It's the stuff you carry with you.....

....that kills you.

A small agave-inspired rant tonight.

Thirty years ago the love of my life was Italian motorcycles. Ducatis, Moto Guzzis, Benellis, Laverdas. I owned both Ducatis and Guzzis. I rode with friends on Benellis and Laverdas. We enjoyed their scarcity and brilliance of design.

This was a time when I was a student, also working part-time. My bike was also my transport, to/from University, work, home, play. I was a minimalist, owning only what I could carry on my bike. Futons had to be borrowed for sleep. I can recall rebuilding a Guzzi gearbox in an open carport using a toolkit that I carried in a small fisherman's box, not much larger than a tool-roll. And it worked. I often conducted major surgery on my bikes, often in much less desirable locations, but always with the small toolkit. There is such simplistic beauty in older motorcycles.

Fast forward to the present. I still have that old Guzzi, but now I have a 1,200 sq foot toolbox (the GarageMahal). What the hell happened? Where is my fisherman's box tool kit? Why do I have all this stuff today?

Until I post a picture of the Guzzi at rest amongst the pinyon-juniper forest on our property, I've attached an image taken shortly before leaving Maryland. It is really my #1 project and I must get it running soon. Rags will have to proceed slowly as a result.

So much for simplicity. Sigh.