Why did you put him in the chipper?

Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.

"Why did you put him in the chipper?"

That's right, Chuck and I are in Fargo, North Dakota.

Did I mention that my wife is a travel agent? She has many beautiful and wonderful qualities. I have found on this particular trip that her being a travel agent is just another quality on that list. I simply tell her where I plan to be at the end of the day and she has a hotel room waiting for us. This is much better than getting to a town and hoping for a place to rest my head. This is much better than my spending time searching for hotels during the day as we ride.

It's one thing I do not have to worry about.

We left Helena on Sunday.

We rode out Highway 12, a beautiful Montana road filled with old towns, pickup trucks and cowboy hats.

Did you ever watch the movie "Dumb and Dumber?"

Being an old rider and being used to riding my own bike, I was feeling a bit like the scene in the movie where they are riding a mini-bike two-up. I was in the middle of this self-loathing when I see something I have never seen before. We were just outside of Sulfur Springs, Montana when we passed a minibike with two full-grow men on it. I could not believe my eyes. We stopped in Sulfur Springs for gas and they pulled up shortly thereafter. Two young guys from Fremantle Australia were going around the country. They had been hitch-hiking when someone gave them a minibike, which they are now they riding.

I did not feel so bad about being a passenger on an Ultra Classic anymore.

We rolled into Miles City, Montana, that evening. Miles City is a pleasant town out on the Montana prairie. We pulled in to the hotel that Laurie had reserved for us and settled in. Just outside the hotel was a pasture, complete with cattle.

Chuck grew up in San Diego, California, a city boy.

I had grown up in St. Francis, Kansas, a country kid.

We walked outside and the cattle intrigued Chuck.

I said, "Just go up to the fence and call them."

Chuck looked at me and says, "really?"

I said, "Really, all you have to do is go; Moo Cow, Moo Cow, Here Cow, Moo Cow, and they will come running."

I couldn't hold it together. I broke a smile.

Chuck says, "You're making this up."

In the words of Tom Swayer, I thought, "Huck knew I was joshing him."

I said, "Yes."

I did preface it with you never know it might work.

Chuck, never one to miss an opportunity said, "I'll give it a try."

There is nothing funnier to a country kid than watching a city boy stand at a fence calling, "Moo Cow, Moo Cow, Here Cow, Moo Cow."

The cattle never came. One old cow did lift her head and give Chuck a look before going back to her meal of grass.

The next morning we loaded our gear and headed to Fargo.

There is a lot to learn about being the passenger on a motorcycle.

Just getting on in the back seat took me a while to master. Other things I learned the first time. One thing is to make sure that you are out of the way when the driver forgets you are there and clears a sinus.

I learned that one on the first try.

Kind of like when I was a kid and my dad got me to pee on an electric fence. He got me to do that over forty years ago and to this day I stay clear of electric fences.

North Dakota has a lot of interesting country to it and a lot of interesting people.

As I sit there riding along looking at the country rolling under us, I do a lot of thinking.

I think about all the blessings that God has given me.

I think about the work that He has called me to do.

Yes, life can and does throw curve balls at me.

I am reminded of the parable:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

I think to myself, "Lord, today is a good day. I do not know what tomorrow will bring, but today is a good day."

As I go through life I know that I will have some pretty bad days. I know some days will be horrific, almost unbearable.

I also know that God is with me everyday.

He will never leave me or forsake me.

This is one thing that this country kid will never forget.

Blessings,