Holding on... Letting Go... & How to embrace the End of it all

Today I begin the journey so many before me have successfully enjoyed.  Yesterday I turned 50 years old, and though it may not seem like all that big a deal, it sure beats the alternative!  Up to this point I have viewed the world as a place of wondrous opportunities, fresh new beginnings and all the world was ahead of me.  Now I find myself treading a path that becomes ever narrowed with each step I take.  Perhaps that's because the threat of a busted hip looms on the ever shrinking horizon... :)

There are a lot of things I still would like to do in this life before I head out into the great wide open, and a lot of them can be done on a Harley!  But as I look at the world at large, I see many roads blocked with fear and rhetoric, war and rumor of war, and all i can say is warp speed Mr. Scott!  It is my firm opinion that those who ride and have turned 50 should be issued permanent passports to anywhere the bike can go.  Because let's face it, I've done my time on the wage slave circuit, I've served my country, I've contributed to the tax base, and now it's time to say "Screw it let's ride!"

So here's the rub... lack of funds!  You see, while I have paid into the Social Security fund for more than 30 years, to the tune of nearly a quarter of a million dollars, politicians want to keep my money, telling me I am not old enough to get my money back, I am not "entitled" to what is rightfully mine for at least 12 more years.  Add to that the disgustingly out of control unemployment rate in America, the lack of Manufacturing Base, the outsourcing of the industry I worked in for the majority of my adult life to India, Malaysia, China and South Korea and the utter age discrimination in the workforce and... well you get the picture!

My world is indeed under attack!  From the right, from the left, from the middle, the above and below!  They have painted my generation into a corner from which they hope we will never emerge, but here's the rub... We are too young to retire, to grey headed for the mainstream workforce, too broke to pay attention to the lies being spewed from the venom of vipers, and too well seasoned to believe the crap put forth in the main stream media, so where does that leave us?

Perhaps it's time to form a coalition of some sort.  For those of us who have 12 good years left to truly enjoy what this world has to offer.  I mean let's face it, our women are just the right age to enjoy this world... They are cultured and caring enough to enjoy the moment, well versed in the home arts to create a rocking good time on the road, the best cooks, the best lovers, and young enough to hit the hi-way to points uncharted.

The 50+ Crowd of Riders out there, whether you are a Gold Winger, and HOG Member, Aprilla motors to Vulcaneers, we can all see the writing on the Great Wall of Hokum.  More and more the world is changing... The economies of the world are imploding, fuel costs are on the rise, food costs are right there with them and the price of freedom grows with every nuclear "accident" or "terrorist" attack on our liberties, and all I can say is it's time to get together and discuss the roads ahead, pool our resources, create a network and RIDE!

Until then I suppose day trips, $20.00 and a tank of gas will have to do while I continue to eek out a living in wait while the Government finds ways to spend my social security money on everyone else but me.