Stupid Is As Stupid Does! We've All Been There

#33’s First Day Back in the Garage

I have been dealing with a hand injury for almost 3 months now. I was getting a bit stire crazy and Jerry Springer was starting to bore me, Operation Repo was doing reruns and I had watched all my moto recordings dozens of times.  This cast on my arm and the pins in my wrist are starting to drive me nuts. I haven’t done anything for 3 months. Then finally Cheryl gave me the break I needed, she went off with her sister to do some shopping. Perfect, time by myself to finally get something done in the garage, without supervision! So I figured I would do some easy stuff, start the small generator to empty the gas, move a couple of bikes, put some gear away, etc.

It was all going according to plan until it came to the starting the 05 CRF 450 I was going to put up for sale. Having one hand in a cast and fresh out of the operating room meant I would have to get on the bike while it was up on the stand. No problem right? You have all done it, climb on the bike and start it on the bike stand. Me too, but I usually have two hands and one of them is not 100% disabled. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I apply the choke then get on and hit the throttle a couple of times to squirt some fuel since it is carbureted. Time to start kicking but I notice I can only hold on with the throttle hand since I can’t use the other hand yet for anything.  It is much too sore, so it is nothing more than a counterweight and ballast. Kick, Kick, Kick, Kick, Kick……..OOOPS, I am starting to tip toward my injured side. Maybe I can save it or jump off.  Nope too late, slowly me and the bike are falling off the stand toward my tool box.  Both upper and lower boxes stacked.  I start to put out my injured arm to slow or catch myself and then realize the surgery is too recent, the hand and wrist are too sore and I could undo 3 months of healing if I use it to break my fall. There are still 4 pins in the wrist.

So I suck the arm back in and protect it just as I contact the tool box with my shoulder, with the Honda in tow.  The bike and I knock the whole box over which sends the top half into the other bike behind it, a KTM, which hits the wheel at just the right angle to tip it off its stand.  But instead of tipping and falling away from me it falls inward toward me, the Honda and the now upside down rollaway tool box all in a heap with the KTM coming to rest on top of all this mess.

As I try to untangle myself from this pile of bikes, toolboxes and now scattered tools everywhere I quickly check my arm and realize I did a good job at self preservation. No pain, no obvious injuries and my wrist/arm seem to be ok!  So I stand up, utter a few choice words not to be repeated here and observe gas leaking from the Honda so I turn off the petcock.   I look at the tools spread across the floor, the upper and lower toolboxes tipped upside down, the two motorcycles laying on their sides and decide it is a good time to take a break.  With no more gas leaking I simply walk away leaving the toolboxes the Honda and the KTM where they are.

I closed the rollup door turned off the lights and headed back into the house to sit on the couch where I should have been. Jerry Springer was about to start.

#33

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of conflict and controversy.”