……. The older I get the more I try to convince myself that I have this game of life more figured out, more than I did in my past. I’ve come to the realization that this thought is bullshit. You grow and you change and live and you learn but in the end I believe there is some thing that will never change…. Maybe it’s called your SOUL? Maybe it comes from your heart
or your balls or somewhere deep inside your skull? Inside everyone there is a primal drive that you should follow… unless of course that drive is a child molester or rapist, then you should put a gun to your head and do us all a favor. But that good drive… that drive that creates, music, art, bridges, trains, friends, love, breweries, and family.
Primally inside of me, I have always loved noisy dangerous things… which is slightly odd because normally I’m a pretty quiet person. The first motorcycle I wanted was a Briggs & Stratton lawn mower engine mini bike thing. I was probably about 6 or 7 and the image of it kept me up at night. I wanted it so bad. I wanted to move on it, to make noise and watch the world go by at a faster pace. I ended up buying that bike for $15 dollars, it had a broken rear brake, no throttle, and constantly broke……but it was such a rush. And years later I found the skateboard, once again attracted to the sound, I heard one squealing power slides outside the house, and all I could think was “ I’ve got to make that NOISE”….
That was it, the beginning of the end and the end to not knowing what I wanted to do with this life. I now knew that you could pour that drive into those things that grabbed you… It’s endless and it’s what you make of it. The critics don’t have it or have been to scared to follow it, so they become bitter followers of others. (it’s ok dude, become the best ballerina…. Do us all a favor and be happy) I love these motorcycles and I love choppers they are funky and dangerous but they are alive. Yes it gets white washed and acid washed and brainwashed, but in the end it will work itself out. And you can do you and I can do me and we can follow that drive. Paulo wrote it’s all about fun…. And he’s right but it’s also about pain, that pain of pouring yourself into your passion and not always coming out on top. Sacrifice and balance. A front flat tire on the freeway, a broken chain on the bridge, a trip to the hospital, or losing a friend. Keep going because the moving forward in the things that we love is all that we have. I love these old bikes and where they lead me. Max Schaaf Winter of 2012
31 comments:
yes max.
Good words for sure.
right on.....
Most excellent.
nicely put dude..
roll forever
Well said Max.
" I have always loved noisy,dangerous things" pretty much
Sums up the appeal of motorcycles..and guns :-)
I think your on to something Max.
hell yeah man
right on!!
exactly, thanks.
thanks for reading it.
Thanks for getting people stoked on skateboarding and bikes! A buddy of mine painted a canvas for me but in the end we both decided we would rather send it to you. It's my profile picture and we would like to figure out how to get it out to you all the way from good ole upstate ny.
thanks for writing it. it's great to read & hear other peoples stories of how they got into skateboards/motorcycles & feel the connection.
You are my favorite living writer.
I like quiet farts because they always stink the most.
silent but violent
have you been eating mushrooms again?
give the governor a harumph
pretty alright man!
Heavy man, heavy! You ever think tho, that anything we do is premeditated, whatever we say or act or think, or is it all just one big picture were painting and our souls are the living form of the paint or the brush or the strokes we make?
...thomas.. probably a bit of both, some more for others. I believe lots of us have walked this earth before too, i also believe sometimes when loved ones die you inherit some of them. there is so much information being shot at us constantly now it seems to be changing people as well.
Fuck yeah!
and for me Max - it is also about the people. I've met so many many good solid people over the years - some that i have been lucky enough to call brothers... (oh yeah - and the every fucking day 'oh why the fuck did i do or that' feeling - you got that exactly on the money...)
"there is so much information being shot at us constantly now it seems to be changing people as well." This is bothersome to me as well. Its like when you were a kid and got your first issue of Skateborder or whatever. flipped through it till it was in shreds. absorbed it. We are so over fed with media now. good stuff and bad. "in one ear, out the other" as my old man would say. Gotta go stare at my iphone for awhile now...
beautiful words. its those things we do that make us who we are.
Max, alle volte tu mi fai paura.
Ti immagino come un ex skater professionista che ora costruisce vecchie motociclette, ma quando leggo frasi come queste penso ci sia qualcosa di più.
Grazie
thanx for this man,sometimes i come home after workin on bikes all day and dont have it in me to work on my own.today was one of those days until reading this.now im inspired and gonna go at it again.thanx for the fresh air.
The feelings that you've painted in words have kept me playing with 2 wheelers for nigh on 45 years now. Shiny, noisy, fast, and faster, love the machines, and have met some of the greatest people in the world riding them. Your poetry hit home Max, thanks.
JP
thanks turtle and right on JP!
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