Rooster has a plan...

     Rooster is a Harley man.  He loves nothing better than riding that big ole bike of his down the back roads of South Carolina, a moment  in time when he is the original Freebird.  Riding down an endless black ribbon, heading nowhere in particular, just a man on his bike-- that's Rooster's idea of a real good time.
  He loves that bike so much  he is determined that he is going to get Sissey on it and take her for a spin.  As her mother, I naturally have some grave reservations.  It's not that I don't trust Rooster. I know he would move heaven and hell to do anything for Sissey, and would lay down his own life before he let a hair on her head get hurt.  But my motherly instinct is flashing big red flags when it comes to letting her get up on his bike.  If I had my preference, she would only be transported down the highway in an army tank surrounded by a full brigade of armed troops with a chopper flying surveillance overhead. I don't think that is too much to ask.
   Needless to say, the thought of her riding on the back of a Harley, every body part vulnerable, every fiber of her being unprotected and exposed, not a single steel panel between her and the road -- the mere thought of that gives me heart palpitations.  I have thought of every excuse I can to keep her off Rooster's bike, but as I said, Rooster has a plan. For everything.
     He asked me yesterday morning if I had an old pair of Sissey's shoes that he could borrow. Knowing Rooster, I assumed he had met a child somewhere that was in need and that he was determined to find a pair of shoes to give them.
     "Rooster, all of Sissey's shoes have holes in the toes," I told him.  He knew how she dragged her feet until the toes were completely worn off, and I couldn't imagine him wanting to give a pair of her used shoes to anyone.  I offered to just buy a pair of shoes for whatever child he was assisting, but Rooster said that was not why he needed them. 
      "I have a plan for getting Sissey on the bike," he answered.
     Uh-oh, I thought, I better think quick.
     I began to come up with a long list of reasons why I didn't think she'd be able to ride the motorcycle with him.
     "I'm worried she'll slip off the back," I began.
      Rooster said his bike had a tall backrest that she could lean against.
     "I'm worried she'll lose her balance and fall off," I said.
     Rooster told me he had bought a dock worker's harness belt to strap her to the back rest and already had it installed on the bike.
     " I'm worried her feet will slip off the footrests," I tried next.
     Rooster informed me that he had bought platforms for her to rest her feet on and had them installed on the footrests as well.
     "I'm worried she won't be able to keep her feet on the platforms," I countered.
     Rooster said that's why he wanted a pair of her shoes. He was going to velcro them to the platforms so they wouldn't slip off the footrests.
    " I'm worried about the weather," I finally said, running out of reasons to put this off but giving it my final, best shot.
      Rooster said he is working on that one too. I imagine he and God have been having plenty of conversations about the appropriate climate needed to take Sissey for a ride.
     I'm predicting that some spring weather is going to be coming soon.
     Ride, Sissey, Ride.