August 30, the little town of Sturgis, Mi. buried a fallen soldier, SSGT. Rodgers. This young man of 28 years left behind a beautiful wife and a 3.5 year old son. He gave his life for our freedom. The Patriot Guard Riders were there and orchestrated the processionals, providing much needed leadership, experience and lots and lots of flags! We had over 1000 bikes show up. It was an awesome display of patriotism. Unfortunately, the wackos from Kansas, the Westboro Baptists were there also. All four of them, shouting out their stupid songs, flashing their insulting signs and stomping on our flag. The local police chief handled the situation very well, restricting them to 20 feet of curb and 5 feet of sidewalk. The were ringed with soldiers carrying flags. The entire town turned out with a great show of patriotism, cumulating in a wonderful ceremony at the football stadium. The Patriot Guard Riders had bikers with flags ring the football field. Very impressive! Here we are, small town America, standing tall and proud and showing the radicals of the world what we believe in. Naturally there wasn't much press coverage as it is not fashionable to be patriotic today, but we still are and Thank God for that!
My Shrine Unit did a parade in Delton, MI. on Saturday. Great people in Delton and we had a ball. Overall there were over 10 Shrine Units in the parade, generating good will for our favorite charity, our hospitals, where we care for children, FREE!
Yesterday, my Hog Chapter had a great ride! We had 33 bikes show up and we raced off for South Haven, a few hours away. We did several stops, hoisted a few and just had a great time! One the ride, the bike ahead of me hit a big ol' nasty pothole with his lady getting some nice air in the process! Her cellphone popped out of her back jean pocket and went skittering across the asphalt into the ditch. Knowing how attached all you ladies are to your cellphones and knowing what a huge pain it is to put all those darn numbers back, I pulled out of the pack and went back to search for her phone. I found it and caught the pack in a few miles. She was so grateful, she had tears in her eyes and promptly bought me dinner! Outstanding! Just one of the many great things that happen traveling down the road with your buddies.
Last Saturday, 6/14/2008, the local Sturgis HOG Chapter put on a Father's Day Ride, open invitation. We had well over 50 bikes and many of them had grandsons and grandaughters, sons and daughters on them. We all had a ball, zooming around the countryside for about an hour, then stopping at the Dairy Queen for the kids. Huge ice cream cones and even bigger smiles. You should just see those kids eyes light up when you start up 50 HOGS and they are on one! A great way to introduce kids to what biking is all about!
Had a meet and greet Saturday Night with a lady. I was on time and she was a no show. She claims she got there late. How much time would you wait for a lady?
Last night I lead to the pack to one of our favorite pizza joints, Ci-Ci's in Battle Creek. Great ride, very scenic through rural St. Joseph County. On the way back, my downshift lever on my RoadGlide got loose. She has a rear kicker lever for upshifts, but downshifts were at first difficult then impossible. Rather inconvienent to say the least. It was a five minute fix in the garage with all my tools. I was wondering if this is a common problem and does it have a semi-permanent fix?
Last Saturday Night I was sitting on my Harley outside a tent that was having a dance. No date, but love the music, so I just parked at chilled. A very pregnant lady with a small child in the backseat of her car was trying to back out of her spot, when she struck a barricade. Naturally I laughed, especially when she kicked the barricade and got back in her car and beat on the steering wheel. She then tried again to back up with about the same result. Remembering my married days and how difficult being pregnant was with my ex, I got off the bike and strolled over to her. I told her I would move the barricade, one of those really heavy wooden ones and guide her back. She just stared back with those "Oh my God, a BIKER!" eyes. I got her on her way in a flash, but she didn't stop and say thanks or anything of the sort. My point is that although at least 50 people, including two cops, were standing around and the only person the lifted a finger to help the lady was a biker. Yet she was so afraid of me, she couldn't even stop and say thanks. Maybe we need to work on our image a bit. I did my part last Saturday Night.
Saturday my Shriner Harley Drill Team participated in the Sturgis Michigan Parade for Michigan Week. We actually won an award! The real award was waving at all the people and presenting a positive role model for motorcycles. The crowd loves the roar of the Harleys and the manuevers that we do. Sometimes its difficult to be turning lock to lock, scraping the floor boards and waving at the people at the same time, but it sure is worth it! Any other parade bikers out there?
Just got back from the court where I am contesting support payments for my adopted son. He is 17, quit school, has a beautiful little daughter, lives with the mother and is working full time, yet the court thinks I should still pay support. This is Michigan, of course. How does this work in other states?
What's with these "mature" ladies going after the young boys? We had a run on Sunday and one of the more "mature" (over 50)ladies in our group made a big play for this guy in his middle twenties. He smelled bad and yeah, you could smell him from about 6 feet away, had needle marks in his arm and I don't think he is a blood donor and was just a really scuzzy lookin dude! She was all over him! We were embarassed for her. Naturally in came to the logical conclusion most of these things do, she "loaned" him $20 and he disappeared. This is a nice lady, a school teacher for goodness sake. Why would she have this sudden lapse of judgement. She had not been drinking either. Poor thing was down the rest of the day and we did our best to cheer her up, but really, I think she got off really light from the horror stories I have heard before.
Yesterday I gave a pint of my blood to the Red Cross. Its an ongoing thing with me, every 2 months. My son had leukemia and its my way of giving back. Anyway, one of the questions was, "Have you received money for sex in the last 6 months?" Just to be a devil, I said "Yes". Well, a firestorm erupted and the Grand Inquisition was quickly formed! I told the lady it was a joke! After all I am 56 years young now and I would gladly, very gladly, do the deed for free! This did not amuse the Inquisition either. I explained that I was single, had been for some time now, without female companionship for longer than I wish to admit and the question struck me as sublimely stupid! It was explained to me, in the manner you would explain something very simple to a person of extremely low intellect, that since the Red Cross operates in large, metropolitan environments and not just little hick towns like Sturgis, Michigan, some people would pay me to have sex with them. Delighted, I asked for their names! Unfortunately this had another adverse effect on the Grand Inquisition. I was told to collect my vials, tubes, blood packet and papers and wait on the furthest table, closest to the door. Then Nurse Godzilla came and rewired my arm for me with repeated digs and jabs. Now, fellow bikers, I am a manly man, but DAMN that hurt and it brought a tear to me eye, much to the delight of Nurse Godzilla. Now I have this huge bruise on my arm, like a crack whore and I can't go to the gym today and probably all this week. So, fellow bikers, if someone asks you the question if you will have sex with them for money,under no circumstances do you reply in the positive or someone will abuse your body and take your blood. Will I give blood in the next two month cycle? Of course I will but I will remember they have no sense of humor!
I just attended my grandaughter's very first birthday! It was a gala affair, complete with fireworks. My grandaughter, Summer, had a great little party dress for her Elmo Themed Pizza Party. She even had a new 'do with what little blonde hair she has. The fireworks came when the ex's sister came and exploded all over the place, especially at me. Strange I hadn't talked to the woman in over three years, no email, nothing. I was touched by her passion, believe me! So was everyone else as the host of the party asked her to leave three times.I endured it all and finally moved to another seat, graciously offered to me by the host, right next to my beautiful little grandaughter. Such is the reward of keeping a civil tongue. This is the first time I had meet my grandaughters folks and they were full of apprehension over meeting me. They only knew through the ex's lies and exaggerations, so it was a real stroke of luck the ex's sister made an ass out of herself, showing the world what an irrational woman can sound like in public. It seems my offense this time was an email I wrote to her sister, expressing my disappointment in her son, my adopted son. I thought it was a shame she let him quit school. I thought it was equally a shame that he impregnated this lovely girl and had a daughter by her, then dumped her to shack up with a 14 year old. I thought it was a real shame he is not working and not paying support on his child, my grandaughter. I expressed more than a little indignation that he is being drug tested, at random, over the next several weeks. I think any parent who really cares about their child would be indignant about these things and how they affect their child. It is nothing short of child abuse to allow a child, under your care to act in such a way. Perhaps if I would have been allowed a little more interaction with the boy, things would have been much, much different, but the courts deemed my presence not necessary for the young man, so my visitations were not enforced. What a pity! Another drag on society. Well, anyways I got to meet my grandaughters parents, finally and they were wonderful people. My hats off to the ex's sister for illustrating how really whacked out the ex's family was and how truthful they were with them.
Here it is December 17, 2007. We survived the blizzard of 07 with 15 inches of snow on the ground. No serious mishaps, just an aching back from the shoveling. Went to my HOG Christmas Party and did the gift exchange. Got a very nice key chain and a wonderful meal. Boy, those HOG Ladies can sure cook! I was up for photographer but didn't get it. I really like the lady that got it, so I will help her as much as I can. Looks like the kids will make it Christmas Eve. All my boys that is. My wild child daughter is off to Lake Tahoe for two weeks. Can't blame her though. I would go to if I had the bucks! Enjoy life while you have the health and wealth to make it happen! I have been teaching quite a bit in the local High School. Interesting work. I do everything from Physical Education to Special Education. I like the kids and they seem to like me. I am really concerned about all the foreclosures going on in my little town right now. I have sold Real Estate for the last 30 years and I can't remember this many before. My trade magazines predict over a Trillion Dollar Loss in 2008! A Trillion is a Million, Million. Hard to grasp that amount! Well, have a Very Merry Christmas out there and a Happy New Year!
Last Friday, my Hog Chapter took a woman for a dinner ride. She had lost a leg to diabetes, had a heart attack 6 months ago and had a stroke on the table during that operation that crippled her right arm. She also has terminal cancer. The woman is only 52 and is not expected to see 53. We rode her for 45 minutes with her caregiver riding on my bike, a few bike lengths back, to give emergency care if needed. We treated the lady like a princess and she said it was the most exciting thing that has every happen in her life. Sure made me proud to be a HOG.
We are having a Toy Run in Sturgis, Mi. this Saturday, September 8. It is being held just outside of town on Kelly Road. Its a huge deal, with thousands of bikers attending. Last year we had over 4000 bikes in the run. Admission is $20 and a new toy per person. Its an all weekend deal and camping is available on the site. The run starts at 1:00PM on Saturday, covers 60 miles of scenic St. Joseph County (lots of lakes and rivers) and takes about 2 hours to cover. Come and have a good time!
After posting my pain after my last relationship ended, I would like to thank all the wonderful people out there who had the compassion to write and give good, solid advice. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! As put by several bloggers, this site used to be full of helpful, good intentioned people and still is for the most part. A few, representing the vocal minority, take the opportunity to lash out and disrespect others at every opportunity. Obviously you know who you are I would strongly advise you to seek the therapy you so desperately need. As for the majority, its about time we started to censor these tormented souls so that they may plainly see that the decent, helpful and concerned people on this blog wish to keep it open to like minded people and to be free from their verbal attacks. After all, we ride to be free, don't we? To suffer this type of abuse is totally outside the biker genre. Lets just turn these people into the blog site by complaining about their comments and get them eliminated once and for all. Unfortunately, because of either land, we can not physically confront said offending persons, but they really need to be told in a forceful, yet positive manner, that their comments are not appreciated, especially personal attacks apon ones character, racial diversity and educational status. In plain words, brothers and sisters, lets get the nasty people off this blog and keep them off! If you are offended by anyone on this site, turn them in! Don't hesitate! Do us all a big service. A little cooperation will yield great results.
Well, I have been dumped again! Seems like all the ladies want out there is a bunch of money spent on them, all the time. Careful, guys! If you think she is checking out your bum, maybe she is, but its the wallet thats she is really interested in! Guess its back to cruisin the bars and thats not a good thing either. I have a real aversion to going out with a woman who weighs more that I do and is taller (6ft, 230lbs). Actually the height thing is OK, as long as she is somewhat proportional. I have had good friends set me up with Bertha Butt (one of the infamous Butt Sisters) where she wants to arm wrestle! Not very feminine! Save that for latter though as I do enjoy an athletic woman! Are there any ladies out there that would just like to have a good time on a Harley without breaking the bank every time? A person who is called good looking by someone other than their mother?
Last Sunday I hit a deer with my Harley! It was a shocking experience, but fortunately for me, no damage to the bike or to me! The deer was DOA however. I have always been told by the guys that have been there and done that, to hit the deer head on. Don't try to swerve or brake hard. I really didn't have enough time to do any of the above, so the point is mute, however, my feet were on my pegs, where they remained until after impact with the deer. As far as I can figure, I hit the deer with my pegs, breaking at least one leg and then the impact flipped the deer over the bike onto the road. This all happened in less than a second as I was doing 55 MPH. I guess the old guard was right when they advised me to hit the critter head on, don't swerve and don't brake hard. Anyone else with a similar experience?
I have been a biker for over 30 years now and have always ridden solo two feet from the center line, in the track made by the cars. I have always avoided the center of the road where the cars drip oil, gas, etc. and don't like to ride next to the white line because thats where all the road trash,dirt, dead animals and biggest potholes are. In a pack I will ride the white line, but am wary of the risks. We almost always ride staggered as the HOG'S mandate in all their rides now. Lately I have been hearing that you should ride in the center of the lane. What is your view?
