By: Sandy Bowersox
Hello. My name is Sandy Bowersox. It is very nice to meet you.
The “Focus on Fabulous” editor, Michelle, asked me to submit an article about being a woman in a man’s world. To tell you a bit about myself, I am a Texan by birth and have a proud heritage. I am a strong, direct woman with a classic Type A personality. My husband and I have been married 50 years and have three grown children and seven grandchildren. In the very near future, I will “inherit” two more delightful grands.
At almost 70 years old and reflecting on my life up to this point, I realized that everything I’ve done has prepared me for the positions I have been asked to fill after I retired. Believe me, I no longer have a comfort zone to hide in. Let me explain a bit.
For about 10 years, I was a law enforcement chaplain. I am not what one might call a religious person but, rather, a spiritual person. As a crisis chaplain serving the community, I accompanied the coroner on death notifications. Paramount to my position was confidentiality no matter who I was working with.
However, I felt that to better serve law enforcement and first responders, I needed to know what it felt like to put on a uniform and a badge. The only way to accomplish this at my age was to become a constable. In some states, constables are elected; in South Carolina, they are appointed. I applied to SLED and was accepted. My training consisted of classroom work, qualifying with a firearm and passing a written exam at the end of the training. In light of this training, I teach the psychology of trauma in many of the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) classes. My fear of public speaking quickly vanished.
As I mentioned earlier, I do not believe myself to be particularly religious, so when I got a call from God that I was to be a light in the biker community, my first thought was that God had clearly made a mistake or I was having some sort of breakdown or mental crisis. I first told God no. Then thinking more clearly, I checked myself and said, “It’s probably not a good idea to tell God no.” So here I am!
The instructor at the motorcycle safety class said that because of my age, I would not catch on as quickly as the younger ones in the class. I told him that was fine—I just needed to learn to ride. To say the least, it was very difficult for me because I am such a perfectionist and very hard on myself. I was not used to doing anything that didn’t come easy for me; my frustration spilled over in the form of tears (which is very rare for me also), but I refused to accept defeat and I persevered. It has been very rewarding.
My first adventure with group riding was to ride with the Patriot Guard Riders. We stand a flag line for fallen soldiers and first responders at their funerals or welcome-home ceremonies. It gives me satisfaction and pride to be able to render honor in this manner.
I now have a family anywhere I go where there are other bikers. As I discovered, bikers are some of the kindest, most generous people I know.
Thank you for your kind attention to some of my story—a woman in a man’s world. I hope I have inspired you to tackle whatever you desire despite your age or limits you may put on yourself. Life is an adventure. Ride it while you can!