{"id":5648,"date":"2008-09-01T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2008-09-01T04:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=5648"},"modified":"2020-01-14T10:25:58","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T15:25:58","slug":"a-monster-at-kindergarten-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2008\/09\/a-monster-at-kindergarten-class\/","title":{"rendered":"A Monster at Kindergarten Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSay Cheese!\u201d
\n\u201cNo, wait, say Monster!\u201d
\n(Click goes the camera)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not everyday you see a kindergarten class surrounding a red Ducati Monster S4R Testastretta yelling – \u201cMONSTER!\u201d<\/p>\n

But then again, not every five-year-old has a mother who writes for motorcycle magazines.<\/p>\n

Now\u2014It\u2019s possible that dreams do come true.<\/p>\n

A long time ago, I had a dream that my son would be riding with me on a long journey across the country, not unlike the main character in Robert Pirsig\u2019s book, \u2018Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.\u2019 So, when I brainstormed the idea that mommy and her motorcycle would be a good \u201cshow & tell\u201d item for my son Gus\u2019 kindergarten class, it not only registered in the whoa-that-would-be-cool category, but more in a deep subconscious way. My dream voice was already ahead of me manifesting a machine for the day.<\/p>\n

A monster machine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked myself \u2013 wow, could the Ducati Monster be more perfect for a group of five-year-olds? Especially my son, a master in his world of monsters and superheroes, most of whom designed by his own creative genius molded with crazy superpowers and cosmic quirks \u2013 my personal favorite; a headless zombie horseman who stole brains from others only when he needed to think. What a riot! I knew he was going to freak out when he found out that mommy\u2019s motorcycle was called Monster \u2013 fuel for the next series of ghostly ghouls.<\/p>\n

Gearing up for the kids.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wanted to make a good impression. And with that came the responsibility of representing myself as a safe motorcyclist. I was riding one of the fastest naked motorcycles in the world and it was up to me to showcase the respect I had for 130 horsepower by gearing up appropriately. It felt good \u2013 the boots, the armour, the leather, but I had to admit a bit surreal racing off to an elementary school.<\/p>\n

Zoom zoom\u2014Off to show and tell\u2026 Motormommy style.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, here I was in the main playground right beside the basketball court – me, my motorcycle and twenty-five little rascals ogling my machine. Gus\u2019 teacher, Mr. Bemister, introduced me as the guest speaker for today, and honestly I had to do everything in my power not to burst into laughter. I was a professional. I must show it.<\/p>\n

(Giggles to self.)<\/p>\n

I told the kids about my job as a motorcycle journalist, I showed them all the protective gear I was wearing including armour down my spine and then I asked them if they wanted to see the 998 cc MONSTER!<\/p>\n

Woo hoo!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, at this point the kids were all excited and following my lead. I explained that the motorcycle pipes were hot and NOT TO TOUCH the bike \u2013 adding at the last minute an excited inquiry \u201cwho wants to hear the growl of this MONSTER!\u201d They all squealed and I revved the motorcycle louder and louder with a few flicks of the wrist. The best part, Mr. B offered all the kids ice cream. Perfect! Ice cream was here \u2013 never fear, this show and tell could do NO wrong.<\/p>\n

Treats for everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Bemister later commented on the presentation, \u201cIt\u2019s good for kids this age to see women doing things that they think men can only do. They were pretty stoked seeing the bike and especially watching you ride around the playground. When you have experiences and memory connections to something, you have a better chance of retaining that information and therefore a better chance to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, I asked Gus, \u201cDid you like mommy\u2019s show and tell?\u201d<\/p>\n

He calmly reflected on the day, \u201cI liked the ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n

I laughed out loud, \u201cWhat about the MONSTER?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I liked the monster sound. That was cool. Your armour was awesome. My friend Kai said you were good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good enough.<\/p>\n

Ah well, all I could do was just laugh and give Gus a tickle.<\/p>\n

They got their ice cream, I got my Monster.<\/p>\n

Life was good. MMM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Special thanks to John Valk BMW Ducati for the bike.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSay Cheese!\u201d \u201cNo, wait, say Monster!\u201d (Click goes the camera) It\u2019s not everyday you see a kindergarten class surrounding a red Ducati Monster S4R Testastretta yelling – \u201cMONSTER!\u201d But then again, not every five-year-old has a mother who writes for motorcycle magazines. Now\u2014It\u2019s possible that dreams do come true. A long time ago, I had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,1856],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Monster at Kindergarten Class - Motorcycle Mojo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2008\/09\/a-monster-at-kindergarten-class\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Monster at Kindergarten Class - Motorcycle Mojo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cSay Cheese!\u201d \u201cNo, wait, say Monster!\u201d (Click goes the camera) It\u2019s not everyday you see a kindergarten class surrounding a red Ducati Monster S4R Testastretta yelling – \u201cMONSTER!\u201d But then again, not every five-year-old has a mother who writes for motorcycle magazines. 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