God NO, Please, No

She cried.

Saturday morning took us to the funeral services for Cpl. Shawn D. Hensel. We road up in the rain. It was fitting.

We stood our flag line out front of the church for about 90 minutes. The old knees not being what they used to be, I was looking forward to the dismissal so I could take a break. At about 5 minutes after the service started a couple of the ushers came out and told us the family had requested we line the inside of the church with our flags... I am not one to refuse a families request. So, inside I went, inside we went, about 40 of us. What an honor...

We found a place and stood again for about an hour. Funny thing was, I forgot about my knees. Mrs. Hensel, a bride of 8 months, had come up to speak by the time we got situated. During her elegy she confessed to still checking her e-mail with anticipation of a message from Shawn and the crushing dismay as once again the reality of these days hit her with renewed force.

As the service was ending we quietly filed out and resumed out positions outside. The family filed out and the Army Honor Guard came with the flag draped casket. Through the hushed silence a womans voice could be heard, “God NO, Please, no...”. Disbelief and denial instantly turn to harsh reality and a grieving mother cries. I am not as eloquent a writer as many of you, expressing in words the gravity and harshness of the moment escapes me. Suffice it to say, if you were there, seeing and hearing, you would have cried. God knows I did.

We again were honored to be invited to ride in the procession, through the city of Logansport, IN. The citizens of Logansport lined the streets, holding flags, holding “Thank You” signs and signs that said “God Bless the Hensel family”. Our numbers were just over 100, they numbered in the thousands. Walmart, Home Depot, Pizza Hut and others must have closed their doors for the procession. The streets in front of their stores were lined with employees, holing flags and signs.

The Logansport Fire Department honored Cpl. Hensel with 2 ladder trucks and a huge flag hanging over the street.

I remember riding by a woman standing with her husband, he holding a flag and her, leaning on him, hand over her mouth, visibly crying.

At the cemetery, words were said, rifles were fired, a flag was folded. A life has ended.

However true that may be, Cpl. Shawn D. Hensel will not be forgotten.

A Story
Faces of The Fallen

A Rally-Full Weekend

It’s gonna be a busy weekend.

Cpl. Hensel’s mission and funeral Saturday morning; the state wide ‘Gathering of The Guard’, the 2nd annual; then Sunday is the 3rd annual Support Our Troops Rally in downtown Indianapolis.

The mission is below.

The state rally (on the 25th) - there is gonna be a band, a bonfire, camping, a hog, a fund raising ride and lots of food and fun!!! DC and I are splitting a half gallon of Jack!!! (you can call me shit faced). Dc and Officer Baby are making eggs and biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast. Then we (a lot of us) are heading to Indy for the Support Our Troops Rally.



Should be a great time. As always, if you are in the Indy area and have respect for the families and our soldiers, please join us.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Shawn D. Hensel, 20, of Logansport, Ind., died Aug. 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds during an enemy attack. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the public affairs officer on call).

Tomorrow the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders gather in Logansport Indiana to honor the family and remember the sacrifice made by Cpl Shawn D. Hensel. He was promoted posthumously.

It is our honor.

This mission has three parts;
* Part one, yesterday, was an escort detail. Cpl Hensel was flown into Lafayette Regional Airport. I had to work, but it is my understanding that over 50 bikes were present for the escort form Lafayette to Logansport.
* Part two, today, is an honor guard at the church. Some of our members will stand for an hour or two with flags, honoring the family, honoring the man.
* Part three, tomorrow (Saturday), is the funeral. I will be there for this part.

If you will be in or near the Logansport Indiana area Saturday, please join us.

Some of the guys that were there yesterday posted some of their thoughts on the PGR page, I think you should read them.

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

I just returned home from the escort for CPL Hensel and all I can say is WOW. We had 59 bikes at the last count, great turn out, thanks to all who came for this escort. I talked with Shawn's father after the escourt and he was amazed with what he saw and wished to thank each and every one of you all for showing up on such a HOT day. I was very impressed with the turn out of citizens along the entire route but most especially with the small town of Delphi. I think everyone in town was on the street as we came through. I nearly couldn't see to drive going through there with all the tears in my eyes. THANK YOU DELPHI and thank all the members of PGR you were great.

I am sooooo proud to be a PGR member,
Terry M.

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

What an HONOR to ride for this American HERO in the first stage of this mission. Shawn was taken home with all the dignity, respect and HONOR he so richly deserved.

As Terry said above, it is hard to ride with so many other bikes when your eyes keep running over. The out pour of people in the town of Delphi was outstanding. Makes it real hard to swallow let alone even talk. When we passed that Catholic school and all those little girls were pressed against that fence, some with their little hands over their GREAT BIG HEARTS, it was overwhelming. The bike got washed again. It was an outstanding mission from the start. Being invited by the family inside the hanger to be a part of them in this sad hour was very very humbling. Even Kalitta's pilots were right there showing the respect they always do. I had to go over and tell them so and how much it means to the family and we as PGR's, for them to display the respect they always do. I did thank them for us. I thought the one pilot was going to lose it and if he did, I would have too. Very emotional.

Ray

Zen Summary IV

Words may express it, words cannot hold it: the way of letters leaves no trace, Yet the teaching is revealed. - Dogen

Think sideways! - Edward De Bono

The meadows were a-drinking at their leisure; the frogs sat meditating, all Sabbath thoughts, summing up their week, with one eye out on the golden sun, and one toe upon a reed, eyeing the wondrous universe in which they act their part; the fishes swam more staid and soberly, as maidens go to church. - Henry David Thoreau

The fruit drips when it is ripe. - Zen Saying

The frog rises to the surface by the strength of its non-attachment. - Joso

One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. - Andre Gide

.

Come Home Soon

For the wives and families of our soldiers. CavMom posted this.

To those here, thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for supporting your soldier.

Loop For Life - Ride Report

A little over 3,000 motorcycles and about $102,000!! It was a great time. We got spit on by some big black clouds, nothing major.

It was a blast!! Riding with so many bikes is always cool. We went a little slow for my taste but hey, can’t have 3,000 bikes going 80 mph around Indianapolis, can they? LOL!

DC and I bought a sign from one of the vendors, Looks like a “No Parking” sign and is real heavy steel (18ga for you hands on types). Real nice for a novelty, it says “You think SHIT happens? <-----> Park Here”.

We left The Loop after eating and went up to Russ’ (if you click here, give it a minute to load, there is a cool song that will play once everything loads) wedding party. He (Russ) and Lisa got married Saturday morning. The sign was a wedding present!! They loved it and stuck it on the wall in his barn.

The red, white and blue bike is a ‘Boss Hoss’. This one has a 502 (yes, five hundred and two) cubic inch big block V-8 in it. AND nitrous injection (see the cans near the back shocks?).

...

Loop For Life

Imagine, if you will..

You are walking on what seem to be a rather crowed a bridge that crosses the interstate loop around your city. For some reason, although you can’t put your finger on it, something just doesn’t look right... Then it hits you, there is no traffic in the counter clock wise direction, nothing, nada. As you look around trying to gather some reason for this oddity, lights begin to appear in the distance, breaking the heat induced water mirage with an alarming quantity. First a couple, then a dozen, hundred... thousands? Can’t be that many, you whisper to yourself. Then there is the ‘sound’, a low rumble as the first lights come into view. Again increasing in volume with the lights to a thunderous level that seems to be coming from everywhere. The thunder is broken only by the louder shriek of the occasional truck horn.

A sea of color, from black to white and every color of the rainbow and many with flags, American Flags. Waiving, fluttering, popping with the speed of their approaching and departing. The people around you are cheering, some are waving flags or their own, the riders below wave back and cheer, as those around you cheer even louder. Taken up in the moment, you wave and smile with civic pride. At that moment you step back from the edge, a small boy in a wheel chair has approached and holding a small American flag, asks you if he can see in front of you. As you turn to leave you hear, “Moma, look at all of them!! Are they the ones that helped us buy me this new chair?” “Yes dear, those are the ones”.

As quickly as they came, they leave. Thousands (yes thousands) of men and women on steel horses. The sparkle of the chrome, the shine of the colors, the pride in their flags, disappear into the distance and for a brief second there is a silence that is more deafening than any horn blast.

This is the Loop For Life, a one day, once a year event in Indianapolis when they actually close the inner, counter wise lanes of Interstate 465 to car and truck traffic and only motor cycles are allowed, the police block all of the ramps and escort us from the Marion County Fair Grounds around the 60+ miles back to the Fair Grounds. As a participant there is a free lunch, there are also vendor booths and a band plays for the rest of the day. It is a good time. Last year we raised about $100,000. This year the goal is $150,000.

If you have some time Saturday and are in Indy, stop by a I-465 bridge a little after noon and watch as the steel horses and their riders break the silence with a roar of thunder. And remember the children, the sick and the needy we ride to help.

Gorilla Story

A local home owner calls animal control complaining he has a gorilla on his roof. “The gorilla is jumping all around, making all kinds of noises and scaring the children. Send someone out here before he hurts someone”, he pleads.

Animal control sends their gorilla expert out, a very old guy that looks like his better days are long past. He gets out of the truck and shuffles up to the house with a bat, a shotgun and a dog. The old guy asks the home owner “would you mind helping me out with your gorilla?”

The home owner says “Sure, It’s not my gorilla but what do you want me to do?”

“Well,” says the old timer, “I’m going up on the roof with this bat and try to scare the gorilla down here. When that happens, the dog is trained to bite his balls and hold him until we can get him caged.”

The old timer hands the shot gun to the home owner. The home owner, now rather confused, asks, “What do you want me to do with this shot gun?”

The old timer says, “If I fall of the roof first, shoot the dog.”

28 More Years

Found this at Sparrows. Looks like I have 28 more years... that doesn’t seem very long.

You Will Die at Age 73

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

Vote Damn It!!

I hijacked someone else’s post last time. This time I'll just link (HERE). K said it so much better than I could even dream.

It's a long read, but well worth it.

And don't forget to vote!!

Blog Back-Up

Does any one but me think about backing up their Blog? It seems any post I write these days doesn’t show up on my blog for some time and I am reading that a bunch of you are experiencing the same trouble. Blogs disappearing, post hiding then coming back. WTF

The last couple posts had me flipping back through the page of my blog and re-reading so of that shit. Some post are good, some... well, it’s a wonder you understand what I’m typing sometimes.

All of that got me thinking, what if Bloger has a major melt down?? They don’t promise to keep anything and loosing it is not their fault, right? How can I back-up my blog??

A year or so ago I friend showed me an application called wget. It goes to a webpage and copies everything... kinda cool for looking into the bowels of a competitors web site. Anyway, I tried it on my blog and wha-la. It worked!! I now have a complete backup copy of every post and comment on my C drive.

Cool!!


The 'How to...’ thing on Bloger sounds way like too much work. Hope this works for you!!

He's Gonna Be OK!!!

The missus and I rode up to Elkhart, Indiana Saturday. I had to see Dirtbike. He looked good, good color, big smile, hugs all around. DB’s wife is putting him under house arrest for something around a week once he gets out (should have been out Saturday afternoon). I know he’s gonna go stir crazy but it will be good for him. He needs to rest. He says he had a ‘very’ accelerated (over 200) heart rate for a couple days (I so wanted to smack the shit outta him) before he called his daughter to drive him to the hospital.

I cannot tell you how much good it did my spirit to see him, to see him hop up out of the bed and greet us. Not knowing what to expect gave me an incredible lump in my throat as we approached his room. It was great to see him.

I offered to keep the oil warm in his bike... he said there was a half dozen other guys that were in front of me and several that had offered to take the custom flamed fairing and saddle bags off his hands if the Dr’s said he couldn’t ride anymore. LOL!! I think he is actually worried about his bike getting miles without him.

All in all it was a good ride. We stopped in Kokomo and had a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way up. Covered the 120+/- miles in a little over 2 hours. The ride home was a little more relaxed, took about 3 hours. All together we covered 300 miles.

I’m so glad he’s gonna be ok.

Zen Summary III

More from my Daily Zen Canander. See the first collection here and the second here. then if your realy feeling the Zen, biker Zen is here.

How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude! - Emily Dickinson

The knife does not cut itself, the finger does not touch itself, the mind does not know itself the eye does not see itself. - Zen Saying

What is to give light must endure burning. - Viktor Frankl

We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men... trees are travelers, in the ordinary sense. They make journeys, not very extensive one, it is true; but our own little comings and goings are only little more that tree-wavings - many of them not so much. - John Muir

The universe came into being with us together’ with us, all things are one. - Chuang-Tzu

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows even though we do not love it. - Dogen

Photo of the...

Some time ago I tried posting some pictures and thought I’d do a ‘pic of the week’ or something kinda regular. Yeah, like that was going to happen.

I did, however, start this. Add it to your RSS feed. I’d hate to have you check for weeks when I may not get out with the camera for weeks. I’ll post over there sporadically at best. Right now I’m catching up a lot of old pics I have sitting around on various computers.

All Right, Everybody, Just STOP!!!

I used to marvel at ‘older’ people when they would comment ‘I’ve been to the funeral of 4 friends this year’ and wonder naively, wow, four friends die in less than a year. What happened to them? I know what happened, they got old!!

With the PGR I’ve made many friends, most older than me. We go to these missions (PGR word for funeral) and see each other, we hug and cry (yes, damn it, bikers cry) seeing the sacrifice a family has made. Some people you get close to, others you know by site only.

A friend’s husband died a little over a year ago, another friend I’ve blogged about here and here is fighting cancer, one PGR member and friend got killed riding his bike in Tennessee, another died in his sleep the first of the year and my blodfather got me started doing this by having a heart attack.

Now I find out almost a week after the fact, Dirtbike, (a.k.a Dirtbag, or Douchebag) has had a ‘heart event’ (his words) and has been in the hospital for about a week. He lives near the Michigan line and not seeing him for weeks is not uncommon but to find out he has been in the hospital for a week was like getting hit by a truck.

I want to leave work NOW and go kick his motherfuckingass for not telling me. I swear to God if that little shit says anything like “I didn’t want to bother you’... as soon as he is better, I’m gonna fucking kill him!!!

DirtBag and Me

So what am I saying... Everybody (PGR friends, work frineds, and bloging friends) just stop!! No more getting older, no more ‘heart events’ no more cancer, no more making me feel like there’s a bike parked on my chest. My heart can’t take it.

My Turn To Beg

The Indiana Patriot Guard Riders are having their 2nd annual calendar sales fund raiser. Last year we sold about 1000 calendars. The neat part and the part we are doing right now is selling the ad spaces in the calendar.

Last year we sold 72 spaces, this year we are selling 144, 12 spaces per month. This link takes you to an order form and this link to a sample page from the 2007 calendar. Please take a look. If you have any questions post them here and I’ll answer them, that way everyone will know. Buying an ad gets you one free calendar, so wish that favorite person happy birthday, say ‘hi’ to a solder, remember a fallen hero or advertise you business.

On the sample page the first 4 ads are the $50 variety (basic B&W text), the 5th is $75 (text - 50, logo - 15, color - 10) and the 6th is $65 (text - 50, logo - 15)

Edit - I have a Word copy of the order form if you'd like to type your ad/thanks out and e-mail it to me.

You Need to See This

Trust me.

Click here.

Damn Me

Have I mentioned I don’t like heat... How about the red/blonde hair, fair skin and being easily sun burnt??

I went to today’s PGR mission fully knowing of my short comings. I ate twice my normal breakfast (two pop-tarts), before noon I had drunk 4 bottles of water and I ate a power bar around noon. As the service ended around 1300 hours, I got light headed... I had to sit down or I was going to fall down. Now trying to ride a bike with no real sence of balance isn’t a good thing. So, I rested for a few minutes and tried to get up and about fell down again... the procession to the cemetery left without me. I laid in the grass behind the church for about 30 minutes and made it north about 1 mile to a gas station where I got some Gatorade and some cheese crackers. Sat there for about 30 minutes. Took this pic of a thermometer under the canopy at the gas station.

I’m just glad no one from the family saw me about passed out.

I know it is hard to see, but the needle is pointing at 100... in the shade...

DoD Identifies..

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died July 31 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Killed were:

Spc. Zachariah J. Gonzalez, 23, of Indiana.

Pfc. Charles T. Heinlein Jr., 23, of Hemlock, Mich.

Pfc. Alfred H. Jairala, 29, of Hialeah, Fla.

For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the public affairs officer on call


And the end begins... a family has closure. But does it ever end? I think not.

Tomorrow, the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders will honor the family of SPC. Zachariah J. Gonzalez. Please pray for the family, please pray for the friends.

SPC. Zachariah J. Gonzalez - Your service and sacrifice will not be forgotten. Thank you for my freedom. Rest in peace solder, rest in peace.

RE: Yesterday

Just in case you thought I was kidding, todays task bar...

Clicky for biggie.

Gawd Damned Microsoft

OK, I’m just a user, some say a power user. I have my software, I expect it to work. It worked last week, now this week it doesn’t... WTF!!??!!

I know enough bout networks, IP and Active Directory to be dangerous. But software, I can make it sing. My most joy comes from asking our crack IT staff a question about how to do something and they have to go research it for days.

Any of you computer hardware geeks out there, tell me if I’m expecting too much. I have a 3.3Mghz HP with 1Gb of RAM and I am typically running:

Word - 2-4 documents
Excel - 2-4 sheets
Outlook - calendar and as many as 10 messages open at once.
Adobe Pro PDF Editor - 3-6 documents
BaaN - our MRP software, usually 4 screens
IE - 3-4 sessions
AutoCAD 2006 - 2 - 4 small (100kb to 250kb) drawings
AGI32 - Light Rendering software usually just one

Is this too much? Should I cut back? Like I said, it was ok last week... probably auto loaded a ‘patch’ that fucked things up!!!

Fuck’n Microsoft!!

A Request...

I blatantly copied this post from Sparrow. She said it better than I could and said everything that needs saying.

LL from Chromed Curses is one of the most giving people I know. She spent hours, days and weeks putting my blog together, and she has more recently been giving a boatload of her precious free time to help a charity called America’s Wounded Heroes get their website up and running. This is a very special charity, and in case you are too lazy to click on a Sunday night, here is their mission statement:

America’s Wounded Heroes exists to:

• Provide financial assistance to military personnel, policemen, firefighters, and EMTs wounded in service who have put their lives at risk to protect and serve American citizens.


• Enable such persons to obtain relief in the area of special adaptive mobility equipment such as motorized wheelchairs, golf carts, segways, and other mobility devices not provided for by the government and private insurance.


• Give such persons monetary grants for the transition from hospitals or rehabilitation facilities back to active service or monetary grants needed for the transition from hospitals or rehabilitation facilities back to civilian life.

Since this is a brand new charity, they are desperately in need of funds. Here is something you can do to help them even if you can’t spare the quid to send them any actual real-life moolah. LL says:

I’m asking you to go to VA Joe’s and vote for us. You have to join (free) and all you do is provide a username, a password, and an email address. On the next page you can fill in name and stuff, but at the bottom, you can choose to not get any email notifications and NOT fill in the personal data.

THEN YOU CAN VOTE FOR US!!

VA Joe’s will give $2,000 to the charities that get the most votes. LL asks for so little, and it’s never for her. When she asks me to jump, I say how high, how many times and where do you want me to land, MA’AM?? Take three minutes and do it.

Because LL said so. And she can beat the crap out of you.

But also because it’s the right thing to do.

Anti Vick

Too bad he isn't wearing it.

WTF...?!

I’m by no stretch of the imagination a ‘texting expert’.

I’m listening to Yahoo Launch, the free streaming music thing, and there is the commercial about GM/Chevy translating text messages. You know the basic LOL etc. Then there is the weird string that is for their commercial. At the end the voice says ‘WTF - Wow, That’s Fantastic’... ROTFLMFAO!!!!!

Aaaarrrrgghhh!!!!

Hi...

I’ve bee through almost 200 e-mails and there are about a dozen fires that need my attention (I’m not drinking enough for this) So, enjoy a joke. Sorry, it's all I've got right now. I have posts in the works, promise. Ya know, coming back to this much ‘work’ could make one not want to go on vacation...

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

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables; and when he picked up a CD player to place in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you."

He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then clicked the light on and began searching for more valuables.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, Clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you." Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.

Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

“Did you say that?" he hissed at the parrot.

"Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you."

The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?"

"Moses," replied the bird.

"Moses?" the burglar laughed, "What kind of people would name a bird Moses?"

"The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."

Hey, I'm Baaack!!!

I’ve been gone for 5 days and Google reader tells me I have 106 posts to read!!!

I have posts that I need to write, some OLD... be patient, I’ll get to your posts soon.

BTW – 1,797 miles. Made it all the way up to lake Superior. Got some pictures too. Again, be patient.

Trip Update

Dazd here...

DNR paged me to inform us that he's in Milwaukee. Apparently an uneventful trip given he paged. I was wondering...

I know they are touring the Harley-Davidson facility but are they taking any tours of breweries? If so, DNR needs to pack a straw and an inner tube. He needs to lose the tour group and inflate the inner tube and jump in a vat with that straw. I couldn't think of a more enjoyable vacation! It could be hours before they notice him missing.

Have a safe trip DNR!

Dazd out...

I Love Ted

God Bless Ted Nuget!!!

Another Trip and More Jokes

A fun one!!!

Heading north, on the bike. Going to the Harley Davidson HQ in Milwaukee!!!

Might be wet Wednesday morning... Oh well, at least I won't be at work.

Enjoy these jokes while I get caught up from being gone last week.

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

The inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson, died and went to heaven. At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur, "Since you've been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward will be to hang out with anyone you want in Heaven."

Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, "I want to hang out with God."

St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room and introduced him to God. God recognized Arthur and commented, "Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley Davidson motorcycle?"

Arthur said, "Yeah, that's me."

God commented, "Well, what's the big deal in inventing something that's pretty unstable, makes noise and pollution and can't run without a road?"

Arthur was apparently embarrassed, but finally spoke, "Excuse me, but aren't you the inventor of woman?"

God said, "Umm, yes."

Well," said Arthur, "professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention:

1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end protrusion;
2. It chatters constantly at high speeds;
3. Most of the rear ends are too soft and wobble too much;
4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust;
5. And the maintenance costs are outrageous!!"

Hmmm, you may have some good points there," replied God, "Hold on." God went to his Celestial super-computer, typed in a few words and waited for the results. The computer printed out a slip of paper and God read it.

Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed," God said to Arthur, but according to these numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours."

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

A Horse, A Chicken & A Harley:

On the farm lived a chicken and a horse, both of whom loved to play together.

One day the two were playing, when the horse fell into a bog and began to sink. Scared for his life, the horse whinnied for the chicken to go get the farmer for help!

Off the chicken ran, back to the farm. Arriving at the farm, he searched and searched for the farmer, but to no avail, for he had gone to town with the only tractor. Running around like some of his headless cousins, the chicken spied the farmer's new Harley. Finding the keys in the ignition, the chicken sped off with a length of rope hoping he still had time to save his friend's life.

Back at the bog, the horse was surprised, but happy, to see the chicken arrive on the shiny Harley, and he managed to get a hold of the loop of rope the chicken tossed to him. After tying the other end to the rear bumper of the farmer's bike, the chicken then drove slowly forward and, with the aid of the powerful bike, rescued the horse!

Happy and proud, the chicken rode the Harley back to the farmhouse, and the farmer was none the wiser when he returned.

The friendship between the two animals was cemented: Best Buddies, Best Pals. Horse and chicken, chicken and horse.

A few weeks later, the chicken fell into a mud pit, and soon, he too, began to sink and cried out to the horse to save his life!

The horse thought a moment, walked over, and straddled the large puddle. Looking underneath, he told the chicken to grab his hangy-downy thing and he would then lift him out of the pit. The chicken got a good grip, and the horse pulled him up and out, saving his life.

The moral of the story?
(yep, you knew there was going to be moral!)

"When you're hung like a horse, you don't need a Harley to pick up chicks"

Words 'n Words 'n Words

A couple weeks ago I posted this... click this here linky.

My readers were kind enough to feed me all kinds of other words, that for some reason I am inclined to look up. I thought I’d share them with you.

BTW - nobody gave me any hints on how to get a stuck word out of my head. With a minor exception to Queenie, she at least had me laughing with a Beavis inflection.


Dazed said - myocardial infarction (I know why you picked this...)
… more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. The resulting ischemia or oxygen shortage causes damage and potential death of heart tissue. It is a medical emergency, and the leading cause of death for both men and women all over the world.

Mrs JG said - Splenic infarction
... also spleen infract; an infarction is the process resulting in a macroscopic area of necrotic tissue in some organ caused by loss of adequate blood supply. Supplying arteries may be blocked from within by some obstruction (e.g. a blood clot or fatty cholesterol deposit), or may be mechanically compressed or ruptured by trauma.

Kat said - embolism
... In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli) migrates from one part of the body (through circulation) and cause(s) a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body.
This can be contrasted with a "thrombus" which is the formation of a clot within a blood vessel, rather than being carried from somewhere else

Nancy (scares me) said - Cranial Rectal Impaction
For some reason I can’t find this one... It does however paint a very interesting picture.

Cranial - your head
Rectal - your ass
Impaction - stuck; placed in position with force

Hummmm....


A PSA:
Ladies and Gentlemen, just in case you think I’m all OCD an stuff. I do not need to look up words I don’t know and will NOT be posting your funky words in future Words 'n Words 'n Words posts. M’k?

Hello from Kansas City Missouri!!!

I took this picture yesterday at the airport waiting for my hotel shuttle. I thought it was unique and kinda inspiring. The flight in was a little rough and from the looks of the ground and trees there had been some strong winds and rain in the area less than an hour ago.

About 2 years ago I took a class offered by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS). It was a 3 day weather class.

We learned about thunder storms, tornados, funnel clouds, straight line winds and hail sizes among other things. The class was intense and for me, extremely fascinating. Upon completion I received registration/certification as a ‘Storm Spotter’.

Basically, all that means is when the tornado sirens go off, I get to grab my handy-talky (HAM radio) and head for a place (safe and out of the way of danger) and watch the storm. *grin*

I’ve always had a fascination with storms, especially tornado and sever lightning. My engineering background and basic knowledge of electricity gives me a great respect and childish fascination with the amount of energy generated by the wind and colliding air masses.

If I have my way, some day the tornado video you see on the 6 o’clock news will be mine!!

A Price Has Been Paid

Some of you know I help on another blog. I chose to put this post there. Don't ask why, just go read and say a word of thanks to Terry. I believe this summer is 5 years without his son.

Is it Monday??

I have about 9 hours of work to do before I leave at noon for a business trip. I was too hot to sleep good last night, maybe got 4 hours. I have a headache that feels like a freight train running over me. An eye infection, Dr says no contacts. I hate glasses. I was late for work, thus skipped breakfast and I’m hungry. So hungry I’m eating cold (room temp) ravioli and drinking coffee.

Somebody just shoot me.

Dumbass Press

I got this link from a Minnesota PGR member. HERE there is a poll on the right, feel free to express your right to vote. You can vote and see the results right after but after that you’ll need to register. Fucking paper!!

Must have caught me in a bad mood, I shot this off to the author already. Really can’t stand reporting half truths. Everything from motorcycle deaths, drug use, hand guns, to Iraq and Afghanistan.

GRrrrrr!!!


Tim,

You know, you writer types that present half truths to distort a story just to make people gasp piss me off!! Report all of the facts, PLEASE!!

“200 percent increase from a decade ago,” but if the ownership has risen 300 percent then the overall rate has gone down. How many owners are there now compared to a decade ago?

What about alcohol? Of the 24 “motorcycle related deaths” this year how many had been drinking? If they had been drinking and riding, they are dumbasses and have done us all a favor by thinning the herd.

What about the other half of the accidents??
Was it a car?
Was it the car drivers fault?
Was the driver of the car drunk?

Do you even ride a motorcycle? And just so you know $20K and 200 miles doesn’t make you a ‘rider’. I’ve ridden almost 10k miles (yes, 10,000) since December.

DNR

What Was I Thinking?!!

I went to bed last night and could not stop thinking “infarction”... WTF!! My brain had to make that word up. Infraction, I’ve heard of, but farc. Jeese.

Guess what I was thinking about as soon as the alarm went off at 6 am ... radial infarction, cranial inFARCtion. SHIT, this is going to drive me batty.

So, in an effort to ease my brain, I looked it up... it IS a word.

WIKIPEDIA says;
In medicine, an infarction is the process resulting in a macroscopic area of necrotic tissue in some organ caused by loss of adequate blood supply. Supplying arteries may be blocked from within by some obstruction (e.g. a blood clot or cholesterol deposit), or may be mechanically compressed or ruptured by trauma.
Infarction is commonly associated with atherosclerosis, where an atherosclerotic plaque ruptures, a thrombus forms on the surface occluding the blood flow and occasionally forming an embolus that occludes other blood vessels downstream. Infarction can also involve mechanical blockage of the blood supply, such as when part of the gut herniates or twists.


Good Lord, I hope this fixes me, I’d hate to have to look up all of those multi syllable words, I’ll never get any work done. Guess this is what I get for watching all of those Medical Examiner (Dr. G.) shows on Discovery.

What do you do to get a word or song out of your head?

Oh Good GOD!!

Would you believe that teaching children to behave leads to children that behave better...?

Yep, your Goverenment funded school of higher educations dollars at work.

HERE

Life Lessons

There was an Indian Chief who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at the same pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no, it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The Chief then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons have passed and can be considered as one life.

Another Meme

Dazd tagged me with a meme. I hate this kind... ask me some silly questions or such but 8 things about me... that I want to tell everyone phst.
I’ll just use Dazd’s answers as a template.


1. Post the rules for the meme at the beginning of your post.
2. This meme consists of the blogger listing eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged in this post are to write their own post listing their own eight random items and list the rules.
4. At the end of the post/meme, list the folks you are tagging and leave them notice of such in their comments.

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

1. I like to mix my food together, especially breakfast. Eggs (over easy), grits, potatoes; chop em up and mix em all together.
2. I am a night owl.
3. I hate the dentist. Last 2 time I’ve been (in 20 years) was to get teeth pulled. 3 the last time.
4. I don’t like dust.
5. I like cats as much as dogs.
6. I have worked for the same company for 16 years
7. I hate ‘tell us x things about you’ memes.
8. I love broccoli and cauliflower

I looked around, everyone I know has done this. I think Og and Dick would shoot me if I tagged them. So, If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged.

Jokes for Tuesday

Working on a long (2 parter) post about this past weekend. In the mean time, here are some jokes. One was e-mailed, one was posted in comments and one was told verbally. can you guess which one had me rolling...?

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

At the Pearly Gates


A man appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. "Have you ever done anything of particular merit?" St. Peter asked.

"Well, I can think of one thing," the man offered. "Once, on a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota , I came upon a gang of bikers, who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen. So, I approached the largest and most heavily tattooed biker and smacked him in his face, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, "Now, back the fuck off!! Or I'll kick the fucking shit out o f all of you!"

St. Peter was impressed, "When did this happen?"

"Just now, I still have the nose ring..."

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

Three guys are on a road trip. One says to the other two, "You know, we could be driving along here and get in a wreck and all be killed. If that happened, they'd take us to a funeral parlor and lay us out in caskets, and people would come and look at us lying there. If that happened, what would you want them to say?"

The first guy thinks and then says, "I'd like them to look at me and say, 'He was an honest, good man.'"

The second guy says, "I'd want them to say, 'He was a good doctor.'"

There's a pause and then the two who have spoken turn to the guy who had posed the question and say, "What about you? What would you want people to say if they were looking at you in your coffin?"

He replies, "Well, I guess I'd want them to say... 'LOOK! HE'S MOVING!!!!"

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

Two hookers step out on to their corner ready to start an evening.

The first says “Ahh, I think it’s going to be a great night, the smell of cum is in the air.”
The second says, “Sorry, that was me, I burped”

Operation Arrowhead Ripper

I watch the news almost nightly. I watch with a great deal of distrust and skepticism the reports on the war and Iraq. See, mixed in with my sarcasm, I’m a bit cynical. And analytical, and in watching the news, something don’t add up.

I personally know 4 or 5 guys that are back from, going to (one for a second time) or are in Iraq. I also know, second hand, several hundred (probably thousands but I’d be hard pressed to prove it) that are back from, going to or are in Iraq. To a man, they would go back or so they say. I also know one that has volunteered twice to be part of an attachment with a special mission for a year but for seniority or short straw reasons he has been turned down... Too many others had volunteered. (ahem... *clears lump in throat* makes me VERY proud and scared shitless)

Now, again with my syndical side, I think, maybe they are towing the company line and being told to say that for the ‘moral of their brothers’, or else... BUT the 4 or 5 I know personally are friends, one is family. And the volunteer... guess he’s just a proud American too. I expect they all are being truthful with me.

So, today a friend sent me a link to a story on Fox News which was a trimmed down version of this Go here. Go, it’s a long read, I’ll wait.

*hums while rolling fingers*

On one had there is the mass media saying one thing and on the other there is the troops saying the opposite. Now I find a free lace reporter that agrees with the troops. He can see what we are doing first hand and reports on it, not just the explosions and blood that is seen on the first day and as reported by the main stream media. My understanding (so far) is that he imbeds into the city and reports there for days, maybe even weeks.

I think I found a new daily MUST read. If for nothing else to balance out the TV and mass media.

A Survivor

Last Saturday (June 30th) I rode to honor a friend. Some of her story is here. She is a hell of a lady and a survivor, a breast cancer survivor. I truly believe that if she set her mind to it, there is nothing she couldn’t do.

As you can imagine, being faced with and coming to terms with ones own mortality causes one to put things in a whole new priority level. One of her must do’s is ride a Harley. Not just down the street, but on a ride. It has been some time since we agreed to do a ride and currently she is off in Halifax, Nova Scotia checking off other items on her list. Between my schedule and hers we can’t seem to get this done, so I went alone, for her last Saturday.

I don’t have any pictures but there will be some here at www.rockforthecure.com, eventually.

Also, if you live in the Indy area, Steel Horse will air some footage of the ride Sunday night. The show is from 10:30 to 11:00 on MY-NDY (channel 23).

So, check it out and like Steve says – “Be There!”

BTW - The Pink is to honor all breast cancer survivors!!

USS INDIANAPOLIS

As I said in the post below, there is a parade Saturday in Indy. Please come. Tell your firends. Feel free to save and e-mail this image to everyone you know.

Thanks!!

Just Like When I Was A Kid

Happy 4th everyone, hope it was great. Mine was, we cooked out, watched fire works and I got burnt. Just like old times.

Flash back 12 hours...

I started out early this afternoon to wash the bike. We (the IPGR) have a parade Saturday (incidentally, if you are going to be in the Indy area 7/7/7, come down town) and I will be in it, to honor the survivors of the USS Indianapolis.

Any way, started out gong to one of those do-it-yourself car wash thingies. Afterwards I ‘had’ to drive around a little to blow the water off and I ended up riding over 100 miles.

Now, being the ‘hard core biker’ (heh, more like a ‘Wild Hog’) that I am, I usually ride with jeans and boots. Not today, no. Remember, I was just running down the street to wash the bike...

Have you notice on any of my avatars that I’m blond (reddish blond)?? That means very fair skin.

Yes, you guessed it, I am BURNT!! From the tops of my sneakers to just above my knees, my face, my arms, the backs of my hands and that every increasing glare spot on top of my head. They are all now stop sign RED.

I even keep a bottle of SPF 50 in the saddle bag. Some day I’ll learn.

Do You Feel What I Feel?

Has anyone ever told you something that kinda made you laugh but then a day or two later you thought about it again and maybe, just maybe it was in insult?

Last week I was told, “you know what your problem is? When you relate a story about (this story was a solder but they meant anything) you emotionally sound like you were there and that you are hurt or elated as much as the real people”.

Hummm...

Like I said above, I laughed. Kinda thinking they were poking fun or ‘just’ teasing. Looking back, I’m not so sure. There was a meanness to the tone, almost as if it were meant to be an insult.

Hummmm...

I think they were wrong.

If I can tell you about attending a funeral or memorial service and relate the expressions of a father, remembering his son with smile and tears, such that you cry reading or listening to me talk, I think I was successful.
If I can tell you about a little girl that runs up to her daddy at a welcome home and hugs him like the hero he is, crying so much you’d think she would run out of tears and you cry from the shear joy I have related, I think I was successful.

The story...

A service member returns home after 18+ months (2 tours, back to back) and is met by his family at the airport. It is a small gathering, no big fan fare, no TV news crews. Just the unwavering love of a wife, a daughter and a son. (10 and 15 respectively).

Before the family left for the airport they had decorated the house with banners, streamers and a whole store full of yellow ribbons. There was cake on the table and dads favorite soda... there was love everywhere.

The greetings at the airport were your typical ‘family member returns from Iraq’ greetings. Hugs, tears, more hugs and “I missed you so much”. And pictures, someone took pictures of those hugs and the love could be seen in every hug, every tear.

On the way home the unthinkable... a father seeing his children again for the first time, having missed 2 birthdays each and his anniversaries... ...there was wind, loud as if a train had swept down out of the sky and was running at them on the highway, the wind was so strong... then there was silence.

The family van had barrel rolled 3 times and flipped end over end twice. No one could remember these facts, the evidence was in the ground... impacts recording a single vehicle accident. And the wind was silent.

The dad and son were ‘treated and released’... mom... has lost one eye. The damage to her skull was too severe to save it. She spent several days in a coma. There were several days there that no one was sure she would make the next few hours.
‘she’s lost so much blood’ ‘swelling of the brain’ ‘she’s not responding’
They have ‘successfully re-attached her hand’. She has started to recover, she has come out of the coma. When she awoke from her coma the dad, still in his uniform, hasn’t been home, had to tell her that her daughter had died... at the scene. She had been crushed by the van, the impacts had recorded it. And that she had missed the funeral, they couldn’t wait. She was gone.

Before he could get home, this man lost and buried a daughter and nearly lost a wife. At the funeral, he was presented a picture, about 5 days old. A daughter, hugging a dad, her hero, crying so much you’d think she would run out of tears. At the bottom of the framed 8x10 print was a poem, written by the girl, a few weeks earlier. It was titled “My Last Welcome Home, My Last Good-bye”.

There was love... everywhere.

**************************************
A friend of mine, an Indiana PGR member... this was his niece and her family. Remember the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. Sometimes it’s not the tour of duty, sometimes the biggest sacrifices are when they get home.

And BTW – the “when you relate a story about people you emotionally sound like you were there and that you are hurt or elated as much as the real people” comment. I consider it a huge complement.

A Funny for Friday

A man walked into a very high-tec bar. As he sat down on a stool he noticed that the bartender was a robot. The robot clicked to attention and asked, "Sir, what will you have?"

The man thought a moment then replied. "A martini please". The robot clicked a couple of times and mixed the best martini the man had ever had.

The robot then asked, "Sir, what is your IQ?"

The man answered, "Oh, about 164."

The robot then proceeded to discuss the 'theory of relativity' 'inter-stellar space travel', and 'the latest medical break throughs.

The man was most impressed. He left the bar but thought he would try a different tact. He returned and took a seat. Again the robot clicked and asked what he would have. He responded, "A Martini please."

Again it was superb. The robot again asked "what is your IQ sir?"

This time the man answered, "Oh about 100".

So the robot started discussing NASCAR racing, the latest basketball scores, and what to expect the Dodgers to do this week end.

The guy had to try it one more time. So he left, returned and took a stool. Again a martini, and the question, "What is your IQ?"

This time the man drawled out "Uh ..... bout 50".

The robot clicked then leaned close and very slowly asked, "A-r-e? Y-o-u-r? P-e-o-p-l-e? G-o-i-n-g? T-o? N-o-m-i-n-a-t-e? H-i-l-l-a-r-y-?

ZEN Summary

A while ago I talked about my 2007 Desk calendar being a Daily Zen. I’ve saved up a few and thought I’d share them with you now.

April 14 – The path of the enlightened one leaves no track – it is like the path of birds in the sky. - The Buddha
May 2 – Life is what one wants in one’s soul. - D. H. Lawrence
May 3 – A root is a flower that disdains fame. - Kahlil Gibran
May 19 – Shadow owes its birth to light. - John Gay
May 21 – To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and that that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not. - Akhenaton
June 7 – A school of trout passed by: the color of water. - Buson
June 12 – Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control – these three alone lead to sovereign power. - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
June 13 – “Childlikeness” has to be restored with long years of training in the art of self-forgetfulness. - D. T. Suzuki

Tart Invitation

I have this really long list of blogs I read, well, not as many as Dazd, but it is almost 50. (and, no, I don’t have them all in my blog roll. So sue me) Some I read daily, some weekly, some are more when the mood strikes me or when I just have time.

Twice now in the 8 or 9 months I’ve been bloging, an owner has changed their blog to be "by invite only"… WTF?!?

OK, ok – The first one was understandable (maybe the second one is too). Eddie (Dirk_Star) was being rather rudely attacked by some very hatful individuals. I happened to have had ‘off line’ discussions with Dirk so I knew his e-mail address. I asked what was going on and he gave me access. Now he disappears for over a month all because of some little person… I swear, people need to get their priorities straight. BTW – He has posted pics of this all consuming mixer of priorities.

The second one I found Thursday or Friday last week. “The World of L Tart”; couldn’t see a damn thing, not even an e-mail address. Apparently he can see who hits his profile, though, because he came to visit me. Cool!!

So, L Tart, if you come back, throw me a bone. I’d love to be on the approved readers list. If you know his Tartness… maybe you could put in a good word for me…

A Joke...?

A Somali arrives in Minneapolis as a new immigrant to the United States. He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says, "Thank you Mr. American for letting me in this country, giving me housing, food stamps, free medical care, and free education!"

The passerby says, "You are mistaken, I am Mexican." The man goes on and encounters another passerby. "Thank you for having such a beautiful country here in America!" The person says, "I not American, I Vietnamese."

The new arrival walks further, and the next person he sees he stops, shakes his hand and says, "Thank you for the wonderful America !"
That person puts up his hand and says, "I am from Middle East, I am not American!"

He finally sees a nice lady and asks, "Are you an American?" She says, "No, I am from Africa!" Puzzled, he asks her, "Where are all the Americans?" The African lady checks her watch and says..."Probably at work

FRIEND

Note:I wrote this June 14th. Today it has come to pass.

Wikipedia says;
an interpersonal relationship between humans
Merriam and Webster says;
1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : ACQUAINTANCE
Wiktionary says;
A person other than a family member, spouse or lover whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.

I don’t know about the affection part, maybe ‘a connection’…

We make friends at home, in our neighborhoods. We make friends at functions or organizations we belong to, like church, the gym and of course (for me) the PGR. And we make friends at work. All of these friendships take time to develop, to form.

I have a friend, here at work, that I’ve known for about 2 years. Our friendship is new. We’re not “close friends’ (what ever that means) We’ve met each others better halves, but not been to each others house. I don’t think we’ve even had lunch. But this friend is strong, makes a decision and sticks to it. Knows who they are and they’re proud. Pride is a miss leading term in today’s society. Their pride is evident but not ‘puffy’.

I have recently found out that this friend may be leaving, heading home. Although I am happy that this long desired move may make things better, I will miss our conversations. Our sharing of some new restaurant, laughing at the characters in a new movie and talking about the South.

My Friend – Know that you will be missed and thought of often. Be well, be happy, be yourself.

A mission – Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bechert - Continued

A slide show.

A mission – Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bechert

Today we went to stand for SSgt. Michael A. Bechert.

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bechert, 24, of New Castle, Ind., died on 14 June in San Antonio, Texas of wounds suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on May 30 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

His family only asked us to stand at the entrance to the grave yard. It was our honor. Ssgnt Bechert was survived by his wife and his 20 month old son.

God bless and be with the family.

Guest book

A Mission - Lcpl. Nathanial D. Windsor

Today I heard a father talk of teaching a son to fish and I thought back to the days I spent fishing with my sons. I heard about a son that even in his early years drew every picture with a flag in the background and thought about the pictures my sons drew and I still have at my desk at work. Stories about an infectious laugh and a sense of humor that was contagious and could light up a room. I heard a father speak, and cry, with so much pride in his son. A son, successful and proud, is a hero, especially to his dad.

This son, Lcpl. Nathanial D. Windsor, 20, of Scappoose, Oregon & Huntington, Indiana is a hero. Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary, died from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq in March of 2007.

Today, we stood to honor this man, this hero, this son, as his family remembered him. They spoke of earlier days when a boy was excited to learn and tell everyone that there were man eating turtles in a local canoeing spot. A wiry boy with the heart of a Marine, even years before that decision was made.

God bless the Windsor family. No words can express the flood of feelings from this days events…

Thank you for your service and thank you for your sacrifice. You, Lcpl. Nathanial D. Windsor, will not be forgotten.

A Guest book.

A story.

Amazing!!!!

Go here. This is ... I have no words... this is an angel on earth.

PS: You're gonna need a tissue

This Blog is Rated

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
gun (3x) slap (2x) hell (1x)

Found this at LL's place. Guess they caught me on a good week.

Friday's Feast #149

Friday's Feast #149

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have.
I refuse to wear a watch on the weekends - My weekdays are full of meeting and time dead lines. I refuse to let my weekends be controlled by deadlines and ‘clock watching.

Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?
Piano – There is so much varity that can be played on a piano. Don’t get me wrong, I love a screaming guitar but to be able to sit down and play some jazz or blues.. that would be awsome

Salad
How long is your hair?
2-3 inches… short but not really short… how does one answer this question?

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?
My son, this am – left the van on (keys in it) all night. Had to jump start it so he could make it to summer school.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
Microwave – more like the one I/we use most. It broke about 3 months ago, we bought a new one within a week and I installed it. Can’t live without it.

Meme Time - Again

Found this on Dazd’s page. I wasn’t tagged and ain’t tagging any one. Feel free to do this meme, if you answer it, let me know, I’d like to read it. If you want (don’t have a blog) feel free to answer in the comments.



WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Nope

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Memorial weekend.

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
No

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roast beef

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yep

IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Huh? Probably not, two people just like me… Isn’t that like a paradoxical impossibility?

DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
No never…

DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yep

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
In a heart beat, and para-sail, and cliff-jump and parachute out of a plane

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I’m allergic to milk, I don’t eat cereal.

DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Most of the time

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
No

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Cookie dough

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Sincerity in their smile and demeanor

RED OR PINK?
Red

WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
weight, lack of physical fitness

WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My parents

WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black and brown

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Cinnamon pop-tart

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Some stupid commercial for Michigan

IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Silver

FAVORITE SMELLS?
Steaks on the grill

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Director of engineering

FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Steelers football

HAIR COLOR[S]?
Blonde/red

EYE COLOR?
Blue

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yep, since I was 16

FAVORITE FOOD?
southern style veggies

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Ghost Rider

WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue and white striped

SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter

HUGS OR KISSES?
Kisses

FAVORITE DESSERT?
Chocolate pie like grandmother made, my mom’s is close. I’ve never seen it anywhere.

MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Didn’t ask any one

LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Any one that doesn’t read my blog…

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I’ve started one, it’s on my night stand. I haven’t’ read it in so long I don’t remember the title.

WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
“Square D Lighting Control – UNcomplicated.
The parent company’s propaganda.

WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Mythbusters – Hollywood grenade myths (DVRed from earlier in the week)

FAVORITE SOUND[S]?
a pack/gang/gaggle/?? of Harley’s ‘getting it’ down the street
a talkative mocking bird – mother nature’s smart ass

ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Neither

WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Ayr and Edinburgh, Scotland

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Nah, just one in a million
In the US there are 302 million people, so there are 302 people just like me…

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
St. Mary’s Hospital for Women, Pittsburgh, PA

WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Ummm, not e-mailed so… N/A.



These are answers to another meme started recently… If you know the meme great. My answers are straight forward. If you don’t know the meme… well… what you don’t know won’t hurt.


No – usually hanging on to hard… it’s a rough ride sometimes…

A towel

Other parts

A towel

Wait for it…

No comment

Don’t care, just don’t kiss me…

No

Memorial Day Ride - Part 3

ANC and WRAMH

When the service was over we said our good-bys. The Georgia group was heading for home. I think it was about 1000 hours.

We went touring the grounds of ANC, saw the tomb of the unknown solder and watched a little of the Changing of the Guard. The shear number of head stones is amazing. "The Old Guard" (Army) at the tomb of the Unknown are impeccable. One particular part that amazed me, is during their turn, when they change directions they have to move their gun to their other shoulder. In one motion, this full size rifle snaps up off their shoulder and stands straight up in the palm of one hand for about a second. Their other had is straight down at their sides, then slowly moves up, then click, snap, slap and the gun is on the other shoulder. It is absolutely amazing to witness.

The Indiana Crew (L to R); Hoss, Larry, Mary, Lloyd, DC, Officer Baby, DNR

After ANC we went to WRAMH (Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital) intending to see an Indiana solder but found out he was not scheduled to be back until after we left. The process to find this out took us to 4 different buildings. The job of finding our intended solder was mine and I had gotten quite frustrated with the whole fiasco. Talking with the group afterwards and looking back, it couldn’t have gone better. We got to greet, thank and shake hands with about 50 solders. Their appreciation of us had several of us in tears more than once.

One young man, obviously in pain and deformed from an IED told us ‘a few more surgeries and I’ll be going home, thanks for coming to see us’,… and the tears flowed.

Another young man was walking around pushing a pole with about 4 IVs attached to him. Behind him was his wife pushing his wheel chair and walking beside him was his daughter, (she was 5 or 6) holding his hand. His wife was asking him ‘don’t you want to sit down?’ I didn’t hear his response, but I could see he was smiling and his daughter was skipping along at his side… and the tears flowed.

At the residence building we pestered a Sergeant and his assistant for what felt like hours. They were gracious, courteous and helpful the whole time. Continuality offering suggestions and even let us use there internet connection to confirm some information off the PGR web site. Before we left we gave them Indiana Patriot Guard Patches. Jokingly they remarked they would have them placed on their uniforms.

When we left WRAMH we went riding through downtown and parked and walked around a bit. It was HOT!!! We visited the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial and walked along the Potomac. We headed for the hotel at about 1800.

Saturday we went back into DC to hit the Rolling Thunder booths to get patches and be in the experience.

It was incredible! Bikes rule DC for this weekend. I’m sure if you were stupid or drunk you might have issues, but generally, bikes could do no wrong in DC. When we hit downtown we went into the area of the Lincoln memorial, stopped at a light then John (our guide) turned us across traffic, up a handy-cap ramp onto the sidewalk and we parked in the grass, about 200 yards from the Lincoln Memorial!! It was surreal. We shopped, I bought t-shirts, some patches and some helmet stickers. My favorite sticker so far is “I’m lost and I’ve gone to look for myself. If I should return before I get back, tell me to wait.”

Saturday night, after cooking out brains out in the DC heat again, it was back to the hotel area and then over to John’s for a cook out. I don’t know if it was just being HUNGRY or he had some special sauce, but everything was good, burnt chicken and stuck together pasta salad. Like I said we were hungry.

That's john in this pic.

Sunday – The Ride to the Wall, A Sea of Bikes

WOW – no matter what I tell you here, no matter what emotions you feel, put about 10 times more into it. And maybe, just maybe you’ll understand.

This day was… incredible, awesome, surreal… I hope I can express the idea. Maybe these pics will help. There is no way I can describe to you the sights and sounds associated with 450,000 bikes and 600,000 people.

The parking or staging area was at the Pentagon and opened at 0800.





The group was leaving our hotel at about 0630. I had to be at the meeting area at 0600 so I left the hotel at about 0445 (I was up at 0400). John had given me directions (little better than getting to the Iwo Jima Memorial). “I-66E to I-495N to I-395N” WRONG!!! Following these instructions, I ended up doing a loop around the DC belt-way. That only added about 90 miles and an hour to my trip. (I’ll let you do the math there) I made it to the staging area at about 0630, just in time to head over to the Pentagon.

I had to be there so early because I was part of what was called ‘Gold Star Escorts’. That is a group of attendees that volunteer to carry moms of KIAs (Iraq and Vietnam) from the Pentagon parking area (where we started) to the Vietnam Memorial Wall / Reflecting Pool area. This year there were more volunteers than there were moms, so I did not have a passenger. The ride through DC was about 6 miles. The streets were lined with people, and everyone was cheering, clapping and holding their hands out for a high five as we rode by. Especially the kids, so excited to see the bikes, a little apprehensive of the noise but oh man, their faces lit up like Christmas morning when any of us slowed down and reached down to clap/slap their hands.

We got through town and riding along the Potomac, hovering about 100 feet over our heads, was the Presidential helicopter!!! No way to know who, if anybody, was on board, but I waved any ways. Wonder if he got my picture?!?

The group I was with (about 30 bikes and 20 moms) must have all been new to the ride because we missed the parking sign and anything that said it was the end of the parade. We ended up getting back on I-66W and heading out of town. (Can you say OH SHIT!!!) In a great game of follow the leader we got off the interstate, wound through the burbs a little and ended up… BACK AT THE PENTAGON!!! What did we do there you might ask? We did what any self respecting biker would do, we cut back into line and went through the parade route again!!! As we were going by the Pentagon parking area I noticed that the Indiana group had not left the parking lot yet.

My bike is out there on the left, you can see it, right?
On our second time through, when we got near the Reflecting Pool I turned right into a park and went down a walking trail. I stopped in the shade of a tree. It was so cool, I was about 100 feet from the Reflecting Pool, the Washington Monument was to my right and the Lincoln Memorial was to my left. I toured the Lincoln, The Wall and the Korea Memorials. I also watched some of the concert and listened to a retired General talk about the work that was being done to bring home the remaining MIAs and POWs. It was about 1515, maybe a little after when I made it back to my bike. I was sitting in the grass drinking some water when my phone rang. It was the Indiana group wanting to know where I was… they had just gotten there and were going to go tour things. “Want to meet up and come with us?!?” Phft, NO WAY!! I was exhausted. I sat by my bike just living the experience. I guess I left about 1630, the parade was still going, there were still bikes coming into the area. I left the Pentagon parking lot at 1200, I heard that the last bike left at 1830. On my way out, again going down some dirt jogging trail, I passed right under the noses of 3 mounted DC police officers and their horses. They just waved.


The next morning we left DC and headed home. What a ride, what a weekend!!!

My pictures aren’t the best, which is part of the reason I was delaying this post. Mary has a CD of over 400 pics coming and I was hoping to use them here. But, alas, she is busy too. I promise, when I get them, I’ll post a few.

Edit: Corrected Honor Guard Reference (see LL's comment)

Need a Laugh???

Go here. and don't forget to read the comments!

Come back and thank me... LOL!!!



More Memorial Pics and post in the works, promise!

A Request...

A friend and PGR member Kat has had to hospitalize her husband. If you can spare a few minutes, stop by here and give her some well wishes.

Thanks!!!