Dinner on the River

Understand when we want some fresh fried catfish this is our go-to ride.  It was our first 80-degree day in in a while and in August in Tennessee you don't get very many of these.   So it was time to celebrate with a motorcycle ride and a catfish dinner.

The Riverview Restaurant is across the river in Ashland City.  A 26-mile ride south on a winding road called Highway 12.   Is there anything better than a motorcycle ride on a warm spring evening?   I can think of only one.   There is no need to say what that is.  Riding this river road brings all the senses into play.   The smell of the dogwoods and redbuds in bloom bring the aroma that says spring.   We are in the midst of a great rebirth after a long hard winter.   

As we watch the barge traffic go by and eat Mississippi farm-raised catfish on the Cumberland River, it is hard to imagine that life can be any better.    There is nothing better than knowing your place in the world, being able to see how all the pieces fit.   I know that I have accomplished more than some and less than others.  I am fine with all that.   My life is more than OK.

After dinner, we were standing outside the restaurant an elderly man drove up in his Lincoln continental. When I say elderly I have to say more elderly than me.   He jumped out of his car and said, “Did you jump out of Airplanes?”   He must have seen my army unit patches sewn on to my motorcycle vest, seeing that we are brother paratroopers.  Yes I said, “At Ft. Bragg with the 82^nd”.  He then proudly stated I jumped at Ft. Campbell.   You could see him reliving old memories in his expression.   It is an honor to be a member of this airborne fraternity.   I find that I am relieving those great memories myself lately.

Well, it was a surreal ride home, a great time for reflection.   Although I have found that it is never too late to make better memories.   If I could tell people one thing, be careful on how you live your life because eventually, you will have to live with the memories of it.    There are a lot of unhappy people in the world.  This is a big source of unhappiness.