*** Portrait Of Words ***

May 2009 version of

Vin had been running with the biker gangs since age 12 or 13, then when he turned 16, Bubba loaned Vin his Harley to take the test and get his drivers license. Of course, Vin had been driving motorcycles for 2 years by then, so it was nothing new except that now he would be legal. Hey, a guy had to do something legal once in awhile. His license said Vincent Kevin House, though all his friends just called him Pig and soon forgot he ever had a name other than Pig. Vin's parents didn't know by this time where he was, and they didn't much care either. He'd pretty much been on his own since he was out of diapers, his parents being drunk or high or just too busy partying to care about a little boy, so the biker gang, The Hades Guardians, was the only family he had ever really known.

Over the years, Pig & his 'brothers' rode hard, and partied hard... they also broke a lot of laws. The day finally came when Pig woke up and realized he'd had enough. He had had enough of the riding, the partying, and especially the illegal activities that were now getting worse and more frequent. He realized he wanted out, and knew they would not just let him walk away. After all, he knew too much, and they believed that if you weren't with them you were against them.

That is the day Pig got out of the bed he'd shared with another woman whos name he didn't remember, got dressed and rode his Harley away. In his heart, he told his 'brothers' that he loved them and told them good-bye, though to them he'd just said, "Going to the store," then kicked the Hog over and rode away. Pig rode down to 128th near Mainland Street, the downtown core of the city where he lived in eastern USA. There he parked his Harley, put 2 hours worth of coin in the meter, and walked away. He walked down a block to a second hand clothing store where he purchased some 'new' clothes, clothes he'd never dreamed he'd ever wear in this lifetime. There was a pinkish-red coat with blues and other colors in the lapel, a multi colored scarf that would cover his shaved tattooed head until the hair grew back in, and a crazy print hat to top it all off. He also bought himself a pair of sandles. Wearing his new duds, he donated the black leather jacket & chaps he'd recently spent over $1,500 for, and his top quality boots that were also new. Now Pig was dead, Nivek (his middle name, Kevin, spelled backwards) walked out of the shop and into his new life. Nivek flagged down a cab and climbed in.

"The airport, please, and stop at a drugstore on the way."

At the airport, Vincent Kevin (Nivek) House walked up to the counter and asked for a ticket to any place in California. He figured now that the best place for him to go was to the far side of the country where he could begin his new life and have less chance of being recognized. He purchased his ticket and then, with a 2 hour wait, he went to the bathroom with is bag from the drugstore. He removed a pair of scissors from the bag and 'snip, snip, snip' off came the long beard, making it a short, cleanly trimmed beard instead of the long, wild one he's always had. Next, he took out the dye he'd bought for beards and died his from blonde to a nice medium brown. He knew that if he shaved the beard off after so many years of wearing it, the skin under the beard would be white compared to the rest of his face that was well tanned from riding in the sunshine. That would stand out too much, so the trim and dye job would be the best way to go.

Nivek didn't care which city he went to in California, that wasn't important to him as he knew none of them anyway, so he just took the plane to the first airport he could get a plane flying into. He had known a guy a few years ago that lived in San Jose, in fact, was a San Jose motorcycle accident attorney, though he wasn't concerned about the guy just now. From the airport he caught a cab which took him across a big read bridge and into the city. Every time he crossed that bridge for years to come, he would remember that day. He would remember the first day of his new life.


He asked the cabby if there was a good, fairly cheap place to stay for awhile 'til he got settled. The cabby knew of a few so took Nivek to one of them. Nivek thanked him, paid the fare including a good tip, and went into the motel.

"Yes sir, may I help you?" the girl behind the desk asked.

"Hello. I hope so. I need a room for awhile," Nivek told her.

"How long will you be staying?" she queried.

"I don't know. I just got to town today. I need to find a job and stuff."

"No problem. I have a room I can let you have by the week at a reasonable price. Would you like to see it?"

"No. No need. I'm sure it will be good," Nivek assured the girl, paid for 2 weeks, and having gotten the key and directions, he went to his new home. He unlocked the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. Looking around, he saw a clean room, the usual motel furniture and ugly picture above the bed. He was sure there would be the usual Bible in the drawer. He had nothing to unpack, so, taking off his coat, hat and sandles, he laid down on the bed and went to sleep.


When Nivek awoke the next morning, he was surprised he'd slept so long. For him to go to sleep at 7pm and sleep for 12 hours was definately a first. He acknowledged that he must have been really tired, likely had been under more stress over the last 24 hours than he'd realized and now felt fairly safe. "After all," he said to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror having just showered and dressed again in his new, very unfamiliar clothes, "I don't even recognize you, so don't guess anyone else will either."

He walked down to the Office of the motel where he found a man behind the desk now.

"Good morning," greeted the man. "You must be the fellow my daughter checked in to 312 last night."

"Yes, sir, that would be me. I'm Nivek House, glad to meet you," he said and the men shook hands. "Say, I'm new to town and need a job. Can you point me to where I can buy a car? Maybe give me an idea where to start looking for a good, honest job?"

Ten minutes later, Nivek left the motel and walked to the car lot the man had recommended. He enjoyed the walk, something he'd not done much of all the years he'd ridden a Hog and walking hadn't been cool. When he hadn't ridden his Hog he'd driven one of the trucks The Hades Guardians owned and often used to haul a broken down bike, or used in winter months when the weather was 'not biking weather'. Today, he bought himself a fully restored, late '60s VW Bug with a sunroof in it.

"Very Californian," he joked to the salesman as he paid cash and signed the papers. As a member of The Hades Guardians, money had never been a problem, though now he knew he'd soon need a job if he was to make a go of things. Oh, he could get money with no problem if he had to, though he'd made up his mind he didn't want to get it 'that way' in his new life... he wanted to go 'legit', to keep it legal.

After purchasing proper insurance on the VW Bug, and filling the gas tank on it, he found a nearby cafe where he enjoyed a big breakfast and a few cups of coffee. Being the man he was, he flirted and chatted up the waitress as she served him, though he kept it 'respectful' and light. As he prepared to pay his bill, Nivek asked the woman if she had any ideas where a man could find an honest job.

"Well, there are many vineyards out in the Valley," she said, "and from what I've heard, they often hire pickers at this time of year. I'd recommend you go check them out, if you have a way to get out there."

"No problem there, I just bought an old VW so can pretty much get around," he assured her. He paid the bill, she gave him directions, and off he went in search of a new job as a new man. He laughed as he started his car and drove away from the cafe... after years of drinking wine, he was about to go get a job picking the grapes to make the stuff. Oh ya, life could take some pretty wild swings.



To find more on what POW is all about and/or to see other participants, visit Jeff, the one who started this challenge, at Portrait of Words. And here are the photo prompts for May '09.



Thank you to Akelamalu for leaving me a comment which included a link to the photo prompts for this month. I was 'having issues', lol. Akelamalu also left me the link in a comment on Jeff's blog in response to my request for help, as did Thom. I am grateful to you both, and to Jeff for telling me how to find it in future.