Don't Judge My Book By Its Cover
by Worth Cadenhead on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 9:20am
I saw the way you looked over at me, you snug in your minivan with your wife and kids, me on my motorcycle, face exposed to the elements. You had that look that mixes fear with revulsion. I'm sure you've seen too many movies and bad TV shows and you have no idea who I am or what I do. You probably think of me as somebody who travels through life unencumbered with the trappings of "normal" life: steady job, family, children, and morals - somebody who doesn't bother with the concerns of others.You may see me as some drifter, wandering place to place, leaving wanton destruction in my wake. Again: Hollywood.
You don't know me, and all you see is what you consider a reckless and incomprehensible vehicle to be using in December.What you DON'T know is everything. See, all those entrapments of "normal life"? I have them, too. I've worked at the same job for thirteen years, and yes, I've been married twice, but it doesn't mean I love my son any less, or the daughter who's on her way to this world. You also don't know that my girlfriend and my son were in the car behind me.
Some assumptions you probably made are true. It's winter, so you couldn't know for sure because of my jacket, but yes, my arms are covered in tattoos. And yes, to be honest, there was a pistol in my pocket.
There was a specific reason I was exercising my Second Amendment right that day, and a specific reason my other half and my son were in the car behind me. Even a very specific reason I was riding, and not in a car with the heater on. See, we, along with my motorcycle club, delivered toys and food and a gift certificate for a grocery store to a family who otherwise would've spent Christmas with nothing to distinguish it from any other day, and maybe even not knowing if they'd have enough to eat the rest of the week. All the motorcycle clubs in Austin did the same thing for at least one family that day. I carried a weapon because the neighborhood wasn't exactly the safest and I wanted to make sure the gifts made it to those they were intended for. We rode, because the kids get excited when they hear the bikes from blocks away, then see us park in front of their house or apartment. My girlfriend and son were in the car partly because she's pregnant, but mainly because we needed the car to act as a stand-in for Santa's sleigh.
I helped share the true holiday spirit with complete strangers in true need this year. Like every year. What did you do? Buy your kid a new expensive updated version of the electronic toy you gave him last year?
Don't judge the book of my life by your opinion of its cover.
You don't know me, and all you see is what you consider a reckless and incomprehensible vehicle to be using in December.What you DON'T know is everything. See, all those entrapments of "normal life"? I have them, too. I've worked at the same job for thirteen years, and yes, I've been married twice, but it doesn't mean I love my son any less, or the daughter who's on her way to this world. You also don't know that my girlfriend and my son were in the car behind me.
Some assumptions you probably made are true. It's winter, so you couldn't know for sure because of my jacket, but yes, my arms are covered in tattoos. And yes, to be honest, there was a pistol in my pocket.
There was a specific reason I was exercising my Second Amendment right that day, and a specific reason my other half and my son were in the car behind me. Even a very specific reason I was riding, and not in a car with the heater on. See, we, along with my motorcycle club, delivered toys and food and a gift certificate for a grocery store to a family who otherwise would've spent Christmas with nothing to distinguish it from any other day, and maybe even not knowing if they'd have enough to eat the rest of the week. All the motorcycle clubs in Austin did the same thing for at least one family that day. I carried a weapon because the neighborhood wasn't exactly the safest and I wanted to make sure the gifts made it to those they were intended for. We rode, because the kids get excited when they hear the bikes from blocks away, then see us park in front of their house or apartment. My girlfriend and son were in the car partly because she's pregnant, but mainly because we needed the car to act as a stand-in for Santa's sleigh.
I helped share the true holiday spirit with complete strangers in true need this year. Like every year. What did you do? Buy your kid a new expensive updated version of the electronic toy you gave him last year?
Don't judge the book of my life by your opinion of its cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment