Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas June 2017 TRMOK | Page 22

FEATURES
SAFETY
“WHAT’S IN YOUR LUNCHBOX?”
BY MATT THOMASON
My Mother’s voice still
resounds in my head from every
time I asked the question, “Mom,
can I please take a lunch to
school today instead of eating
cafeteria food?” The answer
was always “No, Matthew. The
school lunches are good food
and I can’t fix a lunch for you like
that for that cheap.” So every day
I would sit in the cafeteria and
watch the kids who brought their
lunches from home unpack stuff
that may or may not have been
as healthy, but certainly a lot
more fun to trade with the others.
They would say things like, “Ugh!
Mom gave me a peanut butter
sandwich again.
Hey, Billy!
Trade me your package of Ho-
Hos for my sandwich.” It was
always an open market bartering
extravaganza in the school
cafeteria, and I was relegated
to the choice of a sloppy joe or
what was called a burrito every
Tuesday of my formative years.
The meat that was in those I
am sure was of dubious origin.
Hence, I was always envious
of those kids who brought
lunches from home and would
find myself fantasizing about the
tasty morsels of joy that were
held in the magical paper bags
of my classmates. Now that I am
older, my curiosity goes beyond
just what is in another’s lunch
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Thunder Roads Magazine of OK/AR
box, and has evolved into risk
management and making sure
that people have security and
safety in their lives.
Asking other bikers about
the shiny and go-fast parts they
have hanging on their bike, or
about what tools or gear they
carry is common communication
between those who own
two wheels. Something that
should also be part of that
conversation is asking what it! We always remember our
sunglasses, our mobile phone,
maybe some music to listen to
on the bike. We’ll usually have
leather gear or some kind of long
sleeve sweatshirt in the cooler
seasons, or rain gear in case the
skies open up and pour down on
us. Some have learned to carry a
few hand tools along as well, but
what do you have on your bike
that can help SAVE YOUR LIFE?
I know people that carry
kind of items others carry in an
emergency preparedness kit
for your motorcycle in the event
of an accident or other medical
emergency.
It really isn’t something we
put a lot of thought into because
the event happens so rarely, but
it is like a spare tire on a car. You
never think about it until you need firearms with them all hours of
the day because they are of the
opinion they may need one. I also
know people that carry a pocket
knife for “just in case” reasons.
The most memorable item I recall
was that of a client of mine. She
carried a pink rabbit foot with her
on her keychain and would never
let it get very far from her at all.