Well, I Guess I’m Back
Mon, March 9, 2009 
Lowcountry Bloggers is a site here in Charleston, SC, that does a round up of local bloggers. On Wednesday of last week, they announced, “Dave Moulton breaks from his hiatus.”
Hiatus is an interesting word. I remember many years ago on a first date with a woman. When I asked where she worked, she replied, “I’m on a hiatus right now.” I remember thinking, but of course didn’t say it, “Oh, so you’re unemployed, and I guess I’ll be picking up the tab.”
A hiatus usually refers to a voluntary break, as opposed to being canned, sacked, given your cards, or a pink slip. I guess in my case I did take a hiatus. What made me emerge from my hiatus? Mainly the Tribute Bike. It made me wonder, “Why me?” And why do I deserve this?”
I had a business in Southern California during the 1980s and early 1990s. I hand built racing bicycle frames. There was a lot of competition at that time, and in order to succeed it was necessary that I produced a good product. I was paid and rewarded for what I did, so my thoughts are, “Why am I being recognized and rewarded again?”
I likened it to receiving a bike “Oscar.” It got me thinking me thinking about the Oscars. Movie stars are paid handsomely for what they do, and yet they are rewarded when they do it well.
My point is that many ordinary people do what they are paid to do, and do it extremely well. Yet they never receive any recognition or reward for what they do, other than a paycheck; neither do they expect more.
There are doctors who save lives, firefighters who save lives, humanitarians of all kinds. Right down to the average working man. If you do a job well, you are after all, doing what you are paid to do.
Doing a good job is sometimes like peeing on yourself in dark pants. It gives you a warm feeling, but no one notices.
No one, least of all me, expects a reward. However, when it comes as this one did, it is a wonderful but humbling experience. When I quit writing last August there was no criticism, just an outpouring of love and well wishes from the regular readers.
A lot has happened during my six month hiatus. A lot of water has passed under the bridge as the old cliché goes; and unfortunately a lot of turds floated by. The world’s economy is in a far worse condition, and people are loosing their jobs.
I had a very nice little part time job; I worked three days a week in the engineering department of a large manufacturer. I enjoyed working three days, then taking four days off. I also enjoyed the extra cash it brought in.
I was laid off from that job last October. Luckily, it was not my entire source of income so it has not affected me greatly. In fact, I have decided to take advantage of the extra time to ride my bike more, and get myself in the best physical condition I can.
I have decided not to participate in this recession. It is beyond my control, so therefore there is no point in my worrying about it. In an article I read the other day concerning the news, was the following quote:
We all know the news is bad; it makes us feel like crawling under a rock.
The cure is simple; quit watching the news. I haven’t watched TV news in years. It always dwells on the negative, it is depressing.
People who have followed me in the past know that I usually try to place a positive slant on things. What is needed right now is more love and compassion for our fellow man. I try to look on my neighbor’s situation; there is always someone worse off than I am.
We are all in this together. So humbly, if my sometimes-inane Internet postings entertain, make you think, or simply distract you from what is going on in the world. It is the very least I can do, and it is actually all I have to offer at this moment in return for the love and recognition that has been shown me.
As the water flows under the bridge, I will do my best to replace the turds with beautiful swans.
Reader Comments (12)
I absolutely agree with avoiding the news! Way too depressing, and why worry about things that you can't control?
Regarding turds, it was said that Harry Truman had some good advice - "Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day." It's always best to give turds a wide berth and leave them be!
Hi Dave,
great to have you back!
cheers,
Daniel
Glad to have you back. The knowledge you share with us lesser mortals is always soaked up like a sponge. It also seems to go down really well over a hot cuppa java.
Dave:
Great post. I guess I will have to shut off the TV news and get with.
Jack
From force of habit and just plain laziness, I check into your blog once in a while just for the links to other cycling blogs. What a wonderful surprise this morning to see you posting again.
I suppose I find your blog and news appealing because I'm also a now-older cyclist who wants to get fitter and keep fit. I'm also a bit retro, but in a traditional lightweight racing bike kind of way. I don't have much in common with the high handlebar and fat tire advocates. It seems to me that everything on the internet about cycling is either at one extreme or the other, except your blog.
Looking forward to all of your posts, including any non-cycling ones.
Glad to see you're writing on your blog again. I especially loved your historical posts about great riders from the past.
Glad to see you're back, and congrats on the new bike. If your ever back in San Marcos lets go for a ride. P.S. I'll be send you some pictures of your old shop soon. (along with my new fuso.... I gave up on looking for my old Recherche).
Cheers,
Lance.
I just decided to take a look after a long pause.
It is great to have you back!
Prost,
-Rob
So glad to see the posting again:)
Welcome back Dave! Good to have you posting again; the new articles are all terrific.
I'm glad you're back at it. I don't know if you remember our correspondence when I acquired what turned out to be Fuso #2397. Thanks for your input back then and I look forward to more of your blog.
Quite a surprise to find that you're writing again. I visited your blog this morning on a whim, and there is was...new posts!
In fact, I think my intention in visiting your blog this morning was to find our email address and maybe quickly say how much I enjoyed reading the blog and that I think you should continue with it. Seems like I didn't have to do that at all.