{"id":522,"date":"2007-11-27T02:20:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-27T02:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beltdrivebetty.com\/wyzwmnsworld\/?p=522"},"modified":"2010-09-29T18:27:54","modified_gmt":"2010-09-30T01:27:54","slug":"chapter-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/?p=522","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

the sound: <\/span><\/strong>The Police \u2013 Message in a Bottle<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Edgar Winter \u2013 Free Ride<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Steely Dan \u2013 Reelin in the Years<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Focus \u2013 Hocus Pocus<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Guess Who \u2013Sugar<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Sweet \u2013 Little Willy<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Brownsville Station \u2013 Smokin in the Boys Room<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Cool and the Gang \u2013 Jungle Boogie<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Carly Simon \u2013 Mocking Bird<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>Redbone \u2013 Come and Get Your Love<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/span><\/strong>The Hollies \u2013 The Air That I Breath <\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Boomer then announces that \u201cthis is the Skull Crunchers\u2026an MC Baby \u2013 you know the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of the men are well over 6 ft tall (I later find out that it is a pre-requisite of the club). They all also have long hair, many in braids, many wearing bandanna\u2019s tied up like sweat bands, there\u2019s every length and style of beard you can imagine and I think I even see someone with little wee skulls hanging out of his.<\/p>\n

They are all wearing leather and jeans with big silver rings and chains, wallets on chains, chain link belts and there\u2019s more tattoo\u2019s here than I\u2019ve ever seen in my life, and I am reminded of my friends at home telling me of the old biker adage that says: \u201cCanadian bikers talk about doin it, while American bikers are doing it\u2026.whatever \u201cit\u201d may be\u201d.<\/p>\n

I look around me and realize that truly this is a large group of larger than life men and there standing right in the middle of it all is Robert, big as you please, with a grin on him like a Cheshire cat.<\/p>\n

Just as I get to the point where I am completely overwhelmed the woman called Old Rosie (who\u2019s not really so old) elbows her way through the crowd and tells me that I look terrified.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am\u201d I gulp.<\/p>\n

\u201cYa\u201d she says, \u201cthey may look tough, but they\u2019re all pussy\u2019s when they want some\u201d she grins at me. There\u2019s all manner of disagreement in the responses to Rosie\u2019s words and the male cacophony of noise intensifies to a level that truly should inspire fear.<\/p>\n

I am either too stupid or too tired or even too hung over to go there .<\/p>\n

She takes me by the hand and begins to elbow her way back through the crowd leading me towards the old house. She allows as she\u2019s \u201cOld\u201d cos her daughter was \u201cYoung\u201d and she\u2019s \u201cthe owner of all the pygmy\u2019s\u201d as she points to the tiny goats.<\/p>\n

\u201cRosie!\u201d Robert hollers and she stops in her tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take care of my Canadian Baby\u2026.make sure she\u2019s safe and sound now!\u2026don\u2019t be too long though\u2026she\u2019s got her some beer to drink!\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosie turns to question me and the look on my face more than tells her how I\u2019m feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobert you old goat\u2026don\u2019t tell me you pulled the \u2018one can of beer\u2019 line on this poor child!\u201d she hollers at him. All the men begin to laugh as Robert allows as he has.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen\u2026the eternal conundrum\u201d, she mutters and I am shocked that this seemingly dumb blonde knows a word that large. I do however have the presence of mind to keep that thought to myself but I\u2019m unsure if it\u2019s because I\u2019m afraid of embarrassing her or embarrassing myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop judging books by their covers\u201d I think as Old Rosie escorts me the rest of the way through the crowd. As we walk towards the house she explains some of the set up there, that the barn is for \u201cwrenching\u201d that they (being the men in the club) build their own rides and restore old cars (she points to a truly beautifully refurbed Cadillac convertible complete with white leather interior and a beautiful new white rag top)<\/p>\n

She continues a litany of rules for me to remember\u2026the do\u2019s and don\u2019ts of living at \u201cthe farm\u201d. She tells me that \u201cthe boys\u201d make all the decisions and I need to remember three things to get along there: 2.Shut up. And 3. Pay Attention. She says Robert lives in the house and most everyone else along the tree line. She allows as most people don\u2019t get to go into the house and that if I\u2019m smart I\u2019ll just wait there till someone is sent for me.<\/p>\n

All of which, I pretty much immediately forget\u2026all that is, except the part where she says \u201cnumber one\u2026.no matter what happens, no how, never \u2013 never ever ever make the mistake of calling Robert anything other than Robert. He\u2019s Robert, not Bob, not Bobby, not Rob or Robby\u2026.Robert, not Large Robert, Robert not Fat Bobb\u2026 He\u2019s just plain Robert\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

This portion of the litany is delivered with such vehemence that it burns in to stay.<\/p>\n

We head into the dilapidated old house and once through the door the immense luxury inside hits me like a physical blow. Black leather couches and ottoman around the big white living room, mirrors and glass and long plush white pile carpets, (white?) chrome and pewter candelabras and a chandelier that would rival the one in my grandmother\u2019s formal dining room.<\/p>\n

Rosie drags me willingly through the room to the hall leading to the rest of the house.<\/p>\n

She takes me to a bedroom with a huge wooden \u201cPaul Bunyan\u201d 4 poster bed that looks like the Jolly Green Giant should sleep there\u2026.and advises that I should likely have a nap. <\/span><\/p>\n

I try to ask questions \u201cwho\u2019s room is this?\u201d \u201cwhy am I napping?\u201d \u201cwhat time is it?\u201d \u201chow many people live here?\u201d \u201chow long have you been here?\u201d \u201cwhy don\u2019t they fix up the outside too?\u201d\u2026.but she just shakes her head and closes the door as she leaves.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the sound: The Police \u2013 Message in a Bottle, Edgar Winter \u2013 Free Ride, Steely Dan \u2013 Reelin in the Years, Focus \u2013 Hocus Pocus, Guess Who \u2013Sugar, Sweet \u2013 Little Willy, Brownsville Station \u2013 Smokin in the Boys Room, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4860,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions\/4860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}