A Soggy Memory

Yesterday we rode the motorcycle through a few rain showers and a memory came out of the fog of the past. It was in early summer 1966 that I bought the first motorcycle. I have good memories of that summer that includes one surprise.

My youngest sister was 11 and I was 19. A few years earlier she had been a strong-willed irritation that brought me ample frustration. By the summer of 1966 one or both of us had changed and the irritation was gone and I had probably changed in my attitude toward her. One cloudy day she came running up to me shouting "It's raining!". I replied with some mystification to the effect of "So what?". Her response surprised me. "We always go for a ride when it rains!"

Honestly, I don't remember giving her a ride before that day and I definitely didn't realize it was generally in a rain shower. I know that I took her for rides, I must have, but the rides are forgotten memories. I stopped whatever I was doing and we went riding. This is the only time I remember her on the motorcycle with me and I don't remember where we went but I do have a vivid memory of waiting in a cold down pour for the only traffic light in town to turn green.

College, four years in the army, marriage and children took control of my life. I have a huge gap in my history with both of my sisters. The few memories I do have are second hand. I never attended their graduations nor knew who they were dating, what was happening in their lives nor what they were feeling.

Some times I think I would like to live my life again knowing the few things that I've learned in the last sixty years. Admittedly young males are brain dead but I'd try to be more cognizant of relationships. Family gatherings and traditions are important.

We always rode when it rained? Why didn't I realize that?