The Cast of Characters
Good news – we are back on the road after yesterday’s
snowstorm. In fact, it is a beautiful day. We have 500 miles behind us since this
morning, temp has gone from 19 degrees to 56 degrees, terrain has gone from
snow covered to beautiful sunny green valleys and mountain peaks. We are back on schedule to hit the Pacific
coast by tomorrow-late afternoon.
I have heard a good story requires good character
development. Some of you have asked
about the characters I am doing this bike journey with, so I turned it into a
conversation. As the five of us spend 28
hours in the pick-up driving to Oregon, I asked Brian, Bruce and myself
to provide a short self-descriptor. Then
to make it interesting, I asked everyone in the pick-up to provide input on the
self-descriptors. Here are the results:
 |
| Brian, Mark, Bruce |
Brian:
Brian’s
self-descriptor:
I am a
recently retired CPA working in industry. Happily married for 37 years to Pat
making our home in Owatonna, MN for the last 23 years. I am the father to
3 daughters and 3 sons-in-law and have 4 grandchildren with another coming
soon. I enjoy cycling, fishing, hunting, camping, singing, traveling,
family and hiking.
Input
on Brian from the rest of the group:
·
Joker, kidder, smart
aleck, prankster.
·
Fun loving
·
Great sense of humor
·
Positive thinker
·
Easy going
·
Always has a smile
on his face
·
Glass is always half
full kind of guy
·
Likes to tease
people, (especially his older brother)
·
Ridiculously excited
for this trip
·
Bleeds purple.
·
A planner
·
Great at assuring we
all remember the importance of good friends and promoting our
get-togethers.
·
Seeks out time for
friends and family.
·
Action taker.
·
His motto should be,
“make it happen”. This trip is a perfect
example of that attitude
Bruce (Bruce is Brian’s older brother):
Bruce’s
self-descriptor:
I am a
recovering alcoholic. I am eternally grateful for the life I have been
given and the friends and family I have learned to love. My favorite
quote is: Memories in life are made by the journey, not the destination.
Input
on Bruce from the rest of the group:
·
Laid back
·
Calm demeanor
·
Calming nature
·
Outdoor enthusiast.
·
Loves motorcycles but
can't ride anymore. (The mind is obsessed with riding but the back is
weak). Drove 220,000 miles around the U.S. through all 48 lower states, Mexico
and the southern Canadian provinces over the course of 12 years.
·
Always there to lend
a helping hand
·
A great support
person.
·
A mentor to many
others, helping them through life experiences
·
Always has a good
story.
Mark:
Mark’s
self-descriptor:
Fun
loving, adventure loving, try anything, recovering perfectionist,
contemplative, can't sit still. Rather do anything than watch anything.
Love music, but can't sing a note. Struggle and strive to unlock my
creativity.
Input
on Mark from the rest of the group:
·
Mark is a failed
recovering perfectionist, he’s still anal
·
Life is a game
mentality
·
Challenges himself
physically
·
A sprinter in
planning and preparation (nice way of saying he is a procrastinator), but a marathoner
in physical endeavors
·
Budding amateur
photographer
·
Active and
enthusiastic participant of many sports/activities
·
Good storyteller.
·
Has biggest music
collection of anyone I know.
·
Hospitable and welcoming
(with a smile) - especially at the cabin
So these are the characters I am spending the next three
months with, in close quarters. No
matter what you gather from the descriptors above, I am lucky to have an old
friend like Brian who is making this happen and a new friend like Bruce who
will be there to assure it happens every mile along the way. I know this journey will create immeasurable
memories and positively influence me.
And I know it will also include a few trials and tribulations to test
our mettle. I also know that this journey
will be a better adventure and make me a better person because I am
experiencing it with these two characters.
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