JD's bar & grill visit, Movie review

Sunday was a great day for people who ride bicycles, love to be out in the sun, and ride motorcycles(especially Hogs). The morning started out with a refreshing 35 mile bike ride and then ended in the back yard to soak us some good rays with the Buffman and Squeaky laying close by. I have never figured out how black dogs enjoy laying out, but they sure do. Then it was time to put the jeans and du wrag on for some serious Hog riding. I headed in to town to collect some things, fill up with gasoline, and then head East to enjoy the Yellowhouse canyons with the goal of enjoying some cold beer at JD's bar and grill in Post, Texas. Remember readers this is that little ole quaint town Southeast of Lubbock that is the major hang out for oil field workers(not owners of oil wells), cowhands(not owners of the ranch), passing through Hog riders, and then whatever dead head wants to hang out in this truly sleazy bar. When you first go in the smoke is so thick they hand you a knife to cut it, and it is so dark it takes 20 minutes for you to figure out exactly where you are and who you are with. When I got my sight back I noticed the sitting dynamics of the crowd and found that JD was actually sitting in the middle seats of the bar with his girl friend/mistress/wife/significant other/local slut/valdictorean of the class of '48/or maybe just a friend. Since I had seen her here many times and after observing her body art I am sure they are real close, so I elected to take a seat at the end of the bar. Actually it was the only one left and two locals offered it to me. So, after getting a frosted mug with some draft Coors light in it I was offered the option to enter into a conversation with the guy to my right. He looked the part of a local either being a cowboy/oil field hand/rancher/truck driver, but none the less very friendly and willing to fill me in on the local stuff. But mostly he wanted to ask questions, like where was I from, and was I headed to Sturgis for the big one. Since JD's is stop over watering hole for those Hog riders heading to the big annual rally in South Dakota they just assume that any one pulling in for a cold one is headed to the promised land. Even though I told him I lived in Ransom Canyon just a few miles(about 45) up the road he was still interested in some conversation. I told him I had been up North to mecca for the past three years but was passing for this year, then I ask him if he had ever ridden up there. Well that turned out to be an interesting question with with a very interesting answer. At this time Jake started telling me about his trip to the North country on his Hog some 18 years ago. He was riding out of South Dakota into Montana at a peaceful riding speed of 100 mph and was hit by a deer. The next thing he remembered a few days from then was waking up in a hospital in Portland, OR. My first question was, "how bad was the bike hurt(this is always the first question on a deal like this, so please excuse the insensitivity)?" He understood where I was coming from and said it was shattered beyond recognition for over a quarter of a mile, and the deer died also. Jake then went into some gory details about having his should replaced, three ribs replaced and both knees, but after a year and a half in the hospital he returned to West Texas a new man. He has never ridden a Hog since, is a cowboy/oil field worker and raises cattle for a living. When I ask if he rode motorcycles at all now he just pointed to his right foot and I noticed he had spurs on and was wearing running shoes. He explained that he couldn't wear cowboy boots any more because the cows and horses had stepped on his feet so many times that his toes and ankles wouldn't take it anymore. So, he had custom made spurs to fit the running shoes(Nike I think, but they were quite dirty) and that worked fine for him. He also wore a baseball cap with Polaris on it, so he was not of the typically dressed cowboys of this neighborhood. One thing for sure is that he was very comfortable in his own skin and really didn't care to look or dress like the typical sterotype cowboy. He raised his cattle, fattened them up and then sold them. With a gross sales of over $200,000.00 per year he was proud of his chosen profession, and if someone didn't like it, then screw you jack!!! Two last tid bits, he also had experienced 5 wives and was currently un-wed. Obviously this added to his list of specialities in life, horses, cattle, motorcycles, and now women, and this was all done in just 48 years(so quite a youngster with lots of experience). What a guy and it was interesting to talk(really listen) with him and I have learned that at JD's you will leave a more informed person and have some interesting things to talk about, especially if you are a blogger. After downing my third brew I decided that I had been enlightened enough, shook his hand and departed JD's. When I hit the road I seemed to be inclined to push the Hog up to 100 mph just to imagine what it would feel like if a deer hit me at that speed. It didn't take long for me to gear it back down to a reasonable speed and enjoy the canyon ride back home. What a day, but only to be completed by a view of the following movie. KEEP LIFE FULL AND INTERESTING!!!

Movie review: "The Bourne Ultimatum", ****, Boy if you like chase movies this has got to be the supreme chase movies of all times. It starts with a chase and ends with a chase. Matt Damon playing Jason Bourne is chased by little ole ladies, dogs/cats, prairie dogs, old men, young men, some women, good guys(simply because they don't really know Bourne is a good guy), bad guys, sluts, cars, trains, motorcycles, boats, horses, cattle, and on and on!! Get ready folks this is one helluva chase movie. It got so bad at one point your head is going back and forth, like in watching a tennis match. But all in all it is a very good movie, well done, and very good acting. Matt Damon appears to have a role for life, since the ending gives it an obvious sequel. While he didn't have time for any love scenes there is a possiblity with a young thing in the next sequel. She has the eyes for him, and when he wasn't being chased he had the potential for eyes for her, but then he started running again. Poor guy, all the other leading guys get the girl at least once during the movie(with Bond having a steady diet of beautiful women while still saving the world). The plot is that he is still trying to figure out who he is and where he came from, and what was he doing before he forgot what he was doing. Then his added mission is to reveal and put away the current evil doers within the CIA(this is done in between chases) and hopefully live happily ever after. This movie is rated PG-13, with intense violence and intense chase scenes(did I mention that this is a chase movie?), but no nudity or sex scenes or even suggested sex scenes. GO SEE, YOU WILL ENJOY!!

greerman