It wasn’t really a typical Sunday morning as I drove downtown on this beautiful end of summer day.  I was picking up flowers that I so often do but this time it was to reflect with a whole host of people just like me at the annual Memorial Vigil.  I had been planing on this for a few weeks and knew it was going to be a somber day to just sit and think, remember, hope, and just look up in the sky and wonder.  It turned out to be a little more than just a memory for me.

As I slowly came to a halt at the top of the hill and looking both ways, I was caught off guard from an orange glow just to the left of where I was heading.  I made my turn and slowly drove by this really spectacular bright orange bike sitting in the driveway.  There was nobody there but it was right smack in the middle of the driveway looking for someone to see it.  I knew I had to pass it by this time so as I did I came wonder that this was someone’s pride and joy.  I thought to myself, I have to stop when I come back around and take a few pictures.

After the vigil was over with all the bagpipes reminding me of those dreadful days that keep me alone in my thoughts, I was off to see if that bike was still there and hoping to get a few pictures of this cool looking toy.  When I pulled in, I was immediately greeted by a gentelman walking out whom was curious what I could possibly want.  I said “I had to stop to see if I could take pictures of this bike here”.  His curiousity imediately turned to a big smile and he said “I am Bob, come on over”.

We chatted for what seemed to be an hour and Bob filled me in on his whole ordeal with the Bike, when it was built, where he had it painted, even trying to remember why he had to build it.  It was a one of a kind all custom Bike.  Then he pointed out that it was custom painted by someone he knew but they were not sure how to lay out the graphics.  Bob told him to get some skeletons, climb up on a ladder, and drop them on the ground.  Then he said to paint that as they landed.  Bob was so happy to tell the story of his creation, how it came to be painted, and how he had the Patriots 1st Superbowl Ring painted on one of the skeltons fingers.  The year was 2002.

As it turns out, the time we chatted and the stories Bob told about his bike and his Chevelle from 1986 was exactly what was needed to break out from a sorrowful day and turn it into a memory from someone else’s adventure that likely made his day as it made mine.  Thanks Bob!