By Joe Berk
A group I used to hang out with at Brown’s BMW met every Saturday at the dealership before going to lunch. There were some cool characters there and the conversation was always lively. One guy was constant talk (let’s call him Mr. NeverShutUp), and he just went on and on, on any topic. Motorcycles. Politics (mostly politics, actually). Guns. Cars. It didn’t matter. Another guy was mostly quiet (let’s call him Mr. Quiet), and he mostly sat through the pre-lunch gathering without saying a word. One day Mr. NeverShutUp finally did (shut up, that is), concluding his endless-soliloquy-du-jour with “I don’t what else to say.” Mr. Quiet’s response was immediate. He looked up and said, “Keep talking…you’ll think of something…”
So, why that little story? Because it’s kind of like writing a blog. Over the last few years of grinding out stories (although it wasn’t really grinding; for me and I expect for the others it was fun). It just seemed like I would keep writing and the next story would pop into my mind, or Gresh’s mind, or Huber’s mind, or Surber’s mind, or some of our earlier contributors’ minds (Armenta, Lewis, Welker, Berkuta, Benjamins, Miner, Morgan, and maybe a few others I can’t remember). I/we just kept writing, knowing we’d think of something. Then things slowed. I had run out of topics, and apparently so had most of the other folks. Then my physical condition deteriorated, and it really took a nosedive a few months ago (and maybe that’s why the ideas slowed). For the last few weeks, I couldn’t walk more than a few feet, and I couldn’t stand for more than a minute or two. That mandated the back surgery I wrote about in the last blog.
The surgery was yesterday. I walked out of the hospital. and although I’m armed with a bottle of opioid pills, I’ve not needed them (and no, I’m not interested in selling them). Tylenol is doing the trick for me, and I’m feeling good. I’m going for a walk after I post this blog.
So that’s it for now. I have a few more ideas percolating. The blogs may be at a reduced frequency. Or they may not. We’ll see. And that Pepsi Rolex you see in the above photo? It’s the topic of the next blog. Stay tuned.