Harley Magic

This one's for our friend TomC.

Today, The Man and I are driving around trying to get some things done.

We're on a four lane highway with a posted 40 mph speed limit.
In the slow lane there's a really slow moving vehicle going about 30 mph.
I move over into the passing lane and find myself behind not one, not two
but THREE Harley Davidson riders.

This is okay.
It's Saturday.
Cruisin' Day.
I understand.

BUT THESE GUYS ARE ALL GOING ABOUT 35 MPH...IN THE PASSING LANE!!!
AND THEY'RE JUST SITTING THERE...GOING NOWHERE...SLOWLY!!!
AND THE MAN AND I HAVE A DESTINATION IN MIND
AND WE'D LIKE TO GET THERE THIS CENTURY!!!

Now, I realize I'm kinda trapped.
There's no way around the...blockage.

But, I'm not pushing these guys.
No, I wouldn't do that.
I never tailgate, especially motorcyclists.
So, I'm really screwed.

The Man senses all this.
He tells me, "Don't be bitter."
This was an expression the janitor at Channel 4 used to say,
a nice old guy The Man used to know.

"Now, don't you be bitter."

And this reminded me of a Buddhist teaching I read one time.
I have it written down but all too frequently forget to remember it.

It goes like this:

"Imagine that every person in the world is enlightened but you.
They are all your teachers, each doing just the right things
to help you learn perfect patience, perfect wisdom, perfect compassion."

In other words, those Harley drivers were actually enlightened beings
who materialized just for my benefit. They came to give me much needed
lessons in being patient, paying attention, and taking my time.

The Man is one of 'em, too.
He's got the toughest "enlightened being" job there is.
He has to be with me 24/7.

Those Harley guys got off easy.