A letter to Joe.

Dear Joe;


Hi and how are you this fine winters day?. Fresh frozen and ready for the oven, so I am I. If its any comfort most of us are in the same boat and its Ontario and it is winter. I don’t feel sorry for those in the South either, must be a bitch to try to keep cool.

You were asking how I did for Christmas and I thought it was pretty good considering I didn’t want anything to be bought for me. I want the money to be spent on the kids and the misses and any extra to go to the Kids Toy Fund or the food bank.

Well. Nobody listens around here and that’s the truth. And I thought we agreed that the kids would only get a few gifts and buy them clothes instead. Its boring but I rather do that then watch them smash up the toys and by days end they are going to recycled.

You know me, I keep my end of the bargain, but not so the Family. Since they heard of the plan everyone went outta their way to buy them gifts. Santa must of used a Hertz rental to get those gifts in here.

There was enough paper here to have the city come and do a special pickup and the rest of the hood as well. I, almost said no wait, I can do that and use the neighbors trailer. But the trailer was full so that plan was over and I had a plan B ,so its pack up the truck and just get it there.

I have been a Leafs fan all my life even before they were famous, I never bought a jersey to wear. I bought all the kids one and they were over $100 in 1978, then, a kids jersey. But, you know those jerseys were passed down to each of the Grandkids so I did ok there and now they have a supply for the next 5 years.

I got a surprise this year all those kids bought me a Leafs jersey, not one but two of them. Well, I almost cried when I opened the first one and when I opened the second, I became verkclempt, ferkclempt, whatever.(so discuss among yourselves the price of butter or how about those Leafs?).

Well, that made my day and every half an hour I switched from one to the other, and that only lasted for a short time. That’s a lot of work changing them on and off, what a silly bugger I am and I had to help out to get the dinner ready. And you already heard about us trying to assembly those darn hockey nets and GT snow racers.

The bottom line here is, when you are watching over dinner, sedating beers, trying to assemble parts and pieces with instructions from space, watch TV and look after the occasional kid that wonders into the den, its possible, doable, but why??.

The whole reason to the holidays is too enjoy yourself, this combination turns out to be work and soon its like any other day. The buzz you were working so hard to get and keep slowly begins to vanish. The noise of the crowd begins to wreck havoc on your sense of HA HA.

Its, not long until you get a headache, a real one and it radiates past your back and into your ass. Reasons, for that are simple to find. Amen on that. Then, you have a houseful of loved ones, half of which you don’t like and they don’t know it. And, if they did, they are ignoring that fact. Steely, bunch, relatives are. The, pain that keeps on giving. Now, that is called love.

I, can see why women beg to go out to a restaurant and have a Christmas meal and send everyone home from there. I am almost tempted to suggest that I would buy all the drinks. You can see I am very desperate. We can open the gifts later or better still I have the gifts in the car, please take them with you.

See you later Joe, there is a little beaver that wants to watch the Wiggles on the tube. So, how was your day?.

Dear Joe;

We send each other cards and letters and we have a snap shot of how your lives are going. Its a thing we started when we first met in a Radiator Repair shop and my bike had a gas leak in the tank. I will write it up later and we can enjoy it to-gether.

Merry Christmas Folks and the Best to you all.

Dear Joe;

Thank you for your card, I can’t believe its that time already again. And congratulations on your 80th birthday, how do you stay so young. I guess its riding the Harley does it, I think I heard if you ride a bike you stop time for a while.

Yes, I will be going on 66 yrs old again this year, next year. I like to have my own party in May, its lot warmer and the beer tastes BETTER THEN.

We are all fine here, kids are growing up too fast and they are now, 10 yrs, 6 yrs and 4 yrs old. they sure keep us busy and we had our youngest son move to help us, well try too. They can sure run your ass off some days. We love them it’s a great job, sometimes.

Our mother-in-law has been passed away a year now and we will miss her at the table.
And the other day her cat died as well, we were taking care of her until Mom was able to so, now they are united together, again.

I am just a year clear of my cancer operation and still recovering from the treatments. I didn’t ride to much this year I was too weak and it was all I could do to a mile or so. Man, I tell you what, that was the hardest thing to be do, ever.

I spent more money on batteries than gas this year, both my bikes needed them and then they were running a little rough, tune up time.

Our weather has been great just enough snow to make snowmen and a small fort and its already melted away, kids aren’t happy, too bad.

Anyway, we wish you the best in the New Year and you have a Good Christmas and we will toast your birthday at the table. You know it’s a good time to toast you right now, so I am going to cupboard and get some wine and I will toast you every morning.

That, is until the misses finds out and then I will have to explain that it was your birthday and we always toast your birthday, everyday, with the bikers health drink, in this case some wine or it could be beer or it be some Jack or just good old rye, some days.

And as far it been too early in the morning, its never to early, well we have get the day off to a roaring start don’t we, I mean the Harley has to roar at bit before it, purrs.

Thank you and keep the rubber side down, ride well my friend!!.

Bruce,
Merry Christmas and God Bless you and your Family.