A few weeks back while standing outside a party enjoying the crisp fall air, A friend looks down, pointing and comments "Maybe its about time you give those boots a break"
I never really gave it much thought...
But Ive had these same Ox Blood Doc's since High School, then carrying me many years through the streets of New York and later across the country.
It was'nt until sometime later I started noticing things around my workshop that Ive fondly held on to for years.
Just about everyday I turn wrenches my Grandfather gave me. Seldom did I think how much history I was holding in my hands. That pipe wrench must lay claim to about 50 years of nut bustin without fail. As a matter of fact I can remember living in Brooklyn and carrying that same pipe wrench in my coat as I rode the subway home late at night. The way I see it..."The Man" couldn't haul me in for packin a pipe wrench, and the junkies might think twice about the stick up they had planned, after having it swung at their skull.
I remember the day I bought that leather belt on Canal Street...at the time it might have been $5.oo that I didn't really have to spend...But having worn it day in and day out since 1992, Id say it doesn't owe me a dime, the buckle came much later, probably even before I had a Harley, but never the less it reminds me of the days I spent, planning and scribbling my "BadAss Chopper" on the back of math books.
Even further back then that, I can remember hangin with my father who was laid up with a busted leg, eating peanut butter sandwiches and watching old flicks on TV. From then on (about 84) Ive been obsessively collecting switchblades and lockbacks, all it took was James Dean wielding that blade in "Rebel Without a Cause"...and later compounded by the pivotal scene in "The Outsiders".
The Black wool hat was no significant purchase other then my head was cold and I needed a hat.
3.00 bucks on the flea market table seemed just about right and its been over 15 years and countless hunting trips with my brothers...and seldom a cold day its not atop my head keepin my ears from falling off.
Theres no real point to any of this, But should there be...Then maybe the fact that when something ceases to fail you after so many years, faces come and gone, relationships broken or dissolved, bikes traded hands, its nice to know that some things will last forever and never need replacing.
-MC
Thanks for the insipration Francesca
Awsome!
ReplyDeleteMade me think to a few things I have that I still use to this day.
My Flight Jacket from 1989 ~ Worn in but still keeps the rain off my back. Everytime I put it on it brings back eating sunflower seeds, Schlitz in the 10oz. can with cheese and apple wedges, riding my Daytona and the black mouth piece I kept in the sleeve pocket that I would put in my mouth well running the pit backwards at a punk show.
My German Map Bag that I have had since I was 15 ~ It was easy to put my stuff into when I was out on a ride and was where I kept my cigars I passed out to my mates at the club the night my son was born. Now it sits in my work space with my drawing pencils.
My oldest purchase that I started when I was 13 and I will carry with me to my death ~ My Ink, a constant reminder to of my life story.
Thanks MC