South County Ride/Chapter Elections/Big Bar-B-Q
September 2, 2001

By Tom Hart

 

The sun rose gracefully in the east and cast its guiding light upon the highway-leading south from Long Beach to our destination in Costa Mesa. Tom Lovejoy responded to my cry for assistance and stopped by my house to ride with me to the meeting. I made this request of Tom so my lovely, kind, sweet, considerate, generous, totally understanding wife (Mrs. H) would not yell things at me like “Hey stupid, does that motorcycle have to fall off a shelf and hit you in the head before you get the picture?” My plan was flawless, until Tom showed up and announced “Did you hear what happened to Dave Cook? He crashed on a friend’s new Harley and won’t be making the ride because he broke his leg and cracked a rib”. Tom then exclaimed, “Gee, you and Dave got a lot in common, don’t you? You’re both retired cops and apparently neither of you know how to ride, what with your broken legs and all. Wow! What are the odds?” Yes indeed Tom, my goodness, what are the odds? My first club outing since my misfortune and Dave pulls a stunt like this. God love ya Dave. And better yet, do you think that my wife really needed to hear about Dave’s mishap right at this particular time? I think not.

 

I have no further information about Dave and his accident at this time, but I’m sure he’ll have received lots of get well wishes by the time this newsletter is out. I could always make up a little something I guess, but that’s not my style. The above commentary about “Not knowing how to ride” actually came later in the day from Max Bubeck, but it seems to fit in here nicely. Max did not actually say that I did not know how to ride, but I got his drift when he asked me to give back his Death Valley ride entry form before I could fill it out.

 

Before we could leave my place, Mrs. H approached and reminded me (through grinding teeth) “I’m not happy! You don’t need to ride that stupid motorcycle, do you?” I want y’all to know that when Mrs. H isn’t happy, nobody’s happy. I quickly suggested to Tom that we leave early so that we might have extra time to drive extra slow and careful. We mounted our machines and headed south, out of harms way and into one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve seen in awhile. We cruised south on the Coast Highway for a couple of miles, then took a short side trip to Seal Beach’s Main street area, where we impressed the locals with our old machines and my inability to use the rear brake properly due to the leg injury. Those darn joggers should either stay out of the street or strap a bumper on the butt anyway. We then quickly (fled) headed south on PCH and took a second side trip through the Huntington Beach Main Street area. I just love America’s “Main Streets” don’t you?

 

We arrived at Tim’s house in time for a coffee and a fat pill before we all mounted up again and headed south to Laguna Beach via a lot of roads I’m unable to recall. Our group, which consisted of about eleven or twelve bikes turned north on the Coast Highway from Main Beach in Laguna, en-route back to Tim’s house for the now annual Bar-B-Q meeting. The ride back was uneventful except for one idiot four wheeler who followed us for several minutes with a cell phone plugged into his ear and threatened life and limb with his inept driving skills.

 

Once back at Tim’s, we enjoyed a great Bar-B-Q, drinks, and the company of several other members and spouses who came for the meeting. We held our local chapter meeting and elections. Even my wife cooled off enough to join us with our daughter, Becky. Tim, Tom Lovejoy, and myself were nominated to serve as president for the next term. Tom Lovejoy, in a politically incorrect campaign speech said that if elected he would not serve. I, on the other hand, simply announced that I would rather have someone in a high office I could buy off with club funds, rather than actually guide the group.  Tim “Clinton” Graber reminded all of us that he truly “Feels our pain” and that he “Wants to be one with the small people”. Needless to say, neither Tom nor I dazzled anyone enough with our speeches to gather sufficient votes to oust Tim from his “Tower of Power”. Maybe next time. But for now, I must give thanks and praise to the one who leads this club to great highs. Thank you Mrs. Graber. Actually, Tim does a nice job, as long as he listens carefully to the instructions given to him by Janice. Congratulations to both of you. It’s a tuff job, but someone has to do it, and you do it so well. I, and obviously others, think that you do a nice job. The other officers remained in place. Tom Lovejoy as VP, Marc “The Maniac” Gallin as secretary, Tom “Show Me the Money” Hart as treasure. Jim “The Flash” Falk will continue to lend his time and expertise in putting together our club’s newsletter which is not an easy or pleasant task considering he’s got to read the stuff I write, or maybe not. Jim may have given up on me by now.  And remember Jim does it without pay. Our Sergeant at Arms, Chuck Vernon, was out pumping iron and missed the meeting. We will not confront, judge, reprimand, or otherwise annoy Mr. Vernon about his absence. Not that we are afraid or anything like that. It’s just not that big of a thing, that’s all.

 

Lots of other things and stuff were brought up at the meeting, which I’m confident Marc will discuss in great detail. Hobo John was absent with a severe cold so we stopped by to wish him well and look at the cool stuff in his garage. After visiting Hobo, Tom Lovejoy and I headed for Long Beach via the Coast Highway. Tom impressed many motorists along the way with his power shifts and his crossed-up riding position when he broke hard and went into a totally controlled slide.

 

And finally, the question of the day. What do you get when you combine Tom Hart, Dee Cameron, and Dave Cook?  You end up with one semi-useful, almost mobile, somewhat complete club member. Dee is currently battling a severe knee injury, but like a Timex, he takes a licking and keeps on ticking. You da man, Dee!  Dave, you hang in there also. 

 

All in all it was great to be back in the saddle again and to see everyone. I wish that more folks could have made the ride, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing the rest of you soon at other events. Hang in there and keep up those insurance premiums.

That’s all folks.