This morning I’m heading out for a motorcycle ride to go out into the eastern ranch country near Julian. We will drive out through Valley Center, probably the reddest part of the county, then through the various Indian reservations, which I find always hard to divine in terms of their degree of social consciousness (do they care more about helping their poor and downtrodden or about their casino revenues that buy them all shiny new cars?), and then we will ride up Palomar Mountain and look out over the vast terrain of the North County of San Diego. It’s one of my favorite rides, mostly because I love the scenery of the California ranch land and the contrast between the lush and succulent filled subtropical suburbs from which I start, through the dryness of the Indian reservations (why would America give Native Americans good land?), and the Alpine peaks, ending in that tranquil golden-grass ranch land for which California is most famous. If it sounds like I enjoy the contrasts, that would be correct, and for some reason that contrast is increasingly migrating to aspects of my personal style.
Because it is expected to be 90+° today, I’m not bothering to gear up with Kevlar-bound and abrasion-resistant jacket, pants or boots. Instead, I am wearing my Duluth trading indestructible khaki cargo pants, which have become my favorite day-to-day pants. I have no problem with the cargo pocket aspect of the design, despite all the grief they take in the popular press. I find the fit, amazingly comfortable, and the material incredibly rugged. All that and khaki colored pants just seem to work best for my generation if one is not wearing blue jeans. I’ve recently discovered a new brand of T-shirts in my quest to update my wardrobe with smaller better fitting apparel. This particular brand (True Classic) seemed to offer good value for a pack of six pocket T-shirts (the pocket is critical to my lifestyle for some reason), and today I am wearing the olive green version (called Military Green) of that T-shirt. Kim and I have both noticed that these T-shirts are both are good heavyweight material so they keep their form and they are a soft combination of combed heavyweight cotton and some synthetic that makes them stretch. The banded collar and banded arms and pocket keep their shape and that, combined with my new slimmer figure, all seems to work very well for the new version of me. I have also found that leather riding boots are going the way of all leather motorcycle gear. That is to say, they’re fun and nice looking, but they are way too much trouble and too heavy for most purposes. So instead, I have a pair of high top olive green Kiziks, which, besides sort of looking like they are meant for riding, are also slip-ons, which are easy to get on and off (another new priority for me). The whole effect with my khaki and olive drab attire, not to mention my half lid Calvary Bluetooth helmet, gives me the look of something out of Soldier of Fortune magazine.
It has occurred to me this morning that since I never wanted to be in the military, do not respect guns as a civilian necessity, and I’m generally against anything that exudes a tough guy or UFC-like manner of operation, that I am sporting a confusing and contradictory look compared with my underlying belief system. Why does this camo look appeal to me? I’m sure it goes back to my primordial childhood dreams of being involved in armed conflict and my updated subconscious view that the warrior look is very cool. But what I haven’t yet figured out is whether this contradiction should trouble me. Am I being a hypocrite just because I dress like a Soldier of Fortune and yet I’m at heart very much a peacenik? I do ride motorcycles, which is very much perceived by the general public as a tough guy activity. But my motorcycle heroes tend more towards Easy Rider rather than The Wild One. I came to cycling in the late 1960s and Captain America (Peter Fonda…rest his soul) and Billy (Dennis Hopper…also rest his soul) were the least likely guys to be donning camouflage gear even if they were in the habit of doing deals with the early version of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The ride today was as great as I expected, but with one exception…the temperature was 95-97 degrees the whole way. By the time I got home after about four hours of riding, I was ready to pass out from the heat. With all my recent weight loss and increased exercise, its gotten easy to get to feeling like I’m getting stronger and tougher, and I think I have been. But let’s get real. It’s also easy while I’m seeing all these improvements to getting out ahead of myself. I have spent a lifetime trying not to look in mirrors as I pass them on the likelihood that I will not be happy with what I see. On the other hand, these days I find myself doing the opposite…and I do like myself in the camo look…not exactly Arnold Schwarzenegger from Commando, but a little bit…maybe…
What’s important for me to remember are this point in my ever-changing situation is that I may be getting slimmer and may look better in the mirror…and perhaps even more able to do moderate exercise, but I am simply not ready for Ranger training. I am still 72 years old and have been way too sedentary for way too many years to start running around playing combat like I did when I was ten. Besides, last time I checked we have an actual war going on in the Middle East with rumors of restarting conscription and sending Marines into the war zone. Luckily, the vast majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle are dead set against getting dragged into another distant war that costs us lots of taxpayer dollars (Oh, say, like an added Pentagon budget of $200 billion) and young American lives. It seems the United States that I grew up in and loved a good war has gone from anti-war protestors being all the Easy Rider guys to them all being everyone on both sides of every suburban street in America. I think what that means is that we are all going to see less camo outfits getting sold. Maybe I will nip my camo-bound appearance in the bud and wear my light pink or pastel blue “Easy Breezy” T-shirt tomorrow.