Everybody's Buggin'

This week has been one of those weeks when everybody's buggin.

Co-workers are buggin. Clients are buggin. The Court is buggin. Random people on the freeway are buggin. My kids are buggin.

For once, I'm NOT buggin, so yet again I don't fit in.

Anyway, today I was driving from home to our neighborhood family-run corner store to pick up a few things. I sat at a stop light for a moment, and when it turned green I looked both ways and started to proceed through the intersection, only to be cut off by a circa-1970's Suburban, covered in dents and rust, with a "Clinton the Communist" sticker on the back and a prison-tattooed, shaved-head, parolee-looking scumbag at the wheel. Sure, he endangered me and others, but I'm NOT buggin, so I let it slide. As it turned out, he was going to the same corner store I was. It took him awhile to park his gigantic, smoke-spewing POS, so I entered the store before he did, at about the same time as a man who rode up on a well-maintained Royal Star.

As the clerk was getting my items, the motorcyclist came up to the counter with a bottle of wine. I asked him what model year his 'Star was, and he began to tell me - except dirtbag parolee guy interjected (without invitation or either of us even glancing his way), "It ain't no Harley."

The motorcyclist and I responded, comically, at the same time, "Thank God for that!!" The 'Star rider gathered his wine with a little laugh and a head-nod my way and left the store. I turned to scumbag cut-off artist (who was standing way to close to me) and took a step even closer and said, "I have both Harleys and foreign bikes, and the Japanese bikes are far superior to the Harleys."

Parolee took a small step backward and said, "Well, that's just a matter of opinion."

I took another sep forward and said,"Well, no. Not really. It's a matter of torque. It's a matter of horsepower. It's a matter of mechanical soundness. Only the style is a matter of opinion."

Shaved-head angry white boy turned and left the store. Which cracked me up to no end.

Still does. I'm sitting here giggling as I type.

You see, I have no problem with Harleys. Lots of people like them, and I have to say that my MSU's bagger is intensly comfortable and has lots of storage space and great amenities. But it vibrates like a motherfucker and overheats at the drop of a hat. And let's not forget that the power curve is non-existant. Of course, some of the Harley models are pretty powerful. But they all share the vibration and overheating problem (to my knowledge).

I think I might have been a touch oversensitive with the prison-tattooed angry white boy, partly because I went to Bike Fest in Vegas two weekends ago and found myself about SICK of the "Harley Culture" after the first day. Owning (or stealing) a Harley DOES NOT a biker make. Having a bad attitude and poor haircut does NOT make you a rebel. Having $30K to spend does NOT make you a good or safe rider. And trailering your Harley to Bike Fest?

PPPUUUHHHHHLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE.

And don't even get me started on the women.

Gee... I guess I AM buggin after all.