Another Christmas Story The Conclusion

Pig Writes:

Later that night Christmas Eve, we sat by the fire sipping on some Christmas cheer.

I felt depressed and let down for the old craftsman.

I felt an empty hole deep inside of me.

But then my old friend spoke up and said “There is more to Christmas than just presents, Pig. I knew before I even took that toy box over there she wouldn't like it.”

Then why did you do it? Why go through all that trouble and expense?

A smile came across his face, one that warmed the room. I could feel peace in the air. “I learned a long, long time ago you came never outgive the greatest gift ever given” he said.

Christmas is not about presents, or trees, lights and decorations. Christmas is about the one present God gave each of us, His son, Jesus Christ. That is the greatest gift ever given.

It says in John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son for those who believe in Him will have everlasting life.

That woman has spent her whole life busy trying to keep up with the Jones. She has lost any clue as to what Christmas is all about.

I built that toy box for my nephew, not for her. What she wanted was a high dollar piece of furniture to make her house look good. But it was not for her.

A hand made present has more meaning than any store bought present ever could. It means that you care enough about that person to spend time doing something nice for them.

I have received lots of Christmas presents through the years. Right now I cannot remember but only a few of them. But what I do remember is the Christmas gatherings and time I spent with family and friends. That means more to me than any present ever could.

Christmas is about our love for one another. It's not about all that psycho baloney “Oh, I didn't get the G.I. Joe with the kung foo grip for Christmas and now I am scarred for life and it's all your fault”.

There was a pause as we both took a good long drag off of our Christmas cheer.

Then he said, “Pig, I want to learn to live your life by three little words.”

“OK, hit me.”

“Live, Laugh, Love” he said to me.

Live your life to the fullest each day as if it was your last.

Laugh with all of your might at everything funny.

Love with all your heart and all your soul.

There was another pause as I soaked in the words he had just spoken to me.

I looked at him and he smiled back at me. “Does this mean you won't like my Christmas present to you?”

“What did you buy me Pig?”

“A six pack of beer.”

“Well then break it out and we'll share it together my little pink friend” he said with a boisterous laugh as he gave me a hug. I have to admit, sitting by the fire with my best friend just talking and laughing. Well, that beer tasted pretty darn good to me.

Merry Christmas Everybody

Ride HARD or Stay Home

Pig

Another Christmas Story Part Three

Pig Writes

“You know that if I screw this up – you will be the one who will have Hell to pay”, the craftsman informed his wife.

It was decided to forgo the stars and stain on the toy box. It would look much better painted.

Over the next few days the craftsman toiled with wood putty and sandpaper.

The final product was smooth and soft to the touch.

Touching the wood with my fingers I could feel the love and devotion hard work makes.

Finally painted and finished the toy box looked good. It looked professional.

Only the person who crafted this work of art knew where his flaws were.

Yet one lingering question remained.

Would the toy box be good enough for the sister in law.

Christmas Eve had come. It was time to load the toy box in the sled and deliver it to the nephew.

Before the man and has wife could pull away I sneaked into the back of the truck. I wanted to see what the reactions would be. I wanted to see for myself what I had hoped would be a miracle.

The craftsman was on his way to meet his nephew. He would hold him in his arms for the first time. He would be able to show his nephew what he built for him.

In the driveway of the sister in law house, the craftsman unloaded the toy box from the truck. It was placed gently in the garage.

I watched from the rear window of the truck as the sister in law walked around inspecting the toy box.

It was the moment of truth.

She did not smile, she didn't so much as nod her head.

She gave her brother in law a halfhearted hug for all his effort. You could tell it was a fake.

The craftsman and his wife returned to the truck and we all drove home.

Along the way I had to ask a question I already knew the answer to. “Well, did she like it?”

The craftsman never said a word, his wife only said “Nope”.

Not another word was spoken the rest of the way home.

Part four: the conclusion of our story will posted on Christmas Eve.

Ride HARD or Stay Home.

Another Christmas Story

Another Christmas Story

Part One

Pig Writes.

Long, long ago there was a young man who had desires to be a woodworker.

He was creative. He learned many things from his father.

He learned how to use tools safely and how to care for them.

He learned his craft true and straight like the cuts he made into the wood he used. Better yet, like a true craftsman, he learned how to hide his mistakes.

The young man made all sorts of things, from wooden toys to shelves and even furniture. For he was good at his craft.

People from all around wanted him to build things for them.

But then one day, he put his tools down and stored them away. People had changed. They didn't want to pay him what he was owed for his services. They all seemed to take advantage of him for his craft.

The love of his craft was gone. The young man no longer enjoyed what he did.

That was many years ago.

Recently there was a birth of a nephew in the family and Christmas would soon arrive.

The man was asked by his wife to build a toy box for the new nephew as a Christmas present.

At first the man said “No!”. But his wife knew how to push his buttons to convince him to say “Yes”. The poor guy never stood a chance. Broken down and ashamed I heard him mutter “OK, I'll do it”.

He would agree to build a toy box for the new nephew, but not for the sister-in-law who could not bear to stand in the same room as him.

What was going through his mind at that moment, I would not know.

I wasn't sure as to why he would agree to build something his heart was not into.

I would learn why soon enough.

Ride HARD or Stay Home

Pig

Where Have You Been Pig?

Hey Piglets

Yeah I know it’s been a while since my last blog. I guess you could say I am guilty as charged for not writing. So sue me.

For the week of Thanksgiving, Rainman and I completed what was an epic journey by motorcycle from San Antonio to St. Louis. A ride that was a mire 2148 miles. Call it a journey in search of the World's Largest Ball of String. But it was more than a journey, for us, it was an adventure of a life time. The places we seen, the food we ate, and the people we met along the way, made our adventure all the more interesting and memorable.

What we enjoyed the most was some of the comments we got from people along the way.

Heard this one from a guy at a gas station in Atoka OK. “Hey, that’s a nice looking bike you’ve got there, Oh wait, that's a Honda motorcycle isn’t it?”

-Yeah, it would be a Honda.

Got this from a lady at a restaurant in Hillsboro TX. “You look just like my brother in that outfit.”

- Only thing is I’m more handsome than him.

“You don't publish names do you? I don't want my ex-husband to find out where I live.” This from the front desk clerk at one of the hotels we stayed at in Bentonville AR.

“Bet you boys could use some coffee, huh?” I heard from the waitress in Shelly’s Café in Cuba MO .

No thanks, my teeth just like to imitate a jackhammer.

“I wish I was going with you” Said the nurse on her way to work at the hospital. – That’s funny since most people in the medical field tell us to “Get out while you’re still alive”.

Don’t you have warmer transportation than that? Had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at the old grandma at the gas station in Rolla MO.

We were drinking coffee, having a conversation with an old man at the Waffle House in Rolla MO. When all of the sudden he says in a yelling voice, “Who the F… are you to be talking to me.”

- OK, the people in Rolla MO are starting to scare me.

Eat your bacon Pig, don’t let it go to waste.” Breakfast one morning at grandma’s house.

- I think grandma & I need to talk.

“Hey everybody, he’s not nuts, he’s a writer for a magazine”, replied a waitress in McAlester OK. She was proud to announce it across the whole restaurant after she learned who we were.

-Can we please get out of Oklahoma now?

I swear this next one really happened. It was at a roadside diner called Mom’s Home Cooking in Vinta OK.

“Hey you’re a cute little pig” said the waitress. I looked up at her to respond and I saw she had four breasts protruding from her sweater. All I could say was

- Mama, Mama.

“Did you know you have a pig on your motorcycle? Around here we keep our pigs in a pen.” Said the smartass punk at a stop light in Gelena Kansas.

- Shame on you for imprisoning your pigs like that and stop romancing the sheep.

The absolute best one I heard was from Rainman himself. We were just outside Bourbon MO. We were going uphill fast and hard to pass a semi-truck when all of the sudden, everything got quite. Real quite. And then all I heard was “Oh Shit, the bike ran out of gas.”

Ride Hard, and fill the gas tank.

Have a nice day.

Pig

Chili Cook-off

Greetings All,

Yeap, I'm back.  I know it has been a while since the last post.  I've been a little busy.

Here is my latest article that posted on the web-zine

Enjoy

Pig

He Warned Me

Pig Writes:

Hey there Piglets,

Everyone knows Rainman just turned 50 couple weeks ago.

He warned me not to blog about his birthday this year.

He told me not to joke about it either.

He even went as far as to warn me to leave it alone.

Rainman was oh so worried about turning 50 that it passed by quietly.

So what is the big deal about all that.

I'll tell you what the big deal is.

This morning I was routing through his wallet looking for some beer money, when I looked at his drivers license I saw that it was EXPIRED. The dumb-ass was so worked up about his birthday that he forgot to renew it.

You should have seen the look on his face when I showed it to him.

I'm still laughing my ass off over it. Mr. Straight Lace forgot to renew his license.

Mr. Perfect messed up big time driving without his T.D.L. I can't wait to see what they do to him at the DMV.

I hope the cop uses the baton.

Writers Block

One of the great things about blogging is you get to be creative as you want. One of the bad things about blogging is you can also acquire a mean case of writers block. That last one is what I have been going through for the past month. One mean case of writers block. But thanks to my good friend and follow blogger, Leanne Shirtliffe~ironic mom, my blockage is healing much better. If you have never read her blog before, I would suggest you pop on over and check it out.

A few weeks ago she posted about two young fellows using a word that one would never expect for them to use. Thanks to that post, it gave me an idea to get my creative juices flowing once more.

Today I am going to take a word and see how much I can write about that one word. This might be interesting. If it works I will give full credit to Ms. Leanne. Since this is the first time I am doing this I will keep it simple. Leanne, I hope I do you proud!

Ready?

Here goes

I think I'll call this “ For The Love Of A Pig”

What is love?

Where does love come from?

What is loves purpose?

Love serves me laughter, like foamy bubbles tickling my nose.

Loves taste is bitter sweet.

Love starts out cold.

If left alone love becomes lukewarm.

Love comes in many shapes and sizes.

Love is powerful. It gives me the strength of 10 pigs.

Love is hurtful. It can bring me to my knees.

Love can make me sick.

Love can also make me happy.

A shot of love can brighten even the darkest day.

Wait a minute...

Did I use the word “Love”?

Damn it!

I meant to use the word “Beer” This is great, now I screwed it all up. Sorry everyone, sorry Leanne. I guess I need to go back and try again. I guess I'm not fully recovered from the blockage. Good thing this isn't a homework assignment.

May I Quote You On That.

Greetings to all my Piglets out there,

For today’s post I wanted to share with you a few twisted rambling thoughts. You already know how I love to write and to tell stories of my and Rainman’s adventures out there on the road. I also love to collect quotations and use them in some of my stories. Writers, enthusiasts and people of character will use quotations by famous people in their writing all the time. I, for one, have even used a few of my own quotes as well. No, it does not mean I have become famous yet, but one day I just might. Want to hear one of my soon to be famous quotes? Here goes: “I shall fear no beer.” - Pig Pretty cool, huh?

Do you have a favorite quote you like to use?

Quotes help enable the writer to get their point across by using people of authority to validate the written word. I find that it also makes the writing a little more interesting.

In the biker world, quotations can be used to describe many situations or circumstances we bikers may face at any particular time. Example: “If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you would not be able to sit down for six months.” – Unknown

We are the one responsible for our own situation. In order for me to fulfill that quote, well, to be honest, I would first have to pick my ass up off the floor from being kicked.

Quotes are great for describing things in regards to a particular journey in your story. Let’s try: “We cannot discover new oceans until we have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Muriel Chen

That could replace my quote of “No bar is too far for this Pig.” – Pig

Sometime I get a little writers block and using a quote from someone famous can help lengthen short writings. Here is the long version. “Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

And now the shorter version “Famous last words of a biker – watch this.” – Unknown

Quotations can even be used to describe a person’s thoughts as they are doing something. Example: “The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.” – Thomas H. Huxley said the Pig as he climbed upon the top of the large vat of beer.

When you must take a stance with your feet planted firmly on the ground as serious action is about to take place you can use something like this: Peter Drucker once said “There is the risk you cannot afford to take, and there is the risk you cannot afford not to take.” Hey! We’re out of beer and Flaming Hot Cheetos – someone drive me down to the icehouse.

It's funny how some people quote themselves so much that they have become predictable. I know mom’s favorite quote has always been “If you don’t get in there and clean that room, I’ll beat you with a switch.” – Mom

Some quotes have the ability to remind you of what is important. I really like this next one. “The great tragedy of life is not death, but what dies inside of us while we live.” – Norman Cousins yeah, I can dig that.

I asked earlier if you have a favorite quote. What is it? I would love to know. Drop me a comment for all of us to enjoy. If I get some really good ones, I'll see if I can use them in my next story. Giving you full credit of course.

In closing I would like to leave you with a quote that I use on a regular basis. It is a great quote from a man who faced opposition everyday. But he had the courage to look past that opposition to see what wondrous prize was awaiting him on the other side. I keep this quote on a sticky note next to my keyboard to remind me to never give up, to never quit. That quote is:

“Great spirits will always encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.” – Albert Einstein

Ride HARD or Stay Home

Pig

Independence Day

Hey Piglet’s,

Yeah It’s me again, time now for another oink session with the Pig.

The fourth of July is here once again and we all know what that means.  It means B.B.Q., potato salad, fireworks and lots of cold, cold beer.

Can anyone tell me the reason why we celebrate the fourth of July?  Other than B.B.Q. & fireworks.

Yes, that’s right, it is the day we observe the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our great nation. 

But what is the Declaration of Independence?  What does it say that makes it so important to have a holiday named after it?

It says: A unanimous Declaration of 13 colonies (United States) signed by 56 men listing the reasons why they no longer wished to be governed by the King of England.  It also says that they declare themselves to be free men.

Free from the oppression brought onto them.

They stated they would no longer be pushed around.

They stated they would no longer have unfair laws placed upon them.

These brave men said “NO MORE”!

They signed this “Declaration of Independence” from the King.

They signed their own death warrant.

They declared that they would be free or they would rather be dead. 

When was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence?  If it has been more than a few years ago, I would suggest you may want to read it again.  How do you find a copy of it you say?  That’s easy just click right here.

Read it, take in each word it says.  Feel what our foundering fathers felt in their hearts.  Honor each of them by taking a moment this holiday to realize what it was that those brave men did for you.  And after you read it, pass it on to the next person and have them read it.  It is the right thing to do this Fourth of July holiday.

Ride HARD or Stay Home.

Pig

Pig Passion

Pig Passion

Pig Writes:

All this talk going around about passion has gotten me thinking. (Well actually it was after Rainman asked me to write a post on it) I never realized before how my passion runs deep for many things in my life. Call me a passionate pig if you will. It's like Rainman described in his previous post – having passion does give us the drive to strive in our lives. PASSION = MOTIVATION, it is what makes us who we are.

You all know that I have a real passion for BEER. Store bought, home brewed,even other peoples beer, it's all good! Oh my, my, that all grain elixir, carefully crafted and artistic finished is just heaven in a glass. And beer does so many wonderful things for me too. Beer teaches me how to dance with the ladies, it's been doing that for years. I've been known to cut a really cool rug or two when I've had a few beers.

Beer feeds me – there is nothing like an liquid all-grain diet. Don't believe me? Well then just take one look at my belly. Beer makes me grow tall, I've been known to grow as much as 6 feet tall and become bullet proof. Lets not forget that beer is always good with chili-dogs too. Last but not least, when you have a proper passion for beer, you always have good friends around.

Another passion I have is for single women. I've always enjoyed a soft woman who gives me lots of hugs and kisses. Nothing finer than a hot dame with lots of curves to make life interesting. 

 There is one problem with having all that passion for women. With all that loving, all they want (or expect) to do is get married. WRONG, STOP, NO WAY this Pig doesn't go there. Just get that idea out of your head.

Another passion I have is riding motorcycles (duh, biker pig). Hitting the open road with not a care in the world. There is always new adventure awaiting me over the next hilltop as I am always meeting new people – seeing places I have never seen before and I love returning to old favorites.

Do you know what else I have a passion for? Yeap, that's right, Cheetos. Man I love those things. I can eat them all day and all night if I had the chance too. Those crunchy little puffs of processed, bad for your health, addicting remnants of food particles all covered in powered cheese. Why the mere thought of spending time in jail and not being able to eat Cheetos all day is enough to make me behave myself.

Can one passion can fuel another passion completely unrelated? Oh you bet it can. With each adventure we discover we learn to grow

But what if someone has no passion? What is their particular drive? Well, to be honest, I don't see them having any drive. Without drive, you really have no purpose if life. Stuck living the boring life of a couch potato, watching that idiot box they call television, all the while wishing you had someone else lifestyle.

Lack of passion equals a lack of motivation to improve your quality of life. Having passion is important, it is good for the soul. You feed from it, grow from it. Passion can bring you joy in your life. But you have to be careful with passion. Too much passion for beer and those ladies I dance with become MARRIED ladies with pissed off husbands – with guns even. Too much passion can rob you of wealth or health as it can also be damaging to relationships in your life. So always remember you have to keep your passion balanced.

Yes, I am a beer drinking, hot women chasing, motorcycle riding, Cheetos eating oinker of a pig. Yeah, OK, so what if I go a little overboard sometimes. It only means that I have passion for those things and I try to live each day to its fullest. But, you know what? If I can make just one person laugh, or at least put a smile on their face during the day, then life is all worthwhile to me

Go do something passionate today.

Ride HARD or Stay Home

Pig