“It Smells Like Freedom” at Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally 2013

It Smells like Freedom

By: Susan Schiller

"It smells like freedom," spilled out of my mouth as my husband and I sipped homemade lemonade at the Sturgis ® MOTORCYCLE RALLY 2013 this weekend. I closed my eyes and replayed scenes from the Rally, relishing the sunshine on my face and the mountain breeze that kept us cool.

The Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally 2013 is in its 73rd year and hosts between 50,000 to 100,000 guests each August. The population of Sturgis, South Dakota is just over 6,000, and it's said that the population of the whole state doubles during the Rally.

Everyone wants a chunk of the change and these bikers make heavy deposits all up and down I-90 and in my neck of the country, Hwy 212. Sturgis is the hub of biker traffic and these motorcyclists will fan out to all the major tourist destinations, including Mount Rushmore, the Hot Springs in Thermopolis, and Yellowstone National park, among many other places.

Tents and makeshift second-story boardwalks line the main street of town, where you can sit overlooking the 24/7 parade of bikers while enjoying a lunch of gyros, chicken sandwiches, or hamburgers.

Motorcyles of all shapes and sizes – thousands of them – can be seen and HEARD at the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally, but my personal favorite is the Indian Chief, pictured above. Maybe more than anything I just like the fringed leather saddle bags of the Indian Chiefs… yes, I'm sure that's it!

The whole town of Sturgis, South Dakota makes the bikers welcome, and for hundreds of miles around you will see "Welcome Bikers" signs on hopeful shops and restaurants that hope to profit from the massive rally that attracts tens of thousands of bikers from all around the country.

The Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally makes me recall one of the many bikers, called "The Deacon". I used to work at a hotel in one of the fabulous tourist destinations in Wyoming, and one evening the Deacon, as he called himself, stopped to chat with me at the front desk. Our 52-room hotel filled up well in advance during Rally season, as we called it, and we had a full house nearly every day. I was turning away walk-in guests right and left, who sometimes could be quite rude because they were upset all of the hotels were full… and they would have to travel for many hours to find a hotel with an available room.

The Deacon was hanging around, watching me answer the phone, check guests in, do all of the hotel laundry, perform all customer service and custodial work… and at the end of the day, I did the nightly audit and other bookeeping chores. The Deacon liked to study people, I guess, and I was his subject of growing concern.

He said to me, "You're the only person working here?" I replied, "Yes, I'm the only one working the 3 to midnight shift." He asked, "How do you get breaks?" I answered, "If it gets quiet, then I'm allowed to use the bathroom, but I have to take the phone with me and do customer service, even in the bathroom."

The Deacon's eyes grew soft and watery. His head tilted as he tugged at his long, grizzled beard. "How often does it quiet around here?" "This is about as quiet as it gets. I haven't had time to eat in several days," I replied while dusting the counter and shelves. The Deacon smiled and shook his gentle head and waved good-bye as he returned to his room on the first floor.

You learn a lot about people when you work customer service at a busy hotel. You meet people from all over the world, and sometimes you remember them. I remember all kinds of people, but the Deacon is one of my favorites. When I arrived at work the following day, he had already checked out and moved on, but he left a note for me. My boss handed it to me in person. It said: "Please tell Susan how much I appreciated her going above and beyond the call of duty to meet my needs during my stay here. I enjoyed myself very much and I will stay again!"

So I thought about The Deacon and all the bikers who passed through my town as my husband and I sipped cool, sweet lemonade at the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally. Every single biker was a great customer, not just a good customer – but a GREAT customer!

The bikers made such great customers that I was eager to visit the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally to see more of them in person. You might think that a town of 6,000 people might hire extra police or security to handle such huge crowds of bikers. If they did, I only saw one security guard the whole time I was there. She looked pretty relaxed.

My husband and I noted that the ground was clean and free of litter, even though thousands of people were strolling, shopping, and sipping drinks. It was peaceful and everyone was having a good time talking to friends and strangers alike.

There are a lot of bikers who look similar to the Deacon at the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally. Long beards, curly beards, gray beards. Ponytails, braids, as well as bald heads. Tall, short, skinny, and fat. Leather jackets, jean jackets, and t-shirts. If you gaze into their eyes and talk to them, more than likely you might sense what I did… and say, "It smells like freedom" at the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally.

My thoughts return to the Deacon every so often, and I remember the huge boost I felt to receive that kind note from my boss' hand. And I wonder if this man knew I needed a taste of his freedom and sent the smell of it via his note. I've checked in thousands of guests at that 52-room franchised hotel, and many of them were "real" deacons, ministers, missionaries, and evangelists. But I never felt so honored as I did when the Deacon came in from the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally.

So it's a bit noisy this time of year as the bikers rev up their engines and roar through town. Maybe it's time for me to roar – the sense of FREEDOM in the air is contagious!

In recording my ongoing life story, I am cherishing my favorite characters and in doing so, I invest them into my future. Who knows what part my present freedom is in part due to the honor the Deacon extended to me? At any rate, I'm going to invest the Deacon into my life's future as I take what I learned from him and apply it to my life…. honoring people, especially those who often receive the hard knocks of customer service!

Hey, are you a biker, by chance? Do you know a biker? Have you been to the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally? If you come through this year, please let me know what your impressions are!

What are you favorite "life story" characters? Do you have a favorite character in your life? I'd love to hear your story – there's a little comment box below and I'd love to read your story 🙂

With all my love,

Sue

Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor –  to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.

Copyright 2012, Susan McKenzie, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline and bio, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references.  For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.

 

Tagged as: Choosing Love Today, Deborah White Dove, Rewriting the Future, True Religion Speaks