Who has more fun than us? We do!

That’s the motto up the road at Bentley’s Saloon, a favorite meeting place for motorcyclists from all over New England. Inside, motorcycles and bras hang from the ceiling, and outside there’s huddles of motorcycles when the weather is good, and you can get a pretty good bacon cheeseburger there, just about any old time.

It’s the spirit of the Bentley’s motto that gets to me, not the logic.

In my line of work I use a lot of words. Mostly have to write them down on bits of paper and put them somewhere until I need them. The problem is remembering where I put them. So, I use the Ridley-Bateson Filing System, which means that nothing is ever lost, never misplaced, and usually can be found again through persistence and dedication.

I go through a procedure where I say, for example, I’d better put it here, but no, I think it would be better over here on this thing, but no, now that I’ve thought of it, I think under this would be the best place for it.

Consequently, when trying to find it, I have to go through the same procedure, for example, I probably would have put it here, but no, I would have thought it better over here on this thing, or after I thought it over, I must have thought under this would be the best place for it. Et voila! There she is.

On one occasion, when challenged by a distant relative, whom I had promised a very specific word, and, unable to find it for her quickly enough to satisfy her, I had to explain, that, without using the Ridley-Bateson Filing System, I lost track of things so fast that utter chaos was the usual result. Even if it took some time, the system worked for me, and that was a smart thing to do.

I developed a motto for myself, with no motorcycles and no bras, and there’s lots of places where one can get a good bacon cheeseburger. It’s not the logical pattern of Bentley’s motto I admire, but it’s the positive spirit that shines through:

Who’s smarter than me? I am.

Orrin Frink is a Kennebunkport resident. He can be reached at ofrink@gmail.com.

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