Blind Curves by LINDA CRILL
After Linda Crill's husband dies, she knows it is necessary to change her life. She decides to learn how to drive a motorcycle. She has never ridden one. She joins a group with one other lady and two guys. They leave from Vancouver, Canada with the intention of riding 2500 miles. This is their final goal before returning to their homes. The book is written in a wonderful style. It is nonfiction. However, it seems like a novel. I hated to stop reading it to go out or to do a chore. It is an inspiring book because Linda Crill is fifty-seven years old. She has been a CEO. She is also picking a challenge which will test her in every way possible. I just could not believe this woman would choose to drive a motorcycle. If so, I felt very worried for her.
I've always wondered why people choose a quest like climbing a mountain, skiing down the steepest slope or walking long distances alone. After reading Blind Curves, I understand why these brave people pick such choices. Like Linda they are intent on overcoming their fears. It is like saying if I can climb a mountain surely I can fight this lawsuit, this neighbor who hollers at my children for no reason or stand by a relative or friend during an illness or some other dark valley of their lives. Risks help make people stronger. Linda Crill writes it in a far more inspiring and wonderful way than I can ever describe using my words.
I had the chance to learn a good bit about a motorcycle too. The one Linda Crill drove weighed 500 pounds. One day she had forgotten to put down the kickstand. The bike fell over. What a hustle to pick it up again. For a while Linda Crill had to really focus on every move she made while driving. At stop lights she would count down 1,2,3,4 the number of gears. She often hoped for times when the traffic light would stay green. Then, she could keep riding without stopping. To stop meant she might fall behind the group and lose sight of them or something else might go wrong.
She really makes a person want to hop on a bike or just use their two legs and walk through different places in America. Our country is beautiful. "A mesmerizing, snow-capped mountain appeared in the distance It stood solo and regal, unaccompanied by foothills or other mountains...roughly 14000-foot volcano was Mount Shasta." I remember her talking about Crater Lake. It had been a volcano. Then, it cooled and the evaporation of rain made a beautiful lake. They also stopped in a little German town.Ms. Crill found her grandparents' house by chance. She rode back the next day to make sure she was not mistaken and all of her wonderful memories of that time sprang to the surface
She also stopped by a German bakery. When she described the pastries, I wanted to stop reading and go to a bakery. She also made me think about the importance of a support group, friendships, when a person takes on a new and perhaps dangerous quest. She always knew the two guys were looking out for her best interests. And her friend, Eva, always encouraged her too. The group put into action the words of The Three Musketeers. " All for one; one for all." Since the group were always united and hit it off so well Linda Crill suffered little damage to herself or to her bike. "Aside from the obvious danger and risk of injury, this whole experience could have resulted in some serious consequences for our happy group. What if we hadn't all been able to agree as a group to either go forward or turn around and ride against traffic?"
There are so many themes in this novel: friendship, risk taking, anxiey, change and trying new knowing they won't kill us. I will never drive around another blind curve without thinking of Linda Crill's many metaphors and other poetic passages which are really ways to live a more successful life, and you don't have to choose to drive a motorcycle. "This feeling of being in the zone isn't unique to motorcycling. Athletes, artists, professionals, craftsmen, gardeners, meditators....find this ethereal state. It's a glorious feeling when it happens...But this feeling can't be commanded to appear. A natural combination of skill, focus and relaxation allows an individual to fall into the activity's natural rhythm."
As I read BLIND CURVES, I began to see Linda Crill as a thinker, philosopher, a woman who knew how to search her soul. I would like to end with one of her Redwood mighty thoughts.
"When the unknown, unwanted or undeserved occurs our answers often are found around blind curves where expanded horizons reveal increased possibilities and new ways of being."
I've always wondered why people choose a quest like climbing a mountain, skiing down the steepest slope or walking long distances alone. After reading Blind Curves, I understand why these brave people pick such choices. Like Linda they are intent on overcoming their fears. It is like saying if I can climb a mountain surely I can fight this lawsuit, this neighbor who hollers at my children for no reason or stand by a relative or friend during an illness or some other dark valley of their lives. Risks help make people stronger. Linda Crill writes it in a far more inspiring and wonderful way than I can ever describe using my words.
I had the chance to learn a good bit about a motorcycle too. The one Linda Crill drove weighed 500 pounds. One day she had forgotten to put down the kickstand. The bike fell over. What a hustle to pick it up again. For a while Linda Crill had to really focus on every move she made while driving. At stop lights she would count down 1,2,3,4 the number of gears. She often hoped for times when the traffic light would stay green. Then, she could keep riding without stopping. To stop meant she might fall behind the group and lose sight of them or something else might go wrong.
She really makes a person want to hop on a bike or just use their two legs and walk through different places in America. Our country is beautiful. "A mesmerizing, snow-capped mountain appeared in the distance It stood solo and regal, unaccompanied by foothills or other mountains...roughly 14000-foot volcano was Mount Shasta." I remember her talking about Crater Lake. It had been a volcano. Then, it cooled and the evaporation of rain made a beautiful lake. They also stopped in a little German town.Ms. Crill found her grandparents' house by chance. She rode back the next day to make sure she was not mistaken and all of her wonderful memories of that time sprang to the surface
She also stopped by a German bakery. When she described the pastries, I wanted to stop reading and go to a bakery. She also made me think about the importance of a support group, friendships, when a person takes on a new and perhaps dangerous quest. She always knew the two guys were looking out for her best interests. And her friend, Eva, always encouraged her too. The group put into action the words of The Three Musketeers. " All for one; one for all." Since the group were always united and hit it off so well Linda Crill suffered little damage to herself or to her bike. "Aside from the obvious danger and risk of injury, this whole experience could have resulted in some serious consequences for our happy group. What if we hadn't all been able to agree as a group to either go forward or turn around and ride against traffic?"
There are so many themes in this novel: friendship, risk taking, anxiey, change and trying new knowing they won't kill us. I will never drive around another blind curve without thinking of Linda Crill's many metaphors and other poetic passages which are really ways to live a more successful life, and you don't have to choose to drive a motorcycle. "This feeling of being in the zone isn't unique to motorcycling. Athletes, artists, professionals, craftsmen, gardeners, meditators....find this ethereal state. It's a glorious feeling when it happens...But this feeling can't be commanded to appear. A natural combination of skill, focus and relaxation allows an individual to fall into the activity's natural rhythm."
As I read BLIND CURVES, I began to see Linda Crill as a thinker, philosopher, a woman who knew how to search her soul. I would like to end with one of her Redwood mighty thoughts.
"When the unknown, unwanted or undeserved occurs our answers often are found around blind curves where expanded horizons reveal increased possibilities and new ways of being."
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