not at all like Disneyland
Riding my motorcycle into Sendai the other day I tried to honk my horn at an idiot who tried to change lanes into me. Only thing is, although I pressed the button the horn gave a pathetic gurgle instead of an angry beep of justice. Cursing, I swerved and flashed my headlights instead. Part of me dreaded the thought of having to buy a new horn, but I was more curious about why a horn would suddenly fail like that. Was it an electrical problem? Did I have a failing fuse or bad wiring?
I stopped at the Starbucks in Tomiya to ponder the issue over an iced mocha, but I soon put the whole thing out of my mind and decided to just enjoy my beverage. After all, Starbucks for me is not an everyday affair, the closest one being about 40 minutes from my house and all that. After a good 15 minutes or so, I decided I should best be on my way.
I walked out to my bike, put on my gear, and started checking my tires and chain and such, standard preflight checks. And that's when something rather odd happened.
A tiny frog squeezed itself out from somewhere underneath my front cowl, out onto the top of my bike. A frog? In the city? No, this little guy must have been perched on my horn speaker the whole time I was zipping through traffic, managing not to get cooked by the radiator or crushed under the wheels. And the little guy wasn't even wearing a helmet. Mister Frog's Wild Ride? I guess that's close enough.
October 7th, 2007 at 11:22 am
You may think I'm strange (well, that was probably confirmed long ago), but I've long heard that frogs are lucky. Maybe as a science teacher, I just consider all LIVE frogs lucky... Anyhow, according to a website I visited, there's some history behind it. Hope it makes you smile...think of the little guy as a symbol of survival and success!
“In Ancient China, toads were a symbol of longevity, and they were associated with Liu Hai, the God of wealth. The goddess of the Moon was also depicted as a toad.
Frogs were not symbols of death but, on the contrary, of rebirth and renewal, because of its remarkable metamorphosis of egg into tadpole and from tadpole into frog.
As in mythology, modern shamanism links the frog to earth and to water and its cleansing, healing and creative powers. Frog medicine can help you to refresh and renew yourself, clear up your emotions, become more sensitive to others, and even to dive deep into your unconscious and maybe carry some truth found there up to the surface. Frogs also teach a connection with the earth and everything on it, and the ability to see the magic and beauty behind it all. Because of its famous croaking voice, it can also teach how to use your voice to stir emotions.” (Or as a horn, as the case may be!) :o)
October 11th, 2007 at 7:51 am
You are right Tracy, you ARE strange :-p Haha, couldn't resist. :D
That's a very interesting little history you have there, I would take it as a good luck omen Jeff :)
October 14th, 2007 at 4:03 am
That frog is so cute, and I enjoyed reading Tracy's response on frogs too!
November 5th, 2007 at 9:54 am
How awesome! I'm glad your riding buddy survived!