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Quiet leaders
- Thread starter slobake
- Start date
The domestiques of road cycling.
They pull their team leader in the highest hills. They make a windshield, they get tired to the limits of human capability, maybe beyond.
They deliver supplies from the team car.
They sacrifice themselves, their bikes etc. for the leader.
They protect their leader from accidents, but sometimes not themselves.
They make the pace, they decide (or have a huge influence) the team strategy, they work the hardest, and when their leader wins the race (thanks to them), they go to the team bus to cool off while the leader is being kissed by two hot chicks.
I'm not dissing team leaders, they're leaders for a reason, but domestiques are like the bass players.
They pull their team leader in the highest hills. They make a windshield, they get tired to the limits of human capability, maybe beyond.
They deliver supplies from the team car.
They sacrifice themselves, their bikes etc. for the leader.
They protect their leader from accidents, but sometimes not themselves.
They make the pace, they decide (or have a huge influence) the team strategy, they work the hardest, and when their leader wins the race (thanks to them), they go to the team bus to cool off while the leader is being kissed by two hot chicks.
I'm not dissing team leaders, they're leaders for a reason, but domestiques are like the bass players.
My grandfather was a harsh man. He grew up in the depression and was sculpted by it for sure. He was a man of few words but the ones he used carried weight. Cooler yet, he had that Okie way of talking so they had inherent humor as well. Hearing "That pert near like t'ah kilt me." after a close call with an angry boar... It's a ying and yang thing. Gravity and comedy.
When I was young I lived a pretty wild life. I would hitchhike from San Francisco to L.A. to spend Christmas with my parents. I was rebellious, stoned and unwashed. My parents didn't know what to make of me and my five older siblings avoided me.
One of my brothers had a mother-in-law that I always looked forward to visiting. She made me feel more welcome than my own family. She was a very conservative looking older woman with a California country background. Her parents were Okies. She helped her husband make ends meet by selling Avon products well into her 60's. Some people looked down on her but she didn't seem to mind.
When I visited her she always greeted me at the door with a warm hug. She would talk to me and seemed genuinely interested in who I was. Even with all my crazy ranting about Leon Trotsky and American injustice she mostly just listened. She would make sure I was well fed and didn't let me leave her home empty handed. She would also put my nephews on my lap much to the alarm of my brothers.
I was a leather craftsman at the time and she had me make her check book covers and wallets.
I will always remember her quiet love and acceptance. She wasn't trying to change me or maybe she was. I think she understood the concept that love conquers all things.
She was a quiet leader in the family and a role model for me. Later on before she died I got to tell her how much those visits meant to me. She just smiled, nodded her head and said "Thanks Steve you know I love you and I am very proud of who you have become." Or something like that.
I love you too Daisy.
One of my brothers had a mother-in-law that I always looked forward to visiting. She made me feel more welcome than my own family. She was a very conservative looking older woman with a California country background. Her parents were Okies. She helped her husband make ends meet by selling Avon products well into her 60's. Some people looked down on her but she didn't seem to mind.
When I visited her she always greeted me at the door with a warm hug. She would talk to me and seemed genuinely interested in who I was. Even with all my crazy ranting about Leon Trotsky and American injustice she mostly just listened. She would make sure I was well fed and didn't let me leave her home empty handed. She would also put my nephews on my lap much to the alarm of my brothers.
I was a leather craftsman at the time and she had me make her check book covers and wallets. I will always remember her quiet love and acceptance. She wasn't trying to change me or maybe she was. I think she understood the concept that love conquers all things.
She was a quiet leader in the family and a role model for me. Later on before she died I got to tell her how much those visits meant to me. She just smiled, nodded her head and said "Thanks Steve you know I love you and I am very proud of who you have become." Or something like that.
I love you too Daisy.
