PSA

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Zen Summary VI

Seeking wisdom, the Emperor Gyo sent a messenger to a hermit named Kyoyu, offering to hand the empire over to him. Kyoyu not only flatly refused, but upon hearing such a foul suggestion washed his ears in the river Ei. Another Hermit, Sofu, coming there to water his ox and seeing this, led his ox away, saying he would not let it drink such filthy water. - Zen Story

The whole world is you. Yet you keep thinking there is something else. - Hsueh-Feng

As naturally as the oak bears an acorn and the vine a gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done. - Henry David Thoreau

Settling on a blade of grass, a dead leaf; the dew does not discriminate over what to call home. - Soin

You can tell wether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell wether a man is wise by his questions. - Naguib Mahfouz

In your heart, you already know. - Zen Saying

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding and trilling bolster his ego. - Jean Arp

Buttons You Cannot Wear at Work - Try #2

I so WANT this one!!

heh heh

Phft...

BAWhahahaha!!!!



He's a cute little,pink bunny!!!



This one is mine too!!


I need to give this to a few ladies...


This one is for me!!!!

BAWhahahah!!!!

Buttons You Cannot Wear at Work

EDIT - 09/27/08 10:30am - Good gawd!!! You’d think posting pictures on the f’ing internet would be easy... BUT NOOooo!!! Please stay tuned.

1:35 Re-posted (better work this time...) GRRrrrr

See here for the re-post...

One Year Ago Today

No, not a bolgaversery, but it was the beginning.

***flashback August 12, 2006***

The PGR had just finished a parade in N. Manchester, IN. My wife and Dazd had come from a SAR demo to the parade in time to participate. In September of ’06 I had been with the PGR for 7 months. I must say I have never felt more welcome or more surrounded by friends. And yes, that includes any church I have ever been in. As it turned out, Dazd felt the same, even though this was his first ‘mission’.

After the parade and before September 25, 2006, Dazd had written these (here & here) about his experiences. The writing was fantastic. I was enthralled. And I read comments... I went back into his archives and read more. I was fascinated.

I was reading the commenter’s blogs and, assuming the post were real, getting to know some of these people. I remember thinking, “These people are friends some are almost like family”.

***jump to September 25, 2006***
It didn’t seem like many days after the parade that our phone rang, late... near mid-night if I remember correctly. Missus Dazd was calling... Dazd was in the hospital, he had a heart attach.

My missus agreed to inform some of their mutual friends and I was going to let the PGR folks know. Dazd had connected with many of them and had joined the group.

Who would tell Dazd's online friends what had happened. I volunteered.

I posted “hey, he’s ok but...” messages on MrsJ (she's blog AWOL right now) and Janet’s sites. Freddie may have been in there to. I knew nothing about bloging or the blog-o-sphere. I think I learned pretty fast.

That is, more or less, how I got started and why.

------------

I'd tell (ask) you to go over and wish him a happy anivesery buuut I think it's a day he'd rather forget. He has said something about having a head ache today so maybe you can go just wish him well.

Thanks!!

WOW!! What a Ride!!

Life's is not a journey to the grave; to arrive safely in a well preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, totally worn out, penniless, and severely scarred shouting "HOLY FUCK.....WHAT A RIDE!!!"

The past week was... stressful. I decided to ‘ride’ Friday after work to clear my mind. It works, it’s great. I had to run home first and check on a couple things... so I didn’t get out on the road until 7.

“A Ride” – I have recently come to find out that what I call a ride and what others call a ride seem to be very different. Most people go 10-15 miles. Cruise around their neighborhoods, explore some other neighborhoods. With the speed limits, they are gone 20-40 min. I ‘ride’ (especially if it is a clear my head ride) with two basic philosophies. 1 – It’s not the destination, it’s the ride. Basically just go. No plans, no place I ‘have’ to be, just riding to ride. 2 – Sometimes it takes a full tank of gas to clear your head.

Number 2 is a big one for me, I left at 7, got home about 11:30. Rode 135 miles. Not quite a tank of gas but 90% of it anyway. Cleared my head well. On the last 40-50 miles I caught up with a Porsche. We ‘raced’ along at 80-90 miles per hour down I-69. Me leading, him leading. Running in and out of traffic. It WAS A BLAST!!

I am aware that this ‘pushing the edge’ stuff is part of who I am (lots of reflecting this weekend). The adrenalin is... cool. I enjoy it.

Sooo... If I have another close call, I’ll try to post it here, not looking for sympathy. Just to give you all the opportunity to say ‘told you so’. And to give me an outlet for some of this adrenalin.

EDIT - fixed typos...

Repetition Breeds Contentment

You can do something and have it freak you out. You do it again and maybe you aren’t quite as freaked. Eventually you can just do it. People over come a fear of water, bugs all kids of things. Even people that work at your waste water treatment plant don’t really smell the place any more.

Turn that in to learning a new skill or re-learning an older one and you can very quickly get a false since of security.

I’ve been riding a motor cycle this time for about 3 years. I’ve noticed recently that I’m riding faster and faster. 70-80 in a 55, 65-70 in a 45, 85-90 in a 70...

Today coming home, I was going fast. I’d even say showing off, if there had been someone keeping up with me. I slowed to turn into my neighborhood and down shifted. Hit the brakes and distinctly remember deciding not to down shift again. I swung into the turn, fast. Too fast. It was a right hand turn, with left hand turns, your kick stand will drag, often. For me, almost never the right side... this time SCRAAPE!!! The loudest metal on asphalt sound I have ever heard.

Instinctively my right foot went out to catch myself from a fall. My leg snapped back from the speed I was going and hit the passenger floor board so hard I twisted it on its mount. I couldn’t make my foot hit the passenger board if I had to. My foot was kinda pinned there and I scrapped off about and eighth of an inch off the toe of my shoe.

The bike slowed, I righted it. It was going really slow, I almost dropped it.

I have no idea what happened between deciding not to down shift, my toe dragging and the bike going really slow.

I never hit the ground, except my toe. There doesn’t’ seem to be a bunch of scrapes on the bike, although the right floor board (drivers) was bent up about an inch. Everything works, on the bike and me. Although my right ankle has a tennis ball sized swollen lump on it. It hurts like hell.

I need to slow down. I think I learned my lesson.

What Have I Done???

Gawd!! I hate not having facial hair. I hadn't trimmed the ol goatee since about April... then WHACK. I cut the whole thing off. Yuck!! And don't ya just love the double chin??

Shopping 101

Guys - For those of you that get dragged to Wal Mart to ‘shop’, here are some fun things to do to break up the boredom.

Ladies - We will entertain ourselves, drag us along at your own risk.

***************
Take boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they aren't looking.

Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

Walk up to an employee and tell them in an official voice, "Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away."

Go to the Service Desk and put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

Move a "CAUTION - WET FLOOR" sign to a carpeted area.

Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers they can come in if they will bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

When a clerk asks if they can help you he began crying and screamed, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

Look right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while picking your nose.

While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk where the antidepressants are.

Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the " Mission Impossible" theme.

In the auto department, practice your "Madonna look " by using different sizes of funnels.

Hide in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yell "PICK ME! PICK ME!"

When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume a fetal position and scream "OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!"

Go into a fitting room, shut the Door, wait awhile, then yell very loudly, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!!!”

Math Is My Friend

Math, I love math. Rules are rules, 1+1=2. Can't stand English. i before e except after c... WTF??

I can remember numbers, my SS#, my wife’s SS#, my desk phone, office and cell phone numbers, my wife’s cells (2), office and pager numbers. But I have to ask spell check if I spelled squirrel right...

Numbers I just remember, and stuff like this;


Everyone knows if a number is divisible by 2 or 5, right. How about some other numbers?

Dividing by 2

All even numbers are divisible by 2. E.g., all numbers ending in 0,2,4,6 or 8.

************
Dividing by 3

Add up all the digits in the number.
Find out what the sum is. If the sum is divisible by 3, so is the number
For example: 12123 (1+2+1+2+3=9) 9 is divisible by 3, therefore 12123 is too!

****************
Dividing by 4

Are the last two digits in your number divisible by 4?
If so, the number is too!
For example: 358912 ends in 12 which is divisible by 4, thus so is 358912.

***************
Dividing by 5

Numbers ending in a 5 or a 0 are always divisible by 5.

*************
Dividing by 6

If the Number is divisible by 2 and 3 it is divisible by 6 also.

***************
Dividing by 7 (2 Tests, either/or)

Take the last digit in a number.
Double and subtract the last digit in your number from the rest of the digits.
Repeat the process for larger numbers.
Example: 357 (Double the 7 to get 14. Subtract 14 from 35 to get 21 which is divisible by 7 and we can now say that 357 is divisible by 7.

NEXT TEST
Take the number and multiply each digit beginning on the right hand side (ones) by 1, 3, 2, 6, 4, 5. Repeat this sequence as necessary
Add the products.
If the sum is divisible by 7 - so is your number.
Example: Is 2016 divisible by 7?
6(1) + 1(3) + 0(2) + 2(6) = 21
21 is divisible by 7 and we can now say that 2016 is also divisible by 7.

****************
Dividing by 8

This one's not as easy, if the last 3 digits are divisible by 8, so is the entire number.
Example: 6008 - The last 3 digits are divisible by one, therefore, so is 6008.

****************
Dividing by 9

Almost the same rule and dividing by 3. Add up all the digits in the number.
Find out what the sum is. If the sum is divisible by 9, so is the number.
For example: 43785 (4+3+7+8+5=27) 27 is divisible by 9, therefore 43785 is too!

It Was a Good Day

Saturday started at 0300. It should have started at 0900 but the missus wanted to have breakfast Saturday morning before I went on a PGR mission, with some PGR folks she hasn’t seen in a while. Well, then she proceeds to say out till 0100 and informs me as she crawls into bed, that she is gong to sleep in... Jeese. Those people she hasn’t seen in a while are going to be there so I CAN’T sleep in.

So, I’m up at 0330 (read O-Butt thirty), dragging my tired ass around (I was up till 2300 hours Friday night trying to sew... (that’s another blog post at another time, promise) trying not to wake anyone.

It was 38 degrees here Saturday morning and predicted to be 68 for a high. Leather was the uniform for the day but I had to be sure there was room in the saddle bags to put things as I warmed up.

0400 - I head out. After a summer of 33 90+ degree days my blood has thinned, bad. My coat wasn’t zipped completely, no gloves and no head covering except for a very thin skull cap. And for those that don’t know, no windshield (a.k.a. - wuss shield) I love the cold, I am almost never cold. Last year I rode in 20 degree weather.

It is 8 miles from my house to the first meeting place. How do I say this... FUCK me it was cold!!! By the time I got to the first McDs (and there was no interstate riding) I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. My gawd I was cold. On go the gloves, skull mask, zip the coat up to my neck and zip the sleeves closed. I was better, and we were on to the second stop for breakfast and hot coffee. I was much better.

Enough about me. The real reason for Saturdays trip. The 1744th was coming home!! 150 members of The 1744th Transportation Company were coming home after 17 months in the sand box, all of them!!

We, about 20 of us, met with them at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, IN. We rode up I-65, around Indy on I-465 then west on I-74 to the Indiana Illinois line. At the IL line about 50 Illinois riders joined us and we went on to I-39 and up to Streater, IL.

The IL State police escorted us the whole way. About 10 miles into IL the bridges were full of people waiving flags and waiving at their Illinois sons and daughters coming home. At the Streater city limits we were picked up by two fire trucks and a Streater city police officer. Sirens screaming, lights flashing, we entered the town. The streets were lined with flags and well wishers. Children, grand parents, parents, brothers and sisters lined the streets with signs ‘welcome home’, ‘we are proud of you’, welcome home John, your family missed you’.

In the central park are of the town several hundred (maybe a thousand, I can’t estimate crowds) people were waiting. As the heroes got off the buses you could hear the families call out ‘Johnny, we missed you’. The solders, not yet relieved from duty, had to off load and form ranks one more time.

As they walked by, many... most were mugged by family. Long hugs from tearful family. A husband smelling his now year old son for the first time. A mother holding her now walking and nearly talking 3 year old.

As the solders were being dismissed we crossed the street and had some late lunch at the local VFW. Shortly after that we left.

Here are a couple videos and pics. They’re from my phone, so give me a break on the quality, but I think you’ll get an idea of the festivities.







Now for the mission of missions and to date, the greatest honor I have had with the PGR.

While we were in Camp Atterbury some of us decided to ride on to Illinois. The reason, the Sr. Ride Captain from IL, Greg Bowman died last weekend in a motorcycle accident. He had just logged 20K miles in 20 weeks, on PGR missions. Because our first mission is funerals of KIA and in effect Greg was in action, in our minds. We reasoned that many of the IL riders would be there and not able to meet the 1744.

News of Greg’s death had reached these troops. In a brief but very honorable ceremony Caption Jennings presented us, the riders going all the way to Streater, IL, with a flag. Not just A flag, THEIR flag. Yeah, the flag they had flown in Iraq for 16 months at their duty station. It was their request, that we present this flag, as a token of their appreciation for his service to Americas Military, to Mrs. Bowman.

During our quick dinner, it was decided that I *gulp* should present the flag to Mrs. Bowman... wow, this is more of an honor than I can describe. I’m glad it was about an hour to Princeton, IL because I spent the time composing my self and trying to find some words that might express what I was feeling and what needed to be said.

When we got there, the official service was over so we went to the Bowman’s house. About 25 members of the family were there and gathered around and I presented THE flag. It has never been harder for me to speak. I think I did ok.

20 hours after leaving home, 675 miles passed. 150 Heroes are home. THE flag has been presented. A widow knows her husband will not be forgotten. Tears were shed. Hugs were exchanged. New friendships have been formed.

And I am humbled.

It was a good day.

Blogroll is Back

Take a look, there are some great reads over there. If I forgot ya, tuff... hahah
Seriously, send me a message and I'll be sure you get on the Roll.

Friday Funnies - A Late Arrival

The marriage of an 80 year old man and a 20 year old woman was the talk of the town. After being married a year, the couple went to the hospital for the birth of their first child. The attending nurse came out of the delivery room to congratulate the old gentleman and said, "This is amazing. How do you do it at your age?"

The old man grinned and said, "You got to keep the old motor running."

The following year, the couple returned to the hospital for the birth of their second child. The same nurse was attending the delivery and again went out to congratulate the old gentleman. She said, "Sir, you are something else. How do you manage it?"

The old man grinned and said, "You gotta keep the old motor running."

A year later, the couple returned to the hospital for the birth of their third child. The same nurse was there for this birth also and, after the delivery, she once again approached the old gentleman, smiled, and said, "Well, you surely are something else! How do you do it?"

The old man replied, "It's like I've told you before, you gotta keep the old motor running."

The nurse, still smiling, patted him on the back and said: Well, I guess it's time to change the oil. This one's black."

Friday Funnies

The only cow in a small town in Arkansas stopped giving milk. The people did some research and found they could buy a cow up in Indiana, for $200.00.

They bought the cow from Indiana and the cow was wonderful. The cow produced lots of milk, and the people were very happy. They decided to acquire a bull to mate with the cow and produce more cows so they would never have to worry about their milk supply again.

They bought a bull and put it in the pasture with their beloved cow. However whenever the bull came close to the cow, the cow would move away. No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he could not succeed in his quest.

The people were very upset and decided to ask the Vet, who was very wise, what to do. They told the Vet what was happening. "Whenever the bull approaches our cow, she moves away. If he approaches from the back, she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. An approach from the side and she walks away to the other side."

The Vet thinks about this for a minute and asked, "Did you buy this cow in Indiana?"

The people were dumbfounded, since they had never mentioned where they bought the cow.

"You are truly a wise Vet," they said. "How did you know we got the cow in Indiana?"

The Vet replied with a distant look in his eye, "My wife is from Indiana."

**********************************

You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3 The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you continue reading.

This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application. You could pick up the old lady because she is injured and will die, and thus you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams."

Sometimes we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to "Think outside of the box."

HOWEVER.. (I wonder who the hell decided this was the correct answer?!?)

The correct answer to me is to run the old lady over and put her out of her misery, have sex with the perfect partner on the hood of the car, then drive off with the old friend for a few beers.

Gawd, [wipes tear] I just love happy endings!!!!

Remember

I just finished reading Freddie’s recount of that day... And thought I’d like to get my memories down before the sands of time wear them to a nearly unperceivable dream. Like an old coin, nearly worn smooth. You still know it is a nickel, or quarter but the details are gone.

Just as I was walking into work Larry asked me if I had heard about the plane that crashed into the WTC. My mind flashed to a single engine Cessna hitting the tower(s). Some little plane that would do some damage and besides the pilot there would be no deaths.

“Where did you here that?”, I asked.

Larry said “Bob and Tom”.

heh “yeah, right”

Shit heads, I thought. Bob and Tom are doing some War Of The Worlds spoof. Guess they got you Larry, I was still thinking.

I went to my cube and started my day, doing things. At some point I was at the copier and realized there was a small group of people standing in one of the execs offices (he had a TV) watching something. I headed that way expecting a cooking show, or some morning news show with semi-nude pole dancers. Before I could enter the office Carolyn came out with her hand over her mouth, visibly shaken and crying.

OMG... as I stepped in they were showing a close up of the first tower on fire. I stood there in complete disbelief.

Then... right... there... before my God damned eyes, the second plane hit the second tower. WTF!!!

I don’t remember how long I stood there. I do know I didn’t get much work done. I saw President Bush interrupt the book reading in Florida. I heard there was a helicopter crash at the Pentagon and later learned it was the 3rd plane.

Then the 4th plane... I’m from Pennsylvania. It hit about 100 miles from where I grew up.

Somewhere in that haze of crashes, death and the news announcements. I realized this was cross intercontinental planes being used as weapons.

September of 2001 my brother was employed by US Airways. He was on a flight crew with US Airways. He almost always did the Charlotte to Los Angeles flight, intercontinental...

I called him... voice mail.

The news is talking about other planes and more possible attacks. All planes are landing. The FFA has grounded all flights

I called him... voice mail.

I called my mom. My parents are simple folk. My mom could easily go weeks with out seeing TV. I knew she had not heard about any of this when I talked to her. I tried to explain it to her and convey the gravity of the situation. She didn’t get it. Not when I talked to her. We hung up with her promising if she heard from Ian that she’d call me right away.

I called him... voice mail.

At home that evening I, like many, watched the news non stop. I don’t remember eating dinner. I had to know why and, if it was what we thought, just what the hell were we going to do about it!

About 10 hours after reality hit me in the head with a 2x4, Ian called. He had been in route to LA. They had been diverted to New Orleans and spent 6 or 7 hours in the plane waiting for a security check every person and to get them cleared. They had landed under fighter escort. He was going to be stuck in New Orleans until the airline decide to bring him home.

In the days that followed, I remember looking up into a bright blue crystal clear sky and seeing nothing, hearing nothing, no con-trails, no planes. There are always con-trails, it was eerie.

I wanted to go to NYC so bad, I would have gone to NYC to help. I so wanted to help. To do anything...

I flew a flag on my car window until I could no longer find them at the store. Had to be close to 3 years. The flag had polished a 8”-9” arc on the roof of my car. Now a days I fly a 3x4 flag on the bike.

I will not forget.

Patriot Day

Remember???

This is the 6th anniversary of one of the longest and hardest days of my life.

This is Patriot Day!!! Fly a flag. Say a prayer. Thank a solder.

Look over here........

<------------
<------------
<------------
<------------
<------------
<------------

Remember, never, NEVER forget!!!

(Update - If this doesn't make sence, click the time stamp below, it should then)

What A Weekend

My bike has been giving me fits the last week or so. Sputtering, hard to start, back-firing. I had to charge the battery last week and actually had to have it jumped Friday to get home. But, me being the hard headed dumb (or smart) ass, kept riding. Saturday was a little ride to Kokomo IN for a family day at Grissom.

We (the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders) were asked to help with a family day at Grissom Air Force Base in Peru IN. We got to staff the various booths and help the base employees, their families and their kids enjoy a few hours at the base. DC and I volentereed to be in the craft tent. The big hit there was the temporary tattoos. I’ll bet we did 100 kids arms and even a couple cheeks. (behave!!)

It was a little slow in the beginning so we were messing around (I know, you’re shocked) asking just about anyone if they wanted a tat. One lady, very school teacher or librarian looking, told me when I asked her if she wanted a temporary tattoo, “No thanks, I already have 6”. Heh heh cracked me up.

Another lady waked up with a tattoo in her hand, I looked at her and then the tattoo and was about to ask her ‘where do you want it?’ when she called her husband over and he brought their one (guessing here) year old son over and asked me to put it on his arm. He was asleep. OK... I thought. I peeled the paper, applied the tattoo and before they left, I just had to say, “if I ever fall asleep and my mom gets me tattooed while I was passed out...” shaking my head. The lady looked at me and said “Can’t let him miss all of the fun”. Oh man, we were all cracking up!!

After the craft tent we got to eat and ended the day in one of the hangers looking at a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane. We happened to find one of the flight crew and got kind of a personal tour. DC’s was a mechanic in the Army and he is a machinist and I have an engineering background so we were in mechanical geek heaven. Double redundant this and wire over hydraulic back up for that. 204,000 lbs of fuel can be carried on these planes. He told us they often find parts with date codes that are 1958 +/-. That’s older than me!! The plane we toured has been in service sine 1964.

Did you know there is an emergency switch in the tank area, that forces all of the fuel to the back and can cause the plane to ‘sit back on its ass’?? Yeah, me neither. Our tour guide said, one day he walks into the hanger and there was no one immediately around, then he realizes they all were hanging off the front landing gear. 8 or 10 guys all hanging on the wheel assembly trying to keep the plane from tipping back onto its butt. That would be hilarious to see!!!

While we were in the hanger, it started to rain. Not a nice light soaking ran, but a down pouring, lightening filled, gully washing rain. Needless to say we hung around trying to wait for a break in the downpour so we could maybe head out while it wasn’t raining.

Ummm, no. Not gonna happen, we got suited up in the rain, left in the rain... we got wet. The walk to the bike alone was drenching.


Back to the bike... sputtering, spitting... remmeber?


Grissom to Kokomo is about 15 miles; before we get 10 miles down the road my bike starts cutting out. One cylinder is dropping. FUCK!! DNR – Dave’s Not Riding, I can hear the jokes coming again. (it’s an old story, remind me and I’ll blog that one some day). DC points out that it seems better at higher RPMs... yeah, it does keep both cylinders firing. We head to the HD dealer, 40-50 MPH, tack pegged at 4,000 RPM. Poor girl is just screaming. We get there, (had stopped on the way up, so we knew they were open) and they closed 30 min ago... FUCK me!!! We catch one of the managers (drivers a company truck complete with Kokomo HD on the doors) and he listens for a few minutes and askes if I’m having electrical issues... yeah, how the hell did he know that?? He could hear the stator dome spinning. He guesses. Also guesses it would be $600 to get it fixed BUT they can't start until Monday. FUCK again!!! Kokomo is about 40 miles from home. I'm not spending the night and all day Sunday in the parking lot.

DC says, ‘let’s limp it back to my house and we crack it open and see what we can see’. We agreed if things did not work out we could take the box of parts to another HD mechanic friend of ours and he could fix it, he can fix anything.

(Greg at Cycle Machine, seriously. You need a HD fixed, especially an older one, He IS THE man)

Where was I? Oh yeah, we tear down the primary drive train. (‘we’ I said... ha ha. I watched, DC did the real work, I just bought the parts). Parts started out at 180 and ended up at 325. As DC likes to say, ‘you have to have a special bike’. It’s a police bike, and it’s been modified. So, it costs more when shit breaks. Oh well... I’m special, what can I say??

He gets it back together and we go for a ‘test ride’. Down the road, it sounds great. Clutch is good, engine runs sweet! No back firing, no sputtering!! Yeeesss!! I’m SO relieved and excited and... giddy, yep I was giddy. Road home, about 45 miles and had no issues.

Hell of a weekend!!! Ride out in the rain; laugh at, with and because of a bunch of little kids; ride in the rain; realize my $14k baby is real sick; tear her apart; put her back together... succesfully. All is good.

So.... How was your weekend???

STEELER TEAM ARRESTED

Breaking News...
Cleveland, Ohio

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been arrested in Cleveland.

After the Michael Vick affair, the NFL and all local police agencies are cracking down on dog-fighting and animal abuse.

In concordance with such policies, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been arrested for beating 53 dogs.

The dogs seemed to have no ability to fight and as such, were thoroughly beaten by the Steelers. Authorities say the beating was so bad, the entire city of Cleveland may need counseling. There have been no remarks from the Steelers...

Zen Summary V

When we are not sure, we are alive. - Graham Greene

To imagine that Zen is mysterious is the first grave mistake which many make about it. - D. T. Suzuki

The first mystery is simply that there is a mystery. A mystery that can never be explained or understood. Only encountered form time to time. - Lawrence Kushner

Forget not that the earth likes to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair. - Kahlil Gibran

God builds his temple in the heart on the ruins of churches and religions. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The knowledge of the ancients was perfect. How perfect? At first they did not know that there were things. This is the most perfect knowledge -- nothing can be added. Next, they knew that there were things, but did not make distinctions between them. Next they made distinctions, but did not pass judgment. When that started to pass judgment, the Tao was destroyed. -- Chuang-Tzu

Zen has been used for healing people’s sicknesses, but it has also been used by the samurai for chopping of peoples heads! - Alan Watts

Firearms Refresher Course

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.

11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

And lastly, just because;

Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist”.

Rally 2 - We Support Our Troops

I woke up at 7ish Sunday morning and still couldn’t stand real straight. After some breakfast; grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy and 2 or 3 bottles of water, I felt a little better. I was real glad I had not set up the tent, rolling the sleeping bag was challenging enough.We left about 8:30 for downtown Indy. It was a bout a 2-2.5 hour ride. I was SOOoooo glad we stopped about half way. I bought a 32 oz Gator Aid and chugged it down. I was finally beginning to feel ‘human’.

We were scheduled to meet with ALR (American Legion Riders) and MCR (Marine Corps Riders) in an old mall parking lot on Indy’s east side and ride west into down town. Lloyd was there with water (good thing, it was HOT!!). And Terry was there with about 175 3x5 flags.



This was our second year to do this rally. It is cool, the group www.USMCFamilies.com puts the whole thing on. All we really have to do is line the steps with flags.

This year, they decided we ‘needed some honor’ and had us head up the steps while a band played a biker/patriotic song. The singer had been there last year and was inspired to write and perform for us this year.






So, we took our place along the stairs of the War Memorial in Indy. We had about 100 people holding about 100 flags. It was a sight to see. (l got pictures, oooo, aaaahh).

From somewhere (about half way through) a group of political supporters that we don’t care for decided to walk by yelling some crap... heh!! you should have seen 100 leather clad biker types head down the stairs with flags in hand. A rough line was formed and they passed on by. Apparently headed down to a rally of their own. The neatest part was the folks standing around watching asked if they could have a flag and join us. Before they could get by, almost all of Terry’s 175 flags had been grabbed up and were flying!!! It was FANTASTIC!!!

One of the speakers L/CPL Klay South (fonder of Veterans of Valor http://www.veteransofvalor.org/ ) just had to thank us. Said something about there still being fighters in America and we will win this with people like this supporting us. He made us blush. LOL!!!

One of the highlights of the rally was John Kiger (country singer). He preformed his newest single “Ooh Rah Up” (he spells it oorah up). WOW!! What a powerful song and so true to the Marine spirit. You can find the song at www.oorahup.com. It is a 99 cent download and all of the proceeds go to USMC Families for the month of September. How cool is that!!! This is a video from the rally, but PLEASE, go down load the song... it's only 99 cents!!





The rally finished with the members of USMC Families reading the names of all Indiana’s fallen heroes.

It is my honor to list their names here.




Allen Jr. Ronald D. - Specialist
Amos II John D. - Private 1st Class
Babb Brock A. - Sergeant
Balmer Ryan A. - Technical Sergeant
Baughman Nathaniel S. - Corporal
Beadles Jason J. - Corporal
Bechert Michael A. -
Black Jarrod W. - Sergeant
Blair Jonathan F. - Corporal
Blakley Richard A. - Staff Sergeant
Blodgett Clinton C. - Specialist
Blue Shaun M. - 1st Lieutenant
Boling Craig A. - Sergeant 1st Class
Brown James - Lance Corporal
Buckley Roy R - Specialist
Carter Curtiss A. -
Childress Kyle William - Sergeant
Clemens Brian -
Colburn Gavin J. - Private 1st Class
Colvill Jr. Robert E. - Sergeant
Corban Jeffrey W. - Specialist
Davenport James R. - Lance Corporal
Deblanc Darren A. - Private 1st Class
Depew Cory R. - Private
Faulkenburg Steven W. - Command Sergeant Major
Faulkner James Daniel - Sergeant
Fiscus Michael -
Flanigan William T. -
Frantz Matthew C. - Specialist
Frickey Armand L. -
Frigo Nathan J. - Petty Officer 1st Class
Frist Luke P. - Specialist
Fritsche William R. -
Gamble Jr. Carter A. - Specialist
Gonzalez Zachariah -
GramesSanchez David J. - Lance Corporal
Hallal Deryk L. - Private 1st Class
Halling Jesse M. - Private
Hartge Nicholas S. - Private 1st Class
Harting Adam J. - Specialist
Heath David M. - Sergeant
Hensel Shawn D. - Private 1st Class
Hester Charles B. - Private 1st Class
Hill Joshua -
Hillenburg Eric - Lance Corporal
Hudson Christopher E. - Private 1st Class
Idalski Nicholas R. - Specialist
Jack Edward E. -
Jeffries William Andrew - Specialist
Johns Jason D. -
Jones Rickey E. - Sergeant
Keith Chad L. - Sergeant
Kimmell Matthew A. - Staff Sergeant
King Bradley D. - Staff Sergeant
Kirkpatrick David Austin - Private 1st Class
Langenbrunner Richard P. - Private 1st Class
Lee James -
Lewsader Jr. Roy P. -
Lueken Eric R. - Corporal
McKinley Robert L. - Private
McKinzie Antoine J. - Corporal
McLochlin Jeffrey -
Miller Jr. Frederick L. - Staff Sergeant
Monroe Christopher T. - Specialist
Montgomery Jr. Robert J. - Sergeant
Muralles Marcus -
Murray Jr. Robert W. - Private 1st Class
Pabla Paul - Staff Sergeant
Pahnke Shawn D. - Private
Penisten Brian H. - Specialist
Pfender Jonathan R. - Private
Powell Willard M. - Corporal
Proctor Joseph E. - Sergeant
Profitt Jason -
Putnam Cody A. - Corporal
Rios Duane Roy - Sergeant
Rojas Jonathan - Staff Sergeant
Sanders Gregory Paul - Specialist
Seal Aaron L. - Corporal
Seig Anthony P. - Private 1st Class
Shank Neale M. - 1st Lieutenant
Simmons David N. - Private 1st Class
Sirko Steven F. - Private 1st Class
Smith Darrell L. - Corporal
Snyder Norman -
Stahl Nathan E. - Private 1st Class
Strong Joseph A. - Specialist
Swain James E. - Lance Corporal
Thompson Lance M. - Corporal
Trost III Marvin Lee - Staff Sergeant
Weiss Andrew R. - Specialist
White Raymond L. - Specialist
Wiesemann Michael J. - Specialist
Wilkey Jr. David A. - Private 1st Class
Wilson Bryan S. - Corporal
Wright Jeremy -
Zubowski Scott A. - Lance Corporal

Good Grief

You know you are really busy if it takes you more than a week to post about one weekends activities. That or you just parited like a Rock Star and lost too many brain cells...

The last post about LAST weekend is almost done, just need to insert some pictures and it will be up. Later to night, I promise.