#87 In Roads-Dysko

 

There’s something about this 26-year old that makes me like him immediately. Maybe it’s that he’s a fellow Texan and his faint hint of accent calls to me, or maybe it’s the bright light in his eyes that tells me he’s an intelligent guy. Maybe it’s the smile. Whatever it is, I feel we’ll be friends forever.

Coming from a military family, he talks about the grief he gets for being the only Navy man in a family full of Marines. “They might give me crap, but you know what I ask them? How many countries have you seen? Me, by the time I was 20 I’d already seen 21 different countries. So they just say, “oh” when I come back at ‘em with that.” As a LCAC engineer, he works on Hovercraft. He’s just signed up for another six years of duty.

We talk about motorcycles and he shares that he comes from a family of Harley riding men who have stock bikes with few modifications. “Me, I want to be able to walk out in the parking lot and see my bike. It’s why they call me Dysko; I like very shiny things and bright lights. I want my motorcycle to be unique. My next bike will be a 2014 Street Glide because I want a bagger and a stereo. After that I want to build a custom from the ground up.”

The topic of speed comes up and the young man with the boyish looks ducks his head. As a rice rocket stunt rider, he got himself in deep doo-doo a mere 32 days after he got his first license

“When I was 16 and again at 19 I got popped for reckless endangerment. I was doing 162 mph in a car and 178 mph on a crotch rocket. I have no idea how they caught me because they didn’t pull me over, they just showed up where I was both times. I stopped for a burger and four patrol cars pull up the one time.” He’s just been licensed for four years, now. These days, for a variety of reasons, he’s slowed down a bit. His wife has a lot to do with that since she spends a lot of time on the back of his bike.

“You know, my wife, besides being my wife, is like, my best friend. I go out with my riding buddies and they ask me why I always have her with me. My question to them is why they don’t? I tell ‘em, “So, what do you do without your woman that you wouldn’t do with her?” Me, I party, she’s here partying with me. I ride, she’s riding with me. I look at girls, she points out girls for me to look at. I mean, I’d much rather have her here with me. So what’s wrong with those guys that they don’t want to be with their women? I think they are the ones who got it all wrong.” I feel huge respect for the genuine young man who seems to have a great perspective on life. I wish he and his wife every happiness.

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