 18, 2011
I've never been a fan of simpy crap. Like those "Baby on Board" signs the yuppie parents hung in their car windows half a generation ago. Like these stupid things we see everywhere now... My driving isn't going to be… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Seat
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It's Not a Gang! It's a Club!
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 10, 2011
I couldn't wait to get to Mass this morning so I could tell Father Mike that I had been to my first scooter rally yesterday. I knew he'd chuckle and bust my butt a little. Father Mike is a biker and it amuses him to my own delight that he gets a kick out of seeing big, ol' me coming to church on Sunday mornings on the BV, so I knew that the news of my having been to a scooter rally would score me a playful ribbing. Now, to be honest, according to the organizers, by definition it wasn't… Full Story »
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Not the Summer I Had Bargained For
Scootin' Da Valley &bull Jul 7, 2011
When cancer came knocking on the door of my house a few days after school ended in 2010, I knew I was not going to have the summer I had envisioned in the least. I had dreamed of scooter rides galore, various vacation trips, leisurely reading, plenty of web surfing, and in general enjoying the time off between school terms as I had done just about all of my life. Instead, my travels consisted of trips to doctors' offices, testing centers, and hospitals. That summer ended just as all the medical woes had finally been tended to in order to… Full Story »
