I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings. Coming down is the hardest thing. —Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Learning to Fly “Are you scared, Jack?” “No way, Dad!” I stood there, looking up the hill at what’s now named Straddleline ORV Park. It’s been closed off and on over the years. Back … [more]
Want to Break New Ground?
14-December-2014 by 5 Comments
Head Check: What it Feels Like to Ride Motorcycles is live on Amazon.com, which means that just any old person can buy it, from all over the world. That’s an exciting notion for me. But what does it mean for you, Loyal Reader? Yeah… you. Over there. The tall, good-lookin’ one with critical thinking powers and … [more]
Showing Off
23-November-2014 by 5 Comments
It’s been a long time since it was cool to go to a motorcycle show. Just corporate shills, and overpriced exotica, and hipsters and posers and fakes. Right? I don’t care, though. Turns out I like motorcycles quite a bit, enough to overcome my aversion to crowds. Enough to meet up with people I have … [more]
Boobs On The Ground
28-September-2014 by 7 Comments
I fell in love twice today, once more than my usual visit to the VA. Sophia is my cheerful torturer, lending me unearned vitality as she teases, cajoles, and punts me through my physical therapy regimen. I have a standard nurse crush on her, the kind you cherish for a woman who sees you … [more]
A toast you don’t hear much anymore
18-August-2014 by 3 Comments
It goes something like this: Here’s to cops. The beat cops: uniforms, flatfoots, the rookies and the vets. The men in blue – and the women – who get called everything your mother told you not to say, back when you were a kid and remembered what it was like to respect other people. The … [more]
Memories? Well, yeah…
26-May-2014 by 1 Comment
A lot of people maintain strong opinions, but I’m not sure how to respond to Memorial Day. A good friend reminds his fellow Americans that there’s no “happy” in a Memorial Day greeting; that it is to be construed as a pensive remembrance. Another friend makes a cogent argument for cheerful remembrance, with a toast … [more]
On not giving a fuck
5-May-2014 by 7 Comments
“Your husband fights dirty,” the email announced to Pretty Wife, and she was right. I do. I’m not my dad, casually and frequently ruthless but so cheerful on a daily basis that he personifies his own smarmy, self-assumed nickname, “Smilin’ Jack.” I only smile when I mean it, and I may not be able to … [more]
Scuffs and Patches
30-March-2014 by 3 Comments
Smalldaughter’s tone was polite but imperative. It was the second sentence that moved me into a sprint that made my back quit hurting. I heard her voice echo down the hall. “Jack, I need you. “Ruby got hit by a car.” The girls’ trust is touching. I wasn’t as calm as they are when I … [more]
"Jack Lewis takes the overall literary crown with his new book...there’s a lot more to Lewis’s work than what it feels like to ride motorcycles.” — Ultimate Motorcycling
"Insightful and from the heart ... a driven and much recommended look into the mind and conflict of the next generation of war veterans. " — Midwest Book Review (Reviewer's Choice)