JUST A LITTLE TASTE I GUESS

Well my friends what can I say?  Each time that I remember to open up this page, I make a quick post and damn near swear that I'm going to write more and keep you all posted as to what is going on in our lives and I have the best of intentions to do just that........  but then life happens and I don't.  With technology getting better and better, I travel less and less with the laptop and rely more on a tablet and certainly more on the phone and it is a giant pain in the ass to post anything truly worthwhile with a phone.  So here goes again, I'll try to post more, I use to get the most amazing feedback from you guys and it bums me out to have let anyone down in any way, shape or form, especially those serving overseas....

In the past year, we've lost so many people that I can't remember to mention each of their names when making the proverbial list with friends and that just breaks my heart.  More than breaking my heart, I believe that it broke my spirit and I know for a fact that it CRUSHED my creativity and stole the joy from my life!  With each of these losses and all of the mourning I've been living with (the mourning I thought had ended, until it bitch slaps me out of nowhere), I try to appreciate life and the things I'm blessed with.  I also promised Diane that I would try to get us back on the road more, together because I'm gone so damn much.  The problem is the damn dogs, you remember those monsters right?  Well to go away, you need to have someone to cover the house and the beasts.  Sometimes we are lucky and family steps up, other times we rely on a sitter but even their lives have moved on and the thought of just giving a stranger the keys to the house and all we've ever worked for makes me throw up a little in my mouth even typing it.  So how do you keep a promise and solve a problem at the same time you ask?  Well you tell your ol' lady your thoughts and let her get to work on the world wide web like a great huntress of yesteryear!  I'll tell you this folks, when she is on a mission, nothing stops her until she achieves it.  If you remember years ago, we picked up an amazing Barth Motorhome. if you don't remember, here is a pic or two of her.  The pic below was taken the week we got her and just put brand new tires on her and down the freeway for the first time.

Man I love this thing and I can't bring myself to let her go.  I've been driving her around for weeks now.  Run to the store, let's take the motorhome, run to a friends, let's take the motorhome, you get where I'm heading with this.  The lesson I learned above all else driving this beautiful ol' gal around town is to make sure to leave enough time to get where we are going or to get home from there because the moment you stop anywhere, you have to give tours of it to everyone who walks past or parks near her.  I don't mind it, I love it actually and everyone who sees it feels the same way.  The reason I mention selling her is coming up next in this post!

So I mentioned that I've been driving her all over the place abnd can't bring myself to sell her and here is why.  To keep my promise to Diane about travel and spending more time together enjoying life while we are still capable of doing it, I let the little woman loose on the net with a mission and she killed her prey!

WE BOUGHT A BUS!  For years now, thanks to GTP, I've been fascinated with tiny houses and tiny living albeit impossible for someone like me who is a border line pack rat.  But I digress.  Since I learned of this I've been set up on a website to get auto mailed everytime listings come up and after seeing Dakota's school bus conversion I was blown away.  I've dreamt of a bus for years now but I haven't had the time to do the last ten percent of the Barth, when the hell would I convert a school bus into a motorhome?  The problem with finding a bus that is already a touring bus, not a passenger bus is a bitch and the only ones in our budget were ancient and falling apart and potential money pits!  Regardless of all of these factors, a guy can still look right?  In my searhes, I learned quite a bit about the manufacturers and models.  Much like the Barth pictured above that I own, the Rolls Royce of motorhomes of its era, I happened upon a BlueBird Wanderlodge on a lot one day here in AZ and I took a good long look at it and I was blown away.  I'd never seen anything like it.  I put the idea out of my head of actually ever owning one but I never forgot seeing and being inside my first Bird!  One day Diane asks me, "hey babe, what kind of bus was it that we saw that day at the dealer"?  I told her and she said, take a look at this..... and showed me a sale listing.  THE FIRE WAS LIT AGAIN!  To make a very long story short, below is the bus that Diane found three months after finding the listing that I just mentioned and honestly, I could not believe the details and even better, it was ten miles away from my house!   So for those who have not seen my posts on FB when I got her, here are two quick pics of both sides of her!

One day soon, I'll post up a whole bunch of pics of her and share the details with you all.  I can't believe that we own a Blue Bird Wanderlodge!  I'm a motorcoach owner.... holy shit!  So far, I've kept my side of my promise, that is the first part of solving the issue of the dogs at home, now I've got to solve the travel one!  I think November will be our first trip in her, even if it is only 100 miles or so to start learning about this lovely lady!

If anyone is interested in purchasing the Barth Motorhome or wants more details on it, just leave me a comment on here and I'll put up a post with lots of details soon as well.

In the mean time, this week is the annual Bob's Biker Blast at HD of Scottsdale, our annual event that benefits Phoenix Children's Hospital and I'm damn excited about it.  Last year at the event we had the one and only Doobie Brothers come in and play and this year it will be a "threefer"  Craig Morgan, Kellie Pickler and Montgomery Gentry and I hope to top the money we raised last year.  We more than doubled the amount of the previous year and raised 78 grand for the hospital but the one and only Bob Parsons or Doctor Bob as I love to call him said that just ain't enough and the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation added a million bucks to that.  Yes, a million bucks!  To top it all off, I even got to be there for the check presentation.  Who gets to hand over more than a million bucks in their lives...... this guy right down here and I pray we top it this year!

Well there you have it, just a taste of what we've been up to in our lives, what I have coming up in the immediate future and I hope to see some of you over the winter.  Until we see each other on the road somewhere;

Keep the wind in your face,
tits in your back and
 THE MAN OFF YOUR ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Schit

LACONIA BIKE WEEK 2016

CLICK ON THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE, TRUST ME


OH YEAH FOLKS, THIS SHIT IS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG.... as the kids use to say back in the day or as us old fuckers still say today!  I've not been this excited to host an event in a very long time!  As many of you know, I have a pretty damn good life and I get to travel and do what I love most and that is quite simply to make people smile.  My mission at every single event I host is to give our guests the most memorable time of their lives!  My mission is that God forbid someone gets sick or someone has an accident and the last, greatest memories of thier lives were made with us!  I do not deviate from this mission at any time ever!  This will be the very first time I've ever hosted the Laconia Roadhouse and as a matter of fact, it will be the first time anyone has ever hosted it because this will be the first year it goes by this name.  Many of you will have heard its previous name from all of the internet posts and ALL OF YOU if you have ever attended the rally will know its old name, THE LOBSTER POUND!  Two years ago I hosted the Chop Shop Pub located at the Drive In behind the Lobster Pound and the noise coming out of there was insane.  I was able to pop in there once to see everyone's friend, the one and only Ms. Jasmine Cain perform in the rain and the vibe in the joint was fantastic.  This year I hope to bring that shit up to straight on ELECTRIC!  I've got some pretty big shoes to fill up there and I believe in my heart that I will do just that!

If you are heading to Laconia I best damn well see you grace us with your visit and if you know someone who is going make sure to tell them to stop in and party with us!  I promise you, as always, I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT ANYONE!  I love to work in a place that just lets me be me and from the first phone call with the owners I was totally at ease and confident that I found an incredible group to bring the SHIT SHOW to!  Many of you will remember hearing your parents say that when they walked in the house and found that you had 75 of your closest friends over and can remember the look on their faces when they screamed "who is responsible for this SHIT SHOW"?  In this case no one will have to ask, I'll be the one responsible!

Till we see each other again,
Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back and
The Man Off Your ASS!

Your pal,
Jack Schit

PRESS RELEASE FOR EVENT

oh yeah folks, this shit is on!

http://www.streetchopperweb.com/laconia-roadhouse-names-legendary-emcee-jack-schit-master-ceremonies-during-laconia-motorcycle-week?src=SOC&dom=fb

I had the great honor of waking one morning to find this.  I am super pumped up to host this event at this legendary location in the heart of Laconia.  I hope the link works....

Till we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back and
The man off your ASS!

Your pal,
Jack Schit

It's all so very shameful

Every single day I watch the feeds on-line, I see the hateful posts, I see the false posts, the lies and the out and out fraudulent posts put up about these candidates for the Presidency of the United States.  I watch as people who only months before were the best of friends destroy each other and destroy those friendships that at one time were so valuable to them over the person they chose to support.  The hate filled rhetoric being spewed by so many at each other absolutely blows my mind.  I can't help but think that once this election is all over and these career politicians do nothing but take care of each other and themselves, not to mention the true leaders of the world, giant corporations and we will all once again be left to fend for ourselves only now we will have less friends because everyone has alienated each other.

So many take for granted our very freedom.  We've never truly known any type of life without it.  Generations of Americans have lived with absolute freedom and choose only to express it or opt to use it by trying to bring down others.  This makes no sense to me.  This generation of "you owe me, I want, what's in it for me" Americans has for the most part never even known true hardship.  I've got to admit that this breaks my heart!  We take for granted the freedom we have and quite often don't even consider those who stood up, those who fought for it and especially those who died for it.

After I had surgery and was laid up I spent a whole lot of time sitting on the couch and watching movies praying that I would not have to get up for any reason.  One night or morning I should say at about 4 am I found a movie and after reading the small description of it thought "I'll give this a shot" and I began to watch it.  It did not take long for me to realize that there was not a word of English spoken and it was all subtitled.  I would have turned it off because I was far too tired to stare at a screen and read for two hours in the middle of the night.  The problem with turning it off was that the topic was so powerful that I could not turn away.

The name of the movie is WINTER ON FIRE and it was epic!  The movie is about the fight for the very freedom that we take so very much for granted.  The first generation ever to have been given freedom in this nation and promised a place in the European Union.  The president who had been thrown out of office there for fixing and stealing the election prior to winning it again made a deal with Russia and stole that very freedom.  The youth of this nation refused to give up their freedom and for months on end they never left the center of the city, they fought to the death to restore that freedom.  They were overwhelmed by govt forces, the police and the Army and were murdered in the streets and many were kidnapped and have never been seen again.  Watching this movie made me think of just how good we have it here in the USA and how little we realize it.

We fight over the most ludacris things.  We destory friendships over a difference of ideals.  We bring lawsuits for "micro aggressions" and these kids are dying in the streets.  Every age group, every economic group and every single religion came together in that city square and stood up and fought for freedom.  I hope that you watch this film.  If you have kids, make them watch this film.  Let's stop all this bullshit, let's stop hating each other for different thoughts, let's do as these people did, let's follow their example of what freedom truly stands for and why it is so precious before we lose it or it's taken from us by some power hungry, crooked world leaders.  Let's get back to the basic thought of "am I my brother's keeper" and oh hell, let's throw some free love in there too.

Just some late night food for thought for you all.  What do you say that we can be civil and agree to disagree with each other, that's what freedom is!

Until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and the Man off your ASS!

Your pal,
Jack Shit

The Past Is The Fuel For The Future

I awoke today to find that a friend had tagged me in a post on Facebook.  I laid in bed for a bit trying to muster up the energy and strength to stand up, ignore the pain from my over full bladder, stiff back and break my knees loose enough to move again and finally I hobbled my way to the bathroom.  It's amazing the joy that comes from taking that first epic piss of the day yet I never want to get out of bed to do it.  One day I guess I'll address that with a shrink!  I plopped back in bed, grabbed my phone and took a look at my messages and the things I was tagged in.  One item in particular that really caught my eye was the photo above.  This photo was taken 2 years ago in Sturgis while I was filming an interview, if memory serves me correctly for the Discovery Channel's Road To Sturgis, I think it was one of the final interviews aired on the show.  I can't remember who actually took this photo but I love it.

I love it for the obvious reasons, Sturgis, my knuckle, the world famous Broken Spoke Saloon in the background but I love this memory for so many other reasons that may not be so obvious.  This was the first time Diane made it to Sturgis, I made so many new friends and got to connect again with so many that I've made over the years.  It brought back incredible memories of entertaining people, of massive storms that had the potential of destroying the event and the shows, I got to party my ass off with one of my all time favorite bands and see some of the most intense concerts ever.  I had the tremendous honor to share my thoughts on bikes, bikers and rallies with the world and when you survive 17 hour days for 11 days you come out with a feeling that is second to none.

As we approach rally season again this year and with so many people that I know and love either heading down to Daytona or already there I can't help but think of all the events in the past and smile. It makes me think about how this coming rally season will be and what I can do to make each event better and cause people to leave with giant smiles on their faces and memories that will last a life time. Winter can be a tough time for those of us who count on the joy and freedom of two wheels and believe me, living out west we don't suffer anywhere near the way the rest of the country does but it still sucks the life out of you.  As spring is "springing" here I feel a new energy and excitement for the upcoming year and I can't wait to hit the ground running.  Okay, to be honest, I can't wait to hit the ground riding but I promise I'll run when I get off the bike!  I hope you are all as pumped up about riding season as I am and I look forward to seeing you all out on the road this year!  For those of you in Daytona or on your way, make memories, ride fast, take chances and get home to your families safe and sound!

Till we see each other again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and the Man off your ASS!

Your pal,
Jack Shit

Another Broken Promise

Funny, I never thought I'd be using that title for anything but if my memory serves me correctly, I believe that in one of the last posts that I put up on here I promised to get back to writing and respond to your messages and such.....  and for a brief time I did just that.....  I can't quite put my finger on exactly what happened after that but once again, I abandoned the blog and you guys and all I can say is that I can be a giant screw up sometimes and I'm sorry.

One of the big reasons that the blog took off was because of our troops stationed overseas.  When you are taken from your family, friends, home and work and sent halfway around the world, you long for anything AMERICA and long to read or hear any talk of life in the free world and the support I recvd. from these folks was incredible to say the least.  I guess as the wars began to wind down and more and more troops came home, I felt that this just wasn't needed as badly any longer and slowly but surely I just let it die off.  I didn't give all that much thought or maybe I just didn't have the facts about how many of our true American heroes are still overseas serving this nation and trying to protect a bunch of people who try to blow them up for doing it.  That's my bad!

I'm going to make an effort to start this thing up again, get back to writing and more importantly do what you all enjoyed so much, share all of JACK SHITS WORLD with you guys, the good, the bad and apparently what you all like the most, THE UGLY....  so stay tuned and let's kick the tires and light the fires because your old pal Jack Shit is back bitches!

22 years in the blink of an eye

22 years ago today, I was down in Florida, in Ft. Lauderdale meeting with some of the world's largest international event producers trying to negotiate a massive event that would take place in NY, Florida, Texas and California over a three week period.  On this trip Diane and I were together visiting venues and hotels.  We had just walked into the cocktail party on the top floor of the hotel, got ourselves a drink and started talking about our plans for Daytona Bike Week.  As with most cocktail parties, the chatter was incoherent unless of course you concentrated on one particular conversation.  If memory serves me correctly, we were at the Airport Marriott and it was one of the nicest airport hotels that I have ever seen.  Servers were walking around with trays of tasty morsels and there against the wall was a long table with all kinds of fill your belly goodness to hold off the power of the booze and carry folks through till dinner.  On the wall above this table was a fairly large tv for the times.  One of the servers put her tray down and turned the television on.  I can remember not only being excited about the trip to Daytona but really feeling great about the momentum that the event was building, there was an excitement in my heart and a satisfying feeling of accomplishment in my soul.  I was a fairly young man back then and to pull off what we had in the works would have been epic.  I can recall feeling at the top of my game and you could not wipe the smile off of my face.
As people wandered around the room the noise suddenly went down by half and it was instantly noticeable.  I wasn't sure what had happened and as I tried to ascertain what it was, the room fell deadly silent, everyone staring in the direction of that big table of food.  My first thought, ALLIGATOR!  Well you have to forgive me, we were in Florida and I had an inherent fear of them. All eyes were glued to the television and many stood there with their mouths wide open.

A bomb had gone off underground, under the World Trade Center!  I'll never forget the images on that screen, the chaos of the situation and the fear on the faces running past the cameras.  That smile on my face only moments before that I was sure nothing on earth could remove was now forgotten. My mind raced to all the people we knew who worked in those towers, how many trips I made up to Windows On The World, the restaurant on top of the tower and quietly pleaded with God that all would be okay.

I recall a story I read years later, the feds were flying a helicopter past the towers transporting a man they had in custody for the attack and the agent nudged him and said "see, they are still standing" and his reply was "yeah, for now"!  Hearing that account sent a chill deep within me and in my gut I knew there would be more to come.  I can't believe that today is 22 years since that day.  I really don't know where the time goes but it sure does pass in the blink of an eye.  Every single time I go to Florida for Bike Week, I am reminded of that trip, that attack and those who suffered from it, I can never forget and I will never forget it!  I won't be going to Daytona this year as I'm still healing up from surgery and didn't book any events, so I hope you all have an amazing time, make some life long positive memories and be safe, come home to your family in one piece but never forget all who serve, have served and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice since that day 22 years ago to fight radical Islam so that we could retain our freedoms and live good, happy lives.

Until we see each other on the road again,

keep the wind in your face,
tits in your back
and the man off your ass!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

GET ON YOUR BIKE AND RIDE

As you know, one of my favorite sayings is "IT'S NEVER THE WRONG TIME TO DO THE RIGHT THING" and this is one of those times.  Just because the war fades from the headlines and media coverage, it sure doesn't mean that we don't have Americans in harms way, desperate for a little comfort, a reminder of home and the knowledge that we have not forgotten them or the sacrifice that they are all making for this nation!  We are at a near epidemic with homeless veterans in this country and vets who are simply having a hard time adjusting to not getting shot at every single day and that is why I'm so proud to host this event again.  This is a proven event by a group of dedicated patriots who DO THE RIGHT THING, not like those out there who raise money in the name of vets and only a few pennies of each dollar donated actually get to them.

The weather here in the Valley of the Sun could not be better this time of year so that means get that bike out of the garage, pull back the tarp that covers your baby and fire her up because it's time to ride and raise some desperately needed funds to support the men and women who count on us as we count on them!  All of the information you need is on the flyer at the top of this post but if you have any other questions feel free to contact me or the groups listed above.  I've not ridden since my surgery in November and I plan on putting my ass back in the saddle for this ride come hell or high water!  WISH ME LUCK!  I may have to have some of you help me move my bike backwards up the hill to park but baby steps it is for me!  Spread the word, get your friends and join us.  If you can't ride so what, get in your car and join us, a good time is a good time.

Until we see each other on the road again,

keep the wind in your face,
tits in your back
and the man off your ass!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

I'm officially announcing the formation of my exploratory committee to ascertain the possibility of winning a victory of the office of President of the United States..... or well, the nation that was formerly UNITED....  Close your eyes and imagine if you will....  the inauguration arrives, the cold DC wind blows strong, the official holds the bible up for me to place my hand on and as I swear my oath I'm holding a jar of APPLE PIE MOONSHINE in the other hand proudly.....  I have to pause in the middle of taking the oath of office because I need another quick sip!  Ah yes, now that's how you start a term in office.

Okay, fantasy time is over and now for some reality!  I get a whole lot of messages about this blog and questions about what happened to it, why don't I write on it any longer or share pics of my travels and such and to be honest I don't really know what happened to it.  Google started giving me shit about using space and too many pics and wanted me to pay for this and that and it just pissed me off so I began to write less and less on it.  I genuinely meant it when I answered your messages saying I would give it another shot and try to share more but life always got in the way.  This blog was actually something that I was pretty proud of it when it began being viewed in over 100 countries I was thrilled but as I said above, I'm not paying to share my thoughts.  Another reason that I let it decline and then basically go the way of the dinosaur was that a majority of the readers were troops overseas and with the draw down of troops and us eventually "officially" pulling out of these countries writing on the blog just didn't seem to be as important.  I loved getting messages from the troops!  Something tells me that some time soon, we will once again have a whole lot of troops in harms way so I'll try and get this thing started up again.

I want to say thank you for all the get well wishes and all the good thoughts and prayers when my family was in a terrible way this past fall, I'll never forget how you all rallied behind us!  Rally season is firing up again so I'll try to keep you all in the loop of the happenings, where I'm at, where I'm going and where I've been.  I just realized that the last post on here was September 13', holy shit did I drop the ball with this site!  Whoops!  I guess one post every 17 months just won't do it!  My bad!

I did have an amazing, unforgettable year last year and I got to share it in person with so many of you.  I always say when asked what it is that I do, I help make memories is the answer.  My mission is to put a smile on every single face that I come across and I look forward to bringing those smiles back this year!

So vote SHIT IN 2016 because my gut tells me no matter who you vote for, that is exactly what America will get, SHIT!

Until we see each other on the road again,

keep the wind in your face,
tits in your back
and the man off your ass!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

The Saga of the Pickle Sickle

I try to remember that a lot of you have joined me here long after others and I try to keep that in mind when I write or tell a story to help you keep up to date and understand what in the hell I'm actually speaking of.  In this particular case here, I'm speaking of a bike that I bought a few years ago from a friend's ex husband.  The bike was a low mileage amazing deal and for what was possibly the first time in my life, I was in the right place at the right time and actually had a pocket full of money and just as a good friend had once predicted, "one day you will all own an FXR" came true, I was now the owner of an HD FXRS Lowrider Convertible.  It was a 92' and was done as so many bikes were back then, battered, dipped and deep fried in all things billet, shiny and pretty much everything that I am against at my core, but, it was a low mileage FXR and I had to have it.  The work done was all top notch, just not at all my taste.  Let me see if I can find a pic of it the day I brought it home so that you have a point of reference to see how much I ugly'd up this bike!

Looking back at this pic now I have to think to myself "what the hell did you do?"  I wanted a touring bike though that could travel with all the gear that I needed to head on down the road but still be able to carve up the canyons and make mince meat out of the super slab freeways and I knew that underneath all this crazy ass green paint was that very bike dying to get out.  As the months passed me with what seemed to be no more than a nod, I would grab up all the FXR parts that I needed to make this vision come to life.  The only problem was that I was not going to pay someone to do this and I sure as hell wasn't going to pay the over inflated prices that people were asking for these parts that for a great many years were pulled off of bikes and thrown in the corners of garages around the world, I was going to wait it out and make every part I got as much of a score as the bike itself.  It sure was a great plan for the first year and a half or so, but those deals are few and far between and with what now seems like the entire bike community got turned onto the amazing machine that so many hated with passion when it first came out, is making it more and more difficult to find either the parts or the deals, but I waited and waited.

The first thing that I did was score some sweet COP saddle bags and the rail system for mounting them.  With the first score comes the first problem, to fit these bags, I had to change both the struts and the shocks.... oh yeah, don't let me forget the rear fender and the tail light as well.  With those modifications made it was time to test out my asphalt eating theory so I did what anyone with virtually no common sense would do, I packed it up to the gills and rode it 1400 miles to Sturgis and back and you know what, it rode like a dream!  Here is a pic of the very first mods.

Luggage rack, seat and sissy bar added, handle bars and risers changed and saddle bags all ready to rock and roll for the trip to Sturgis and in the end, the final report, she rode like a dream but could have gone a bit faster for my taste but then again that is a bit questionable because I had no speedometer.  You see, the guy who did the work on the bike prior to my getting it mounted the tires on the rims in the wrong direction and knowing that I would certainly face rain on the trip, I had to pull the axle and flip the front rim backwards just to play it safe and good thing I did because the first 8 or 900 miles was in rain like I've never seen!  Oh yeah, we also added a foot of pipe to the rear exhaust to make them equal length and we installed baffles for back pressure, EVO's love their back pressure.  Also at this time I took a fender that fit a wide glide front end from my knuckle, I knew KOKO would never mind, she hates front fenders anyway, grabbed up some Krylon rattle can paint and painted both the front and rear fenders black.....  2/3's of the Green now gone!

Those of you who have become friends with me or began following my writing either here, facebook or in Cycle Source Magazine in the last year or so may not know about how this lovely Billet Barge got her name, "THE PICKLE SICKLE".......  I'm just wondering if I should tell that story again or find an old post on here and just add the link..... I'll get back to you on this when I figure it out.... in the mean time, I'm still working on accumulating parts and I've got everyone I know keeping their eyes peeled for me.

In the meantime, as I ponder on my decision of what to do about the aforementioned dilemma that I currently face, check out the all FXR issue of Cycle Source, people really seemed to love it and if you or a friend doesn't have one laying around, reach out to the mag itself and ask about how you get back issues, it's pretty easy.  If you haven't caught the FXR bug yet, this issue just may "infect you."

It was right about now that I was going to share all of the rest of the modifications I've made to the Pickle Sickle since my trip to Sturgis and as I began to type but had to stop...... it was right then, right now.... that I came to the realization that I'VE DONE NOTHING ELSE TO THIS BIKE!  My big plans to make this my road gobbling machine somehow got sidetracked.  Perhaps it was picking up the Road Glide at a pretty fair price or some divine intervention, either way, I really have no idea.  Not only did I stop at continuing my grand plan but I stopped totally.  When I got the bike the very first thing and I mean THE VERY FIRST THING that had to be done was tires!  Not only were they fairly worn down but they were dry rotted as hell.  Out here in AZ, if you leave something, anything out in the sun and don't move it or protect it, it will rot!  So as I sit here typing this now having come home only a few hours ago from actually replacing the tires I could not help but laugh and wonder how the hell I did not kill myself riding around on those damn things.  Notice that I didn't say from getting new tires there, I said "replacing" the tires?  That is because I wanted to get rid of those damn "cheese grater" wheels and throw on some FXR or Sportster wheels, hell, they are the same frigging thing either way......  I got those about a year or so ago and still didn't get new tires.  Lazy, YES I AM!

Part of the master plan was to get the wheels cleaned up and powder coated black, then I'd put the fresh rubber on and I'd be set to travel the world......  I still have not had the wheels powder coated and the bike is leaving for Las Vegas on Wednesday of next week.... yeup, waited till the last minute and sure as the devil shits fire, I've cut it way too close.  I called up my buddies down at Independent Motorcycles in Chandler and said "can you help an idiot out please, I'm in a jam" and without a moments thought the answer was yes.  Now not only were they willing to help me out but I was told to bring the bike down on Monday..... the funny thing is, the SHOP IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS!  I rode it on over and there they were waiting for me, what an amazing gesture!  As I got off the bike, Diane pulled up in the Flex and opened up the back door to a pile of parts that just left Bob speechless.  He looked at me and said "you want to do this, TODAY?"  Of course, is there a problem?  He promptly replied, "nope!"  I guess on all our parts we were thinking a wee bit too positive.....  We dove into the bike and started tearing it apart when Diane came in and said "we have to be at that appointment at 1pm.  It was now noon and I not only have to leave, but I'm leaving these guys to work on my bike, on their day off and I had to LEAVE, what a douche'bag!  I raced to Phoenix and right back and that was when we began to cross "to do" things off the list.  They didn't get crossed off because they were done, they were crossed off because they couldn't be done.

Can't get the powder coating done......  Okay..... Bob says "take my wire wheels and when we get your wheels back, we'll put tires on and swap them out"..... Okay....  another amazing gesture... in the time being, we'll pull off the wide glide front end, put on the FXR narrow glide and run a 19" instead of the 21"....  Okay....  Then I hear, "Jack, where is the headlight for this front end?" Uhm, I don't know, I don't have one."  Now it was their turn to say "OKAY"....  then we realized that my wide glide wasn't stock HD, it was a custom build so the dual disc brakes would not line up with either the 10 or 11.5 inch rotors.  So now I have no powder coated FXR wheels, I can't change the front end because I'd now have to cut all the wires and didn't have the time to dick with it, I had one laced wheel in the back and the cheese grater wheel on the front with what can only be described as a throw away tire on it which for the record is far better than the tire we took off.  I wanted to paint and swap out the gas tank and front fender but because the front end is a wide glide and is lowered, I can't put the cop fender on the front, but I now have one on the back......  I never measured the cable lengths so I can't change the risers or bars and I can't pull it apart because I have to ride this bitch home in a short time.  I didn't change the seat to two up either.  Oh hell, I should have been out of there a few hours before already and we were still dicking with this thing.  So let me show you some photos of WHAT this thing ended up looking like tonight.....  notice that I did not say HOW this thing looked because to use the word how, one would have to use words to describe it and at this point, that would be difficult.

I think what was formerly known as the Legendary Pickle Sickle should now just be called either the Rainbow Bright bike or simply Skittles but to do that, I have to put something orange or more red on. I may fix it all, or actually ride this bitch proudly into Sin City!  Only time will decide.....  Did I mention that I have not even painted the gas tank that I was about to put on, no, well I haven't....

You may have noticed that not one of the parts is painted to match yet....  This photo was taken for the all FXR issue of Cycle Source months ago and you know how much I got finished and painted?  NONE!  Here is another fun little fact about your pal Jack Shit;  I didn't let it stop me from putting any of it on!

So as you see here above, the saddle bags are off, the new fender and light are installed and there is now a wire wheel in the rear instead of a mag, neither the original cheese grater nor FXR mag.

Saddle bag back in place, rails on, Joey Chop's long ago borrowed luggage rack temporarily installed and the front wheel pulled off the bike.  I think about now any photo from any angle will show many different sizes of wheels, styles of wheels and tires all over the place with the exception of on the bike!

Now after a great many hours of work by guys who were on their day off, we decided that we had no choice but to put the original wheel back on, pull a tire out of the garbage pile more or less and install that, leave the front end, the headlight, the brakes, the seat, the tank, the exhaust alone for now just to get this damn Pickle off the lift so that tomorrow they can get back to customer's bikes who need their bikes to get back on the road.  I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the plethora of colors now on this bike and I remembered that I have the original FXRT Samsonite tour pack back at the house and it is Maroon and Orange of all things and I actually found myself laughing out loud as I pulled off the freeway racing home to dig out the tour pack just so I could see what it looks like added to what has now become a "modern art piece"......  I walked in the door, right past Diane and she said "where the hell are you going in such a rush?"  I'm going to dig out my tour pack to put on the bike!  "Oh my God, is it done" she asked with enthusiasm and all I could do was smile and say "it is for now".....  Well luck would have it and I found the tour pack, wait till you see this!  It is the candle on the fucked up cake, it is the pi est de resistance, the final kick in the nuts.... and so much more..... check it out!

C'mon now, seriously, after seeing this, don't you want to have an exact replica for yourself?  Don't lie... you know you do!  Heads up Vegas, the circus is coming to town!  I think I am going to pull off the side covers and rattle can paint them terracotta, I think that will be the perfect final touch! It is no wonder that Orange County Choppers has not been calling me to join the design team!  I pulled off this one of a kind bike for about 100,000 bucks less than their average bike!  Now on the serious side, I really wanted to black this ol' girl out all the way.  The engine, the wheels, the front end, nearly everything with a few subtle shiny touches but honestly now that I see it with the cop paint on it, I really have to admit that for someone who absolutely hates cops now, I really like the look of it!  So the work will stop until I figure it out...............  nah, only kidding, I've got a 7 dollar credit at the hardware store so tomorrow I'll go buy a can of spray paint and do something.... what exactly I'm not sure, but I'll do something!  I'll keep you posted!  Okay, I know you are dying to see one more pic of the bike from the "show side".... ha ha ha ha ha.... that makes me laugh even typing it, but here you go.

Until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back and
The MAN OFF YOUR ASS!

Your Friend,
Jack Shit

A long time coming

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... so I did it once again, I dropped off the face of the earth with regard to this blog and pretty much most social media for a while now.  The social media wasn't really my fault, FB in it's "big brother" capacity changed a setting on my page that everything I posted could only seen by me... that makes a whole hell of a lot of sense doesn't it?  This happened all the way back in the beginning of June and I only found out about it two weeks or so ago.  Now, with regard to the blog there is no excuse that I can make, I just flat out stopped writing.  I had a complete and total loss of inspiration, motivation and quite frankly, copulation!  If it weren't for the "where the fuck are you" and "is everything okay" messages I would have forgotten about the blog entirely.  I thank you all for caring enough to actually miss me.

So you must be thinking "but you are on here now, your are posting this", so what gives?  Today I found inspiration again and I found it under the worst possible circumstances.  I found it today in the Healing Fields of Tempe, Arizona.  The Healing Fields are located at Tempe Town Lake and it is a beautiful and serene setting just a hop, skip and jump from Arizona State University at the end of a long strip of bars and restaurants exactly like most college towns have.  Only for a few days a year, this property turns into a massive and I do mean massive memorial so that we never forget the events of 9/11 and those who lost their lives that day and the friends and families that they left behind, the survivors of the attack on our nation, on our way of life....  Today was the second time that I attended this event as I only found out about it last year for the first time.

I think what opened up my mind and my heart more than ever this year was that I was exhausted and I never went to sleep last night.  I had the alarm set for four am so that I could get the bike up and ready and waiting on the driveway so that I could hop on and ride away when my friends arrived.  At twenty minutes to four I rolled over and turned the alarm clock off, sleeping was not an option on this night.  My friends arrived promptly and we took off for the meet.  To say that I was disappointed with the turn out would be an understatement for sure.  As we pulled out to ride to the Healing Fields, we had only 50 bikes or so.  Here is a shot of the now legendary Pickle Sickle at 5 am waiting to take off on the ride.  When we finally did take off it was a mad dash right from the get go.  Blocking traffic, running lights and all the other mayhem that happens when you put a bunch of bikers together with a destination to get to.  We only made it to the second or third traffic light and had already pissed off the police!  When they put on their lights and sirens to stop us and no one stopped, they just gave in and gave us an escort to the lake!

and here is a shot of the Pickle at dawn, a short time before the sun came up.  There is something so beautiful about dawn in the desert that you could just sit in the saddle and stare up at the sky.  There is a combination of beautiful blue light but yet you can still make out the stars.  If you ever have the chance to experience this, I highly recommend that you do.

As mother nature was making a show of things and the night was becoming day I turned to make out a rather large group of people on the grassy knoll 200 feet away.  With each passing second the light was getting brighter and the group becoming more visible and as I finally made out just who the group was, I knew that I was in the right place at the right time!  Here is a shot of the fine folks on that grassy knoll this morning, 9/11.

 As I said, with each passing moment, night was leaving and the anniversary of the attacks on America was rapidly approaching and with it came the light.  As I made the walk towards the group I shot photo after photo and by the time I finally made it to them, dawn had let all of Az know that it had arrived and what a sight it was.

 Much to my bloodshot eyes pleasant surprise was a shit ton of America's finest men and women standing proudly on that knoll!  On the other side of the tree to the left was the mirror image of what you see here!  God bless The American Soldier!

We all slowly and at our own pace made our way towards the stage where the ceremony was to take place.  Oddly enough, it seems as if there is an unwritten rule that you "don't walk in the field between the flags until after the ceremony ends" and no one did!  When you first see the flags placed perfectly in laser straight lines the exact distance from each other in every direction it hits you straight in the heart.  The time, effort and caring that went in to making this dead on balls accurate was quite visible in an instant.  The sorrow that you feel begins to give way to pride again and it feels good. Below is the very first sight you see as you walk into the park and because of the natural light, you can't see the end in any direction, nothing but OLD GLORY.  What was particularly solemn this morning was that not one single flag moved, as if they too were waiting for the ceremony to begin and the healing to once again commence.  The place is now mostly attended by bikers, cops, firemen, volunteers and every television and radio station in the valley but what was missing was the regular folks..... where the hell were they?  The average mom and pop were not to be seen and this left me with an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

I get it that it is a week day and people have to work or that the kids have to go to school but come on folks, make some arrangements this one time a year, plan ahead..... we have to make a sacrifice however small or large to keep these victims and these events fresh in our hearts and minds or like so many other things, they will slowly disappear and become distant memories of some awful thing that happened a long, long time ago...... when we arrived the crowd attendance was horrible.  Last year, in the pouring rain it was difficult to even find a chair to sit on, these year with incredible weather, you could have taken eight chairs for yourself and laid down across them and there would still be plenty of chairs.

As I was getting a good look at the old restored Plymouth Fury, Scottsdale Police car and the incredible Van Pelt Fire Engine behind the stage I could hear the bag pipes begin to play and let me tell you, as a proud Irishman and cops kid, I've heard these far too many times in my life.

Shortly after the bagpipers ended a friend said "hey Jack, I want to introduce you to someone" and I turned around and started laughing....  Nice to meet you I said and the reply was "it sure is Jack".... What a pleasant surprise, standing in front of me was a man I had the great honor to meet up in Laconia a few rallies back and who I now call my friend, the one and only Saluting Marine of viral internet fame, Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers.  Tim always seems to appear at exactly the right places with impeccable timing and I thought this was the case today as well but I was wrong.  As it turns out, this memorial would not be the only event of the day.  At seven pm on this solemn day a candle light vigil would take place and Tim would be the guest of honor and the man to address the crowd and I knew that they brought in the right man for the job.  A few minutes later as we paused in silence for the exact moment that the plane hit the tower I captured two photos taken only moments apart from each other and they are my hands down favorite photos of the entire day and night and I'd like to share them with you now.

Today I rode a roller coaster of feelings and emotions and I welcomed them all.  I was reminded of the pain, the epic sadness, the horror, the loss, the devastation and the overwhelming fear that I felt on this day 12 years prior but I was also reminded of how this nation pulled together, how we put aside our differences and we were one people, how neighbor helped neighbor, how stranger helped stranger.  I was reminded of honor and the selflessness that wave after wave of our first responder's exhibited as they gave their own lives to try and save others.  I was reminded of the patriotism this tragedy had pulled back out of our beat down post Viet Nam souls and as I looked at the total and utter respect that these young men and women pictured above showed on this day for people that most never knew of other than for a name on a list or attached to a flag in a field and I knew that we as a people still had hope for our future.  That we as a nation could rise above the attacks of 9/11 and more than a decade of war that has followed.  We are a tired people but on this day we were uplifted because of the compassion shown and shared and it was a beautiful thing to witness.

When the ceremony was over and the people had nearly all gone, I stayed on for an hour or so and just walked the field.  I learned that not only was each flag marked with a number and a name, but what the age of that person was and what they were doing on that day and the biggest surprise of all was that on each tag was a little blurb about each person and it gave some humanity to the strangers whose names appeared on each of these 2,996 flags in the Healing Fields on this day and it touched me deeply.  During the ceremony I once again had the honor and privilege to read the names of some of the victims and I will forever hold that memory close to my heart.  The property was now mostly volunteers, a few friends, all the tv stations doing live shots and one lone fireman!  That lone fireman stood watch over this field on this day as if to say "WE STILL GOT YOUR BACKS" and I just couldn't help but watch him from behind for a bit as he stood there keeping an eye on the fields much like our friend Tim Chambers does as he salutes all who ride on Rolling Thunder, the similarity did not escape me.

 Today helped restore some much needed faith in me and seeing the thousands who attended the candle light vigil tonight took away some of my anger over the morning attendance.  I witnessed people once again come together out of nothing but good and compassion and a passion was once again reignited in me.  So in as much as I went to this memorial today to support those who have lost and to hold true to "NEVER FORGIVE, NEVER FORGET" as my tattoo reads, it was this memorial that in-fact helped me and I didn't even know I needed it!

Until we see each other on the road again;

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back and
The man off your ass!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

Healing Field 9/11 Memorial / NEVER FORGET

I know that it has been a tremendous amount of time since I last posted up on this blog and I've gotten your messages and I'll try harder to add content on here, sorry!  I wanted to share this with you all today as we remember those lost on this tragic day in American history.  I hope everyone continues to heal from this and life gets a little bit easier to live with each passing day.


I

and The Super Douche` award goes to

I'm sure you are dying to know who won this prestigious award in a town filled with so many Douchebags, don't worry, you will find out shortly.  My only regret is that I was too slow in moving from the table during dinner to catch this self important asshole as he proudly rode by the windows at a snails pace, proud as a peacock and smirking ear to ear.  He must have been attending a monthly Douche` meeting because as he came outside to get on his mean machine, the parking lot that was filled to capacity with smart cars, prius' and other hybrids all began to pull out together in a parade of fucktards with this "super douche`" leading the pack!  I wanted to stop him, interview him and thank him, yes, thank him for all he has done to make the world a better place and for dressing in such a snappy manner.  I just hope that his "super douche` cape" does not get caught in his back wheel while riding away!  He was just too quick for me.  I even had my list of questions all ready to go for when he straddled his machine!

Until we see each other on the road again,
Keep the wind in your face,
tits in your back and
The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

Everything can change in the blink of an eye!

Sometimes in the blink of an eye, a good day can turn to total shit but on the flip side of that coin, a good day can turn into a great day just as quickly and that is just what happened to mine today.... You are probably saying, wait, which way did it go?  Did it go to Shit or did it become Great?  You are going to have to watch the short video below to find out...... and....

Until we see each other on the road again,
Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back and
The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

Choppertown Camparound 2013 In The Books

I'm just sitting here on the couch trying to be as much like a ghost as I possibly can so that Diane can rest quietly, it's Tuesday and she is suffering from the after effects of her weekly shot.  She's had a pretty good run lately with very little in the way of side effects but today she is paying for that good run.  As I always say, no good deed ever goes unpunished.... and one must always be prepared to pay the price for good fortune... right now, the latter of the two is what's happening.  As I'm sitting here I began to reflect on the weekend and just how much I enjoyed myself.

This past weekend was if my memory does not fail me, the fourth Choppertown Camparound and for the first time it was held in a new location up in Wilhoit, Arizona.  I had been looking forward to this event for some time now but had been worried that after taking that fall back in Milwaukee, was I going to be able to make it up there, much less even ride my bike up there.  As it turns out, I was able to do both and by the time the day came to actually get my shit together and go, I was ready for it.  Just in case though, I brought with me an ankle brace, two knee braces, a different wrist brace and my cane, I was going to be ready for anything that hit and any injury that acted up!  The day before I left I was feeling pretty bummed that I would not be riding my knucklehead up to the party as I had the first annual event and I had come to grips with the fact that I would be riding up on the bagger when I realized hey, I got my fxr, that shits got room to pack camping gear on it, I'll ride the Pickle Sickle up there.  By the time I arrived, I could not get the smile off of my face!  I forgot just how great that bike is to ride and it was the first time I ever got to take that bike and use it for what it was designed for, going fast around the twisties.... but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Normally when I'm getting ready to go to an event I get stressed to the limit and I'm in a panic about getting on the road and how long will the ride take to get there and how long we stop at each gas station.  There is nothing worse than going for a ride somewhere and having to be there at a specific time, it takes a whole lot of the joy of those trips from them.  The pressure builds even more when I'm riding my bike to an event that I'm working, where the only real joy comes from the ride home.  On this Saturday, I took my time like never before, getting my shit together, packing it all up right so that I could grab anything that I needed without having to unpack on the side of the road.  I had planned on being up early, loading up and riding out by 11 then 12 and that quickly became 1 and finally I fired up the bike to go at 3pm and not one part of me gave a shit!  I don't have a working speedometer on the Pickle but I do know that it could not tach any higer and I ended up making great time on the 120 mile ride so you do the math there.  Part of my mind always has a little paranoid part that is always one step ahead of me and does all the worrying for me so that I don't have to.  One of the thoughts I had on the ride up was "I sure hope when I get there the whole front of the bar is not packed with bikes", I didn't want the local PD seeing a billboard for what was taking place there and wondering why even after the bar closed were all these bikes still there.  As I pulled up in front of the Burro Inn there was not a bike to be seen and my smile grew a bit wider.  I pulled in, made a left and rode up the dirt hill to the glory of a post apocalyptic refugee camp of choppers, stock bikes and tents!  THIS PLACE WAS PERFECT!

I said hello to a few friends upon arriving and then shot over to set up camp which shockingly was done in only a few minutes thanks to help from a few friends and with that, cracked open the ol' mason jar and passed around the jar of Palmetto Moonshine.  A little white lightning after a hot ride across the desert was the perfect reward and it was still semi cold from when I pulled it out from the fridge a few hours earlier.  As I settled into the event it dawned on me that I wasn't there to work, not in the least and it was time for the first time in a very long time to do nothing but kick back, share some booze with friends and just celebrate this thing we do!  As the sun set I looked up to the mountain to see a sight that I had not planned on.  Met from New Mexico was standing on top of the hill, striking a pose like a Greek God and then my eyes refocused and I quickly came to the realization that he was pantless and taking the piss of a lifetime!  It will be a while before I get this pic out of my head and to be honest, I had no idea he had so much ink....  Nice ass tats Met!  With the sun down and the fire roaring, people all looked genuinely happy!  Not that I'm at a run and I'll be as happy as I can while I walk through the rows of chaps vendors but the pure happiness that comes from walking around looking at bad ass bikes and talking to people that you hardly ever get to see.

One of the highlights for me that I take away from this event was the people.  Many who were there I had not seen in some time and when I do get to see them, or talk to them, I only get to hang for a few minutes or in most cases, for a few moments before I run off to do something else or be somewhere else.  It was amazing not being on a schedule, not worrying about what band was coming on next and at what time, not worrying if I had taken care of the vendors well enough, did I remember to announce that the bartenders work only for tips.... etc etc etc.... it was so good to just walk around and bullshit with people.  Some people I've only met a few times in my life and at best for only a few seconds while working and I was finally able to hang out and get to know them, while there were others who, although we have been social media friends for some time, we've never even met in person until this party and it was great to put a face and a voice to a single profile pic!  If you are reading this and you were one of these people, it was great to finally meet you!  In one of those moments, I had just finished talking with someone and there was a quiet that came over the crowd in the campground and suddenly I could hear the band and all I could think of was "who the hell is that on stage", they are insane good!  I quickly made my way up to the back of the bar to see a band on stage that I had heard friends talk about over and over and now got to witness for the first time why they loved these guys so much!  If you guys, anywhere who are reading this, if you see the name HogJaw appear on an event invite or a flyer somewhere playing near you, believe me, go and see them.  The playing is so tight that it appears effortless!  They have a new album out and they take off for Europe in September so check them out, you will end up a lifelong fan as I have just become!

Next up was my friend Shadrach Heartattach and his band Bottom Shelf Bourbon.  I'd heard great shit about these guys as well but I've not seen them perform either.  We were hanging out at the back of the stage when Shadrach Heartattach came up to me and asked if I would go up on stage and bring the band on....  I told him no, that it was my day off and I wasn't working with a smirk and he just gave me one of his sly little smiles and he had me right then and there!  I've got to tell you guys and gals reading this here in AZ, if you get a chance to see this band, check them out, fantastic.....  I was captivated the moment they came on and the sound that came from that electric guitar was out of this world!  After having just finished my contract negotiations with my friend Shadrach, Long Jon, the host of this kick ass event pulled me aside and said "hey man, I ain't much of a talker but.... we want to do something for Randy Pants, we want to do a burnout in his memory, would you go up and announce it"..... sure thing man, I'd be honored to and for the record, what a burnout it was.  I've never seen anyone pop a tire so fast and I do believe Ken from FTF is and has remained the burnout king of Choppertown!  I'll have to double check as I only made the last event for an hour and missed the one prior to that altogether!  The band went on and played until late and we filled the rest of the hours with drinking, laughing and setting some things straight between friends.....  all in all, I'd say this was one hell of a party and one hell of a good time!

For Long Jon and the lovely Ms. Pinky Pancake, I just want to say thank you once again for taking the time to put this lil shindig together for all of us to enjoy and get away from work for a little while.  You made one hell of a choice in picking this year's location and I would seriously recommend that you stick with this joint!  The people who ran it were friendly and I really got the feel that they were genuinely grateful that we all came to hang out at their place!  So to those of you from the Burro Inn, I say thank you as well!  As great as the party was, the ride to the party is not to be beat!  There are only two ways in or out of this joint and each equally spectacular in their views and twists, turns and switchbacks.....  so that's it, what more could you want from a bike event?  We ended the night in the most fitting of ways, we drank and laughed ourselves to sleep around the camp fire....  well GTP was already asleep until I unzipped his tent and knelt down right on his forehead thinking it was my own tent....  oh hell, they were both blue and it was dark and the shit was right next to mine, it was an honest mistake!  For the record, I was nearly as surprised as you were George.  Now this is where I would traditionally load up all the photos from the party but I took only one pic and it was the next day......  hey, what do you want from me, I was off the clock!

Until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

Never know what you'll find on the memory card on your phone

So I got a new phone a short while back and I've really yet to figure out how the damn thing works.  I shot some video over the last few days that I wanted to share but could not even figure out how to get it off of the damn phone.  So after an hour of going back and forth from the phone to the laptop to the phone I had to open up each single thumbnail and there are like a thousand of them.  There were no previews to show what each file was, this was a huge undertaking and a massive pain in the ass!  So I would copy, then paste and then open before I even had an hint at what it was going to be.  I was pretty happy when I found this one.  Hell I didn't even know I still had this and for that matter I didn't even remember I shot this.

The quick back story is this;  I was working out in the back yard with the radio on and I heard the local station run an ad saying what was going on that night.  An old friend that I grew up with was coming to town and I had not seen him in what felt like forever.  I checked my phone and still had his number but it was his home phone (the same number since we were kids).  I sent him a message online and sure as hell he answered.  My old friend is Italian and had been on the road for some time so I asked when was the last time he had some good, home cooked, real Italian food and his answer was "fucking forever ago", so I threw on a pot of water, grabbed up some pasta, opened up some cans of tomato and began cooking.  The plan was to meet him at the buses behind the venue, catch up, eat some dinner and see the show.  I had no idea that we'd be seeing the show sitting on road cases on the wing of the stage!  When we were just kids this guy was one of the best bass players that I had ever seen and I knew without question that if he kept his shit straight he would be huge and sure as hell he is!  I've been around music, bands and live performances my whole life but I've never really seen such joy in playing as I witnessed on this night of my old friend playing the bass!  As it turns out it had to be maybe 15 years since we'd seen each other, maybe even longer.  I don't know how that happens but it was like no time was lost.  He was exactly the same guy he's always been, he's just got a much better beard now!  So here you go, check out this hidden little gem from my old memory card!

Click on this fucker right here and check it out!

Until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

I'M LIKE THE FRIGGIN HORSE WHISPERER

ROBERT REDFORD LOOK OUT MAN, JACK SHIT IS COMING FOR YOUR TITLE!  Or your name or whatever the hell that role was that you played in the movie was I'm not sure but apparently it looks like I got me some mad skills when it comes to communicating with the horses!  In this particular case I was saying no so kind things about this lovely rescued horse named Chica!  When my friend Chopper Doll found this horse she was starving and 3/4's on her way to certain death!  Well I should have said our friend Chopper Doll because I'm sure she is probably your friend too!  Anyway, to make a long story short, it had been a long time since we were out her way in Cali and I had yet to see the ranch where she keeps both of her RESCUED horses!  The other horse, Memo, was in even worse shape and to add insult to the starvation issue, this horse had been beaten and abused as well.  When I first saw the photos of these horses I could not wrap my head around how anyone could do this to such amazing creatures.  Well after starving and literally having to fight for food, these two are fattened up and living like rock stars but old habits are hard to break and this beautiful blonde here, Chica, has not forgotten about having to fight for food and she still wants to eat anything that is put in front of her..... and anything that is put in front of any other horse or goat or chicken or..... well you get my drift!  The work our dear friend has put into this property is incredible and I give her kudos and two thumbs up for the near unbelievable job she did in saving these two horses from their horrible lives or really, what was left of them.

While there I was so amazed at how beautiful the property was coming along and even more amazed at how great the horses looked, I took out my phone and began to record video and of course, I was commenting on it.  Those of you who don't know me allow me to fill you in on this tidbit of info;  I'm known for my ridiculous commentary when the camera is on, it's as if I forget that I'm holding the damn thing and no one, including myself ever knows what is going to come out of my mouth so for years any time something needed to be recorded, everyone just handed me the camera hoping for another moment of me putting my foot in my mouth or my head up my ass!  Today, the only one to take exception to my commentary was Chica the horse.  She was not at all impressed with me or the thoughts that I was conveying!  So take a look at the video, it really is pretty damn funny and I would bet my ass on the fact that if I had every horse treat known to man, I could not have gotten this horse to do this with such impeccable timing!  It's short, only about a minute and a half so I hope you enjoy it.  I'll drop the link in below so all you have to do is click on it.

Until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

Jack Shit the horse pisser off!

Been A Long Time Coming

Since I have not posted shit in forever, I thought since I broke out of my massive inspirational coma today, I'd share some cool shit that's gone on over the last little while since I dropped off the face of the earth!  I believe my last post before today was just prior to Daytona Bike Week down at the Broken Spoke letting you all know what we had going on down there.  As it turns out, the event was a huge success and the feedback that I've gotten from those who came to work and party with us has been stellar.  It is very rare indeed that I ever leave the property when I'm working a bike rally but I could not resist taking off on the Chop In Block / Cycle Source ride around what I believe is called the Wildlife Loop out in Ormond.  A friend was kind enough to loan me another friend's bike and I jumped in to the pack and we took off.  The ride was amazing, the people along for it could not have been better and for about an hour and a half, we all got to forget that we were there to work.  Here is a shot that our friend Uli captured while on the ride.  I'm not sure what it is, but there is something that just strikes me about this shot.  I'm not sure if it is the way the sun shines off that amazing paint job or the blur of the trees making it look like we are rolling 100 mph or what but I just love the hell out of it so I thought I'd share it with you lunatics.

Once again I had the great honor of hosting some of the finer happenings at Arizona Bike Week this year and there were quite a few moments that really stood out and a few memories that will stay with me for as long as I live.  I got to once again do a gig with the incredible folks over at HD of Scottsdale and they clean, clear knocked it out of the park again.  It was the kick off party for AZ Bike Week and the crowd was pumped up.  In true Jack Shit fashion we hooked them up with all kinds of Free Shit and the crowd was so massive that we had to use a cannon to reach from 1/3 of the crowd back.  The concert  portion of the event was held at their new training facility which by the way is totally state of the art and enormous.  I've yet to think of anything that could not be pulled off with this amazing facility that they have there.  The shot below was taken from the lighting console which was about halfway back in the crowd from the stage.  I love seeing the crowd here but what I really love is the shot of that flag on the stage.  There is a great story here to go along with that flag as well.

Another great shot that was captured that day was of me screwing around when I didn't know anyone was looking.  Shortly before the shot was taken, I had introduced and watched the performance of one of the best bike stunt teams that I had ever seen.  It was a warm day and I had a shit ton of property to work that day and from the jump I decided that I would ride my bike around the property rather than walk back and forth endlessly.  On one of my trips back to the main stage I was informed that there was a delay in getting Steppenwolf off the stage from their sound check and our rehearsal would have to wait.  I was riding around the training facility when I realized that I had never surfed the bagger since I got it and what better time and place to do just that, after all, it is a "training facility", so I couldn't pass it up.  As I came around the lighting / sound tower I had just began going up on the bike when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone standing there.  He never got a shot of me all the way up but he did catch me getting there.  Who knew that you could surf a road glide?  Getting that loose neck fixed after 2 years sure paid off!  Thanks Bob from Independent for the hook up!

What makes working for this group of people so great is just that, "the group of people" and the head of that group is the one and only Dr. Bob Parsons and this man is nothing but class!  He spent top dollar to throw this party and here is the kicker, if you have a mc endorsement on your drivers lic., then entry to the event is totally free!  How classy of a move is that shit?  Dr. Bob went way out of his way to fill the entertainment roster that day.  When you bring in a big national act, it's easy to just hire a local band or two to open up for them and save yourself a fortune but he sure as hell didn't do that.  He took the expense to bring in a band from Nashville that was really great but the point of this is the band that he brought in all the way from NYC.  The band is called Madison Rising and they were extremely talented.  More than talented, they are truly patriots and it really shows in their performance.  Just like Dr. Bob, the lead singer is a Marine and as you see there I didn't say former Marine because as I've learned, there is no such thing!  The band played a set earlier and was just incredible but it was the job that they did later that evening that flat out blew everyone's minds.  The original video the band made is stellar but I thought that here, now, I would share the video from that evening.  So check it out right click me now.  As much as the performance live was incredible what moved me the most was when a moment of silence was asked for by the lead singer and in a split second, nearly six thousand guests fell instantly silent, it was incredibly powerful!  This is a band that because of the fact that they are patriotic, find it very difficult to find a welcoming audience because as you know, you are damn near shunned now for being proud to be an American!  If you see these guys anywhere, make sure you go and support them.  The original video made by the band on youtube has nearly 4 million hits and that's pretty damn impressive to me!  

Dr. Bob is the founder of Go Daddy and although he is a MASSIVE success, he takes care of his people and his customers at a level I've yet to see any place else.  About 20 minutes before we brought Bob up on stage we were hanging out backstage, we had gone over what was going to happen when he came on and we were talking with the band and that is when I saw and heard something that I'd never imagined was possible in the entertainment industry.  Dr. Bob was speaking with these guys and asked how they are supported and how it is going for them.  The reply was the same that nearly every band gives, "we do it all on our own" until we make it big enough to get some support but as I mentioned above, in this nation, is these times, being a patriot is perhaps the ultimate curse in the entertainment industry.  Dr. Bob turned to one of his top guys and said "bonus these guys $ _______, write them a check right now" and the look on the faces of the band had to match the look on mine.  That look was shock, awe and total surprise!  I won't mention the amount of the bonus that was given because that really isn't my right to do, but I can say this, HOLY SHIT!  Dr. Bob, you my friend are nothing but class!  I'm proud to be part of your team!  As I mentioned earlier, there was a story behind that flag that we used on the stage.  A soldier's dad carries that flag around with him and is such a massive fan of Madison Rising that he attends many of their shows.  We knew that we needed a flag on stage for this special moment and we asked if we could use his and he was humbled and honored.  I never had a chance to hear the entire story behind the flag but I can say that it was very moving to say the least!  Here is one of my favorite shots captured that evening!

 Below is a shot captured that night right before we all went on stage.  Dr. and Mrs. Parsons, Madison Rising and your pal Jack Shit!  This was a night that I will never forget.  The only thing that could have made this better would have been if the owner of the flag could have been in there with us.

I could go on and on in this post but I won't because it seems to be getting long and since I've not really posted in five months, I don't want to kidnap you and hold you for ransom on this page.  Next time I get back on here, I'll share some of the other great shit, sad shit and cool shit that has been going on in our lives over this past half year!

I do have to say that it feels good to write about what's going on again and let you fuckers back into our lives.  It's not always easy to just spill out for the whole world everything that is going on and I feel that if I can't lay it all out on the line then why share anything.... ya know what I mean?

So then, until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit