By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee/@GeeGranny on Twitter
Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee ... as a 28 year old woman ... still making bad decisions in life. The best thing I did at this time was to forgive my beautiful mother ... and to marry Skip! I still made bad decisions ... and still do sometimes, now. I told you I'm not ... perfect. :) You know how we know it all ... as younger people.
Open her up, Baby! Her hand turned the power up ... they were flying! Flying on a motorcycle.
Now ... who in the Hell tells a 15 year old girl to 'open it up'! A girl who has never driven in her life? A girl who never knew anything about a bicycle much less! How about a big motorcycle ... man-sized?
The young girl was on a high ... no, she didn't do drugs nor alcohol. This 15 year old was high on life ... she was free of everyone in her life. No one could cuss, mistreat her ... ever again. So, she thought.
Her small hand turned up the speed on the handle of the big-ass motorcycle. Damn, we are flying! I'm driving! I've never driven in my life!
Thrilled, a little afraid ... she sped up the dirt road never knowing the dangers ahead ... dangers driving on a dirt road. Not only that ... dirt roads in the mountains.
The gravel was thrown on both sides of the motorcycle as she sped ahead. The young man on the back was 20 years old. He was letting the 15 year old girl drive his motorcycle. Really now ... the motorcycle was part hers. They had just gotten married.
The girl had eloped ... never letting even one person know she was leaving. No one to this day ever knew the details of how, where the girl went ... they only knew she was missing.
No one knew where the young girl was for months until she began to miss her mama. She was afraid ... when she called her mama she couldn't believe her reaction to her call. Her mama was very glad to hear from ... her! Her!
Sunshine kissed her young, smooth skin, tears glistened in her beautiful eyes ... her curly hair was blowing in the wind. This was the most happiest this young woman ever was in her life. In ... this moment.
She was in control ... of a big-ass motorcycle! She'd never driven in her life! Someone older than her ... trusted her to drive it. She'd never had such responsibility. She ... was important!
She saw the long curve ahead on the narrow dirt road they were speeding along on. She never thought whether she could safely get the motorcycle around it at the speed she was driving. She just saw the curve ... she couldn't wait to drive around it! All she heard was the young man's words ... Open her up, baby!
The words only added to the excitement, spurred her on ... her little hands ... opened it up! The wind nearly took her breath away as she smiled ... oh my God, this is life! Only this moment was important.
She was being helped up from the ground. Her head hurt ... she tried to speak, couldn't. Her little hand found her mouth ... something was in it. She used her fingers to pull dirt out of her mouth. She felt as if she would faint ... swayed, caught by the young man.
He was almost crying as he almost begged her to be all right. She tried to see him ... she couldn't. Shock ... made her blind. As she became aware of her surroundings ... she couldn't believe her eyes.
She had lost control of the motorcycle ... hit a fence post with barb wire. Her head went into the post ... she kept feeling her head. No blood ... her teeth were all there. It's a wonder she still had a head.
When she moved, she moaned. Her body hurt as if she'd been in a wreck! She had been in motorcycle wreck ... she was driving!
They were on the side of a small mountain ... the motorcycle was laying at the bottom ... the young girl didn't know much about mountains, excepting they were ... high! She couldn't believe she didn't travel down it on the motorcycle.
That's why her head hurt so. The impact of the post swiped her off the motorcycle. The young man somehow, saved himself with his long legs. He wasn't hurt, only shook up.
It was the first time the young girl thought about her mama. Supposed she had died ... her mama wouldn't know it ... her mama didn't know where she was.
This was the beginning of a new road the young girl just stepped on in her life.
Later ... in time, she went on to get her motorcycle endorsement ... she kept it until she became an older adult ... not only that, as that young girl she got her CDL endorsement ... it was called a chauffeur's license then. She was proud ... how many women had ... all that.
Later as that young girl ... the young man bought her a 750 Yamaha motorcycle. She drove her own. Later in time, her little son ... also had his own motorcycle.
Yes, this was a new journey ... another decision the young girl made in her life. It almost got her killed ... more than one time. Oh the decisions this young girl made ... the roads she walked on. She met them head-on never knowing what to expect. Open it up, Baby!
The young girl found out a lot of the roads she chose to travel on ... were scary roads. As she learned ... she turned-tail, ran the opposite way. She just wasn't tough enough ... hard enough. She had a big Heart.
She learned to drive fast on the mountain curves. Speed was a lure to her ... it pulled her to drive faster and faster. The young man had fast cars ... she drove them, too. Oh, the innocence of youth ... oh the innocence of youth.
She sped through her young life just like she did in her new life ... making one mistake after the other ... knowing no better. No one prepared her to grow up ... no one ever thought she'd grow up ... every thing she ever learn ... she learned the hard way.
She met life head-on never knowing what to expect. Oh, the mistakes she made. It was like the voice back in 1968 yelling ... Open her up, Baby!
Photos/true story are owned ... written by me. Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee.
Yes, I just let go of my motorcycle and CDL endorsements not long ago. I won't be driving either again. I'm contented to ride now.
I've been offered numerous driving jobs through time ... I did drive with Skip team for 3 years ... women would look at my checks when I would cash them ... with envy. They wanted to drive a truck. I was thrilled then, to be doing something not many women did. Now ... many women drive big trucks.
I used to meet life head-on without thinking ... I would face it down as a young woman ... I could conquer the world. It was like I was still being driven by those last words I heard before wrecking the motorcycle ... 'Open her up Baby'!
Now, I meet life in more decisive way, think ahead way ... study. I meet life head-on, use caution. I pick, choose my battles. I can play checkers very good ... and tic-tac-toe. Give me a few minutes to remember ... I would bet money on my ability to win. :)
No longer what was important to a young, naive woman ... important to an older woman. I'm just thankful for my life ... I had met Death head-on too many times. So many roads led to ... Death.
Death came for me when I didn't expect it ... I battled it many times ... I wonder if subconsciously ... the words in the back of my head were: Open her up, Baby!
I outran Death many times in my life ... mentally, physically, health-wise! I never take anything for granted.
Something 'bad' just happened to us again ... see? That's why I never take anything for granted ... I can deal with things better that way ... meet it head-on. Now, it's time once again to ... yes, you know the words by now ... I'll let your mind say them this time!
You know I could imagine you behind a big four wheeler with a cap on your head.
ReplyDelete:) That would be fun!
DeleteWow! I can just see you on that motorcycle now with the wind blowign your hair! Ha! Sometimes when we were younger----we did learn things the hard way. I am glad you made it through all your hard times that death tried to cheat you. You are one heck of a woman/person!! Love, Ms. Nancy
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