Sound advice from a 90 year old... no not me smart ass!

            This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!!

            Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

 

            Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer,

            Cleveland , Ohio .

 

            "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life

            taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

 

            My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column

            once more:

 

            1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

 

            2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

 

            3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

 

            4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your

            friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

 

            5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

 

            6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

 

            7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

 

            8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

 

            9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

 

            10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

 

            11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

 

            12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

 

            13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what

            their journey is all about.

 

            14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in

            it.

 

            15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't

            worry; God never blinks.

 

            16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

 

            17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

 

            18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

 

            19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the

            second one is up to you and no one else.

 

            20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't

            take no for an answer.

 

            21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy

            lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is

            special.

 

            22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

 

            23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

 

            24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

 

            25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

 

            26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five

            years, will this matter?'

 

            27. Always choose life.

 

            28. Forgive everyone everything.

 

            29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

 

            30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

 

            31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

 

            32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

 

            33. Believe in miracles.

 

            34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of

            anything you did or didn't do.

 

            35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

 

            36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

 

            37. Your children get only one childhood.

 

            38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

 

            39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

 

            40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone

            else's, we'd grab ours back.

 

            41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

 

            42. The best is yet to come...

 

            43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

 

            44. Yield.

 

            45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Aladamabama

Well it was a pretty interesting day.  Last night Tex told me that a bunch of our friends were going to go to... red top mountain?  Red top mountain is about 20 miles away.  Some how he mistook Little River Canyon Alabama for Red top mountain Georgia.  Oh well, I just got the bike back from getting a new rear shock and tire, I needed to make sure it was all good anyways.  This is apparently a trip that Stony and his neighbor Keith thought up before Stony had passed away.  Let me tell you something about Stony before I continue with Aladamabama... Stony always knew where we were and where we were going and exactly how to get there from where ever! 

Any how, we get in the general area of Little River Canyon and there is this BIG YELLOW sign that says the next 24 miles are steep grades and winding turns, and it comes out on I-35.  Steep grades and winding turns... the fucking understatement of the year.  First off it didn't say they were together!  We start up what was probably a 35 to 40 degree upgrade and the first winding turn is right in the middle of this fucking upgrade.  Did I ever mention that my cruiser has a 280mm front and rear tire on it?  When you go slower it gets extremely difficult to handle... now multiply that with upgrades to the power of winding turns and... well you can see where I am going with this right?  Now naturally the road itself has loose gravel in spots and is as smooth as the Ford Torture Track for their 4Wheel Drive vehicles! 

Fortunately I have been riding a long time and I am pretty used to the bike by now.  So I go up and make it look pretty effortless.  Now Tex is carrying Denise, Keith has Sissy on the back and his tires are balder than Yul Brenors head and Sean who is a fairly new rider (who did extremely well) has his girl Tequila on the back of his bike and Sean's friend Casey who went down recently on his bike is along.  Now we are on our way after climbing up probably 800 feet or more.  I'm pretty sure Keith is supposed to know the way... and he did... right up to the point where we got at the bottom of this climb.  After that, I don't think he knew where we were till we passed the Huddle House we had breakfast at.  But in his defense, nobody else knew where we were either so we had Tex lead.  Why you might ask?  Probably because Tex rarely gets lost because so many people tell him where to go!  Usually a warmer climate down South so to speak. 

Somehow and I seriously do now know how... he actually finds Little River Canyon.  By the way, there is nothing little about this canyon which probably drops 1,500 feet straight down, 10 feet off the road.  No stress here.  Now I"m just taking it easy but Tex wants to race every time we take off.  I'm pretty sure Denise was egging him on.  Did I mention that we went about 15 miles down one road and back the other way about 15 minutes later?  At least I can't say everything I saw was new to me.  We stopped at a church so the girls could smoke but I think Tex stopped to lead us in a prayer that we find our way out of there today sometime!  At this point I was willing to try anything, so I was all in! We pass this big sign that says something like "Jesus loves you and forgives everything".  Naturally Denise and I instantly take that as a we can do no wrong today so we can screw up big time! 

To make a long story short we left at about 10:15 am and returned about 4 pm back to Dallas GA... and the girls decided they needed a drink.  They suggested Hooters on 278... or did I do that?  It really isn't clear at the moment... a long day and a lot of dust!  We all survived, had a blast... life is good!  It turned out I was glad Tex lied to me and told me Red top mountain... because just getting the bike out of the shop I probably would not have gone to Aladamabama!     

Here's a pic of Denise showing a little leg and the crew hitchhiking along the Alabama Highway from Hell!

A few modifications were made after I posted this, like Kevin's name and spelling Sean's name right.  Picky fucking people!  lol   I'm not an animal I am a man!  One thing I was told by Denise that I found very interesting after I wrote this was, Tex has a size 7 seat and apparently Denise has a size 9 ass!  She was looking at her old seat that Tequila was sitting on and had seat envy!  Very similar to penis envy but much less comfortable.  We had an amazing time and the friendships new and old grew even stronger!  Next time, I'm bringing along my real camera and not just my phone camera.  That way you'll get to see the belt that Sean was wearing!  

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Dutch71/?action=view&amp;current=AlabamaRoughnecks.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Dutch71/AlabamaRoughnecks.jpg" border="0" alt="Alabama Rif-Raf"></a>

Thanks Roger for all the memories...

Been doing a lot of thinking as of late on where we start out... and where we end up.  I am fortunate enough to have many of the friends I had when I was a kid.  So when we start talking we have serious history behind us and can talk about each others dreams, original goals in life, where we started out in adulthood heading... and most of the time, however odd... where we ended up!   It's almost laughable how little control we actually have on our destiny.

I was a normal kind of kid until one day that would help to shape my life that I didn't even know about at the time.  I believe it was August in 1977.  I would have been 20 if this date is correct.  I was driving down the street and saw a funeral taking place for an Outlaw MC member named Roger Lyons in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  There were 3 national guardsmen on every  corner with M-16's From the funeral parlor on Bradley Rd in Brown Deer to the cemetery on 76th street and (I think) Burleigh Road.  I saw the 4 or 5 hundred Outlaws ride by and was just moved by the steady stream of bikes.... I remember thinking how concerned the Police and National Guard looked.  I followed a distance behind them with my Harley from 76th and Mill road to the cemetery.  I watched the entire funeral from the fence line of the cemetery... and when they left there was one bike left by the grave, Roger's.

I researched in the paper to find out what had happened to him.  It turns out that he was beat to death by the Milwaukee Police Department outside of a local bar.  The Milwaukee Coroner said the cause of death was a heart attack but the Outlaws had the body sent to Philadelphia and their Coroner said the cause of death was a blow to the head with a blunt instrument such as a billy club or a bat.  He was seen taken from the bar by the police unarmed.  I remember the shirt that came out... it had a picture of a billy club, badge and cop hat and said "In Milwaukee... these can cause heart attacks".  Funny but kind of not at the same time.  The Outlaws still have a Roger Lyons Memorial Run every year on the week of his death.

Anyways this blog isn't about corrupt cops or Outlaws... it's about single events that change our lives forever.  That day in 1977 I had no idea how much I was motivated by the things I saw.  I was going out with my friends, dating Lori and Debbie (Hey they knew about each other).  At the time I saw myself working in a factory the rest of my life, raising a family and living in Wisconsin.  But fate would take me to Texas just a couple years later.  I owned bikes off and on... sometimes it was just not in my budget with the kids and all to have one.  I never forgot what I saw that day in 1977 though.  I would now see the Bandidos off and on at various bike events and saw that Red and Gold 1%er patch and knew they were very similar to the Outlaws in that respect. 

Later once Cliff my youngest was going into the Navy I decided to take the plunge and become a Bandido and they already knew me because I was in a support club. They made a handsome offer to several Amigo chapters and one of them was mine.  I considered the offer with my Bandido Brothers for several days and jumped in with several of my Brothers... many stayed behind because it was a serious undertaking and could have major consequences.  But that day in 1977 drove me to this point and I had to know... it was now or never and the rest is ancient history.  Started out as a member and made it to President of my chapter within 5 years.  Moved to Georgia and retired in good standings.  

My whole point is how that one day unknowingly shaped my life more than I could ever imagine. It also influenced my kids life because they were subjected to it because I was a member.  I have had an excellent life and would only change very little if I could...  My kids are awesome, my life in general was amazing and fun... I can't imagine not having made that leap of faith into the club.  Just as I can't imagine not having left when I did to take my Parents to Georgia.  Some of the friendships I made will last my whole life time, I know that.  The memories I have... well lets just say they are above any expectations I had for my life.  Sometimes I find myself telling someone about a memory and think... I wonder if they can even fathom or believe what I'm saying depending on how well they may know me?  Other times I can see they are thinking "No fuckin way"... so I'll get the pictures.  lol  Reality is a mother fucker when you can prove it!

Take a moment and think about the ONE or TWO things that had a major influence on your life's direction.  Ask your self where you would be without that one event or one thing that happened.  There is a song by Tammy Cochran called "Life Happened" that took me to this place today... I'll see if I can find a link to it or post it on here, maybe it will make you think about it too. 

Peace my friends, Notso 

Life Happened by Tammy Cochran:   
http://youtu.be/F8rHJrXgm7Y

New Blogging Site

As time moves on I'm going to be adding some older myspace blogs and new facebook blogs to this site.