TIGER TALES – AUGUST, 2008
Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Dog Days of Summer! This is turning into a very challenging month for me, as the Orthopedic Surgeon is anxious to start sawing on me as soon as possible since my hips are hanging on by a thread. Degenerative Osteoarthritis isn’t something I recommend to or wish on anybody. So, I agreed to have him conduct the surgery, and I’ll be getting my left hip replaced first. There are so many issues to attend to, between lab work, X-Rays and blood donations, to making sure my beloved Rottie Zeus will be well taken care of. I’m sure I don’t have everything covered, so I’ll just keep going over everything until the surgery date arrives. This is sure putting a monkey wrench into my summer schedule, but I’m tired of living with pain every day, and it’s certainly been degrading my ability to enjoy riding and getting out there on the Road with my friends! So, I’m going to “Get ‘er Done”, heal up at home, go back to work for a couple of months, then get them to work on the right one. I read long ago that “Life is a series of Challenges to be met and mastered”-wish me luck as I prepare to face this one. I’d also appreciate it if my many friends in the Spiritual Motorcycling Community would have a good thought and a prayer for me. I’ve always marveled at how much good our Christian groups have done for the welfare of riders everywhere, and how we really don’t reflect as much on it until something tragic happens like a Biker getting wrecked. However, I’ve been privileged to see these groups rejoice in the Holy Spirit, in being motorcyclists united in common service and dedication to Jesus Christ, such as at the NCOM Convention’s Christian Unity Conference, and THAT, my friends, is a powerful experience! So, take the time to thank your fellow riders wearing a Spiritual patch sometime for their “Going the extra Mile”, like being there for you when you enjoy their coffee and fellowship at the next Biker Rally.
August is proving to be a very active month for riders, especially with the Sturgis Rally approaching, along with the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Reunion in Milwaukee. I hope all of you from the Sooner State who are headed cross-country to these major events this month will serve as ambassadors for what a great state Oklahoma is to ride in, since more folks discover that fact when they take the time to visit. ABATE of Oklahoma is continuing to work on your behalf to keep it that way, as we gear up even now for the 2009 Legislative Session. We don't hold a State Board Meeting in August due to everyone's vacation schedules, but the word went out to our ten active Chapters to start getting feedback on Legislative issues which might benefit our Riding Community next year. That goes for all of you reading this as well, so be sure to contact me if you have ideas regarding improving our Motorcycling Quality of Life worth interacting on at the State House. We might again pursue our Red Light and Cell Phone Bills, as well as Equal Access Legislation to lessen Anti-Biker Discrimination. In any event, we have the State Capitol Rotunda reserved for Thursday, February 19 already, so list that date on your calendar--that'll be ABATE's 17th annual Legislative Breakfast. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our number of Chapters might increase as well before the year is out, as some riders in the Enid and Broken Bow areas have expressed interest in organizing. With us topping 120,000 registered motorcycles in Oklahoma this year, we could use more ABATE Chapters in parts of the state where none exist. So, if a number of like-minded riders are interested in banding together to take a more active role in defending Biker Liberty in our state, feel free to contact me.
You might have seen Rider Awareness and Share the Road television spots and signs in your travels around Oklahoma, or have heard radio public service announcements to that effect. We're seeing more attention paid to this recently thanks to the Department of Public Safety applying Federal grant money given us for this purpose, thanks in part to ABATE and our Riding Community working together to get Jaggers' Law passed. ABATE is looking into getting more teeth put into Jaggers' Law in the future, since we're seeing more negligent motorists hurting and killing riders as more bikes get on the road. Incidentally, Oklahoma is supposed to get more grant money for this purpose in 2010, and US Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is backing away from pushing to use it to promote Mandatory Helmet Laws in the states. It's not right that the Federal Government use our own tax dollars to subvert Freedom of Choice and States' Rights, so I was glad to see that happen. Emphasizing Sharing the Road and Rider Education programs for Crash Prevention is the way to reduce rider deaths and injuries, not pushing for false security provided by Mandatory Helmet Laws! I wish folks like Gov. Granholm of Michigan, who again vetoed their Freedom of Choice bill after it was overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature, would realize that. ABATE has been gratified recently to see more of our younger riders take an active part in defending their Freedom recently, even to the extent that we're establishing a Youth Coordination program to get teenaged motorcyclists to become educated as to their rights and riding responsibly. Remember that the future of Biker Liberty rests with our young people! Speaking of Sharing the Road, ABATE has made up some really good-looking T-Shirts with a unique custom design which shouts "LOOK OUT FOR BIKES!" You can check them out and purchase one (or more!) by going to our State Website at: www.abateofoklahoma.org
ABATE is involved in some festive as well as educational events really soon, and I hope to be able to see you at these upcoming occasions. Our ABATE State Party will take place October 3-5 at the Westlake Recreation Area in Enid, and ABATE will be hosting the Mid-South M.I.L.E. motorcycling rights seminars October 17-19 at the Holiday Inn Select hotel in Tulsa. You can obtain more on this important convention by checking out www.midsouthmile.org An article appeared in the Tulsa World the third week of July mentioning that Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore, OK) intends to introduce Anti-Gang Legislation during the 2009 Session. This is very disturbing news, especially since Rep. Wesselhoft has been working with Oklahoma’s Riding Community in the past on issues Bikers have been interested in, such as reducing Turnpike Tolls for motorcycles and trikes, and restricting Cell Phone usage. We’ll have to keep a very close eye on this one in our state, as this type of legislation passed in other states, such as in Ohio, has been used to directly discriminate against and harass Motorcycle Clubs (and not just 1%ers—I’m talking about ALL types of motorcycling groups, including ABATE!). Here’s something I’ve been thinking about as I prepare for my impending surgery. We in the Motorcycling Rights arena walk a tightrope sometimes, and get criticized for advocating legislation designed to change public behavior (like restricting Cell Phone use). I accept that we’re going to take heat from some quarters at least some of the time, since you can’t please everybody all the time. Indeed, some folks are never satisfied and are always complaining (and a number of them don’t do much to advance the cause of Motorcycling Freedom to begin with!). However, and in keeping with the MRO motto of “Education, Not Legislation” since we ARE “A Brotherhood Aiming Toward Education”, we might need to think more on the long-range impact of legislation that we propose, and whether or not it could come back to haunt us by motivating Legislators to advance Totalitarian Enactments against the Riding Community. Remember that a number of politicians sign onto legislation to attach name recognition which will increase their chances of getting re-elected, and we don’t need them doing that on the back of our Riding Liberty. I guess that’s just my brain working overtime as I get ready to face a major upcoming challenge in my life, but I think it’s worthy of our Organization’s consideration.
Tiger’s Tip O’ The Month: Your machine will only perform as well as you do, so be sure to attend to the human element in the midst of these 100-degree days! Dehydration can be as damaging in summer as hypothermia in winter, so be sure to drink lots of water while you’re out riding in the hot sun. There’s no substitute-beer and caffeinated beverages dry you out (coffee and colas act as diuretics), and sugary liquids add fuel to the fire by actually making you more thirsty as the empty calories raise your body temperature. Before I wrap this up, here's some travel information. If you're taking the Nebraska route to Sturgis this year, be aware that Law Enforcement agencies in cities like Omaha and Kearny are again campaigning against "beanie" helmets by checking bikers' skid-lids for DOT stickers on the back AND for the mandatory DOT tags inside the helmet liner. If your helmet doesn't have both, police won't allow you to proceed until you come up with a DOT-approved helmet, and your bike could even be towed! Just a word to the wise before your journey, and I've even now gotten feedback from riders who've been stopped and checked just that way this year in the Cornhusker State. So, Ride Safely, Sober and Aware, have fun getting the kiddos back into school, and I'll "See You in September"! I expect I’ll be close to home for a few weeks as I rehab and get used to the new bionic hip, so feel free to shoot me an e-mail or give me a call.
Keep It On The Black Strip Between The Trees,
Tiger Mike
Ride Free, Ride Often
Bill C.
"When the people fear the government you have tyranny ... when the government fears the people you have liberty." President Thomas Jefferson