Dimes and Throttles
By: Chris Loynd
My day turned on a dime with the
twist of a throttle.
I slogged through a summer midweek
workday, torrents of rejections beating my brow. First I traveled a
goodly distance only to witness a deal fall through. If the numbers
didn’t work, why not tell me over the phone? You had to drag me
halfway across the state to disappoint me in person? Besides, it was
your proposal in the first place!
Next I get an extremely firm “no”
on a sale that I was so sure would be an easy “yes.” (As my friend
Al says, “There are no ‘slam dunks’ in sales.”) Then a story I wrote
was rejected. Finally phone calls were not returned.
As they say, “Some days you eat the
bear; some days the bear eats you.”
What to do?
I could have sulked home to wallow
in self pity, mindlessly melting into cable TV. I could have had a
drink or five at the bar. I felt like punching something.
Instead at the end of this very
frustrating day I saddled up my Harley and rode off to attend a
cruise night.
My big Springer respects me, and I
her. She’s only stock, still her TwinCam 88B leapt to my command as
I shot up the ramp to I-95, once again in control of my world. I
demanded and received my space in traffic, signaling my intentions
to other drivers who acknowledged my presence.
Farther up Route 25 past Monroe the
road narrows as traffic lessens. A push on the bars here a stomp of
the shifter there and the road flowed under me and in its current my
troubles dissolved, washing away down the stream of pavement behind
me.
My thoughts cleansed too as
memories of rides past danced around the edges of my road-ahead
concentration. Rides in the sun. Rides in the rain. Closeness of
Kangamangaus. Openness of Wyoming. Fun of Daytona. Solemnity of
Rolling Thunder.
Reverie was broken by destination
as I rode into the warm and familiar embrace of my fellow bikers,
most all of whom I did not know. Nevertheless there is instant
camaraderie born of shared passion for chrome and common challenges
in riding two wheels instead of four.
Chatting with other riders about
all things motorcycles, I munched on a free hot dog and enjoyed
deejay music. All was right with my world once again.
Then my phone rang.
Good news on a national story I had
pursued since May! The editor is interested. How soon can we do it?
We set an interview two weeks hence.
Finishing my phone call I saw a
familiar face across a row of bikes. A sales prospect I had been
pursuing had time to talk. We shared some stories – I got a chance
to work in my pitch – and we both agreed to pursue the next step in
the near future.
Have you have heard of the Law of
Attraction? It is a new age concept asserting that what we see in
our lives is mere reflection of our own attitudes. To get what you
want, you must BE what you want, the Law says.
Actually it is an old concept. The Bible says, “Judge not,
lest you be judged. For with what measurement you judge, you shall
be judged; and with what measure you give, it shall be given to
you.” Or more from the side of positive reinforcement, “Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.” |
