Unlike Yours, My Motorcycle Can Talk

Earlier this week, I went downtown to put up fliers for the great big Wesley Open Volleyball Tournament we're having next Saturday. Walking just a few blocks in a span of an hour or so, downtown Blacksburg made me remember why this town can be so great.

First off, I'm not really all that good at putting up fliers. Every time I walked into a store or restaurant, I always felt guilty about asking for permission to put up our little one-sheeter if I hadn't already bought something at the place. When I started out at Souvlaki's and got dinner, it wasn't so bad, but after a few more stops, I realized I'd have to swallow my pride and ask first. As it stood, I managed to negotiate most of downtown with my only guilt trips coming in the form of the dinner, a CD, and a free sweet tea. And an ice cream cone, but I just wanted that, anyway. For the most part, all the employees I talked to were really cool about posting the flyer, so that abated my fears a lot, too.

Blacksburg is a friendly place. It can also seem really small, especially when you run into several people you recognize in such a short time. I saw Katie W., my Transportation Engineering professor with his daughter, and my Simulations professor from last year. I chatted with Katie for a bit since I hadn't seen her in a while, but talking to professors is still a little weird to me, unless I feel like I know them well outside the class. So, I just kinda walked past them, giving them a bit of a smile in case they recognized me at all.

Probably the greatest way to cap off my evening of being a poster boy (get it? ha!) was as I made my way back across the Media Building's parking lot toward Wesley. A middle-aged guy was showing off his motorcycle to a lady friend, a pretty normal situation to me. I didn't take much notice until the thing started shouting at him as I walked by, proclaiming in a perfectly human voice that "the time is 7:49 and the wind from this morning should be moving out tonight!" (or something to that effect). Talking motorcycles. Man, we really are in the 21st century. Crazy.