Hello, Friends--
I hope this finds all of you doing well, and enjoying a happy and safe Labor Day Weekend. As we close out the 101 Critical Days of Summer, please remember to Ride Safely, Sober, and Aware and watch out for the "Other Guy" who isn't looking out for you! Here is my Tiger Tales article for September, and hopefully you'll find it enjoyable and informative. As I send this out, I'm thinking of those who set out for Kansas to take part in the Bike Rally for the "Leavenworth Ten". I hope there is a really good turnout at this event. Debbie "DeeBo" Bohannon of our ABATE COD Chapter, who's also a Military Mom, has worked hard to publicize this event. Below is a link Debbie sent out to a Great Article by Diana West regarding the Leavenworth 10 and guest speaker for the September 4 Rally, Lt Col Allen West. Please spread the word and better yet, get in your cars, on your bikes, and head to the rally!!! Rally begins at 10am Saturday morning. All details can be found at www.L10freedomride.com. Everyone is encouraged to find out more about this case, and the campaign to obtain Clemency for these Military Members. I'd also like folks to please continue to remember John Pierce and Elly Criner in your thoughts and prayers. John, our ABATE Legislative Coordinator, was wrecked on his bike by a Hit-and-Run Driver in Claremore last month, and is recovering from injuries which, thankfully, weren't more serious. Elly, from ABATE's Three Sands Chapter, wrecked on the way home from the ABATE Foss Lake Run and broke her pelvis. Fortunately, she didn't require surgery. Thanks for listening, be careful out there, and I'll see you on the Road. Hopefully, all of you can come on out and join us for ABATE's "Party On The Plains" at the Westlake Sportsmen's Complex in Enid October 1-3!! Check out an event flyer for our annual statewide get-together in ABATE's Biker Journal and on the State Website at: www.abateofoklahoma.org
In Liberty,
Tiger Mike
http://townhall.com/columnists/dianawest/2010/09/03/west_still_fighting_for_the_ten
TIGER TALES – SEPTEMBER, 2010
A hearty “Hello” to everyone in our Motorcycling Family! I trust this finds all of you doing well as Autumn approaches and the kids are back in school. I hope any of you who were able to make it to Sturgis for the Seventieth Anniversary of the Black Hills Motor Classic had lots of fun, and made it home without any problems. As I write this, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of Laura Catcher of our Muskogee Chapter-she’s the wife of “Top” Catcher, ABATE’s Membership Chairperson and Muskogee Chapter President. Laura passed away after she suffered a massive heart attack in early August. Members of our Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs Strategic Alliance had visited her, the Riding Community in general has rallied around the family. Let’s all continue to remember the Catcher crew-they continue to do so much good for our Organization! You know, John Lennon once said that life happens while we’re busy making plans. I’ve found that to be especially true as I and my family members are getting on in years and our medical problems increase. Speaking of which, I’m making plans for a trip to southeastern Tennessee to visit my folks, where the mountain riding is beautiful, especially when the leaves start turning and the weather cools. It’s not that long a stay for us on this old earth, so let’s enjoy our time together while we have it, and be a blessing to others in our Community.
I attended a heartfelt Memorial Service for Sputnik of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA-II) in the heat July 10 on the South Steps at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, after traveling over nine hours in the pouring rain to get there the day before. After joining an estimated 3,000 bikes, trikes and cages taking part in the police-escorted procession to the State House where Sputnik spent countless hours campaigning for Motorcycling Freedom, I was honored and humbled to serve as one of the pallbearers. Sputnik's funerary urn consisted of a beautiful walnut box graced with a bronze eagle sculpture befitting one of the greatest Freedom Fighters in Motorcycling Rights History, and he was borne by a black Harley trike pulling a gleaming black and polished chrome glass-sided Motorcycle Hearse. After a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace", Pops, a Biker Preacher, gave a rousing sermon and Bandido Gimme Jimmy of the U.S. Defenders Program, Linda Chavez of the Texas State Legislature, and members of TMRA-II spoke as well. Here's the capper: I received some of Sputnik's ashes to bring back to Oklahoma, the state of his birth. The Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs, led by its Strategic Alliance, is planning to hold a special service in the near future to scatter his ashes near Sapulpa, the town where he was born and raised. I also have some of Sputnik's ashes to bring to next year's National Coalition Of Motorcyclists Convention in Albuquerque, NM for the NCOM Board of Directors and Legislative Task Force to hold a Memorial Service in his honor as well. I'm completely overwhelmed by how things transpired, love and miss Sputnik very much, and resolve to carry on in the cause Biker Liberty in the future, being inspired by his vision.
With Autumn arriving, things are starting to ramp up for some important get-togethers in the interest of furthering the ideals of Motorcycling Liberty that Sputnik championed, and I hope a large number of our state’s Freedom Fighters will be able to get involved. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s annual Meeting Of The Minds is coming up this month in Peoria, Illinois, which is familiar territory for Carol King, our MRF Representative, who hails from Chicagoland. It’s coming up September 23-26, and you can obtain more information by checking out the MRF Website at: www.mrf.org These conventions get bigger and better every year, and focus on important topics vital to improving our Riding Community’s Quality of Life, so you’d be well-served to attend if you can. I received encouraging news from my friend Still-Ray in Arizona, who is active with the AZ Coalition of Clubs, that the MRF desires to work more closely with traditional Motorcycle Clubs of all backgrounds in the interest of furthering unity and cooperation, and that Still-Ray has been named to the MRF Board to help promote this goal. As a longtime MRF Member who’s active in the OK Confederation Of Clubs, I’m excited at this wealth of potential, and look forward to seeing how things develop in the future. The Mid-South Motorcyclists Improving Legislative Effectiveness (M.I.L.E.) seminar is drawing near as well. It’ll be held October 15-17 at the Days Inn and Suites in Sherman, TX. I’m on the Organization’s Planning Committee, and can assure you that there’s a full slate of informative meetings and presentations on deck, starting with “Slider” Gilmore’s Accident Scene Management seminar as I mentioned last month. We have folks from the National Coalition Of Motorcyclists, the American Motorcyclist Association, and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation sharing educational and motivating ideas, as well as Theo Beeldens, President of the Motorcycle Action Group (Belgium), who will update us on what’s on the horizon in Europe (and hopefully bring some more of his delicious Belgian Chocolate!). Our neighbors south of the Red River plan to provide some large-scale Texas Hospitality, as well as make this Five-State regional one of the best-attended M.I.L.E. events ever, so let’s make sure the Sooner State is well-represented. Be sure to download a Pre-Registration form at: www.midsouthmile.organd mail it in by October 1. The Central OK District has voted the one hundred dollars for an unlimited number of our Chapter Membership to attend, and I challenge every ABATE Chapter to do the same. Our “Three Amigas” of the Lakes Area Chapter are busily working on another special M.I.L.E. Basket creation for the Saturday Night Banquet, so PLEASE donate any Made-in-Oklahoma products you can come up with to fill it. We’ve won the People’s Choice Award for our basket’s originality in the past: let’s see if we can do it one more time! Speaking of Texas, remember to put the National Coalition Of Motorcyclists NCOM Region 2 Conference on your calendars-this one’s going to be terrific! It’s being held November 19-21 at the MCM Grande Hotel Fundome in Desoto, a suburb of Dallas, and will feature Legislative and Judicial Freedom-oriented meetings and strategy sessions, as well as clubs and organizations of all backgrounds combining in a spirit of unity and cohesiveness. I anticipate a large turnout from the six Region 2 states and elsewhere, so make your reservations early. Check out the event flyer at www.aimncom.comor www.dfwrally.com This get-together will honor the memory of Sputnik, my NCOM Region 2 Co-Director, so I’ll be looking for you there!
Tiger’s Tip O’ The Month: The Fall Season is always accompanied by lots of leaves on the roadways and an increase in rainy weather. That produces an environment where you can end up dumping your bike on slippery leaves, whether it involves riding around a corner, slow-speed parking lot cruising or just throwing a leg over your sled prior to heading out. Also, it's been hot enough out there over the Summer to derail trains due to warped rails! That August heat has caused lots of wide cracks and potholes that can cause you to lose your fillings, bike parts or control of your scooter. In any event, be aware of what's under your feet! One other thing: exercise extreme caution at intersections where you find two left turn lanes. You’ll find lots of motorists who drift from the inside lane into the outside lane without looking and end up right in your path. Sure, you have the Right of Way, but you can be “Dead Right”!
Well, that’ll do it for this month. I hope all of you have an enjoyable and safe Labor Day Weekend, as the 101 Critical Days of Summer draw to a close. Please be sure to keep your Riding Awareness up, so none of us add to the sad vehicle accident statistics that we’ve been pleased to see decrease recently in our state and Nationwide. I’m looking forward to seeing a good turnout of ABATE folks at the upcoming Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs meeting, scheduled for Sunday, September 12, starting at 1:00PM at the American Legion Post in Ponca City. It’ll be taking place the same day and at the same location as the monthly Three Sands Chapter Meeting, so it should make for a festive day with opportunity for meeting lots of old friends and making new ones! You can obtain more information at the Confederation’s Website: www.okcoc.net Keep riding safely and sober, and I’ll see you down the Road as the weather gets cooler, and the College and Pro Football Seasons, the World Series and the NASCAR Chase approach. Take care, and I’ll catch you next month!
Keep It On The Black Strip Between The Trees,
Tiger Mike