Major Ranting

As I am writing this editorial and putting to bed this issue of the magazine, I am also outlining the eulogy for my mother’s funeral I am to perform this week.

We all know about humanity’s mortality and that none of us will live forever, but when one of your parents passes, it is truly difficult and pretty indescribable. Yes, it has happened to many of us already and it is happening to somebody right now, but the commonness doesn’t make it any less painful or easy to deal with.

Let’s just say that my mother wasn’t at all thrilled when I took up the family art of motorcycling. This is due to the fact that my dad has been paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair from a bike accident since 1974. Yes, this biker hand-me-down lineage would have had most mothers in multiple tirades of tizzy fits, but one of the best things about my mom was that she understood men and the needs we have that can’t be shut off with a nice sit-down talk or a stern look. Even though she was a young woman when my father’s accident happened and could have split the scene, she stood by my dad’s side and raised all three of us kids to try and be as kind as we could and not see the bad in people or situations. From our childhood, tweens, teens, and into adulthood, my mom busted her ass working overtime to make sure that her meager pay and my dad’s disability checks were enough to pay the mortgage and put food in our mouths.

She also never really minded that her three kids were tattooed from head to toe and ended up being pretty damn freaky looking even though some of our extended family would feel the need to ask her about it. Mom just knew that the values she instilled in us from birth hit a much deeper spot inside us than our rainbow-colored skin and funky-assed haircuts showed the world.

The word hero has been thrown around a lot as of late, but in this age of throw-away families, overcrowded prisons, and 70 percent divorce rates, my mom and dad’s marriage stood the test of time to the tune of 52 years. They accomplished this feat with a perfect mix of communication, understanding, compassion, and love while enduring the pain of overcoming their obstacles to reach such entitlement.

I love you mom. Rest in peace.

“The word hero has been thrown around a lot as of late, but in this age of throw-away families, overcrowded prisons, and 70 percent divorce rates, my mom and dad’s marriage stood the test of time to the tune of 52 years.”