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Posted by Clint Dixon on Wednesday, November 05, 2008 at 19:16:16 :
I was once a member of a couple of local 4-wheel-drive clubs. Each club had it’s own approach to the hobby. One was loosely based around a certain brand of vehicle that the majority of its members drove. They leaned towards outfitting their trucks with tires of a certain size, lift kits, and winches. They were also heavily involved in organized competition (mudbogs, mud drags, truck pulls, truck shows, etc.) and community events.
The other club was much less strict on vehicle requirements. They were pretty much a run-what-you-brung group of folks. Trail riding was the most popular event for this club. They volunteered to cleanup and maintain trails and to transport Doctors and Nurses, and to rescue stranded motorists during natural disasters and inclimate weather.
I really liked being a member of both clubs and I enjoyed the diversity that they afforded. Each had so much to teach me. I also viewed my membership in the two clubs as being the best way to make my voice heard when it came to issues like land closures, lift laws, etc. The two clubs had a common goal on these and most all issues concerning off road vehicle use.
It soon became apparent that the two clubs were at odds with one another, incredibly simply because they were taking different paths to that common goal. I made a lot of friends in each club and felt that their differences were minor and that we were all corner stones in the bigger picture. There remained, however, a few individuals in each club that felt its members should not associate with members of the other. They were very vocal on the subject and jumped at the opportunity to point out flaws they perceived in the other. While I agreed with the majority of what they stood for, their attitude towards the other, and towards me, soon made me feel unwelcome in their presence. Regrettably, I came to feel that those few had become “bad apples” and were giving all four-wheelers a bad reputation in the eyes of people outside the hobby. I found myself feeling ashamed to admit that I associated with such friends.
I left both clubs and, in doing so, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. To my surprise, much of this weight now rested on my heart. I felt sorrow in leaving behind all of the friends that I had made. I missed the common bond between us, and the sense of belonging that I had once enjoyed.
Both clubs eventually disbanded. Old dirt roads were gated closed and the community turned to events sponsored by other groups with interests far from four-wheeling. I became a lone four-wheeler and adopted a strong commitment to avoid club-like bonds altogether.
Junior
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