Ruth & I were flying back to Winnipeg from our first-and-only-ever compound vacation in March 2004 (a resort in the Dominican Republic, where you really only spend time on the grounds) and, being recharged, were discussing how we might apply this new vigour to our personal and work lives. One of the ideas was that I consider writing a book.
After some consideration, I took up the challenge. I decided that I'd like to do a book that married my passions for the written word, photography and motorcycling. How about a revisiting of Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?" I'd thought of it as a marvel when it was released and had read it a number of times. Perfect subject, right? Well, I reread ZAMM and was chagrined to find that my hero was anything but in the eyes of this 55 year-old. Nonetheless, there was fodder in this idea for a book about changes – personal, interpersonal, social, political, economic. I rode the ZAMM route from Minneapolis to San Francisco on motorcycle from July 8-25, 2005 – exactly 37 years after Pirsig's ride. Over the course of that ride, and three subsequent revisits to portions of the route, I accumulated 5,000 images.
Long story short, the manuscript languishes in my closet for want of a literary agent to flog it to a publisher. I'm not sure if I'm sad or glad for that; it seems increasingly that the quiet life outside of the glare of a spotlight – or flashlight – is a fine place to be.
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