People and Things

Well…

The garage is clean…

Rather spare looking. I took the parts bike over to the shop yesterday. My son and I had fun cram it into the mini van. I have had it in before but this time, it seemed to be rather uncooperative. I don’t really know why. But, with some jiggling and removing parts, we got it rolled into the back of the van. Rolling it into the shop, I found the mechanic working on another bike. Mine sat forlornly in a back corner, tucked away and forgotten.

But clean. Boy was it clean. The mechanic says it’s much easier to work on a clean bike, so he gives them a thorough washing when they come in. It was hard to recognize, with parts shining that I never thought would shine!

I also took the time to finally change the ownership on the bike. The history of previous owners is an interesting thing. This bike has been owned by twelve people, moving from Hamilton to Oakville, then back to Hamilton. Now it’s in Brantford, via Stoney Creek.

The history shows that it has been owned for very brief times and for very long times. It makes me wonder how it has been treated and if the long time owners were happy with it. I wonder if it was used by the long term owners or if it just sat in a garage for a long time. I also wonder about the short-term owners and how they treated the motorcycle. Is it because of their use that there are problems? Is it maltreatment or neglect more than just age? I have a keen interest in history, so wondering about the path an object has taken is something I consider often. In fact, I am reading an interesting book at the moment, called ‘People of the Book’ by Geraldine Brooks. It is a fictional account of the people who have come into contact with a Jewish prayer book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. It is a good book that shows the impact that people have on objects and vice versa. In the same way, I look back at the history of my motorcycle and wonder at the people who have used it and how their lives may have been different because of the bike.

I hope by the week end to have more information about my motorcycle. It may even be fixed. And I might just try a Google search of previous owners.