Having this little dude around was heaven... well, maybe except when he was running around the garage like a Tazmanian Devil, having swigged enough Mountain Dew to drown a small army. "Josh, don't touch. Please leave that alone. I don't know when it'll be done, Josh. Please don't touch that. No, I STILL don't know, Josh. Please let me work a little here, Josh, I'm very busy. Please don't touch that. JOSH, DON'T TOUCH THAT!!" All in all, Robert and Joy are extremely lucky to have Josh. He is completely priceless.

I think this "episode" had to be written to point out some amazing people, the kind of folks that this sorry planet is lacking. Here's everything they knew about me:a) I am nearly broke.b) I love my motorcycle. With those two facts, they decided to allow me to live in their home for two and a half weeks, eating their food, sleeping under their roof, and gaining a huge amount of motorcycle know-how. Previous to that, I had shared two meals and one bike ride with them. What would possess people to be that nice to someone they hardly know? I've labored over that question since I jumped in that U-haul, and I still haven't come up with the perfect answer... They didn't do it for reputation, they didn't have any kind of motive, and they certainly weren't in it for money. They are just THAT NICE. Rob and Joy take "southern hospitality" to a whole new level. I am forever grateful for their kindness and generosity. They stepped up to the plate and, without hesitation, offered up more help than I could ever imagined receiving.

We shared many a wonderful and stimulating conversation over food and work (and the occasional bottle of wine at the end of the day). We all instantly became good friends, and my time in Georgia felt more like a vacation than a project. We spoke for a while about the best possible definition of "integrity." My definition, by the way, seems to fit Rob pretty well. I got a chance to peruse his portfolio while I was there... and to look at all of his qualifications, you would think he invented the entire science of robotics. His grasp of logic furthers my theory that he could be a multimillionaire if he wanted to. The thing is, he doesn't want to. He's happy when he's working on carbs, on his own time, as his own boss. That's all well and good... He knows how to live and live well, and to be true to his own nature. That in and of itself is admirable... but how does the random kindness fit into that? What in the name of all that's holy would drive someone to donate nearly an entire motor's worth of good parts to someone else's bike? He gave me the LAST 900 KIT ON EARTH, just so I wouldn't have to drop down to a 750. Well, I paid him for that one, but just allowing it to leave his garage was saintly enough. :) He donated loads of valuable time, rare parts, infinite patience, and sage advice to someone... Not because he was getting anything out of it, just because he thought it was "the right thing to do."Same goes for Joy... Without a second thought, she took care of my room and board such that I felt like I was staying in a hotel. It was sometimes difficult getting her to let me at least do the dishes!! She is just like Rob, willing to help out whenever she can, however she can. This is very rare nowadays. I'm so glad the two of them found each other. We settled on a good definition of integrity: "doing the right thing, even when you know noone else will know anything about it."

The reason I'm writing all this is because people SHOULD know about it, if at all possible. This kind of generosity shouldn't go unmentioned. Rob and Joy didn't do it for the kudos, but they deserves them anyway. I'm going to try to pay them back as best I can, with whatever tools I have available to me. I'm glad I at least got to buy them dinner once or twice while I was there, but this isn't the kind of thing you reimburse with money anyway. I've already offered to treat them like kings should they desire to visit NY again... but I know Rob wants nothing to do with this city, so I'll have to think of something else. :) Next episode contains the fun stuff. I promise.