Kindness, revved: Bikers' toy run fuels Christmas cheer for all

On any other day of the year, you might not give them a second look.

They are the leather-clad, well-worn denim and boot-wearing sort from whom you might avert your eyes as they throttle past you on the highway.

Their long hair wisping from under various colors of bandana, their scraggly beards -- some a bit more gray than others -- the patches that adorn their vests and jackets, each an affectation to indicate a "don't get in my way" sense of independence.

But, as 300 or more of Goldsboro, Wayne and surrounding counties' motorcycle club members and lone riders paraded two-by-two down Berkeley Boulevard and East Ash Street, we couldn't help but smile.

There is nothing more endearing to the heart than a tender act of kindness which comes from such an unexpected place.

The annual Wayne County Motorcycle Riders Toy Run embarked on its 29th year Sunday. And what a day for a ride with temperatures in the mid 60s and nothing but sunshine and breezes through the tree tops visible from the road to the horizon.

Thousands of dollars are raised throughout the year, each year, to make the toy run possible. And each year, piles and piles of children's toys are gathered up and delivered to kids who might otherwise wake up Christmas morning to nothing under their tree but fallen pine needles.

And so, despite the umbrage we are sometimes forced to stomach when people accuse us of never putting anything positive in the newspaper -- we take no special pride sharing with the community what these wonderful, kindhearted and generous people get together to accomplish each year.

That pride, honor, joy, etc., belongs to them.

All we offer is our gratitude and an appreciation for their efforts. We'd suggest you hug the next biker you see and tell them how you feel, but something about that just doesn't sound like good advice.

Maybe just nod, smile -- don't stare, but smile -- and give them an extra bit of space out there on the road.

We're sure they'd appreciate nothing more sincerely than that.

Published in Editorials on November 19, 2017 9:00 PM