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| Craig Cooper does it again. His shop opened up before the start of T.I.v9 |
Continuing on with stories from Trans Iowa v9.....
Inspiration can come from odd places, as we know. I'm sure you can think about a word, a moment, that had deep meaning for you, that shaped a decision or path for you, that came unexpectedly, or from a surprising source. I know this has been my experience over the years of my life.
And things dealing with Trans Iowa were not exempt from those inspirational, direction changing moments. Take the aftermath of Trans Iowa v3, where Jason Boucher sent me an e-mail that, for all intents and purposes, extended Trans Iowa events onward for eleven more years. That's pretty big! But that message impacted me hard and it still has an effect upon me today. It was certainly unexpected, but as I say, that can happen and we always need to be aware that what we do and say could be that inspirational moment for someone else.
As I said, Trans Iowa v3 wasn't the only time that happened. It happened again previous to Trans Iowa v9, and it came from an unlikely source again- This time it was my step-father, Jim. He had married my Mom when I was in my late 30's- maybe I was 40 already- anyway... He and my Mom still enjoy a deep, great relationship, and I have a fondness for Jim and we get along well. So, what has any of that got to do with Trans Iowa?
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| How many more Trans Iowa Sunrises would there be? Image of Sunrise during T.I.v9 |
Well, Jim often took interest in what I had going on in my life. He was aware, of course, that I put on Trans Iowa then. However; a local librarian, who my Mom and Jim knew well, had a significant other in her life that was a Trans Iowa rider. After talking with my Mom, this librarian figured out I was Guitar Ted, and well, you know..... So, that piqued my step-father's interest in the event even more than it might have.
Well, I think it was at an Easter gathering that Jim was asking me about how long I was going to keep doing Trans Iowa. I confessed to him that I had thought about doing ten, then getting out. This would have been early April, before T.I.v8. Well, my step-father Jim, he poked me in the chest with his finger and smiled while he said, "I think you've got five more of these in you, at least."
I rolled back on my heels and I didn't know what to say. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, necessarily, but deep inside I felt thrilled to hear that. It was odd. Very weird at the moment. And in response to Jim I muttered something to the effect of "Well......maybe....I don't know about that...." And Jim retorted, "Well, I believe you do. I think you've got it in you."
He said he 'believed in me'. That's powerful. So, that really hit me. It stuck. It really is important to have people believe in you and in what you are passionate about. I suppose that was it, really. I did not expect Jim to really feel that way about me and what I was passionate about. I was surprised and touched that he did. I don't think it would have meant as much coming from anyone else either. So, in that respect, it was very significant to Trans Iowa and the people who got to ride in the last four versions of this event. Without Jim's prophetic words, those calls for me to keep Trans Iowa going may have fallen on deaf ears.
But at that time I was not changing my original plans. I still intended to stop after ten Trans Iowas. I mean- Jim didn't have to go through the putting on of this event. I did. But something about that moment.......
Next: Rolling into another Trans Iowa.
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