Capricious,
drinks too much...
kinda hairy (for a woman)
hands a bit rough (for a college grad)
cant make up his mind, 'cept when he does then he changes it again
getting older and fatter again
probably the drink...yeah, thats an easy assumption to make
probably the THINK...yeah thats the truth of it now aint it
thinking
thinking
   thinking
      thinking
"you think too much"
"I dont think so..."
but there aint no map, there aint no gps
no directions to follow
only a few bad hunches, suspicious remedies, paranoid suppositions
and a few superstitions
Hold a boiled egg on it, you will feel better tomorrow.
tomorrow
tomorrow

She used to say "things are falling into place."
but you have to make em fit dont you?  you have to make em stretch
maybe more stretching
stretching my mind until it wraps back around itself, encloses, huggs and kisses hello - never good-bye
amassing more knowledge,
from within where it matters, where it has to stay for now
maybe it will come out in paperback, all my cheapo friends can steal it from a big store in a bigger mall
but I doubt it.
Some stories are worth floating around in for a minute or two
then getting back to what you were s'possed to be doin'
What are we s'possed to be doin'?!
I drew pictures in the columns and the syllabus is illegible
the ink is smeared
the windows are dirty
the beard needs cut
and the square peg is looking cloud-ed for answers
and only seeing round holes in the sky...
paint it
with words
and celebrate with a drink!
...Capricious,
Drinks too much...

Spring rides, issue one...

 

 After a week of a stiff lower back and crappy weather, I was finally able to get back on the bike this weekend.  Spring is in full effect, arm and knee warmers came off right away, flowers made my nose water and eyes itch, and the piadina, gelato, and coffee got me going real nice.  Climbed a few hills to off set the ride in the car tomorrow, first big city delivery of the season, over to Firenze with 6 bikes.  Should be a great day...stay tuned, till then here are some photos from today. 

 

 

Real castles have real moats...

 

Lunch spot in Riolo Terme...not bad eh?

 

La Una would like to remind you to re-use...she has had this plastic bag for almost 6 years!

 

Afogato Time...its two scoops of gelato with a long shot of espresso poured over it...amazing!  At this point I joked about the multiple reasons to go "home" to america, the safe rides, the availability of great food at a reasonable price, the amazing rides with next to no traffic... the scenery... yeah you get the idea...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it ended something like this...along with me being frustrated at the "new look" of everything google.  I seriously might have to re think this blog with the new design and formatting elements at google headquarters.  Its taken me WAY too long to get these photos up and on the left.  Lame Google, very LAME!

S. 

chain lube and peanut oil...

Been a fun week here at the Farm, busy working to get the garage settled in what has been fairly shitty weather. Only a ride to town or two...and a MASSIVE Iron Chef Cook-Off with none other than Puglia's own Alessandro Miro, aka Shady Chef and Me. What started as an Idea of our mutual friend DJ Livia, a super fun day hunched over a prep table, cooking and throwing out crazy ideas, with limited ingredients (sunday the grocery stores are closed) and a few beers drank along the way - turned into an amazing dinner with about 13 friends, a gang of wine, spilled vodka, two deserts, and shocking faces from the Itals...the likes of which exclaimed to me (in italiano) "Who would have thought such amazing food from a character like you..."



















and thats exactly why hes called Shady Chef...











Paint your own desert...



Yeah, it was THAT good...





Miro holding court with the ladies in attendance...



not sure which couple got after it first but the food was THAT good!



It was a great night, but processing the remarks, and the following remarks around the farm about my art led me to more epiphanies about the life I have lived. I have always relied on words to tell my own story, to represent who I am to people. But that representation is based on story and in hindsight not always the most accurate version of who I have really been. In Italy, with a language and cultural barrier I have to rely on ACTIONS, and for friends to see and taste my food creations, or see my painted art, makes me much more than just a silly, funny, bike mechanic guy. In Italy artists paint, chefs cook, and bike mechanics wrench - and they seem for the most part to be ok with the lot they have usually dedicated a lot of time and energy and schooling to. Chefs are fine cooking, artists are fine making art...Me, Im not fine doing anything for very long, but that has always made for good stories...

"Back when I was a veterinary technician..."
"When I used to work in a winery..."
"When I used to be in charge of a raw material quarantine area in a biotech company..." No really, I was!

I realized last night that with this new experience in a foreign land, where I still want friends, and a party, and honest work, and a paycheck...that I get to represent myself without words, to just BE. And with that comes the feeling of security that I am a great cook, a decent artist, a great bike mechanic, and one hell of a dancer... (ok the last part is a lie...)

Doing IS being!
Go DO something that makes you happy today!!!

Scott "makes-the-BEST-pad-thai-in-emilia-romagna" Hinkson

the mexican hat dance

10 days of New Tour Leader training, an "american" themed dance party to which Robbie wore a sombrero, after which I slept outside, bike rides into the sunset, and into gail force winds, the tradition of being the first to ride to the seaside by bike, a 10 euro megaphone, a donkey, an indian, a mechanic, a couple cowgirls, beer and more beers, creepy kid mannequins, art for art's sake, easter rain, more bike rides, the long tables, Scots, Croats, Honey Badgers, Germans, Italians, Greeks, a guy from Some Island, Spanish birds, Sweet as Bro!, Frenchmen who play banjos, and a sculptress who sculpts in the nakkey...all that in 11 days.

Take a looksey...



some wont last a season, some didnt last 2 days!









thank you Clandestino...



a welcome back scott american themed party needs REAL americans...









3/5ths of the village people is good enough for this dance floor...





Robs Disclaimer "In no way was the penis of American Robert M Foster as close to this drugged out bag of dance amazement as this picture might suggest." But if it had been, he would probably be wearing the same grin, a grin he wore smeared with chocolate all the way to the late night bakery for bombolonis and some harassment by a drunken italian asshole who said he liked us. We are a hit this year.



and polite too. I slept in the yard to avoid waking my fellow tour leader pals...who we trained on bike mechanics the following day, despite recurring dizzy spells and a thirst for water like you wouldnt believe.





Lather
Rinse
Repeat...



and evening in bologna starts like this sometimes. In attendance, Two 'Mericans, Two Croatians, a Scot and a Sweet Az Kiwi.



Im calling my metal band NOTHAMMER...





This guy seemed bummed that I gave a solid ten spot for a megaphone, which he wanted more for, but would not give my ten back, I figured it was fair. Although the megaphone was a menace to the late night streets of Bologna.





who likes to party...?



these dickheads...



enough beer to surf the luggage racks on the train...till the conductor rapped on the glass at the station and called us idiots...



After a day of rest, which included another late night metal show with Herba Mate and more beers with the locals (no photos unfortunately)





La Una was so concerned about having her photo taken...



that she wasnt paying attention when the Holy Spirit entered her body through the hole in her lady saddle almost causing a crash.



there's no salve for THAT!



first to the beach! AGAIN!









Piadina and a stolen beer...sorry Sir Wheatley.







cool weather vane, watch the video...it was windy as SHIT! 14k an hour all the way home, and no relief. gave us license to go straight to the store for replenishing and healthy meal options.





cold return to the farm...strange weather this spring.



Needed a day inside with rain, coffee, and art I have been putting off for years!







the first of many strange schematics from the sketch books.
Monday was a holiday so it was time to ride again!



Pines near the seaside







seaside near the pines







tasty warm films for adults...



a tasty warm beverage for adults called Poncha or punch, which it has in spades...













I would say my life working and living here is looking good this summer...