Sons of Anarchy has turned into a hot television series with an abundance of drama and an enormous following. This season, I’ll say ‘in my not so humble opinion’, has blossomed into their finest group of episodes and they’ve done that by inserting more of the internal thinking and emotion of this lifestyle.
This season’s first episode opened up with the pack riding on a highway. The camera hones in on Jax Teller, the new president and son of one of the original nine members that founded the club. The thoughts of Jax started like this:
Something happens at around 92 miles an hour - thunder-headers drown out all sound, engine vibrations travels at a heart's rate, field of vision funnels into the immediate and suddenly you're not on the road, you're in it . . . a part of it.
“Holy cow!” I thought. “Kurt Sutter nailed it!”
OK, I’ll grant you, he has a team of real bikers that bring many years of club experience to the table to probe and part of the cast are hardcore bikers that have lived the life. Kurt then translates those thoughts into his series but the most impressive thing to me is; Kurt listens! Evidently, he really listens.
Jax continues:
Traffic, scenery, cops - just cardboard cutouts blowing over as you pass . . . sometimes I forget the rush of that . . . that's why I love these long runs. All your problems, all the noise . . . gone. Nothing else to worry about except what's right in front of you.
This is the reason motorcyclists use riding as therapy. You can completely ‘zone’ out and become one with the wind, gentle vibration and trouble-free thoughts. They love ‘switchbacks, twisty’s or curvy roads (whichever term you use). These roads afford a rider the added feeling of being rocked gently, the way mothers rock their babies, when she’s comforting her little bundle, letting it know . . . all is well.
At this point in a ride, the inspiration comes to the rider saying “Just breathe!”
To me, this is better than Xanex and don’t you know, pharmacists wish they could bottle it?
These thoughts turn out to be things Jax is writing (journaling) for his children, as his dad did for him, many years ago. He continues:
Maybe that's the lesson for me today, to hold on to these simple moments; appreciate them a little more – there's not many of them left.
I don't ever want that for you . . . finding things that make you happy shouldn't be so hard. I know you'll face pain, suffering, hard choices, but you can't let the weight of it choke the joy out of your life. No matter what, you have to find the things that love you. Run to them.
There's an old saying, 'That what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger' I don't believe that. I think the things that try to kill you make you angry and sad. Strength comes from the good things - your family, your friends . . . the satisfaction of hard work. Those are the things that'll keep you whole. Those are the things to hold on to when you're broken.
When this series first started, many hardcore bikers tended to whence. They’ve worked so hard to clean up their clubs, secure honorable careers and make sure they settle issues with other clubs in the courts instead of busting heads, they hated for Hollywood to mess that up.
However, most of them still watch the episodes and maybe they’re seeing the same thing I’m seeing . . . the thoughtful side of these supposed throwbacks to the 1800’s.
A few episodes into this season, Gemma and Tara (Jax’s mother and wife) discussed the ‘extremes’ of the culture . . . another thing I have to agree with. In the past, these clubs have gone to the radical when it involves anger or getting even to a perceived wrong. It’s like it’s in their DNA – bikers don’t know how to do anything half way. However, it’s been my experience that when they toggle back to their loving, tender and faithful side (and they all have one) they allow that part of them to go to the extremes as well . The women in their lives are privy to it . . . and that’s why they stay.
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