Commonweal & The Law of the Bro

One of the lessons I learned when I began to rebuild old bikes is that if you replace one old or broken part on the bike, the other parts get jealous.


"You love First Carburator more than me," says Second Carburator after I have replaced a gasket on leaky First Carburator. And like any jealous sibling, Second Carburator decides to act out and leak as well, and of course at the most inopportune spot, just like when your kid throws a screaming fit in the grocery store where there are eight hundred potential witnesses that prevent you from duct taping the little bugger to the cart .... oops, did I say that out loud?


Anyway, as I was testing the 1978 Cafe Racer (picture) after completing some modifications, I smelled gas, looked down and saw Second Carburator leaking like a sieve. With age comes wisdom and wisdom dictated that, given the high temp of a running engine AND the Arizona desert, I shut down the bloody machine and pull over to the side of the road to see if I could apply a temporary fix to prevent some sort of spontaneous combustion that would in future years be ascribed to aliens from Planet X.


A short digression: in Motorcycle Mythology, there is the Law of the Bro' which states that should one Motorcyclist see a Brother Motorcyclist stopped by the side of the road, Bro #1 should stop to inquire if Bro #2 is having trouble or simply relieving himself. Such consideration for the stranger and sojourner is an act which benefits the common good, and can be traced back thousands of years, as virtually all sacred texts commend this act to be honored among all people. It can be seen as altruistic but it also prudent; I may need your help one day and our mutual survival depends upon acting for the common good, so a moments inconvenience is little investment in potential future compensation.


Now back to our narrative. I was pulled over on the side of the road, laying under the motorcycle with parts and tools scattered about, trying to figure out what to do (Note to self: When traveling with small children and motorcycles ALWAYS carry duct tape) when I heard the rumble of not one but of many V-twin engines. Oh joy, rapture! The cavalry has arrived ... help motors ever closer with the roar of American Iron! Surely one among them will have some duct tape ...


But as I peered out from under the bike to welcome my saviors, I my jaw slackened as, one by one, they motored on down the road, without so much as a "Howdy-do" or "That'll teach you to ride metric!"



The words which crossed my lips in those moments would do a sailor proud. I brought down upon those buggers the wrath of Zeus, Kali, Czernobog, Loki, Set, Cybele, Khan, and every other potential bad-boy of whom I could think. How much more friggin' obvious could it be that a MotoBro needs help!!!! So much for the Law of the Bro'.


Which brings me to the Commonweal, a foundation of American democracy. Almost a decade of the so-called Bush Tax cuts has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, forecloseure on hundreds of thousands of homes, the need for the taxpayers to bail out the large economic institutions of Wall Street, and a humongous increase in the deficit. Americans in the top two percent of wealth - who receive the greatest benefit from both the tax cuts AND government services in the form of the protection and infrastructure provided by the American government - continue to proclaim that it's "their money" and that tax cuts are the only way to save our economy. How much more friggin' obvious can it be that people need help? So much for the Commonweal.


Yeah, just like a half-dozen motorcycles roaring by me is the best way to encourage me to buy a different kind of bike.


I personally don't think ANY of the tax cuts should be maintained. People are hungry, homeless and lack adequate medical care in this, the wealthiest nation of the world. If I need to pay a bit more, sacrifice some small amount at this time in my Nations history in order to help those in need today and to provide a more secure future for those who follow, so be it. Safety, security, and freedom have been bequeathed to me by my forefathers, and I should do no less. Enlistment in the military is not the only way one can serve his/her country and the greastest test of our moral fiber is not a declaration of faith, but our active willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others.