Keith Irving:  

In 2017, I ordered a new 2017 Harley-Davidson "bagger” Street Glide Special Custom with the new Milwaukee Eight engine. I’ve been riding bikes since I was 17. I immediately did a Stage 1 - Screamin' Eagle breather, pipes, and computer - so the engine would run cooler. Since then, I have been adding new H-D brand parts to customize my scooter. My next Harley will be a CVO to save travel time and labour costs doing custom work at the dealership like I have since 2017. CVO's cost more but CVO Glides are already done. I’ve met many new people on Harleys at Longley H-D (my Harley dealership). They ride once a month: “Meet At 5 for Supper and Ride At 6”. In Bancroft, there is a local group which meets at Tim's on Thursdays and are on the road by 6 pm. Retired fellas and gals can all ride together here in Bancroft. I've met Christian and Freemason bikers on other runs. Classy Chassis Cycles have courses and entertainment every month, biker rides. The important one is the “Highway of Heroes” ride to Trenton AFB for a small ceremony and return.. I could not make it this year but my buddy said there were over 4000 bikers. Flags flew over the 401 as police and firemen were also there on the overpasses. I do plan on going next year. In the future, I plan to travel the Pacific West coast on my Street Glide. I lived my life having few regrets. When I was younger, I hopped freights when returning home from jobs in Northern Ontario. Fighting forest fires, slinging under helicopters, and flying in all types of fixed and rotary wings for four years often gave me adrenaline rush. But it's a young man's job. And as far as doing risky things, I am older and wiser today. When I look back on my life, I've come to realize God's plan for me all along was to learn how to help and to care for others. As a Christian, I know an eternal life with the Lord without sorrow, pain, or suffering as I have experienced in this life awaits me. Any Christian who has experienced his rebirth in Christ followed by the indwelling of the Spirit in their heart knows this. I experienced this at about age six thanks to my mother reading the Bible to me. It was only then that she felt confident that I was ready to be baptized into her Anglican faith. She was of the old evangelical Anglican church. Today the Church has split into the Church of England Anglican Communion and ANiC which is evangelical. I took many risks as an adventurous and precocious child. Memories remain like they happened yesterday. I made mistakes and I have sinned. As the years passed, I wandered, but the Good Shepherd would always find me. It was the proof to me that one single sheep was as important to Him as the whole flock! In His Spirit, He walks, talks, and rides with me. I hear, understand, and converse with Him. The Father provided His Son to be the Sacrificial Lamb to replace Israel's ritual sacrifice to cover their sins. Only the Father knew that Jesus would have to die on the Cross and enter into Hell to take the sins of the world upon Himself. Rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, the Father extended His Grace to us as Gentiles. In Jesus' resurrection and ascension, Jesus defeated Satan. I have my greatest conversations with Jesus when I am alone. His Spirit sustains me. He is always there in my heart. He has always called me to give Him my burdens of sin, guilt, despair. He has always been with me to bear the loss of a loved one. Many of my "boomer" generation, were involved with drugs. I never did, and if acquaintances tried to involve me, I resisted them and ended the relationship. A Roman Catholic landlady said to me: "You will be judged by others by the friends you keep." I remember her words and it's my guide for any association even today. She was a great influence on my life as much as she was with her own family. The lives of many teachers, MNR, and OPP who boarded at her place were just as affected. In 1990, my Presbyterian father entered eternal life with our Lord and Saviour carrying him in His arms. Nine years later, He carried my youngest sister in His arms to eternity. Neither mom nor dad were church attendees and neither am I. Dad was taught the Bible by his Bible Christian mother. He and his six other siblings attended a Scottish Presbyterian church in Allanwater, ON. Mom was an avid Bible student as a young girl in pre-war London, England. My Church of England mother taught me God's plan of salvation from her KJV Bible. Once she knew I accepted the Lord, I was baptized in St Albans Anglican Church in Capreol, Ontario. Mom never did believe in infant baptism. She was raised in the evangelism of the original Anglican church. She taught me that one has to understand why God gave His only Son to die for us on the cross first, and that He died in our place for our sinful natures as men. While we are weak in facing temptation. He can become our armour. During WWII she was a British Army ATS radar technician, and she met a young Canadian soldier at the Beaver Club in the Canadian Embassy who was to become the love of her life. Their marriage was postponed at the last minute when Dad's leave was cancelled and the Canadian Army was shipped out to participate in the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy. At war's end, they married and mom became a war bride for her Canadian soldier, As an interesting note when she came over on the Aquitania, she had the original wedding certificate as all war brides did. But when dad came back to Canada first, he had the original wedding certificate. For each returning soldier and each of their war brides, two originals were issued. Today, I have them both. As their only surviving son, I had two sisters and only one survives. Having attended Sir Sandford Fleming College – Forestry Campus in Lindsay, Ontario and Aylmer Police College, Ontario, my career included Forest Fire Fighting, Enforcement, and Forestry. My nephew lives in Saskatoon, SK. My cousin Judy is Coldstream, BC. And Sally lives in the Fraser River Valley. I plan to leave my estate to my nephew Sean, his two daughters, some to the local hospital here, and some to Rameses Shriners. My old friend and Ministry Forester will execute my Will. I will be either flying out or riding out to see Sean, Judy, and Sally sometime in the near future. As our parents, the old boys are all gone. Now, we have become that old generation. Sometime within the next “seven to ten years”, I hope to travel Australia via the Ghan and the Indian-Pacific. I love train travel, and I know it would...Expand for more