Overcome...

Here once again
I am overcome
by the devastation
brought about by
Katrina

it's been a tough week
I had to hit the ground running
to make up for
the time I lost
when Eric died

in order to
make my numbers for a week
I've been
living
breathing
eating
and sleeping
my job

tonight
I finally sat down
and watched
and
I am overcome

I hear the news commentator saying
that people didn't leave
because they were so poor
that they had no way to get out

that all they owned in their lifetimes
were the houses
they likely died in

there is no food
there is no safe water
and the city of New Orleans is no more

there will be no more
"riding on the city of New Orleans"

how do people
live through such horror
and remain sane?

how do people
suffer such loss
and remain sane?

how do people do it?

The looting has started
and gangs of thugs
have armed themselves
and are fighting the police
to take over

there are no roads
and even if there were
there's no place to store
all the supplies brought
to the Red Cross
on behalf of the survivors

I fear
that homeland disasters
such as this
will make or break humanity

will it be survival of the fittest?
or can mankind come together?

fear does awful things to people
and I'm truly frightened to find out
what we will become

all this while
I am watching footage
and just when I think
that this time
my heart will truly break

I see there flying in the wind
in the midst of miles and mile and miles
of devastation...

"Old Glory"







and I am reminded that
our brothers and sisters
to the South
will rise up as a nation
and take care of their own

and I am OverCome

the thing about...

blogging
is that life gets in the way

I seem to do most of my writing
during the quiet times

the busier my life is
the less I seem to have to say

eureka!
it's a breakthrough

so methinks more real writing will happen
when this whirlwind summer winds down...

Hotel California

I'm watching the Eagles
live on PBS
it's the "retirement" tour

I'm thinking once again
about the soundtrack of my life

music plays
I close my eyes
and once more
I am transported
back

back to a different time
a different place

and I smile.

Life Goes On...

It seems
that we are
in a state of flux

life goes on
and I sometimes wonder
how it can for some
and not for all

bunch of the gang
went and got memorial tattoo's for Lucky yesterday
I couldn't go
but I will as soon as I can...

this is Jill's
appropriately enough the "Viking Eric" and the symbol for eternity


gawd could you imagine how unfair you would think "it"
to find yourself a widow at 28?

The Code

It used to be that all bikers shared a common bond, an unspoken code of ethics and behavior that transcended words and was built on actions. There was never a bible written on this Biker's Code and there was no need for such.

But the times are changing and there seems to be a lot of new riders out there. These days the riders you see blasting down the road are just as likely to be clad in shorts and sneakers as jeans and engineer boots. And the roughest, toughest-looking biker you pull up next to could be your doctor or lawyer and may be wearing a Rolex watch under his leathers.

There's nothing wrong with that, so long as these new riders learn the Code just as we old-timers did. Being a biker used to be about using your creativity to take a basket case old hawg and using only grit and ingenuity, turning it into a one-of-a-kind eye dazzler, then risking your life on the asphalt on a bike you made yourself out of pride. Bikers wore leather and grease because they knew cagers would just as soon run them down as look at them.

We were a breed unto ourselves with no union, no support group, and in many cases no family (they threw us out). We had to make it in the world of our own, against all rules, against mainstream society, and against all odds.

We survived and prospered because of the Biker Code and we never took shit from anybody. As an old scooter bro once said, "It's every tramp's job to school the young. How else are they going to know a Panhead from a bed pan?" Take heed, brothers and sisters, for our Code is a hallowed one filled with honor and loyalty, the likes of which have not been since the days of knighthood.

Be kind to women, children and animals, but don't take any bullshit about being a biker. This is an essential part of being a biker. It has to do with respect and honor. Anyone can be a quick-tempered fool. Be cool, stand tall and proud. Stand behind what you say with action.

Never lie, cheat or steal, always tell the truth. Bikers are always the greasy bad guys in the movies, but every real biker knows that his word is his bond. Your word is all you have in life that is truly yours. Guard it carefully and be something noble, for you are a true knight of the road.

If you see a wrong, fight it yourself, if you are about anything. You'll take care of problems yourself, find solutions.

Don't Whine. Absolutely no one likes or respects a whiner. Another way to think of it is, "Don't sweat the small stuff" Most of life's little inconveniences work themselves out whether you whine or not. Keep your chin up, you're a biker, not some lowly snail.

Never say die and never give up. Whether it's in a fight, a debate, or a business deal, no matter how bad it gets a biker never gives up.

Help others. When a brother or sister is broken down by the side of the road, always stop and help them. Even moral support, if that is all you can give, is better than riding on by. Remember life is about the journey, the ride, not getting there. You already are there. And don't just help bikers stop for anyone broken down, show the world that we are better than our image portrays us. Courtesy costs you nothing and gives you everything.

Stick to your guns. Do what you say you'll do, be there when you say you will. This is called integrity. This also goes back to standing for something. Like the song says, "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

Life is not a drill, this isn't a dress rehearsal. This is life -- go out and take big bites of it. You've got no time to lose and bikers don't stand around waiting for the party to come to them they make the party. You only go around once. Tomorrow you could be road kill, thanks to a snowbird asleep at the wheel of his Caddy. Live life now, make the most of each moment.

All right, now let's review. You are a biker, a modern-day knight of the road. Protect the weak, walk tall and stand proud. Your word is your bond. Stick to your guns. Don't take any shit. Life is not a drill. Now go forth and ride. When in doubt, ride. That's what we do...ride. If you want to ride around in a Day-Glo Hawaiian shirt and sandals, go for it, but if you intend to look like an idiot, at least don't act like an idiot. These commandments are just a few of the broad strokes, there is a lot more to being a biker than buying a bike. If you just buy a bike, you are a motorcyclist. Being a biker is a way of life, a proud way of life we hold in high regard with a burning passion for the open highway.

Copyright 1992 Bob Dolan

How Wyz got forked!

A year ago I introduced my best male friend to my best female friend (you may remember my story from May when he proposed to her in front of 30-50 bikers at a riding club event?)

Bee and Bryan just got home from 8 weeks of holidaying around the continent culminating in a mad dash from Sturgis to get here in time for our bro?s funeral (actually she flew from Rapid City to Kelowna a week ago to assist an ailing friend and he rode like snot to get home in time...but I digress)

So I go up there to Naniamo yesterday to prepare for the funeral and wake...Bee n Bryan say they've brought me a surprise from Rapid City...

They present me with a helmet sticker that says "if I have to understand don't bother to explain it"

I say "thank you very much for thinking of me on your holiday"...

Then they say they have something else for me...
And they give me a helmet sticker that says "When I woke up this morning I had one nerve left and You're getting on it"

I say again, "thank you very much for thinking of me on your holiday"...

They then say they have something else for me...And they give me another helmet sticker that says "I'm not a bitch...I've just been in a bad mood for the last couple of years!"

I laugh again and again I say... "once again, thank you so much for thinking of me on your holiday"...

They tell me once more that they have something else for me...and they give me a Sturgis T-shirt?"

Way Cool !" says I, "I can't believe you guys took the time to like shop for me while you were on the holiday of a lifetime...thanks."

Bryan gets this funny grin on his face and disappears into the bedroom. He reappears and places on the table in front of me a new fender for my Pickle!

I am flabbergasted. (I haven't had a front fender on my trike for 2 years and I live in the bloody rain forest!)
I don't know what to say...can you imagine 2 people going on the triking trip of a lifetime and hauling a freakin fender alla way back for a friend?

I jump up and give them both a hug.

We sit back down and I am examining said fender and I proclaim "look at all the shiny chrome bolts...me likes shiny". (the Pickle is currently a rust bucket) To which Bryan answers"oh...I have other bolts to go with that...come 'eer"

He grabs me by the hand an waltzes me across the living room to the front hall where he pulls a jacket off a shiny new set of springer forks and leans over and points at the big bolts in the bottom "see? " he says, "more shiny bolts for Wyz"

I look at him and then I turn and look at her...and they are both grinning like Cheshire cats....so I did what any other red blooded biker would do...I burst into tears!

Bryan then goes on to tell me that they bought them for me because they want me to be safe and that my old forks are soo distressed that he's worried I'm gonna end up killing myself and he adds that if it wasn't for me he'd have never found the love of his life....so it's important to both of them that I'm safe.

To which I answer with a little hysterical sobbing and completely obliterate the part where he tells me that there's also handle bars, grips and cables coming directly from the shop that originally built my trike some 30 years ago! I gotta tell ya...I was a bloody write off.

A large bald mass of sniveling pulp...with red eyes.

So now we're gonna have a forkin' party...and I'm gonna get forked...!

whoooooooo hooooooooo!

A Eulogy

Shocked is not the word. Numb better describes how I feel at the moment. I can hardly believe it.

I am here, speaking to you today in loving memory of Eric, “Lucky” Eric the Viking, Father, Son, Brother, Husband, Lover.

Eric who with all the love in his great big heart lived life to the fullest. He rode his bike and rode it often, in good times or bad. It was his life….the only thing that meant more to him was his family.

Our brother Lucky created his own light.

The glory of being a human being is that we are capable of being so much to so many. His children knew him as their father. His parents knew them as their son. Jill knew him as the reason for loving. We knew him as our friend and brother.

He was so much to so many and now he has gone on.

As eloquently said by a friend of the road… "Our community lost an icon the day Eric finally took a rest." He was and is so loved and missed by his beautiful wife Jill and their children, by his SCRC family and by his innumerable brothers and sisters of the road.”

Eric had a zest for life that was second to none…we all knew Eric was never one to color between the lines. He rode hard and he loved hard.

Jill, I know you know this, but it needs to be said out loud. Eric thought the sun rose and set on you. You are “why he’s lucky”. I once asked Eric what he was most proud of in his life and he turned and pointed to you and your children.

Eric lived his life ever mindful of the biker’s mantra…"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- WOW-- What a Ride!!!"

When I sat down to write this eulogy I first thought to myself that this is not the job for me. Better suited would be a family member or someone that new him longer or better than I.

I thought, if it were up to me I’d lead off with something by Frank Zappa and immediately thereafter thought that it might not be proper for a funeral, and then again thought “it might be the most proper after all, my friend Eric didn’t hold too much for propriety.

Then I thought, "If Eric is right and I am wrong…I'll find him somewhere in heaven, and I’ll wag my finger at him and he’ll go ‘neener, neener, neener.’"

Eulogies tend to paint the deceased as a saint, but not here. Nobody should pull their punches. Eric wasn’t a saint, but we all recognize that the world is a better place because Eric passed through it.

The last time I saw Eric he was doing what he loved the most. I am so grateful that a guy like Eric comes along every now and then. I hope that as even he died fighting the demons that took his life he realized how much we loved and appreciated him.

We all know that when someone is seriously hurt or killed, life goes on. When cameras are rolling and microphones switched on, you'll often hear quotes like "We've got to keep on doing whatever it is we were doing before because 'he would have wanted it that way.'"

Sometimes you have to wonder if it's just a pat phrase to help them get through a difficult time. Sometimes you might even wonder if it's true.

In this case, we know this to be true. Eric would not want us to mourn too long, to weep or wail. Eric would want us to laugh and remember why he’s Lucky.

And Eric would want us to ride.

To that end we will remember Eric the man. Eric the father, Eric the husband. We will know that Eric is with us, in our memories and in our hearts and on the road. We will remember Eric as he was.

Eric, my brother, you’ve made the full circle. God and all the other Great Sprits alike have blessed you and all that loved you in your brief time with us and for that we are grateful.

Ain't life strange?...

so much has happened since last I was here

Lucky's accident
the Princeton Poultry Party
Lucky's passing

now I have to prepare myself for a funeral in a church
me
who swore to never walk thru the doors of a house of god again
is going to pay homage to my lost brother
but mostly to support his wife

sheesh
ain't life strange?
I promise I'll be back soon
to tell you stories

in the meantime
remember Lucky
and live your life
dammit!
cos ya just never know
do ya?

Rest In Peace

A brief candle;

both ends burning

An endless mile;

a motorcycle wheel turning

A friend to share the lonesome times

A handshake and a sip of wine

So say it loud and let it ring

We are all a part of everything

The future, present and the past

Fly on proud bird

You're free at last.

by Charlie Daniels

R.I.P.

Eric "Lucky" Eytcheson

Forever In Our Hearts

Lucky's luck...

Promising news....

The Dr. says for Lucky's age and other factors,
he believes his brain has done all the swelling it's going to do
and hopefully will start to come down in the next few days.

They may be able to start bringing him out of the chemically induced coma in a couple of days....

keep praying brothers and sisters!

keep praying!

And then there's Samuel

Once upon a time
there was a wise biker
named Samuel
he wrote the following....

FAMILY!!

We are merely guests aboard this train called life.
And,
since we didn't purchase the tickets,
we have no knowledge or fore warning
of just when our station will appear
and our ride will end.

All we can do is enjoy the ride,
and if there are bumps along the way,
just hope that the shock absorbers work.
And if they don't,
try to land on your feet,
for it helps smooth out the rough spots on this road called life.

No matter how rough today might have been,
go to bed each night knowing that you gave it your best,
and tomorrow is a new beginning,
with a complete new set of rules and rewards.

And,
if you live each and every day
the very best way that you know how,
if,
in all your endeavors,
you gave all there was to give,
in every way that you knew how,
then no man,
nor any God can dare pass judgement upon you,
nor condemn you if it wasn't enough.

For by doing your very best,
you,
my friend,
will have paid your dues in full.

Samuel passed away recently after a lengthy battle with cancer
but he will forever be remembered
for his wit
his humor
and his grace under pressure

More on Lucky...

Lucky is still in a drug induced coma
he has a large blood clot in his brain
and his wife and the Dr's are trying to decide
if the best solution is surgery
or
wait to see if it dissipates by itself

we have a club event in Princeton this weekend
I was feeling disrespectful about going
but I have been made to see
that Lucky would be the first person to tell us to go

so I'm going....
I need it
work still sux
there is an air of desperation there
that I just don't like

Y'Hes Lucky

my brother of the road
Lucky

has just lost his luck

his engine guard hit a divider
he's in hospital
and they don't know if he will live

he is in a drug induced coma
because his brain is swollen

keep him in your prayers

You can pray for someone even if you don't think God exists. - Real Live Preacher from RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, July 7, 2003

Cinderella

has broken her pen
whatever shall we do??

Theme for the Day...

kinda says it all

don't it?

from Quote this....

To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it. - G. K. Chesterton