Holy Shit!

THIS POST HAS CHANGED FROM ITS ORIGINAL FORMAT AS A PHOTO HAS BEEN ADDED.  NORMALLY ANY CHANGE FROM ITS ORIGINAL FORM WOULD BE IN RED BUT I'LL BE DAMNED IF I KNOW HOW TO MAKE A PHOTO RED!

I can't believe that I've not written a single solitary word or posted once on this thing since the beginning of January.  Here we go again, another Jack Shit disappearing act!  It's funny, it's not like I have had nothing going on in my life to share with you all, I just haven't had the heart to sit down and actually write.  I find that I write from a position of passion and lately, quite frankly, I find myself less than passionate.  The injuries I sustained on my trip to Milwaukee for the Shed party turned out to be quite a bit more severe than I ever imagined they would be and I've been more or less laid up ever since.  With the exception of getting up and about for 3 or 4 hours max, I've spent all my time laying on the bed, the couch and luckily, even the beaches of Hawaii.  When I met with the surgeon he laughed when I asked if he thought I needed surgery.  I asked what was so funny and he said "son, it's not if you need surgery but how fast can we perform it!"  With that statement, the life seemed to be sucked clean out of my lungs and my heart!  Here we go again....  more surgeries more time laid up.... well it ain't happening right now!  I've got shit to do!  I have no choice but to knuckle up, face the pain and push forward.  Friday I begin my duties of hosting one of the greatest parties on earth, Daytona Bike Week at the Broken Spoke Saloon and I have mixed emotions on it.  I am psyched that I get back on the road and bring the smiles but I'm sort of horrified to find out if that once I get going will the ankle and knee hold up?  One way or another, within 48 hours I'm going to find out.

Over the last 3 years or so, I've been blessed with being able to entertain the masses that arrive at the Spoke looking to do one thing, make some memories and I'll forever be grateful for having been given the shot at pulling this off.  The Broken Spoke celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, that is an epic accomplishment and all I can say is that I'm honored to have had a small role in that.

When people ask me and believe me, they ask a lot, what is my favorite part of it all, or what the highlight of each rally is and the only answer that I can ever come up with is "the people."  Thanks to social media, I know so many of you from all over the world and the only place I really ever get to cross paths with you guys is at the big rallies!  I love what I do, although the most difficult question I ever have to answer is "what do you do Jack?"  That question sends a chill down my spine because to be quite honest, I'm not really at all sure what it is that I do......  I just know that it makes me happy to do it and it sure seems to bring big ol' smiles to others faces....  well those of them that I don't somehow piss off while I'm doing whatever it is that I do!  If you are heading for Daytona, please, stop in the Broken Spoke, say happy anniversary to guys like Brother Speed who have been around forever.  We've got one hell of a party planned, notice I didn't say event?  That is because you don't have an anniversary event, you have an anniversary party and that is what the Spoke has planned and not just for Daytona but for the entire year.  The best part is that rather than expect to receive gifts, we plan on giving them to you guys!  What's better than gifts?  Surprises and surprise gifts, that's what's better....  What kind of things will you be giving away, you may be asking yourself right now?  How about this for example.....

This is just one of three guitars being given away this rally in Daytona at the Broken Spoke!  The one and only Jasmine Cain will also be giving away an ESP Guitar and all you got to do to is be there to have your shot at riding out of the Spoke with a bad ass ax strapped on your back or maybe three if you are really lucky!  Speaking of Jasmine, she will as always be blowing up the stage at the Spoke along with our friend and editor of Cycle Source Magazine, the one and only Chris Callen comes out of self imposed exile from music and is performing on the world famous stage of the Spoke!  We look forward to welcoming Big House Pete as well as icons of the music industry and Florida's own, Molly Hatchet who never fails to blow the roof off the joint!  I know you guys who have followed my writing and my rants for some time will be asking yourself right about now, Jack always says that this is supposed to be a gathering of those who live for bikes, not music.......  you are right, that is ABSOLUTELY what this is all about, the bikes.... but fuck man, ain't it cool to have some sweet tunes playing the whole time?  Once again, so many people have come together to make all of this happen and none of it would be possible without the generosity and brotherhood shared and shown with gestures like these guitars among other amazing acts you will never know of!

Again, those of you who know me, know full well that I live and breathe all things two wheeled and hell folks, done right, I even dig some shit with three wheels....  Okay, who am I kidding, if it has tits or wheels, I'm a fan......  Rather than have a one day bike show, the Spoke has a bike show nearly each and every day of the rally!  From the Trikes only show that was a huge hit last go round to the Chop-In Block show, the Editors choice show which is a milestone and an epic achievement and it's all happening at the Broken Spoke and we are honored....  15 National magazine editors will represent their rags all in one place at one time and pick some of the baddest scoots on earth to feature in their mags.  If you have ever wondered how you get YOUR BIKE featured in a magazine, well this is how and now is your chance....

It's all fun and games..... well until someone loses an eye, then it's fun and games and hilarity!  The Spoke welcomes back the Motorcycle Cowboys to bring a little touch of their own mayhem to the party with rodeo games and good clean American Biker fun.......  did I say clean?  Who the hell am I kidding?  It was only 5 months ago when the police stormed the property in Daytona and threatened to shut us down if we didn't calm it down!  You know it ain't a party until the cops arrive anyway, right?  The Chop-In Block family is back with us again for the third time and I've got to tell you that these guys are the shit!  Builders, fabricators, tool makers, leather artisans, pinstripers, you name it, they are all represented at the Chop-In Block and I can tell you from personal experience, there is not a one of them that I would not want next to me in a fox hole!

The party goes late in to the night as usual and each night ends with all the ladies in the audience up on the bar for one last blast of decadence.....  I could go on and on and on with what we've got planned for you all this bike week in Daytona but why ruin the surprise?  If you are not a big fan of surprises, then go to the Spoke's facebook page, the website at www.brokenspoke.com and visit the pages of those you know who will be there.  This is a party you won't want to miss and will forever regret it if you do!  Oh yeah, don't be bashful, roll that bike right up in front of the stage because just as you've come to know the Spoke, the BURNOUTS WILL BE A PLENTY!  Go ahead, get famous and burn that fucker down to the rim.....

So for now, that's what I've got going on, this is where I will be and if the messages on line, the phone calls and texts are any sign of what's to come, I'm going to be seeing a shit ton of you maniacs there and I can't wait!  Everyone, please be safe in your travels down to Daytona, watch out for assholes in cages and watch your six!  I'll keep you posted as shit goes down and as we break news on "special" happenings at the party so keep an eye out!  Oh yeah, shit, I nearly forgot, where's my head?  MISS BROKEN SPOKE CONTEST.......

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 KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know!  It's been some time since I've posted and I'm sorry for that.  I can't even begin to comprehend where the last few weeks have gone.  It truly seems like yesterday that anytime someone asked me, "hey man, when do you head to Daytona"?  The answer was always six weeks.  No matter how many times that I was asked that question, the answer was always six weeks.  Now in like 15 hours, I head for the airport and I'm off to Daytona Beach for Bike Week.  I went from having six weeks to get ready and doing nothing to panic mode as I try to get my ass in gear, packed up and on the plane!  For the next 10 days, I will be laying it all out on the line to try and bring a smile to the faces of you fine folks that show up at the Spoke to party, have a great time and build some memories.

I've gotten so many "I'll see ya there" messages that if only half of you show up, I'll be thrilled.  Although I am surrounded by people all day and I keep a break neck pace and NEVER even sit down while I'm working, I feel sometimes like a man on an island.  I feel all alone in a see of faces that I don't know and when I see someone I know come riding through those gates it makes me so happy.  I can't begin to express just how very happy I am when you maniacs show up to party with us!  On the flip side of the coin, I get really bummed when I watch you fuckers ride away too!  We have a massive week planned for you all in Daytona and it seems that even though the event is quite literally upon us, we are still adding to it!  So check out the Broken Spoke Saloon's face book by clicking right here,  Spoke's FACEBOOK PAGE, page for updates throughout the day and the week.  Also, don't forget to go to The Spoke's Web Site for an entire list of events, artists, builders and runs that we have planned for you!

For those of you who sent me messages about Jack Shit shirts, yes, I will have them in Daytona.  I'm bringing lots of men's and lady's t's and tanks but I can only bring a few Hoodies with me.  If you want a hoodie, you better get your ass down there early in the week!  If you have been waiting for shirts that were back ordered, they all went out today and I thank you for your patience.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I truly don't know where the last few weeks have gone and looking back, I can't figure out even what I did that ate up so much time.  My email in boxes are damn near maxed out and although I had big plans all week to try and play catch up, I am still way behind.  Here is a word of advice for you my friends;  If you upload Skype, make sure to check your setting on other accounts afterwards.  Not only does it now allow instant messaging that I've always had turned off, but I now receive an email anytime anyone that I know does anything on facebook.  I mean damn near anything.  I opened up my in box to over 9000 emails the other day and that was just on one account.  I would hit delete all but then I would miss the real emails that are lost in the sea of bullshit!  So I said it the other day and I'll say it again, if you sent me a message and I have not gotten back to you and it was important or time sensitive, please re send it to me so that it is on top of the list!

That's it for now folks, it's time to get my shit together and get my head ready for 9/ 15-16 hour days, all to bring a smile to your faces.  I'm going to throw a flyer on here below this so you have an idea of what is going on, but like I said, make sure you check the sites for up to the minute info!

 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 don't think that it could be better!

Well I've done it!  I made it through another rally and I am no worse for the wear!  The only thing different about this rally was that I arrived at this one injured!  Typically I only leave them injured so it was a nice change of pace!  Leading in to the rally and after each night I averaged 3.5 to 4.5 hours of sleep so to say that I wasn't at the top of my game would truly be an understatement.  It was the crowd having a great time and seeing the smiles on their faces that gave me the strength to pull through.  Well that and the occasional, desperately needed shot of Jack Daniels!  I arrived home in Phoenix last night at midnight, which for me was 3 am on the clock that I was running on.  I stayed awake till 3 am which was really 6 am for me and when I finally fell asleep, I slept all damn day.  When I finally did get up, I limped out of bed, naked, to the pool and laid down on a chair in the sun!  It wasn't long before I had to cover up the "boys" with a bandanna because they were boiling!  It sure was nice to be home!  I got yet another two hours of rest and it really made me feel great.

When I return from these events and people ask me how things were, the answer is always "great"!  When asked about specific events and I try to recall them, everything is blank!  As the next few days follow, the events that transpired slowly creep back in to my brain!  It's like my brain is swollen and I have to put ice on it to bring the swelling down and then the memories rush back in!  Yes, I know, I am a lunatic!  So my point is this right now;  I would very much like to tell you all about Biketoberfest at the Broken Spoke, but right this moment, I SIMPLY CAN'T!  There is just not much in the ol' memory bank! 

I just wanted to write a quick post and say thank you!  There were so many people that began working long before this rally ever even began to the people who are quite literally still on property at the Spoke right now working their asses off to clean it up!  From the bottom of my heart, this could never have been done without you, each and every single one of you!  I just wrote this to say thanks and to let you guys know that I am back home, safe and sound and in the following days, I plan to write about this years Biketoberfest! 

Most importantly though, I want to say from the depths of my heart and soul, THANK YOU to all of you who came to the Broken Spoke to party with us!  There are so many of you amazing people that I have become friends with over the years that in all that time I'd never had the pleasure of getting to meet you in person and for a great many of you, at this rally, that finally got to happen!  That was for sure one of the major highlights of this rally for me!  I also want to say thank you to each and every single one of you whose first questions to me were about Diane!  It touches me that you guys have grown to love and care about her and her battle with MS!  God Bless You!  One day soon, I will find a way to bring her to one of these larger rallies so that she can see first hand, for herself how much she is loved by so many! 

So for now, I'm going to actually eat something!  I eat very little once I have switched to rally mode!  I am going to go back to bed, wrap my arms around my girl and count my lucky stars that I have been blessed to have been surrounded by so many amazing people, not only in business and in cyber space but in my real life as well.  I could not ask for more than I have!  Everyone ride safe and until we see each other on the road or at the next rally;

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

Your friend,
Jack Shit

The Great Disappearing Act!

I've gotten a ton of messages, calls and emails from a whole bunch of you guys wondering if all was okay.  It seems that so many of you have made a place for me in your lives, that when I drift away for a while, you guys actually miss me!  YOU ALL NEED TO SEE A SHRINK, SOON!  I just want to let you know that all is well here with the Shit family.  As well as can be expected!  Every now and again, I just get burned out, pissed off, broken hearted or just flat out disgusted with things and rather than bitch and complain about it or go on meaningless online rants, I just take a step back.  Each of us these days has our own problems, life of late is no picnic for so many.  I've always meant to inspire people, open their eyes to something they may be missing or at the very least, bring a smile to their faces.  I never want to be that guy who leaves you feeling worse about yourselves or your life for having read my writing!  So I just turned off the computer, stopped emails from coming to my phone and took a break for a few days, grabbed my boot straps and pulled myself back up.  I think the thing that makes me feel so disgusted when I am in a dark place is simply that I have nothing to be in a dark place over!  I have a great life!  I share my life with a beautiful angel who would step in front of a bullet for me.  Business has been better for us than it has been in a very long time and for the most part, our health hasn't changed!  It may not be the greatest for either of us, but it has not gotten any worse.  The fact that there is so much good going on in our lives and the fact that we are surrounded by supportive people who love us makes us very lucky!  It is because of those reasons that when I feel really, truly shitty that I come down even harder on myself!  Over the years I guess I have become conditioned to the whole "one step forward, two steps back" and it seems of late we've taken a great many steps forward and I am waiting on the hammer to fall and smash the living shit out of us and "go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200"!

I awoke this morning having realized that Diane had virtually no bad reaction to her shot last night.  I was so relieved and so very grateful.  I got up and said enough is enough you fucking wimp!  So what if that hammer falls and knocks you on your ass, it's not like it hasn't happened before!  Each time that it does, you just start pushing forward again.  I decided to stop worrying about everything, or at the very least I decided to "try" to stop!  I am going to focus on what is great.  I've decided that living your life waiting for the bad shit to happen is NOT LIVING YOUR LIFE AT ALL!  Fuck it, I'm done with that shit!  I've never been the kind of person who looks forward to things for this very reason!  So just like we learned from "What About Bob", I'm going to start with baby steps!  I am going to look towards the immediate future, not down the road and not at the big picture!  So what does my immediate future hold?  What's going on in my life?  Well for one, it is now riding season in Arizona!  Diane and I have each gotten new bikes to ride, well, new to us that is!  We finally got that bike that we can load up with all we need and ride to anywhere we want to go and I am really looking forward to some great road trips together!  In the absolute immediate future, this weekend I'm not going to Vegas Bike Fest but rather taking a trip down to Tombstone, AZ and performing the wedding ceremony for two dear friends!  I'm a giver, not a taker and I can't wait to do what I do best and that is simply bring smiles to the faces of the people who mean the most to me! 

What else?  In just a few weeks, I will be back in Daytona for the first time in a very long time and I will be once again hosting the greatest Biker Bar On Earth, the WORLD FAMOUS BROKEN SPOKE SALOON for Daytona Biketoberfest!  Being from the east coast, going to Florida was a big part of my life.  I have only been there once since my father died in my arms down there.  Once I moved to AZ, it wasn't just a hop skip and a jump anymore.  There were no more "hey, ya wanna go to Florida tonight" moments!  Back in the day, you could catch a flight from Newark or Philly for $59 on special, hell, sometimes even less!  The Broken Spoke has welcomed me as part of their family and I will forever be grateful for that.  We have one hell of a Biketoberfest planned for you guys!

The Broken Spoke believes that it is about the BIKES, THE BROTHERHOOD AND PARTYING, not about who shows up with the biggest tour bus or who has the most semis full of gear!  We will continue our tradition of RESPECT towards you, our guests and for the TRADITION AND THE HISTORY of this lifestyle that we have each chosen!  If it ain't broke, we don't fix it!  In that spirit, we will continue to bring you the very best in live music, all day, every day.  We will only stop the music to move the party in another direction all together with hysterical games and contests and then bring it all right back to incredible live music again!  This is a formula that the one and only Jay Allen created and it is what you folks, our extended family love and we are sticking with it!

ONCE AGAIN, THE BROKEN SPOKE SALOON WILL BE THE HOST AND THE HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL MASTER BIKE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION RIDE IN CUSTOM BIKE SHOW.  Yes, you read that correctly, RIDE IN, not trailer in!  This show is always an amazing display of Iron and Chrome!  You don't want to miss this.  Do you have a bike you are particularly proud of the work you've done on?  Well ride that bad ass murder sickle over to the Spoke and enter it, hey, you never know you may just become the reigning IMBBA Biketoberfest winner!

For a rally that is only a few days long, we truly do have a SHIT TON of great times, great events and great chances to make memories planned for you!  When you hear me on that mic talking about RESPECT and that you are OUR FAMILY, that is no bullshit!  We do this all for you!  It costs a bunch of money to get down to these events in these times we live in and the only thing we want you to do is leave with a big ass smile on your face and like so many others, we want you to walk out that door, shake our hands and tell us it was the best time you've ever had!  Nothing makes me happier than when I hear someone tell me that and end it with, SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

I've found that along with not putting too much pressure on yourself about what the future will hold, it is fantastic to look back on great times.  The beauty of making memories is that they are yours and no one can ever take them away from you, ever!  You can access them any time you want to or more importantly need to.  A great memory can pull you up and out from the darkest place.  That memory can bring you right back in to the very moment that you were living it, before it was ever a memory!  As a kid and in to my teens, like so many others, I was a fuck up!  Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't a total mess, I was just your everyday average kid running wild in the streets.  I've heard people use the phrase "the soundtrack of your life" many times and if you stop and think about it, we all have one!  We can't remember where we put our car keys, when the next doctors appointment is or something as important as our wedding anniversary but a song can come on the radio that you have not heard in 20 years and not only does it take you back instantly to where you were and what you were doing but you remember damn near every single word to that song!  How the hell is that even possible?  For me, there was one song that each and every single time that I was about to do something stupid, something dangerous or something truly FOOLISH and for that matter as I was doing it, the song would play in my head.  I don't mean like I'd hear the chorus, I mean THE SONG PLAYED IN MY HEAD, like cuing it up, hitting the play button and going from start to finish.  I'm sure we each have  OUR OWN THEME SONG of sorts, the one song that more than any other was "THE SONG" that inspires, that brings a smile instantly, THE ONE THAT TAKES YOU BACK!  For me, that song was Molly Hatchet's, Flirtin' With Disaster!  The great times, the broken bones and the "how the hell did I ever survive that shit" floods back instantly in tsunami like waves! 

Now you are probably thinking that your pal Jack Shit has lost it?  This post began with me being down in the dumps, to writing about pulling myself out of the dumps and then on to what the future has in store for me and then bouncing right back to the past.  What is the meaning of all of this?  Well let me share a little something with you that made me really happy and really excited. 

Yeup!  The one and only Molly Hatchet is playing the World Famous Broken Spoke Saloon for Daytona Biketoberfest!  I mean really, what the hell is a bike rally without Molly Hatchet?  So now, not only do I get to do what it is that I love more than anything, entertain people, but I get to do it on the very same stage that the performers of my very theme song will be playing on!

So I say if you have to look back, look back on only the good, never dwell on the bad!  If you have to look forward, look forward with great anticipation not with fear or concern as to what may happen!  Life is going to throw shit our way, there is no doubt about it, but if we are constantly waiting for that shit storm to hit, we miss out on so much!  So I say to hell with it!  Let the hammer swing away and try to knock us down!  I guess the key is that if it hits us, to get right back up!  Grab an ice pack, put it on the lumps and just say fuck it!  What does not kill us only makes us stronger.  I say get off your ass, get on your bike and go out and make some of those memories that we can count on later in life to carry us out of another dark place we find ourselves in!  So I guess I'll see you guys in Daytona at the Spoke!  I'll be the guy off on the side of the stage with the big ass smile on his face!

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