When I do GOOD, no one remembers but when I do BAD no one forgets!

.....the answer is YES if you are wondering if that is the one and only Randy Pants, one of the fighters from Choppertown Camparound!  While we are on that subject let me just say that motorcycle events in general have changed so very much in the last few years that some are barely recognizable as such.  Not Choppertown!  This is the shit, the real deal, strap what you can on your bike because you don't need any more kind of party on the side of a mountain in Arizona and it's second annual is just around the corner!  Please google that shit!  The date is earlier this year and it's during AZ Bike Week, so if you want a touch of what "riding and brotherhood" use to be about and still lives on here, then grab a tent or your sleeping bag and get your asses up there, this you will not regret!

Now on to the subject line, the title of this blog post.  Very few things in life I have found to be more true than those very words above.  This holds especially true if the evidence lends itself to show that you are a biker.  For years this really pissed me off to no end.  Why is it that you can stop your bike at an accident, smash windows to pull people out of their wrecked, gas leaking vehicles, get them away before the cars burst into flames and then go sit on the side of the road to drink some water and have one of our fine public servants, yes, they are supposed to protect and serve us, the people, come over and read you the riot act because of where your bike is parked?  Then after being accused of causing the accident, obviously because you are a scum bag biker, this fine officer notices that the registration tag on your plate expired two days prior and writes you a ticket while people are shouting for him to help out the injured, but he just continues on, checking your vin number, because the piece of shit you obviously must be, must have clearly stolen that fine piece of American Iron that you are riding.  It must be stolen of course because no one who looks like us could possibly be capable of holding down a job or better yet a career and be a productive part of society, right?  I could go on and on with stories like these that I have experienced personally or have been shared with me but I won't, I am sure you guys must get the point, right?  I have decided to go the other direction and this is why.

A few years ago I found myself in the battle of my life, fighting for my life and my freedom.  The  reason that I was  forced into this battle was the very fact alone that I was a "BIKER".  The lowest of the low, a gang member that must be swiftly and with extreme prejudice, removed from the streets for the safety of the community and the security of our nation!  I CALL BULLSHIT!  We put up the fight of our lives and although I can't really say we won, because in no uncertain terms, we DID NOT, I am free to live, to love and to learn.  The first lesson that I learned back then was that there is NO JUSTICE, in the JUSTICE SYSTEM!  The entire system is flawed if not totally fucked!  I am not going to go in to any further details of the who's, the what's or the why's all this happened, you will have to wait for the book for that one and believe me when I tell you, you will want to read this story.  What I will go into is the aftermath of it all.  I turned myself off.  I removed myself from the BIKER WORLD and I just disappeared and moved out west.  When you have a crooked cop who is on a mission to ruin your entire life and you get a chance to run, YOU RUN FAST and that is just what I did.  I was tired of being pre-judged because of the way I looked so I cut off my 16' goatee and gave locs of love a 31" pony tail for the kids with cancer.  Which for the record is the 3rd time this SCUMBAG BIKER has done this.  I slipped into the world of the CLEAN CUT for the first time since I was 13 years old.  I went from being this guy;

To being this guy; For the record I was actually a bit scruffy below from travelling cross country.  My hair was growing in and my goatee was thickening up again.

I had changed what I looked like on the outside but nothing about me had changed.  I was still the very same person on the inside.  Boy oh boy did it all change after the haircut and leaving the life.  Strangers would smile at me walking past, old ladies wouldn't clutch their purses as I passed, people stopped trying to run me off the road while on my bike and the biggest thing, no one tried to kill me anymore!  All this changed because I cut my hair and trimmed my beard?  Is the world that screwed up?  For the first year, I spoke to barely a soul.  I stopped attending toy runs, charity events or anything else for that matter.  I just slipped away.  Over time I found that there was a great big hole in my soul.  I wasn't sure what was missing? 

I slowly got back out in to society and rather than ride alone, I began to meet folks out here.  That old Knucklehead of mine is sure good at breaking the ice with like minded chopper jockeys.  The more I rode her around, the more people I met and many of those people are in my life to this day.  Had I let them keep me down or I had I given up on who I truly was, I would have missed out on so many great memories and so many amazing people!  I slowly began my return to charity events.  Diane and I rode on our first Arizona toy run and were stone, blown away by the sheer size of it.  When we reached the end point and saw hundreds of down and out kids receiving those donated toys, I damn near cried.  For the record, those donated toys were donated by us Scum Bags.... Diane was picked from the crowd to go up on to the stage and hand those toys out to these children and the strangest feeling came over me.... I was warm, I was happy, I was content and I was at ease and I hadn't been any of these things for 3 years by this time.  When we left that day I noticed that my rodeo bike that we rode there was leaking oil and you know what?  I didn't care!  We had no idea where we were because we rode in with a pack of nearly 800 bikes and now we were alone and lost and you know what?  I didn't care!  The sun was setting, we were under dressed and it was getting cold and you know what?  I didn't care!  We rode home and we each had a smile on our faces from ear to ear and right there and then I realized.....  I DO CARE!  I care about my friends, I care about my brothers, I care about my family, I care about my community, I care about homeless soldiers, I care about people who have lost homes to fires, I care about strangers who have less than I do, I JUST CARED!  After having had it beaten, quite literally beaten out of me, again, I cared!

I opened up my mind again to helping others without worrying about going to jail for it!  I once again was able to live my life without looking over my shoulder for a crooked cop who may just kill me.  Most importantly, I opened up my heart again and allowed people the opportunity to earn a place in it and you know what?  It felt amazing!  From that moment on, all I wanted to do was once again, go back to being the person that I truly am.  No more hiding under short hair and a shave.  I once again became INVOLVED in the world around me and tried to personally correct some of the wrongs that happen to people.  I gave as big as I could, I gave till it hurt.  I never once turned away anyone who came to me in need, not one single time and you know what?  It really made me feel good.  I came to the conclusion that I really didn't give a shit what people thought of me because anyone who is willing to judge someone based on their appearance was not someone I could care about what they thought nor would I allow them to ever again influence one single solitary thought.

This has all come freshly to the forefront of my thoughts because of what I did yesterday.  Rather, I should say because of what so many did yesterday.  I had written previously about "the best friend I never had", a cat named Kenny "Panda" Rohrer, a person whom I had never even met.  He was killed a few weeks ago on his bike.  The accident so bad he couldn't even have an open casket.  I had gotten a call from a dear friend who was absolutely devastated by the loss.  She asked if I would help with the memorial service.  I didn't know this man, but I did know this friend and if I could help in any tiny little way, how could I refuse?  So I did the service and it again lit a fire in my heart.  So many people hugged me, said thank you and cried on my shoulder.  After the service, I was informed about a benefit to be held to help out his 3 sons who were left without a dad, a role model or a hero and asked if I could help.  How could I say no?  Will you host it?  Of course I will.  Will you perform?  Well, I'll try to make people laugh, no promises! 

Yesterday the benefit was held and it was nothing short of incredible.  The weather, the turnout, the donations and the love shown to this family were overwhelming!  I was honored to be a part of it.  What I always assumed to be a waste of time and effort, "the bike wash", raised over 500 bucks alone for these boys.  That silly bike wash was worked nearly all day and in to the afternoon almost entirely by two ladies who broke their asses to help out.  Shit, my fat ass is exhausted after cleaning out my truck and I am sure they must have been too, but they just kept going.  They worked so hard that on several occasions they didn't even realize that one or both of their boobs had fallen out.  Now that is devotion! 

 One of the 50/50's, the big one, was won by a woman named Michelle and she promptly returned all of her winnings, there's another 500 bucks for the kids!  I don't know in the end what was raised for these boys and it's really none of our business.  I know that not only were they left a bit more financially secure, but they got to see the love, the honor and respect that people had for their dad!  Kenny did a lot of bad things, made some mistakes, hell, we all do.  But more importantly he did so many more GOOD THINGS....  There is a big hole in this Universe that needs to be filled, I hope we each step up a bit more and try to fill that void!

In closing, I have come to the conclusion that I don't give a shit if you remember the good that I do and I don't care if you ever forget the bad that I have "allegedly of course" done, I am good with me and I am surrounded by people who love me, are loyal to me and respect me and I need nothing more.  In the end, remember that it is better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by 6!  Do whatever you must to remain true to the person that you are.  As I walked out to my bike last night before knowing how the day would end, I wondered if Kenny would have enjoyed the day and I looked up and saw this;

Right then and there, I knew in my heart that not only would he have enjoyed it, but in fact he DID ENJOY IT, because he gave us this gorgeous day and ended it with this spectacular sky!

Long may we all run!

UNTIL WE ALL MEET AGAIN ON THE ROAD,

KEEP THE WIND IN YOUR FACE

TITS IN YOUR BACK

AND THE MAN OFF YOUR ASS!

Ride Safe and Ride Free my friends!

I didn't take many pics yesterday because I was a busy lil beaver, but I captured a few so I thought I would just add them here in the end, no explanation, just a few shots.