My Suzuki C50 gets better gas mileage than my car, so as a newspaper reporter I ride the bike when out on the beat covering cutting edge news in Delaware County, like the Andes Chili Cook Off today. Fortunately, I’ve acclimated myself to upstate New York roads, but remind myself to keep a sense of joy, because if it isn’t one thing it is another to get my goat.

The road I start riding on is gravel and because I was planning to take Route 2 to Andes, I turned onto Sutherland Road, a motorcyclist’s nightmare which is almost a mile of ruts, pot holes, washouts, and mixed rock and pavement, splattered with dairy cow manure.

Relieved to have made it over Sutherland yet one more time (in first gear), I turned onto Highway 16 and gave a strong twist to the throttle and shifted up up up. Yes!

Sure enough, my hoodie string escapes out from under my armored jacket and starts flailing and flapping and waving around my head, snapping on my helmet. Only me. So, I shift down, find neutral, stop, stuff the string in my jacket, kick it into first gear again and off I go quick as lightning to my next news flash story.

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—“Jude

From Science and Health, “For a single moment, become aware that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual—neither in nor of matter—and the body will stop complaining. You will find yourself suddenly well if you had previously believed you were sick. Depression is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love.”