b52buffsgarage

Driving Ms. Jannie

2011-12-01T08:37:00.018-06:00

As usual, if you look at the photos from the bottom up, they will be in the proper order. It has been quite a while since I last drug a blog out of my head so here goes. First the title, in a round about way it all goes back to a day in September when we upgraded from our 2006 Mustang to a newer model that happens to be a stick. Thus, Jan no longer drives it. We took it out to Chesapeake in October to be on hand for Will's birthday party and to watch the kiddos for Hans and Rachel while they attended the Navy Ball- come to think of it I need to include a photo of the couple on their front porch. Anyhow we spent a good time with the DeFors at their home in Chesapeake and on the way home, somewhere in Indiana or Illinois, I looked over at Jan and said "I know what the title of my next blog is going to be". That sounds a little like Fineas and Pherb- I know that I have those names misspelled- "I know what we are going to do today". We watched a lot of them while we were there, touring the "tri state area". Since getting home we have been over to Rochester a couple of times for Sam's birthday and Thanksgiving and nothing medical, thank God. The Theobalds, Jan, and I recently spent a weekend at the Spearfish Lodge in Spearfish Canyon, naturally. I have a couple of pictures in this mess from that weekend also. Lately, since the riding season is over for all intents and purposes, I have started taking the BMWs apart so that I can just get to the valve covers just to set the valves. Another twist is the fact that to get the valve covers off you first need to remove the spark plug coils. This step in the plan requires a special tool, that naturally used to be included in the tool kit, but no longer is. So, I am waiting for my dealer to round one up and sell it to me. Oh well, I shouldn't complain I guess, as I have recently added a new tv to the shop, so I can turn up the heat check out the tv channels, or turn on the sound system and clean and wax to my hearts content. Winter in Minnesota gives the biker a long chance to catch up on maintenance etc.. Sometime this month I need to get started on my annual Christmas letter too, so I had better not spend too much of my creativity on this single blog. I hope that this blog finds everyone fit and looking forward to the Holiday season (Christmas).

Westward Ho- Bucket List roads pt.3

2011-09-18T13:22:00.001-05:00

When I last left you, I had just arrived at my sister Kathy's home in Modesto. As usual it was hot in the Central Valley which in fact is not unusual this time of the year. The next day, I think, we headed down to Castle AFB and the museum located outside of the former front gate. I don't believe that I have been in California on visits that I have not visited their museum. As you may recognize, the pictures are of aircraft in that museum. I did include a shot of a flower in our wild flower garden just to show a little color. Next is a B-52D just like the ones that I used to work on and flew on a few times.

To the left is the casing of a hydrogen bomb, if blown up- the picture not the bomb- you may be able to read the plaque that gives some description. Below is a picture of a B-36 with that bomb casing next to the aircraft and people under the wing to give you some idea of scale.

Here is one of an addition of several Naval aircraft that have been added since the last time I was there. Below is some nose art on a B-29. After spending some time there, Kathy and I went for lunch at a cafe in Turlock which has been there for a long time and had a pleasant lunch. That was about all of the touring that we did while I was there. We did go shopping one day for some items for the house, like a new coffee pot and a repair item for the bathroom. I knew that it would happen, but after a couple of days I was struck by there usual case of "get home itis". I can wander for days leaving home and Jan particularly, but turn the corner and I would ride 24 hours a day to get home, if I could. I was out of Modesto at O dark 30, maybe around 5am and through Sacramento before the sun was up. After clearing Donner Pass and Reno it is pretty much just setting the cruise at 80 or so and hanging on until the next fuel stop. I stopped the first night in Wendover and returning from rounding up supper I heard the sound of a big radial engine aircraft. The sound of an R2800 prop plane is distinctive and saw a WWII Corsair make a low level pass at the old airfield right on the edge of town. This is the field where they trained to drop the a-bomb in WWII. Anyhow, I was out across the Salt Lake desert before daylight, through Salt Lake and on into Wyoming by early morning. I got caught in a rain storm, the first of the trip, in Cheyenne and made it to Kimball, Nebraska for the night. The next morning was an early start to try and make as much mileage as possible before it got too hot. I did not really get into real heat until about Lincoln and from then on all of the way home it was HOT. I took the wrong interstate through Omaha and ended up in Council Bluffs looking for the correct road. I ended up coming cross country through Spencer, Iowa to home by about supper time I believe. One thing I discovered on this trip was the importance of regular meals and keeping hydrated in the heat. I have been wearing a camel back pack lately that I pack full of ice when I stop at McDonalds etc., this gives me ice cold water for several hours that I can sip while I'm driving. This concludes my tale of what may probably be my last bike trip to the west coast, it is getting too expensive to spend that many nights in motels etc. etc.. This is not to say that I could drive back some time. Well, lots of other things have been going on here too, but that is another story. So long for now.

Westward Ho- Bucket List Roads pt. 2

2011-09-13T11:17:00.008-05:00

I last left you at Lewiston, Idaho where I spent the night. Actually I was in Clarkston, Washington, but it is one solid city, and I never did see a state line marker. The pictures above are of Mount Shasta, and Mount Lassen, I think, Lassen I am not sure of. Anyhow, from Clarkston I made a loop through southeastern Washington to Walla Walla. In one small town in that loop was the most attractive county court house square that I have seen in some time. I never did stop to take a picture although I did consider it. When I am trying to make time I very seldom stop to take pictures even though I regret it later.
The picture above is from the afternoon that I finally got to the coast near Fort Bragg, but I will get to that in due time. From Walla Walla I ran down to Pendelton- I just noticed that there are a lot of cities names that end in ton in this area-. At Pendelton I picked up highway 395. This road runs all of the way down to the L.A. area I think. The ride from Pendelton down to Burns, Oregon was a pleasant surprise. I expected for the most part that this route would be mostly open country, but it was mountain ranges and green valleys. From Burns south to Lakeview, Oregon it was open country with very little traffic. I passed by Lake Abert which is 20 miles long and 7 miles wide. On the highway side of this lake is a very high cliff of volcanic rock. Some pieces, as big as houses are in the lake off shore, which means that at some time in the past they fell off of the cliff and rolled that far. I would have liked to have seen that- from a ways away, of course. I spent that night in Lakeview, Oregon, a very nice town not far from Goose Lake which is mostly in California. The trip across northern California was chosen for it's crooked roads, and I came to regret that route choice after a few hours of very crooked roads and traffic. Coming through Redding it was in the 100s again and the worst roads were ahead of me yet. I had been on highway 299 for most of the day but thought that 36 looked like a shortcut to the coast, big mistake. I thought that 299 was bad, but 36 was crookeder yet, in places it was so narrow it did not have a center line. I finally got out to highway 101 which is a 4 lane for most of it's length. Heading south on 101 occasionally it would neck down to a 2 lane and plunge through a redwood grove, very unique. I was on 101 until I hit highway 1 at Leggett, then it was out to the coast. That night was in Fort Bragg. The next morning dawned cool and foggy, about normal on the coast, I think. The run down to Bodega bay was part good, running through eucalyptus and redwood groves, and part bad. In places the road, which is not that wide to start with had lost a lane to slides into the ocean, which is hundreds of feet below. Some of the corners crossing creeks at the bottom of a grade had me in first gear looking up over my head at the road around the corner. I know that it is kind of hard to picture, but trust me it works. I had intended to cross the Golden Gate into San Francisco, but after that morning I thought better of fighting that much traffic just for the thrill of it. So I headed inland through Petaluma, Fairfield, to Lodi and down 99 to Modesto to my sister Kathy's home. I think that I will call it a day here and pick up part 3 when I feel up to more 2 finger typing. Stay tuned faithful reader, whom ever you are.

Westward Ho- Bucket List roads pt. 1

2011-08-29T08:49:00.009-05:00

I think that I may have finally learned how to attach photos to my blogs, start at the bottom of the file and work your way backwards. That way the first photos show up on top. Anyhow, on to my narrative of my trip to the west coast. I left St. James toward the end of July, as I had to be back by August 10th for a follow up at Mayo with the ENT doctors. The first day out things were going so well that I made it all of the way to Gillette, Wyoming. One drawback to that stop was the fact that the motel- which Eli and I had just stayed in a few weeks previously-had about doubled in price, due to the fact that the National High School rodeo was going on. Believe you me, $166 bucks for a Super 8 that wasn't so super made me look at other chains for the rest of the trip. The next morning it was cool and clear as I rode over the Big Horns to Cody. Hiway 14 regardless of which route you take on the west side of the Big Horns is a good ride. From Cody up through the Sunshine Basin and over Bear Tooth pass into Montana. Several of the last pictures in the string are from that location. I actually got a shot of the peak that gives the pass it's name and some of the flowers above the tree line. I have been over Bear Tooth several times and it is always a terrific ride. One time I got caught on top in rain, snow, and hail, this was not so terrific! I ran into a couple from Billings at an over look that were BMW riders also, so we talked bikes for awhile, and she saw my PGR sticker and was familiar with our mission, so we had a nice talk about that too. From there I headed up to Livingston where I spent the night in a Comfort Inn, which was really very nice. The next morning I headed up to Missoula on I-90. I had not been that way before and that is a very scenic drive most of the way. From Missoula I went west over Lolo pass into Idaho. I was a little disappointed by this pass, as it is pretty much just a climb out of Montana and a little more fun on the west side. The ride across the panhandle of Idaho got a little old after miles and miles of twisty roads throught the forest along a river. By the time I got to Lewiston my themometer was reading 105 and I figured it was time to call it a day, plus the fact I would have had to go another hundred miles or so to find another good sized town. So here is where I am going to call it a day also. Stayed tuned for part 2 of my magical mystery tour-kind of, there isn't too much magical or much of a mystery to it, just keep it between the ditches and watch out for the idiots out there.

An Afternoon in Pete Egan's Garage

2011-07-03T18:08:00.009-05:00

The picture to the left here should tickle the Theobalds. Jan and I were taking a break at a church outside of Cashville, Wisconsin and I spotted this gravestone.
On the picture below, I was taking one of my frequent map breaks to try and figure out where we were and I managed to get one of Jan patiently waiting for me to get my bearings.

Anyhow, the primary mission for Tuesday the 28th of June was to head down to Madison to visit the grave of Rachael Hugo, who was killed in action in Iraq a few years ago. It was one of the first Patriot Guard missions that I had gone on and I wanted Jan to see the grave site. She originally was buried above ground but evidently been moved to a private site in the interim. This stuff drives Jan crazy, but in wondering around the city trying to locate the exact location on the cemetery we had a funeral procession pass by that seemed to be heading in the right direction, so I just fell in and followed them to the proper cemetery. We visited her grave site and had a peaceful lunch there and then headed out on the second part of our excursion, trying to locate Pete Egan's home location. He writes for Cycle World and Road and Track magazines and is the column that I turn to first thing when the magazine comes every month. We are similar in age and he writes about the area quite a lot so I know what he is talking about when he refers to weather conditions etc.. A little game I play is trying to nail down a location from bits and pieces of his column and I thought that I could have it narrowed down to a couple of small roads in the Madison area, so Jan and I did a little more exploring without a whole lot of luck. I am not sure just what I figured would happen if I did manage to find his location. Jan and I have tried to track down Dan O'Brien in the Rapid City area more than once without any luck. Anyway, we stopped for a break at a tree covered closed bridge over a creek. I was just going to get a picture of Jan framed in the trees when we heard a bike coming around the bend and he stopped and it is Pete Egan in the flesh. We introduced each other and invited us up to his garage for a Coke!! Jan and I spent at least an hour just hanging out and talking and meeting his lovely wife Barbara and her friend whose husband is an F-16 pilot with the Air Guard- they were going out on a bicycle ride- and another neighbor who just got back from Norway and his dogs. It seems like such an idyllic setting, a modest home and the garage that is smaller than I expected with his drum set right in the corner of the garage where I expected to find it, all of this along a tree covered back road in Wisconsin. I guess the part that really makes me smile when I think about it, is how relaxed we were just talking bikes and the 34 Ford he is working on. He intends with Barb to follow Bonnie and Clydes' routes probably as the basis for another book, in the same brand of car that they actually used at the time. We also discussed the amount of road work going on and he related that just getting home from the airport in Milwaukee had been tough the night before. He was returning home from covering a race in Las Vegas for Road and Track . You may notice a little hero worship here, but I think that he is the first person I have ever met of such national stature. This is a guy that has been to and written about all of the places that you read about in magazines. I guess the surprise is, how he is just like any other gear head that I have ever run across, except he has a real talent for writing. Eventually we had to head back to the trailer up at Oakdale and he mapped out a route on some nice roads. Quite an afternoon to say the least.

The rest of the trip was very good too. I think that I have told you that almost every road is paved in those hills, but we hit some exceptional ones this time, narrow tar roads winding through the trees, it reminded me of the Black Forest in Germany. And the Amish almost everywhere, with huge gardens and every thing being done by hand or horse power. You could always tell when you were in Amish country by the amount of fresh horse apples on the road. All in all a very fine several days in Oakdale, Wisconsin. Stay in touch and check it out sometime, I know that we will be back.

More Bucket list roads

2011-07-03T17:33:00.001-05:00

As usual I have these photos in pretty much reverse order of when they were taken. Eli and I headed West one Thursday after he got off work in Worthington, dodging rainstorms, we ended up running across South Dakota on highway 44. This is the first time that I have actually made the trip from Sioux Falls to Rapid City on that road. Except for hitting heavy rain around the Badlands it was a nice trip on a quiet road. We spent the night in Rapid and headed up through the Hills the next morning. West of Edgemont we tried a "shortcut" on a back road and I got a little sideways in a soft spot. I managed not to dump it so no foul I guess. That pretty much set the tone for my sense of adventure for the rest of the trip. We spent a lot of time waiting in road construction zones between there and Laramie, but for the most part they were pleasant breaks by the side of the road. I wanted to take two passes west of Laramie and the pass over the Snowy Range- you can judge by the photos how true that was-had just been cleared. We spent that night in Saratoga, where the North Platte river was over it's banks and still rising. There are a couple of photos from there. The next morning we were going to head west over the next pass to Baggs, but he motel clerk said that they had not even started working on clearing that one. So, change of plans, we cruised up to Rawlins, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep canyon and Crazy Woman canyon, where one of the photos shows a babbling brook, so to speak. Coming out of the canyon on the east side of the Big Horns we outran another rain storm and stopped at Gillette for the night. The next morning we were going so well that we agreed to try for home after a detour through the Hills on back roads. Eli did some shopping at the Rochford Mall, which can be seen in a picture. We pushed on to the east and home for what seemed like an awfully long time, due to the high cross winds all of the way home, but we made it shortly after sundown. Not too bad, over 600 miles with stops in Rochford and Rapid City on the way. I have fallen way behind in my blogging and have one more to do covering a fabulous trip to Wisconsin that Jan and I just returned from. So there will be more in the future.

An Update of Sorts

2011-05-05T09:09:00.010-05:00

Here we go again, playing catch-up. I wonder if it was the loooong Winter, which is just starting to break around here, but just getting started on any project has been tough. Since my last post in February, Jan and I have spent time in Virginia at the DeFors among other activities. I've been on a few Patriot Guard missions and am organizing a send off for the local Guard unit here in St. James next Saturday. Last Saturday night Jan and I were at the Rochester airport to welcome home a plane load of WWII vets from an outing to Washington D.C. What fun was that!!! Those guys and a few women vets were so excited to see the crowds. We were shaking hands with as many as possible and one guy told me "I haven't shaken this many hands in the last two days as I have in the previous 50 years!" We will be doing that in the future for sure. The program is run by the Honor Flight organisation. I am just getting over a cold, with a capital C. Damn, I don't know what it is, but it seems since my cancer surgery any cold I get, borders on pneumonia, which come to think of it I did have twice since then. I used to be able to work right through it, but not any more. One of the downsides of getting to retirement age I guess. I have also been digging out some of my aircraft models with an eye to maybe finishing them for once. I can't hardly believe it, but it has been 40+ years since I started on them, my how the time flies. As to travel plans for this year. I am thinking that Alaska has slid off of the radar for me. That would have been a 7000 mile trip of at least 3 weeks by myself. I am kind of a lone wolf but I do have my limits. So I am rethinking a western sweep again after I do another back road loop in Wyoming next month. I have added a few pictures to this report as usual. At the top are two of our rocking chair. Jan and I put it together before we were ever married, and I added our children to it as they came along, so one project that I finished this Spring was getting all of the Grand kids on board too. Things are a little crowded on the back of that chair, kind of like our house when we are all together. Next down are a few of Rachel, Josiah, Annika, and William from our time at their house in March. I guess that it is the march of progress but most updating now days seems to be moving to Face book. I guess that blogging is getting so ancient not many people are doing it anymore, but I plan on hitting here once in awhile anyway. Take care, drive safely, and be healthy.

This one's for St. Jan

2011-02-13T19:30:00.007-06:00

I don't know why it is so hard to sit down and start a new blog but lately it seems to be. Maybe it is the brutal winter we have had here this year. Anyhow, I got the idea to dedicate this one to my wife of 40 years as of tomorrow the 14th of February. Thinking back to our first date, which was a blind one to boot- lined up by friends- we hit it off right off the bat. Thinking back she should have known I was a little unusual by the selections in my 8 track tape collection for the player in my 1969 Mustang Mach 1. It included some J.S. Bach, Johnny Cash, 3 Dog night, and Henry Mancini. I think that I didn't get her home to Alpha until the early morning hours. Life with her has been an adventure with only a few bumps in the road. So far our health has been pretty good with only my brush with cancer the major bump in the road. I think that one of the reasons for our marriage stability is the fact that we have always been such good friends and comfortable around each other. I know from my side of the equation, that I love Jan more every day, and it has been that way for more than 40 years now. She has given me three beautiful children which has progressed into seven beautiful grandchildren. When they are all here it is a little crazy, but it is a house full of love. What an amazing sensation that is! I wish we could spend another 40 years together but I am sure that that scenario is not in the cards. I have added some pictures, one is Jan with Rachel when she was a baby. Jan is doing what she is really the best at, being a Mom. I love to listen to her talk to her daughters, and son, and daughter-in-law, and sons-in-law. We have a relationship with our family that I don't always see in others. The scary part of getting older is not being around to see how this all plays out, but I am sure that everybody feels that way. I just wanted the world to know that all I really want from Jan is to grow older together, although I don't feel that old yet. Hopefully I have a few good years left in me to give her warm coffee kisses in the morning, and hugs in the evenings. The other picture at the top is Jan with Leah, Aaron and their Mom Lindsey. So, Jan, I hope you like your surprize at work today and I'll see you later.

Love Pete

The Bucket List revisited

2010-12-07T10:46:00.009-06:00

I know that it has been a quite a while since my last post and I really have no good excuse for not writing more frequently. Lord knows that we have been busy in the interim. St. Jan and I drug the trailer to Wisconsin to be on hand when Gen ran a half marathon in Elroy, Wisconsin shortly after returning from an excursion to Rapid City with the trailer in tow. In October Jan and I, Gen, Sam and Gus loaded up the pickup and made a run to Virginia to see Rachel and her family who just returned to the USA from Germany. After a non-stop run out -lets not do that one again- we found their house in Chesapeake with the help of our gps unit. How did we ever get along before this came along? I mainly use it to navigate in urban areas. Anyhow it was good to see them, Hans, Rachel, Josiah, Annika and for the first time William, the newest grandson. The Norfolk area is nice, naturally not quite what I expected. We celebrated Will's first birthday during our stay and made a two day run home. Amazingly enough we all made the round trip without strangling anybody. Even Sam and Gus traveled like troupers strapped into car seats the whole way. I don't think that I would care to make the trip tied down like that.

I have been on a few PGR missions in the meantime, riding to as many as I could before the weather turned cold and snowy. Today it was 2 above zero when I got up. That makes me think of something, every night when you go to bed you routinely assume that you will get up in the morning don't you? Hmm, anyhow in this period of time I should have written a blog for St. Jan's birthday, the woman that literally saved my life, gave me three terrific children that have expanded into seven grandchildren. What can I say but thanks? At one of the last PGR missions I was standing next to a guy from Jordan, and we got to talking about riding to Alaska. This guy spent two months on the road up there and back and said don't wait. I mentioned it to Jan and she encouraged me to just do it. I have to admit that that is one item that has been on my bucket list for a long time, so know I am into researching the trip. I have all winter and then some to get this organised so it should be interesting. I have done a map-quest and it is over 3000 miles to Fairbanks from here, so I am thinking it's going to be a minimum of two weeks on the road. Jan and I also plan to ride out to Virginia this year too, and I was planning a return to western Wyoming this Summer. I am thinking something is going to have to give or I won't be back until Fall. I am going to throw in some random pictures with this post to give my pathetically small group of readers a look at what we have been up to.

The Bucket List continued

2010-08-19T09:01:00.009-05:00

Just a short one here. Phil and I just got back from Buffalo, Wyoming where we spent a couple days riding in the Big Horn Mountains. For the most part the riding was good but the distances involved in moving the bikes up into the mountains and from place to place was not as convenient as, say Colorado. Every morning meant hauling them up into the mountains 25 or 30 miles to unload and ride. Once we got off the highways and into the dirt it was fun. It's another case of having the correct weapon for the job. Our GS 1200 is almost too big, for me anyway and the KLX 250 doesn't have long enough legs. I'm thinking our XR 650 would be better at this type of spread out duty. Enough grousing, Tuesday we went over toward Ten Sleep and rode down old highway 16 to Ten Sleep, then up a gravel road to Hyattville. There we split off back to the east on a dirt road that deteriorated to some pretty rocky sections and some deep sand which can be worse ( ask Phil). The views back to the west as we climbed back into the mountains were spectacular! Eventually we got back into the trees and the truck for reloading and a scenic drive up to Greybull and back over to Sheridan and Buffalo. We headed out of there yesterday morning early and were home by about 5:30 in the afternoon. Buffalo is around 700 miles from here, so it is just a good days drive, around 10 or 11 hours on I 90 for the most part. We had a good time but I am not so sure that I would go back without some better basing location, ie. up in the mountains somewhere. I did see a lot of trailers tucked away in the trees on some of the trails we rode, but I don't think that I would want to drag our toy hauler in there. The pictures were from a look out we went to the first day and of course Powder River Pass which I have been over about 6 times in the last 3 months. Jan and I hit it in June, I went over in July, and Phil and I hit it several times this trip. Take care, stay in touch and leave a comment if you feel moved to write, ok? The flowers are a little something I gave St. Jan for being such a good sport and partner to me. It was good to see her again when I got home. When we are apart I feel like something is missing, my better half would be it, I think. She has to listen to my descriptions of the riding because there is no way to ride these trails two up. We will be off to the wilds of Wisconsin in the near future with the toyhauler to camp, ride some, and watch Gen in a half marathon, I believe. So more future riding. Oh ya, my check up at Mayo last Friday went well, I believe the Doctor said the results were spectacular. It must be all of the good care I get at home and the riding, actually he ( the Doctor) encourages it. That's it for real this time.

Rachel Naomi Cathrine DeFor

2010-08-14T15:25:00.008-05:00

I will have to apologize to Rachel ahead of time here for the lack of any older pictures of her. It is the same with all of the kiddos, I am only up to about 1980 or so in my slide conversion project. Hopefully I will spend some of the non riding time in the Winter to get a little more caught up. Maybe next year at this time I will be able to ratchet up the age of the pictures. I am sure that she has heard all about the days before her birth in Waconia on a nice August morning, the false labor that brought Paul and I rushing home from the Hills and the night of the 17th at the Navarre drive in. I remember running into a co-worker of mine as we went into the hospital (he had broken his arm playing football). We brought her home to our duplex without a clue what to do next. I mean you buy a tv set and the instruction manual is in three languages that is 50 pages long, but they send you out of the hospital with a wave and a good luck, you are going to need it. Evidently the mother instinct kicks in shortly there after because she thrived and grew into a beautiful, talented, intelligent woman with three of her own. It probably helped that she spent a lot of time with her grand parents while Jan and I took some time off. Rachel has definitely become our musician and I would say that the piano is her primary instrument, although she has played the french horn, violin, and cello. All three of our children played the piano, but Rachie is the only one to sit and play for fun. She once won a competition at Normandale and went on to Northrop Auditorium for a mass recital. Since marrying Hans DeFor of the U.S.Navy she has lived in San Diego, California, Newport, Rhode Island, Japan, Germany and will soon be moving to Virginia. While moving around the world she has had three beautiful children of her own. Josiah was born in San Diego, Annika in Yokosuka, Japan and William in Stuttgart, Germany. Rachel may be a musician but this is her highest calling, being a top flight mother. I think that she could be an excellent teacher as her kiddos are all are way ahead of their contemporaries. The thing that makes me sad sometimes is the fact that I won't be able to see how things all play out, but that is life I guess, and that is what happens when you love someone so much you just can't wait to see the next act. Looking back it is hard to believe that that little girl we brought home from the hospital will be 36 in a few days. The one thing that I have tried to re-enforce with our children is this, pay attention, in no time at all your children will be grown and out on their own. Try to set the memories in deep so you can remember what they were like when you first saw them come into this world. Rachel we love you dearly and don't you ever forget that.

Dad August 14 2010

The Bucket List

2010-08-10T09:21:00.008-05:00

Today is one of those days, with rain on the roof and cloudy enough that you need the lights on in the house. I thought that this could be a good time to catch up on my blogging thread. After naming my bike trips "Farewell Tour 1, 2, 3, etc, I have decided to call them the " Bucket List Tours", because that is what they really are. I think that I am trying to cover as many places in this country as I, we, can reasonably ride to. Jan and I were out to Utah and Idaho earlier and I made a short run out to the Big Horns in Wyoming last month- I'll throw in some pictures here somewhere. I rode some trails out there that I had been curious about for quite a while. Crazy Woman canyon was interesting to say the least, and old hi way 16 was fun but the scenic byway from Schell to Wyattville was 35 miles of bad road. I think that that stretch took at least 3 hours to cover. I don't think that I will do that one again, at least not on a bike the size of our GS BMW. On the way back home I stopped at the site of the former Sundance Air Force Station near Sundance Wyoming. I'll include a couple of the mountain top location of the radars. This site was the only AFS powered by a nuclear reactor, which makes it kind of unique. I spent the night in Rapid City again. I located a net book at Best Buy for a good price that we ended up buying here in Mankato that I plan on carrying on trips in the future. When Jan and I were on our trip out west earlier this Summer, Jan suggested that we should get a computer to bring along so that we can stay in touch via the Internet while on the road. So now we have a net book, a much smaller laptop that I can download pictures to on a daily basis and communicate with the world, provided there is Internet access. I had to stop at the museum at Ellsworth on the way out of town to see if anything was new. This part is for Bill P., didn't 657 have iron bombs on the wing racks when we were there last Summer? I am pretty sure that it did. Today they are gone. I wonder is it like Guam when then collected all of the butt cans on base (which were 500 pound tail fins) because they ran out of tail fins for the real bombs? It seems to me that they were inert 500 pounders on 657, but maybe somebody was offended. The rest of the Summer is passing in a blur it seems, Jan and I and our State side kids and grandkids have been up to assorted activities in the area, for instance Jan and I just returned from a weekend at the KOA campground near Albert Lea, where we parked the trailer for a couple nights. We got in some riding and time with family, although the heat and weather kind of take the fun out of things. When it is hot everybody holes up in the trailer, which has air conditioning. I finally managed to get our flag pole refinished and put in place a week or so ago. I took it down when we added on to the kitchen 10 years ago and it had been hanging in the garage ever since. We placed it in the flower garden that is coming along slowly but surely. Most of the plants in there have come from other gardens and some are the plants we started with seed from Prairie Edge in Rapid City last year. Eli helped me with some mulch which has made a big difference with holding moisture, now if the damn squirrels would quit digging in there I would be thrilled to death. Maybe I can trap them out, it is illegal to shot them in town. Mom's 90th birthday party has been put on hold until sister Kathy can attend from California. Kathy is still recovering from colon surgery from a couple months ago. I am sure that it has turned in to a much bigger problem than was originally thought. St. Jan and I are heading over to Rochester on Thursday evening for a Friday morning appointment with my ENT doctors for a check-up. If I pass this one it will go to every 6 months for follow ups. In September I have a follow up with my Dermatologist to check my nose etc.. We are extremely lucky to have the Theobalds in Rochester to base out of when we are down there. Gen is always after us to move over there. Sometimes it almost looks attractive, but I would have to give up all of our garage space and my shop. One other thing, brother Phil and I are heading back to the Big Horns on Sunday to do some dirt biking. I had intended to go back to Ouray, Colorado again this year, but they have had a lot of moisture out there this Summer and at the elevations we ride that means snow, so I diverted back to the Big Horns. Anyhow that about does it for now. Stay in touch and leave a comment if you please.

So Green it almost hurts your eyes

2010-07-08T09:09:00.013-05:00

I have used this phrase before, but this year the crops are so green it just doesn't seem possible. Perhaps it is all of the nitrogen applied to the corn fields, but more likely it is the moisture that we have been getting lately. Last night I ran up to Leavenworth to take in a minor league baseball game. It was like going back to the 50s when my Dad played for Ormsby fast pitch. The games between Ormsby and Odin would draw hundreds of people in the days before decent television. I can remember sitting in the car waiting for Dad to get out of the pool hall after the game where the team went for a couple of cold ones. Believe me it must have been tough just forcing your way in the door the crowds were so big. It is hard to believe that those days are almost 60 years ago now. I have been thinking about trying to get a blog together on the rural schools that I attended in my youth. I went to district 67 for first grade, before district 126 was re-opened the next year. The district 67 building was torn down and replaced with the Galena township hall in the past, but the district 126 building is being used as a shed on a nearby farm to this day. I need to contact my Mom about possible pictures of those days. Anyhow, Jan and I have been busy since my last post 2 months ago. A couple of weeks ago we went on an extended bike trip that was pretty much destination determined by the Weather Channel. Originally we had planned to head out across North Dakota and Montana to Alberta, but nasty weather in that direction changed our plans. We ended up going to Nebraska and northern Colorado to Utah and up into Idaho. We tried going toward northern Idaho but the sky was just black in that direction so we turned around and went east to the Grand Tetons. I'll throw on some pictures of that trip. Previous to that trip we spent a weekend near Winona in a crowded campground across the road from the Mississippi river. The Theobalds came over and spent some time in their tent. Jan and I spent a couple of days there wandering the back roads in Wisconsin. Steve, Gen, Sam, Gus, and I hiked a State Park on the bluffs overlooking the river one morning. I will try to include one from that day. I have some photos from our July 4th weekend and I will include some of them in here too. Saturday is Aaron's birthday which we will be celebrating at Eli and Lindsey's house on the 10th. It's hard to believe that he is already two years old, my how time flies. With any luck I plan on making a run out to the Big Horns next week for a few days to cover some roads less traveled. Also need to remember my sister Kathy who has spent the last couple of weeks in a hospital in Modesto battling with the after effects of colon surgery. Lately it has been one thing after another with her health, so keep her in mind and your prayers. I know that it has been a couple of months since my last post, but I just did not have the urge to type. I can't blame work I guess. So anyhow, stay in touch, be good and eat your vegetables.

Early May

2010-05-10T12:43:00.009-05:00

I am going to try and get the photos in the proper order on this one, so here goes. The last one is of my Mom and my brothers Phil, Paul, and I at the Kaiserhoff in New Ulm. We, along with our wives, Jan, Laura, and Marcy took my Mom out to dinner for Mothers' Day. Afterwards the girls went shopping and the brothers adjourned to a bar across the street. Last week on Thursday Phil and I went on another Pgr mission in St. Paul for a Maplewood police officer who was ambushed responding to a fake call. The officer was Sgt Bergeron, a 26 year veteran with a wife and twin 13 year old daughters. The funeral was at the St. Paul Cathedral in down town St. Paul. We lined the steps and the side walk in front of the cathedral while thousands of law enforcement officers faced us across the street. There were LEOs from a 5 state area and even a couple from Chicago. After the service the string of cop cars in the procession must have taken 45 minutes to get out of the several different parking areas and heading for the cemetery. I think that they said that there were over 800 cars in the line. I give up, The pictures, as usual are backwards again, I think that I need to blog more so that I can remember which way to go. Other than that the weather has turned cold and damp, kind of a typical May after a very nice April for a teaser. Today Jan and I are heading over to Rochester foe another followup with the doctors and a day with the Theobalds. Take care and stay in touch.

A busy weekend

2010-04-12T10:40:00.015-05:00

As is my usual practice, if you check out the pictures from the last to the first you will get them in proper order. One of these days I will get it straight and then everyone will be all confused I suppose. Anyhow, the weekend started on Friday when a group of PGR riders met at our place and then we headed for Rochester for the return of Lcpl Swenson's remains. Somehow that doesn't sound like the correct term for the body of a 20 year old Marine that was killed in action in Afghanistan. He was a son, brother, grandson, and husband. The first part of the mission was at the Rochester airport to greet the charter flight that brought his body home and escort him to the church where the funeral was held. The visitation was later in the evening, so in the interim I rode over to the Theobalds to drop my gear and hang out for a bit. The next photo up is Gus of course and then one from the visitation. Saturday morning dawned bright and warming nicely so there was a big group on hand for the funeral . We had the Patriot Guard and The Leatherneck MC club in abundance. I believe that we had over 200 standing in the flag line and at least 175 bikes across the street in the K-Mart parking lot. Maybe I am selfish, but I always try to line up as close to the door as possible so that I can see what all goes on. Let me tell you that the Marine Corps does a fantastic job of taking care of their own. Lcpl Swenson had a guard from the time he got off the plane until the casket was in the ground in Houston, Minnesota. Their precision and attention to detail puts the other services to shame. They had us surround the hearse with our backs to the vehicle while they placed something with the Lcpl in his casket. Someday maybe I'll find out what. After the service we lined up for the 64 mile drive to Houston. I don't know how many bikes that were in the string but it must have stretched for over a mile on I-90. I think that every bridge that we went under on the way down had people waving flags or just waving as we went by, but Houston was incredible. The main drag for several blocks, was lined with people shoulder to shoulder with flags etc.. Wow, it just gave me goose bumps passing down that street. He was buried at a small cemetery outside of town with all of the honors. We also had the almost common bald eagle fly over too. This is getting so common, you begin to wonder if our national bird is aware of what is going on on the ground below. I shook a lot of hands over the weekend with his father, mother, Grandmother, sister, wife, and Marine after Marine some of whom were in tears, all in all a satisfying two days. I managed to get home just as the sun set Saturday night. Sunday Eli, Lindsey, Jan and I went for a bike ride up to Fort Ridgley and down to Mankato along the Minnesota river. We stopped at a small waterfall-don't ask me how to spell it or pronounce it-and at Lake Crystal for a break and gas. After we got home Jan and I drove over to Eli and Lindsey's for a brewski. Today- Monday- I was going to go to St. Cloud for the funeral for Sgt Kruize, a 35 year old father of four, killed in an accident in Iraq, but it was raining and 47 degrees this morning when I got up and the funeral was early. I wanted to make the internment at Camp Ripley but I wimped out, I do have my limits. As I sit here writing I can hear the thunder outside and Eli called me from his job and said they were warning of flash flooding around Worthington. This will really green up the lawns. Take care and stay in touch?

Easter weekend PGR tour

2010-04-05T09:18:00.010-05:00

Jan and I took a kind of long distance tour on Saturday to visit a few of the places that I have been to on Patriot Guard missions in the last couple of years. As is usual in my photo layout, if you read from the bottom up they will be in the proper order. We headed out Saturday morning with our cooler full of peanut butter sandwiches, soft drinks, and snacks. The first stop was at Duvi Wolf's grave site in Farmer, South Dakota. As can be seen by the photo, no gravestone is in place yet, but since her funeral was late last Fall I assume that no stone could be placed yet. We usually make several trips a year to Rapid City and the Black Hills, so I'll check back in the future to see how things are progressing. Farmer is another small town on the prairie that is virtually disappearing. I imagine that being bypassed by the interstate and having the railroad tracks removed didn't help. They actually had a high school up until 1968. It makes me wonder what the town was like in the 50's and 60's. I know that the small town - Ormsby population 220- that I came from, in 1960 could almost fill up a school bus with kids. Today I am sure there is no more than a hand full of kids in Ormsby, Minnesota. I digress, from there we headed mostly north to Willow Lake, South Dakota where the PGR helped dedicate a veteran's memorial in the city park. It is another very nice memorial in a small town with a special part for a local son Scott Saboe, who was a 33 year old helicopter pilot in Iraq when he was killed in action. I don't know if I am more aware of these memorials or that there are more of them being erected, but it seems as if I have run across a lot of them in the last few years. Anyhow, from there we headed east back to Minnesota to Dawson to visit the grave site for David Staab. It is at another rural cemetery that is kind of bleak this time of year. Sgt. Staab's headstone is unique with all of the etchings on it. I wonder what someone 1 or 200 years from now will think of the Chevy pickup? Sgt. Staab who took his own life after returning from Iraq is as much a combat death as anyone killed in action on the battlefield. His was one of the toughest funerals that I have attended, but I am afraid that it won't be the last. Next we headed north to check out a possible campsite at Lac Qui Parle state park. We couldn't do much recon there because of high water on the Minnesota river. The next stop was Lucan to show Jan the site of Captain Dan Days which I attended last year and had such a good time, as a matter of fact I have been to a couple of missions there. Lucan is a patriotic small town with a nice park and a brewery too, we took the tour last year. The last stop was at Eli and Lindsey's for a night cap, all in all we had a really nice day. The last few pictures are from last weekend when the whole tribe was at our place for an early Easter dinner. The Theobalds stayed over Friday night so we got a few on Saturday morning. Well, that's about it from here for now. The weather has taken a turn for terrific so I have had all of the bikes out for runs and oil changes and the 94 Ducati, Francesca, is running pretty good too after carburetor cleaning and fresh gaskets, new rubber, and battery. After the last winter we deserve it. Take care and stay in touch.

For Our Badger

2010-03-25T09:17:00.010-05:00

This post will be for Genevieve who has acquired the nick name "Badger" over the years, partially because she attended college in Wisconsin, maybe not. This string of pictures kind of bookend the early years and the present time. I would have included some more but I am only up to her early years in my ongoing slide conversion process. I really wish that I was more comfortable telling my children how proud of them I am face to face, so I do it with the keyboard. I have found that to be true of most interactions. I think that it gives me more time to think or delete things that should not have been said. Anyhow, now that I have that out of the way, I really want my limited readership to know how proud I am of Genevieve and her accomplishments thus far. She has done well in sports and academics and just accepted a promotion at Mayo, but I think that her accomplishments as a parent may be the highest calling. I don't know if it a common feeling or not but I never expected any of our children not to be successful in life, the idea that they would fail just never occurred to me. I pretty much give the credit to St. Jan for how the kids turned out.
Following my usual format, the pictures are in reverse order. If you read from the bottom up you will see Gen from pre-birth through her own motherhood. At the very top she is with Gussie last "summer" at Spearfish, South Dakota and the next is at Gussies birthday party in February this year with Sam, Gus, and cousin Leah. The next couple should be self-explanatory and one with all the girls eating ice cream and at the bottom is St. Jan probably in February 1978. We will see 2/3 of the clan on Saturday for an early Easter get together here at our house so we will get to see them again. One of these days the whole clan will get together and it will be great, no more communicating on line or over the phone and the cousins can get re-aquainted. With that I'll end with, Gen I love you and am proud of you too. I hope that I have more time to watch you and your brother and sister's lives unfold in the future.

Our Baby is 30

2010-02-25T09:52:00.006-06:00

This blog will be following the incentive from Rachel, posting for her daughter Annika. I really don't know why it should be so hard for me to tell my children that I am so proud of them, but it is. I wonder if it may come from my background. Man, the older you get the more that you recognise influences from your childhood poking through. Eli, I am not sure where you got your work ethic probably from your Mother, but it makes me proud to see that you are not afraid to work hard to get what you want. I ought to know I have helped on a few construction projects with you. We can see what a good father and husband you have become and that makes us happy for you too. You have gone from a child on a Z50 Honda to a rider that quite frankly scares me to watch at times, so I let you break trail when we ride off road. You have gone from entry level jobs to being an engineer for the Union Pacific. You have no idea how much pride we take in watching you grow into a man that we can be proud of. I hope that you don't find this too mushy but it is for a 30 year old that still kisses his Mom and I and says " I love you".

Love Dad

update of sorts

2010-02-20T09:02:00.002-06:00

Just a short note to the two or three readers that may know me. St. Jan and I drove over to Rochester on Wednesday and spent the night with the Theobalds. If those boys get any bigger and I am sure that they have a long way to go, I will not be able to wrestle on the floor with them much longer. It is tag team time when they get going. Anyhow, the most recent visit to Mayo was a good one, with both Doctors Moore and Miller saying everything looks great, although they could just be trying to make me feel better, you just never know.. After our morning appointment we cruised the mall, or Jan did. I headed for Barnes and Noble after we both got our hair cut. We stopped in Mankato on the way home for a couple items and were home by supper time - 6pm to you non-midwesterners. Yesterday I had a new tire put on the front of our GS and made a PGR mission run over to Marshall for the funeral of another PGR member that died of a stroke over the weekend. She was Ginny Tusa, in her early 50s and originally from Jackson. According to her male friend she was an organ donor and eight of her organs were transplanted and a total of forty benefited from various parts from bone marrow to skin grafts, so in a way she lives on in an assortment of other people. I also got talking with another member that has an autistic grandson that is involved with making quilts out of old blue jeans. It sounds kind of cool. I think that they sew all of the pockets together to form one side and the use the legs for the backing. In the middle goes some batting and then they tie it. It sounds as if they are sending quilts all over the place as word gets around. Anyway I was home by 2030. Stay well and stay in touch.

SSDD

2010-02-04T08:40:00.010-06:00

Guess what, it is still cold and snowy here, although, today it is in the mid 20s. Of course along with warming temperatures we now have freezing drizzle. It's funny, complaining about the weather does not make it any more bearable. I have been working on a project that gets me out of the house, I finished sheetrocking the ceiling in our new garage and last night I started on the walls. My neighbor Ray, loaned me his sheetrock jack for the project and it was a lifesaver. The toughest part was hoisting those 70 pound sheets onto the jack, once they were on the jack they were cranked up to the joists and screwed into place. Working the sheets up around the overhead door tracks, and light fixtures would have been impossible without the jack. So much for that. Last Sunday Jan and I took a drive up to Rosemount for a PGR mission to welcome home two busloads of 34th Division soldiers at their armory. These types of missions are a lot more fun than the other type, if you know what I mean. While we waited for the buses to arrive we were offered cookies, water and probably coffee, this is Minnesota after all but I didn't see any bars come to think of it. After a while we could hear there sounds of approaching sirens from cop cars and then the coaches came around the corner to be greeted by our cheers and applause. These troops had been in Iraq for a year in the area of Basra. Come to think of it I believe that the three funerals that I attended last Fall were troops attached to this unit. Ben Kopps' funeral was just up the street from the Rosemount armory and the others were in the southeast Metro just across the Mississippi from there. It was a cool but sunny day for a drive in the GT and we were home by supper time. A couple weeks ago Jan and I spent a few days in Rochester trying to take care on Gen and Steve's boys, Sam and Gus, while they were in Phoenix for the marathon. Gen ran and Steve cheered her on. Gen finished with a time that she was satisfied with. I think that most serious marathoners would crawl through broken glass to finish the race after running 26 miles. St. Jan and I chased Sam and Gus around while they were gone, again I had forgotten how much work is involved with a couple of active boys. One day we took them back over to Kellogg, Minnesota to a toy store that they had visited earlier. We will definitely will be going back there in the future. It is like a toy store in Europe perhaps, not at all like Toys Are Us for sure. Well, that's about it for now. I'll throw in a few pictures to illustrate the narrative. Take care and stay in touch.

The LONG COLD Winter

2010-01-12T09:09:00.008-06:00

It has been awhile since I last posted here, but I have been busy moving snow for a couple of weeks or so, among other things. Last December I was working on our Christmas letter and I only have so many creative juices to go around, so the blog took second or third place. I feel like pa Ingalls in "The Long Hard Winter"- I think that is close to the correct title-by spending hours every day there for awhile, scooping, blowing and scraping snow. I spent some time on the roof of the garage scooping off a foot and a half of snow to lighten the load and raking off the house roof as high as I could reach and blowing out the drive ways. After dragging myself back to the house for a break the plows come by again and it starts all over in the driveways. Anyhow, this global warming is really turning out to be a bitch this year. Oh, and did I mention that the average temperature the first ten days of January was 0 degrees? Frankly I think that around here it must have been a lot lower than that, many days never got above -5 degrees. Enough about that. It looks as if the January thaw may be just around the corner. This is one of those winters when you are driving down a sub zero highway with the snow blowing across the road and cannot believe that six months ago you rode a bike down the same road in a t-shirt. The last PGR mission that I was on was up at Fort Snelling for a soldier that was gunned down at Fort Hood by the name of Kham Xiong. He was originally from Laos and his family had a long history of service, primarily in Viet-Nam and Laos during the war. While standing the flag line it was interesting to see all of the middle aged men in their assorted uniforms and berets shaking hands and hugging one another. Forty years ago they were all young men running through the jungles of south east Asia making life difficult for the enemy. Christmas was good this year although we missed the DeFor family greatly, they're still in Germany, probably for most of this year, so maybe next year. Gen and Steve and the boys made it from Rochester in nasty weather but they got here and that is what counts. My mother in law Bernice spent Christmas in the hospital after surgery for a tumor that has since turned out to be the only cancer site. This cancer business, it's getting to the point that almost everybody I know has had a go around with it. Anyhow, one of St. Jans' co-workers transferred to another position at the agency and they are not hiring any replacements so the work load just continues to rise. They have said that they may allow overtime to complete things which is a change. Jan would retire tomorrow if only there were some way of covering health care. It is amazing now-a-days how the health care angle keeps a majority of people working at jobs they really don't like just for the health care benefit and that is getting worse everywhere too. I have been extremely lucky to have had an account that paid for my health care after I retired that took me to medi-care and the VA. When I enlisted in 1962 I had no idea how valuable that service would be in the future, of course at that age nobody expected to live much beyond thirty, much less retire at a ripe old age of 62. I have been working on some more slides in this winter prison so I'll search around and add something new. I see in my last post that I used the same batch of pictures that I used in an earlier post, so with any luck at all these will be fresher. Take care and stay in touch. The pictures are from my brother Paul and my trip to the Canyon in 1975 and a trip that Jan, Rachel, and I took to Yellowstone the same year.

An Update of Sorts

2009-11-23T08:26:00.006-06:00

This will be for my readers that are not on the e-mail lists. Last week I had another round of doctor visits at Fairmont and Rochester, mainly to reassure Jan that I will live another day or two. Fairmont was a visit with my cardiologist to get the results from an echo cardiogram that I had done the week before and things are just hunky-dory with my ticker. Hopefully that part of my body has inherited some genetics from my Mom's side of the family. Jan and I went over to Rochester the night before and bunked with the Theobalds for the night. Luckily we got there in time to chase the boys around a little before bedtime ( see Tatertot Hotdish ). The appointment wasn't until afternoon so we spent the next morning cruising the bike shops and the mall before heading up to 5 west to see Dr. Martin. He poked and prodded and ran the scope through my nose and down my throat to look for trouble and everything was good here too. We skipped out of there and ran for home. Saturday was another PGR mission to Buffalo, Minnesota for an airman's funeral. Ssgt Rory Gavic died at Hill AFB, Utah. He was 25 years old and a dog handler that had spent a tour in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The word was that his birth father had just recently passed away and maybe that had something to do with his passing. I have been to way too many of these missions, but I am afraid that they will just continue even with the efforts being made to recognise and treat PTSD in our warriors. I arrived pretty early after a 0600 departure from home and had the distinct honor of welcoming a new PGR member to her first mission. She also was a Gold Star mother that buried her son 5 years ago this coming February. I have no idea of the pain she must be suffering. She described something in her heart that needed to get out and she joined the PGR. Once word got around everybody was paying attention to her. The time we stood in line during the visitation hadn't been too bad she said when I asked her after that part of the service but she expected the internment at the cemetery to be a lot tougher and I expect that it was, although I did not get a chance to talk with her after that. She was lined up close to the grave site so that all of the ceremonies would be visible. I was surprised to have a comment on my last blog from a Gold Star mother in South Dakota. What a honor to be contacted by someone that is dealing with such a loss. On to sunnier subjects. The weather has been nice- for November- so I have managed to get out on a bike recently and my projects keep moving along. I replaced the timing belts on my 94 Ducati, surprisingly it was not that difficult, except for getting them over the sprockets, and it ran when I got done. I also put a performance silencer on the dirt bike and that helped too. I think that I need to rejet also but that can be a winter project as it sounds as if the temps are headed for the basement soon. Thursday this week we are off to Rochester to the Theobalds again for Thanksgiving. I am sure that it will be a good time. Everyone is staying over so that the girls, Jan, Gen and Lindsey can go shopping on black Friday morning. I suppose the guys will just stay in bed as long as possible. I think that I will post a couple pictures just to brighten up the page. Be well, and stay in touch.

Sgt Wolf

2009-11-04T08:57:00.002-06:00

Just a short one today. Yesterday I made the run to Alexandria, South Dakota to attend another KIA funeral. It was cold, windy, and spitting rain on the way down, smartly I drove the GT. I arrived about an hour ahead of time and already there were several members and their bikes hiding on the downwind side of the car wash at the Shell station in Alex. We were there to honor Sgt Eduviges "Duvi" Wolf's sacrifice in Afghanistan on October 25 of this year. She was 24 years old, and leaves a husband, Joshua and two small girls, ages one and three behind. We lined up across from the Catholic church in town for the service. This service was attended by a rather large group of women dressed primarily in black from head to foot. I wondered about their involvement until I talked to Jim, the state ride captain and a local former law enforcement officer. It seems that Joshua's Mom had taught school on several of the local Hutterite colonies, so the group were there because of his Mom. The Afghanistan story is, that the couple were stationed at different posts and she was coming over to visit him when here vehicle was hit by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade). His unit was called out to assist but he was forced to remain behind. Gary the Sioux Falls ride captain had visited with the family the evening before and found Joshua very quiet. I think that the consensus was that he should be watched over carefully for awhile. After the funeral Mass we escorted the procession and the hearse to a small cemetery on the north side of Farmer, another town on the Great Plains that is virtually a ghost town. We, the PGR formed a flag line near the grave site with our flags popping in the wind and held it until all family members had left. A person has a lot of time to think while standing on the line. You wonder how it is that a girl born in Cocula, Jalisco, Mexico comes to be buried 24 years later in a small cemetery amidst the corn and soybean fields of South Dakota on a cold windy day in November, 2009 after dying half a world away in a country she probably never heard of as a child. What makes this doubly bad is the two small children left behind. The last female service member KIA service I attended was in Madison, Wisconsin for Rachel Hugo a couple of years ago. At yesterdays' graveside service Sgt Wolf was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart by a Brigadier General, who also came over and shook my hand when he noticed the Red Bulls 34th division patch that I have on my vest. He related that they were a pretty tough outfit and I said that it was my father-in-laws' (Fritz Thielhorn) outfit. On another subject, last Saturday I attended a PGR leadership conference at St. Cloud. On the way home I stopped in New Ulm to check at Target for an item for St. Jan, no such luck. On the way out of town on Highway 15 I looked to the right at an office building and as I was turning ahead I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked left just in time to see the belly of a deer going over the car, checking the right mirror I saw it land on the shoulder and head off into the weeds. Like I've said before "I live a charmed life", although I don't think that it is a good idea to push your luck. Well, stay in touch be well and as contented as possible. OK? Oh ya, a p.s. here. If you go online, look at station KDLT from Sioux Falls, they have a good video story about the funeral. They were the ones doing the interviews and shooting video in Alexandria and at Farmer. I saw myself a couple times where they film down the back side of our flag line. I'm the guy with the grey hooded sweatshirt over my head.

Jan's birthday

2009-10-30T08:55:00.010-05:00

A week ago Jan and I made a run to the Hills for her birthday. We left home at 5:50am and arrived in Rapid City before noon after a couple rest stops and a refueling in Chamberlin. I was using the gps for an accurate speed reading and as usual the speedometer was a little optimistic by a couple of miles an hour. It still seems a little amazing to be able to make the run in a little over 6 hours and what is really amazing is the fact that in 1964 I rode with a guy and made it back to the base in about the same amount of time, this is before there were any 4 lane hiways between here and there. I have contemplated trying to contact him to find out how fast we traveled but it must have been up there. I think that he said that he had been stopped for speeding three weeks in a row in Mitchell. Needless to say he was going with a girl from St. James that was a year older than me I think. Anyhow, back to the subject. The weather was clear but cool as we cruised up to Sturgis to visit the BMW dealer and check out their t-shirt collection. I added one to my closet. Then it was over to Nemo and back to downtown Rapid. We hit "Prairie Edge" and some other shops. They have one of the few stores left that serve model and radio control builders among other crafts. I did business with them when I was stationed in Rapid 45 years ago. They have model aircraft, ships, armor, etc., etc., from all over the world. It's fun just to walk around and look at all of the things that are out there. I have thought about a KC-135 to go with the B-52D that I have hanging in our bedroom, but first I would have to finish a B-36 that I started 30 years ago and never finished, plus repair a second B-52D that got broken at about the same time. Oh well another project for the future. The next morning we headed home on hiway 44 out of Rapid down south of the Badlands and then through Wanblee on the Pine Ridge reservation. That was a scenic route with very little traffic this time of year. Once we got back on the interstate at Kadoka I stepped it up a little and though we made a side trip to the mall in Sioux Falls we were home by supper time. We had two cameras along and I got a couple shots around Interior, so I'll put them in. It seems lately that I just don't shoot as many landscape shots as I used to because it never captures what it really looks like. Ansel Adams could get it done but it seems to escape me. Anyhow, last Saturday we, Jan and our Mothers made a return trip to Rochester for Sam's birthday party on the heels of a 4" snow fall over there, more proof of global warming I guess. If you want to flesh out the details and more pictures you can jump over to Gen's blog using one of the buttons on the upper right. We had Theobalds, Kuehls, Thielhorn, Joe's girlfriend Lauren and their new puppy Jack. Sam and Leah spent most of the day palling around and Aaron and Gus being about the same size hung out too. What more can I say, the food, cupcakes and fun was fun. I hate re-using that word usual so much but it was a great party as usual, which is a good thing. To flesh things out some I will put a couple of our pictures in on top, just to show our view. I should mention a project that has been taking up some of my time in the garage this week and that is cleaning and replacing gaskets in the carburetors on our 94 Ducati. Amazingly enough it actually started and ran quite well except it was leaking gas like a sieve. So that meant tearing into it again and adding a couple o-rings and a new shutoff in the fuel line. I'll put in a picture of what she looked like while the work was in progress. Take care stay touch.

Fresh pictures of Will

2009-10-18T09:17:00.002-05:00

For those readers that are interested in following up on my previous blog, you can link off on the " Minnesota is Heaven" button on the upper right of this blog to see pictures of our newest grand child William Friedrich. A couple are of him when he was quite fresh from storage and the rest will give you an idea of the rest of the DeFor family. Joe and Annie are growing up so fast and her hair isn't curly anymore, although it is still thick and beautiful. We, St.Jan and I, still cannot get over how we ended up with such attractive offspring and grandchildren. Such a mystery, but a good one. I was on a PGR mission yesterday afternoon for a Veterans Tribute in Fairmont. We had a pretty good turnout considering the weather was cold and damp and three other missions in the state for KIA's and Gold Star families. It was one of those weeks again with three KIA missions in northern Minnesota, but I'm thinking that they were well covered by members in that end of the state. In Fairmont we had members from Iowa and South Dakota attending. I also talked to a guy from Wisconsin that was gassing up ( we were at Super America) and he was headed for Custer South Dakota and maybe the west coast. Some guys are a lot tougher than I am, probably a lot younger too. Stay in touch.

It's William

2009-10-15T21:32:00.002-05:00

I am going to put up a short post to inform my readers about a major event in our family. Last night- Tuesday- the phone rang and it was Hans calling from Germany. I and St. Jan knew right away what the call was about, William Friedrich ( I hope that I have the second name correct) had made his entrance. The time was before 10pm in Stuttgart, he weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces and is 21 inches long. Shouldn't we say tall for that measurement? It sounds like a big fish that you just landed. Will joins big brother Josiah and big sister Annika. It feels a little odd not being able to run and see him. When Joe was born in San Diego we loaded up the pickup and headed west and we were waiting to leave the Minneapolis airport on the way to Japan when we got word that Annika had arrived. That time we actually got to the hospital to see her after a 13 hour flight. I'm thinking that Jan and I will not jump the Atlantic as the DeFor family should be back in the States in a couple of months, if they can just get the orders that they have been waiting for for some time. I will post another blog in the future when we get more information. The weather here has been kind of nasty, cold, rainy and just gloomy. We had a couple more windows replaced today with Anderson replacement windows. They are really good looking and tight, but not cheap, but then what good thing is ever cheap, inexpensive maybe but not cheap. I also started into cleaning the carburators on my 94 Ducati. They are really grungy, primarily from spending too much time sitting in the garage waiting for her turn to go, not easy when there are newer and prettier faces getting all of the attention. I am also trying a twist on remembering which part goes where, I am actually video taping the process. Anyhow, stay tuned when I hear something I'll get it on line. Bye

a short update

2009-09-29T08:04:00.002-05:00

I suppose that I should bring whomever is out there reading this ongoing epistle up to date. Last Wednesday Jan and I drove over to Rochester to meet the tooth doctors. After yet another x-ray of my mouth that shows the broken titanium strap and that the jaw bone has not fused together. Our concern was with only eating on one side, would it wear the teeth down on that side? Doctor Viozzi doesn't think that that should be a problem. I am eating almost anything that I wish to, although sometimes it takes some extras chewing to break it down. He went over what would be involved in repairing the jaw and it sounded a lot like the original operation. The spot that is not fused would need to be cleaned out and a bone donation from my hip this time to fill the gap. You know, I can do with out that kind of pleasure, just now when I am feeling pretty good. I have a hunch that it would mean another week at Mayo and six months of recovery, no thanks. I am eating just fine, probably too good for the diabetes. Anyhow we decided to skip the festivities for now, unless an infection should get going and then I would have no choice but the repair job. On to another subject. Jan and I took the trailer over to Hixton, Wisconsin over the weekend to do some more riding on those good back roads over there. We left here in a rain storm- the first in six weeks I think- and spent the night in the trailer listening to the rain on the roof. Saturday, the clouds broke up and it turned sunny and pleasant so we headed down to Winona and up the river to Alma. At Alma there is a great overlook from the top of a bluff. We had a short lunch and rode back roads north and east back to the campgrounds. Sunday we went out but were dodging rain at times so we came back early, although I did go out later in the afternoon for awhile and got caught in the rain and high winds when the cold front came through. Yesterday we headed back and bucked high wind all of the way home. It is too bad we were not coming home from the Hills with a wind like that at our back. As it was the truck sucked a tank of fuel from Stewartville to St. James running in third or fourth gear- out of five- most of the way. I thought that this expensive diesel engine would pull the trailer without breaking a sweat, but live and learn I guess. We got home before 4pm, unloaded and got it parked on it's pad. With the temperatures this week I may need to think about winterising the trailer to keep the water systems from freezing up. It would be nice to take it out to the Hills again but time is starting to run out on that scheme . We have been thinking about running out to Rapid City around Jan's birthday but it would not include the trailer if we go for just a couple of days. So anyhow, that should bring me up to date. Any questions leave me a comment, OK? Believe it or not we took no pictures this weekend so I may look for something nice.

Black Hills High

2009-09-22T08:51:00.012-05:00

I'm paraphrasing John Denver again for this edition of the blog. I hope that no-one is getting tired of hearing about my exploits via motorcycles, but it is my blog, correct? This first picture is Jan and three of our grandchildren on the "boat" on the lawn having some pudding. Sam and Gus spent a night while their parents attended a wedding reception in Mankato. Leah was over for awhile to play with her cousins and some neighborhood girls came over too, so it was kind of wild for awhile. To break the motorcycle cycle I'm adding some pictures from that weekend. I like the one of Gus and I at the breakfast table, he loves to snuggle in the morning and I am glad to accommodate him. It is fun having them around but it seems as if it is more work than it used to be, particularly for Jan as usual. So anyhow, Eli managed to get a couple of days off last weekend so we headed for the Hills on Thursday afternoon and spent the night in Rapid City. The next day we went riding west of Spearfish Canyon in some territory that was new to us. We ended up on Cement Ridge which is actually in Wyoming and has a terrific view of four states, I'll throw some pictures in, you'll have to figure out which is which. The weather was beautiful and just a shade warm, so we were shedding clothes as we went along, although I never ride without my armored gear. We had parked the truck near Roughlock Falls in Spearfish Canyon not far from where the final scenes of "Dances with Wolves" was filmed. I think that this side canyon is prettier than the main canyon, but then that is just my opinion. We spent that night in Hill City and the next day went up riding around Nemo on a marked trail system. After riding that portion of rocky climbs, descents and switchbacks Eli and I came to the conclusion that we thought that this was harder riding than Colorado. We had lunch in Nemo and ended up by Dalton Lake after floundering around in the woods for a couple of hours. We got to thinking that after loading the bikes on the truck that it didn't make much sense to get a motel for the night and then head home, so we just headed east and were home in St. James by mid-night. Last night (Monday) I helped Eli move a couple of things to the new house after they passed the final inspection. A couple of photos from their first real night in their new home. It has been a long road and there is some basement finish work to be done but they are into the new digs.

Rocky Mountain High

2009-09-07T20:52:00.007-05:00

I have mentioned John Denver in this blog before and I think that he was on to something with that song. I keep coming back to that state year after year mainly for the riding. It is getting to the point where I have been on most of the good roads in the mountains and some really bad ones too. I also just realized something recently that most of my blogs lately revolve around riding, I guess because it is Summer that I would be riding a lot. A couple weeks ago I ran out to Ouray and spent a few nights at a motel that Eli and I stayed in in 2001. This was the first trip to the San Juan's for some off road riding and it was a quite an experience for the both of us, well, me anyway. We did the Alpine loop, Black Bear Pass into Telluride, and Imogene Pass which is over 13,000 feet. The big difference this time was the fact that I was riding by myself and I have to hand it to St. Jan to have the nerve to encourage me to do this trip on my own. The one thing that I miss when I am home again is the people that I meet on the trail out there. If you are stopped they stop to ask if all is OK or just to talk about the view or what everyone is riding. Speaking of what people are riding, I saw the most incredible thing ever coming down from Engineer Pass. It was a BMW R1200GS, like ours, coming up the trail, two up to boot!! I was beating my brains out on a little 250 Kawasaki and here comes this big BMW, did I mention they were two up??, with luggage? I related this to a group from Oklahoma further down and he said that a buddy had done it on a Harley once, but needed to replace the tires afterwards. The scenery is fantastic and the trails can be pretty technical but do-able if you watch what you are doing. Jeep rental is very popular and also guided tours over most of the Passes is available although I am sure I could never get Jan on one of these tours without sedation. The trip to and from was not to bad except for grasshoppers on the way out in Nebraska. I left Ouray early on Thursday and got to watch Venus come up over the mountains before I got to Gunnison. One other thing, In eastern Colorado, across Kansas into Nebraska, every corn field that I passed by was nearly or totally destroyed by hail. This went on for hundreds of miles, so a lot of crops are nearly wiped out in that area. Since getting home we have been helping Eli and Lindsey some with their home project, although once again it is primarily Jan either watching the kiddos or staining grout. We did get the whole house re stained and the new garage done and hung some new outdoor lighting on the garages. I have to admit the Jan picked out some nice ones. It is kind of unusual but since the flurry of Patriot Guard activity earlier it has been quiet lately, which all in all is not a bad thing. I have a hunch that with things ratcheting up in Afghanistan we will have more missions in the future and we do go for vets from any branch if requested. So stay in touch drop a comment, please?

It's Colorado again short version

2009-08-30T11:15:00.005-05:00

This will be a short version of my most recent trip to Colorado. I just got back on Friday from a six day trip back to the San Juan mountains of south west Colorado. I actually stayed at the same motel that Eli and I stayed in when we were there in 2001. I had to find out if I still had it in me to do those rough trails again and I guess that I do. One of the fun parts of riding in terrain like that is the people that you meet, everyone friendly and having a great time. I have to give a great big thanks to St. Jan for encouraging me to do crazy things like this. One of my favorite motto's is, there is more to life than just living. I have a tee shirt that has a similar saying on the back that I should take a picture of and include in the final draft. Anyhow, I had a great time and just came home a little sore from doing so much riding standing up. I'll add a few pictures to give a taste of the riding. Oh yah, I was riding down the main drag of Silverton when I heard my cell phone ring and it was St. Jan with news that the two biopsies turned out to be benign, so that was a real day brightener. Stay tuned for more updates.

an update of sorts

2009-08-20T08:55:00.004-05:00

I suppose that this blog could be for the other readers that are not on my e-mail lists. St. Jan and I drove over to Rochester on Monday afternoon for a stay at the Theobalds. Our supper there was a good summer feast again, with sweet corn, green beans, and assorted items from the grill. Tuesday I had a follow up appointment with the doctor at Mayo in the afternoon and it went well. According to Dr. Eli things are looking good so he doesn't need to see me for another three months. We visit every three months for the first two years and if everything continues to be clean we go every six months until the five year mark. So, the next few years will tell the tale. A week ago or so I visited the dermatologist in Mankato for a check up and he biopsied a couple of sites on my chest and back. Although they have been carving moles etc. off of me for years, with my recent history the wait for results is a little more anxiety ridden. On to other subjects. Tomorrow, Mom and I head up to Alexandria for the annual Horman family get together. This year my brother Phil will meet us enroute to the festivities. I have also been trying to plan an off road bike trip to Colorado again or as an alternate, Wyoming. Things keep switching around so the destination is still up in the air as I type. I really want to hit the high passes in Colorado while I am still able, because as past history shows us, you can't always count on tomorrow being there for you to use. I have done these passes before except for Mosquito Pass which is well over 13,000 feet, the highest in the lower 48. If we go to Wyoming it would be the Big Horns, of which I have some maps. I also have been hitting some Patriot Guard missions, one in Rochester Saturday and one in Fairmont yesterday. Also, yesterday I was offered the job of assistant ride captain in this sector, I accepted with trepidation, I just hope that I don't screw this up. The ride captain and assistant ride captains in this sector which ends at state highway 15 in the east both live in the southwest corner of the state at Pipestone and Hardwick so I will cover this end of the sector, I hope. We also have been helping Eli and Lindsey some with their home building project but it has kind of moved on from the rank amateur helper status to the skilled labor stage. I helped with moving some appliances in and watching the kiddos so they can work there has been Jan's' contribution as well. The driveway was poured Tuesday and the cabinets were installed too. Today Eli and I may run up to Maple Plain to get a lawn mower/ snow blower that he found on the net. I think that I may browse some old photos and throw them on for your amusement. Take care and stay in touch. The pictures are from our 1974 trip to California.

The Twin Cities commute

2009-08-04T09:31:00.009-05:00

It seems as if I have been commuting to the Twin Cities area for about the last two weeks on and off. Last Saturday we - the PGR- had the memorial service in Rosemount for cpl. Benjamin Kopp U.S.Army Ranger. He was wounded in Afghanistan and died at Walter Reed about a week later from complications from his wounds. He was hit in the leg while trying to break contact with the Taliban and must have picked up an infection or something. It seems hard to believe in this day and age that he could have been transported back to Walter Reed and they could not save him. The service at the Rosemount High school gym was almost like attending a church service, with three of his Ranger friends eulogizing him with quotes from the scriptures and the chaplain giving the main address. There were no dry eyes in our group as we were invited to stand around the mezzanine above the gym during the service. Today will be his send-off at Holman Field in St. Paul for his final trip to Arlington National Cemetery in DC. I ran into Phil afterwards and we met for lunch at a Mac and Dons' down the street, and hit a bike store in Lakeville on the way out. I'll add some pictures to the blog, some are from Rosemount and some are of the flowers blooming from the plants that we started way last winter. I almost forgot, But last Friday I was in Sioux Falls for the memorial service for a Viet Nam vet killed in a motorcycle accident. This guy had spent two tours in Viet Nam as a Force Recon Marine and gets killed by a kid that turned left in front of him near the Harley store. He was the member of a couple biker gangs, not Hells Angels but "real" biker gangs, and there were guys from all over that showed up for the service. The first couple of photos are from Sioux Falls, then one from Rosemount and the last few should be self explanatory, ok?

Patriot Guard Riders Ride

2009-07-28T09:01:00.007-05:00

It has been an extremely busy week or ten days for us. I have attended 4 different visitations and funerals for our fallen heroes from Minnesota. A week ago Sunday I was in Hastings for a visitation for Sgt Wayne Hosford, the following Friday I was in Cottage Grove for Spc Carlos Wilcox and the next day I was in Woodbury for Spc Dan Drevnick. The mission for Spc Wilcox was quite large and followed a thunder storm so the weather was fairly cool and it was on Friday which tends to limit the amount of the turnout due to jobs etc.. Saturday was clear and cool for spc Drevnicks' funeral and we had a large turnout of around 250 bikes. Dave Mude and his wife Jan and I figuring that the ride to Fort Snelling with a group of that size was more fun than we wanted, headed home through Hastings again. We had been riding the same route for all three of the funerals in that area because it is a much quieter and less traveled way to get to the southeast metro. Yesterday-Monday- we were at Bird Island for the services for spc James Wertish and we had a tremendous turnout, Patriot Guards from all over Minnesota and some from South Dakota too. I am not sure but I think that we must have had close to 200 bikes again. The procession from Bird Island to Olivia where he was laid to rest was well over a mile in length riding two wide, with people along the route with flags etc.. As I said it has been busy and we have another coming up on Friday in Apple Valley. As long as there are people out there wanting to do us harm I am afraid that we will continue to have these missions. I am just proud to be able to honor these heroes in this way. This country is lucky to have these young people that will step up to do their turn on the front lines of keeping us free. Remember freedom is not free!! Spcs Drevnick, Wilcox, and Wertish were National Guardsmen from the 34th Red Bull division out of Stillwater that were all killed in a single rocket attack on their base near Basra, Iraq, which was a relatively safe area in the sand box. I have included some pictures. The upper ones are from spc Wertish's funeral and the one on the bottom is from the visitation in Hastings for sgt Hosford.

Farewell Tour the Sequel part II

2009-07-14T09:36:00.008-05:00

When I left you in the last episode I was in Price, Utah. I met another older gentleman with a Yamaha FJR from the LA area who was returning from a rally up in Canada, at least he looked older to me. In all actuality he was probably my age but he looked older to me. Anyhow, the next leg up to Duchesne was great and cool at higher altitudes, then northwest from there and over Soapstone Pass on a dirt road. One thing that boggles me is seeing several trailers as big as ours parked in the trees up there. I can't imagine dragging something that large up the grades and around the corners on those switchbacks, but there they are. Perhaps they hire a big helicopter to airlift them in? Then up through the Uinta mountains to Wyoming. What can I say but that the run over the Uintas was beautiful ( I'm running out of superlatives here ). I cut across the south west corner of Wyoming to Bear Lake in Utah again, a blue lake in a mountain setting that is totally surrounded by houses.To get a picture I had to shoot through a chain link fence. Then it was head east for the run to home. Most of the afternoon it seems I was running off to the south of the Wind River Range and they look like a likely destination in the future. I have used Google Earth to pre-run some areas there and it looks spectacular. Spent the night in Lander, Wyoming and spotted a GS1200 Adventure from Florida with tags from Canada and Alaska including Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. Now there is a long distance cruise. From Lander to Casper is a long drone across a less scenic part of Wyoming. I stopped for fuel in Casper and had a long conversation with another interesting person. I was just saddling up to leave when a guy in a pickup ran over and asked about my bike. We talked for a time and I noticed that he had a unique accent and I just had to ask. It turns out he was from Australia, then I had to ask why in of all places did you end up in Casper? It turns out he sheared sheep in Australia and came here to do the same thing, and Wyoming has lots of sheep. He had gotten out of the shearing business and was doing building contracting now. I think that he said that his wife is from the Twin Cities also. Another chance encounter with an interesting person. It must be the mentality of people that ride that opens them up to meeting other riders, as 9 times out of 10 they are either riding or have in the past. Heading east from Casper I passed several coal trains headed my way and by the time I was south of Rapid City I could see a big black cloud in my path and sure enough I ran into a down pour with high winds, but luckily no hail, which is quite common in that area. East of Rapid I pulled under an overpass to get out of the weather with the hope that it would pass by. Another bike pulled in with me, so we sat on the guard rail an hollered at each other for awhile ( we both were wearing earplugs ). He and a partner had been on the road for 26 days already and were heading home to Oswego, New York. It sounds as if they had been all over the lower 48 states. He was on a Harley so they were going to do the pilgrimage to the museum in Millwaukee. That night I was in Wall, South Dakota, at the time I thought that if I just keep going I could be home tonight but it is a good thing that I stopped to dry out. In the morning I was on the road early and had a nice ride home. Oh ya, in Chamberlin for breakfast I was seated next to a couple and when I went to leave I noticed that he had a Butterfield Threshing Bee t-shirt. It turned out that they were from the Trimont area, small world. I think that I was home by about 1pm without getting wet again. Come to think of it the guy from New York had not hit any rain until the downpour we both endured in South Dakota.

As an addition, Jan and I spent the weekend of the 4th at a KOA in Oakdale, Wisconsin. We went riding Saturday and Sunday on the back roads in that area. Wisconsin back roads are one of the best kept secrets in motorcycling as they are all paved and go up and down and round and round and are quiet to boot! Anyhow, we had a great time and brought our lunches along and ate at a couple of interesting locales, one at a downtown picnic table and another at a shelter in the country next to an old country school. We will be going back in the future I am sure. Well, that is about it for now, maybe I'll do another posting in the future on the Fallen Hero's ride I participated in over this weekend. I'll throw some pictures in here and try to get them in proper order for a change. Bye. Phil and Paul may recoginise the picture of the sign for Farsn, Wyoming. Think about our 1973 trip.

Farewell Tour The Sequel

2009-07-10T15:05:00.010-05:00

Last Fall when I went on the ride to Colorado and Wyoming ( Nebraska doesn't count) before my surgery I had been planning a ride like the one I recently returned from. Last year I was short on time and afraid that doing long rides like the ones I have done this year might not be in my future. Well, I am here to tell you that the long ride is alive and well. I should take that back about Nebraska, as the first day out I had a fun run down to North Platte where I spent the first night. From there it was a drone down I-76 to Denver where I dodged traffic and finally got out into the mountains. I spent the second night in Buena Vista, where Phil and I stayed a couple of years ago. There is a diner in town that we all ate in in 1985 while passing through and Phil and I ate breakfast there every day we were there too. Jan can tell you that the omelets were and are still terrific. From Buena Vista I headed over Cottonwood Pass to the Taylor Lake area ans I'll throw a couple pictures in to show you how beautiful it is this time of the year. You will have to guess in what order to view but I think if you start at the bottom and work up they should be in proper order. Anyhow next up was Crested Butte another trendy town kind of like Aspen was years back that is also in a beautiful area. From there it was over Kebler Pass to Delta where it was 101. These two passes are gravel roads, the main drawback is this, they were grading and treating the road surface with magnesium chloride for dust control and it was like riding in mud for miles on the way down from these two passes. The next photos up from the bottom are from Kebler Pass. From delta it was a long run over the Umcompagre Plateau on a pretty desolate road, I don't think I met more than 3 vehicles on the east side of Columbine Pass. On the west side it was much more tree covered and more people were evident. From Nucla to Moab was another great ride through canyons and over hills. It seems that every time that there is some semi-flat land it is irrigated and growing alfalfa, oh, and another thing, all of the time going over these three passes it was in the 60s and 70s for temperatures. For most of this trip I thought that the idea of a helmet camera would have been cool, but when do you turn it on or off? For hours on end the scenery is so incredible I would just have to force myself to stop to snap a picture, which never does the scene any justice, you just have to be there. As usual in Moab I ran into interesting people. A couple from the Twin Cities that winter in Arizona and both ride down in the Fall and they were on their way home to Minnesota when I met them. He said that he owns 8 bikes and when people ask him why he says "because I can". I had to tell him that I was ahead in that category with 10. I said the biggest problem with a collection like that is walking into that garage trying to think who wants to go riding today, and they're all waving their mirrors at me going "pick me, pick me". It is a problem. From Moab I went south to Blanding and around over Lake Powell to Hanksville, as desolate a town as any I have seen lately, then west to Loa and north to Price, Utah. I will add two more or so and end this first installment here. Check back for part two of "Farewell Tour The Sequel". I will be on Patriot Guard rides to Fallen Hero's grave sites in this end of Minnesota.

update

2009-07-08T09:08:00.002-05:00

I will blog soon on our latest adventures but for now I need to check out the water heater, which appears to be leaking and the softener which doesn't, soften that is. Stand by for further updates. Her is a teaser from my trip to the west.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

2009-06-29T09:39:00.009-05:00

I have had a lot of time to think about things in the last week or so. I decided to paraphrase Snoopy for the title of this blog, although it should read "It was a dark, stormy, and cold several days" in Spearfish, South Dakota. We drug the toyhauler out there with the idea of a peaceful week with lots of riding and reunions and family time. 2/3rds of our family set up tents next to the trailer in a great KOA kampground. One problem, I think that it rained at least 5 days out of 7. Eli, Lindsey and their kiddos gave up and moved to a motel for a couple of nights and Steve, Gen and their boys moved into one of the cabins nearby. Oh, did I mention it was also cold? Most nights it was in the 30s and barely 50 during the day. We did get one nice morning picnic up at Roughlock Falls in Spearfish Canyon with a short hike afterwards. Gen, Steve and the boys headed off to Colorado on Tuesday to stay with friends and Eli, Lindsey and theirs headed home about the same time. Right after they left two of my Air Force buddies and their wives came to the door. Bill Peck and his wife Sarah drove from Atlanta for the first return to the area in 43 years and John Wilson and his wife Kris ( I hope that I'm getting the spelling right here) came from Gettysburg, South Dakota. I haven't seen them in 24 years either. We had a long talk and went to dinner in town, dodging rain all the time. The next day we met Bill and Sarah at the museum at Ellsworth, naturally it was raining so we had to inspect the B-52D that they have on display. Bill wanted to know the tail number and we managed to find it under a coat of paint. It was 657, an aircraft that we had worked on during our time there. It is kind of cool to look at an aircraft on display and think that I used to spent time in there working on our systems. I was in Electronic Warfare systems and Bill was Bomb-Nav systems, so I am sure that we both spent plenty of time in there over the years. I think that maybe Bill is a bigger airplane freak than I am, if that is possible. We were comparing notes on military aircraft museums, and there are a lot of them that we need to visit in the future. After we parted Bill and Sarah headed up to Mount Rushmore to view the heads and guess what?, they were clouded over. They did go back the next day and they were visible then. After seeing Mount Rushmore they were able to head back to Atlanta. It is too bad that the weather was so nasty for their first return trip as the Hills can be beautiful. This year they have gotten so much moisture that they looked like a rain forest and all of the reservoirs are full, so that is a good thing. Rachel recently sent me the movie " Taking Chance", about a Marine officer escorting Lcpl Chance Phelps' body home to Dubois, Wyoming for burial. Chance was KIA in Iraq in 2005 I believe. We had been thinking about a bike ride to Red Lodge,Montana, but after seeing the movie we decided to visit Dubois instead, kind of a pilgrimage I guess. With the bad weather we took the pickup for an 850 mile day trip. His grave site at the Dubois cemetary is quite nice with green grass and trees it overlooks Dubois. I had looked the cemetery up on " Google Earth" and expected it to be very dry. I left a Patriot Guard pin on the headstone along with several other mementos other visitors had left, threw him a salute and left. It was a good day for a trip. Friday morning dawned clear! Jan and I took a ride up in the Hills south of Spearfish and after dinner I ran out north to Buffalo, South Dakota and down to Bear Butte. Saturday morning it was hook up and head home. Every time we run out to the Hills we always wish that it was closer, although today with the Interstate hiways it is closer time wise than it was 40 years ago. I will throw on some pictures here to illustrate our time there. I will have a new blog coming shortly on my bike trip out west that I just got back from, so stay tuned.

It is another Boy

2009-05-23T10:14:00.006-05:00

Rachel is on the phone from Stuttgart as I type this note talking with her Mom. We got the word from her that she is carrying another grandson. This makes 5 boys and 2 girls for St. Jan and I. I have to admit that 40 years ago I never would have expected this much good luck to come my way, thank God Jan proposed to me in 1971. Anyhow that is the best news that I can come up with this morning. I suppose that I should flesh out our visit to Rochester a little for the audience. First up was a PET scan and then a visit with the Prosthodontist to check on the plan with adding teeth. After a small x-ray we discovered that the titanium strap in my jaw is broken. Everyone was kind of surprised about that development as it would take some kind of blow to break it ordinarily. Thinking back I can remember what I was eating when I heard it pop, it was just chow mein and I bit into a slice of water chestnut. So now I will need an appointment with an oral surgeon to see if the bone transplant is good enough to take the screws that end up holding the bridge eventually. It sounds as if it could take 6 months after the screws are in place before the project of taking imprints and making and installing new choppers. Next up was a visit with the doctors that actually did the work and it was a GOOD visit with them. The PET scan was clean, which really took a load off of both of our minds. Doctor Eli checked out the inside of my mouth and said " looks amazing in there", or something to that effect. I still get the impression that they get a a kick out of seeing their work coming out so well, although it maybe that boosting the patients attitude is beneficial too. After that we went down in the Mayo subways and got a box of the Chicago blend popcorn to celebrate. Our steps were a little lighter on the way back to the parking ramp than they were on the way in, let me tell you. We are getting way to familiar with the layout of the clinic buildings to my way of thinking. Thank goodness we have the Theobalds spare bedroom in Rochester to hole up in when we are there, I can't imagine how it would be to be in a motel room for weeks on end like some people are forced to do. Plus, we get to hang out with Gen, Steve, and the boys, so that part is fun too.

Before we went down to Rochester on Sunday I had a PGR mission that started at the airport in Granite Falls. We`had the tour of a company that restores WWII fighter planes, primarily P-40s but they also have a P-51 Mustang, and a P-38 Lightning ( one of 6 still flying in the world). They have the ability to manufacture a P-40 for scratch although they do use an airframe to start. They made a couple of low level high speed passes for us, and the growl of that V-12 just give me goose bumps. Then we rode to Lucan for Captain Dan Days at the city park. I'll throw in some pictures too. The War bird restoration company made some low level passes that afternoon with the P-40 and the P-51, wow everybody has goosebumps this time! They really throw a terrific celebration for a small town.

Then on to the construction projects here in St James. Our garage addition is moving along, the block work is done and the floor is ready for concrete. They wanted to pour the curb yesterday but evidently the readymix plant couldn't get it here before the end of the day. The other big project is Eli and Lindsey's new home. A week ago or so Phil, Eli and I did the ground runs for the plumbing and the basement walls were poured this week and now the framing crew is at work. The basement is framed up and capped, so things are progressing on that front.

Next up, we are heading out to the Hills in a couple of weeks and dragging the trailer to a Koa in Spearfish. I think that it sounds as if it will be a good time. All of our children, spouses, and grandchildren will be able to come, except for Rachel who is in Germany. One special treat will be Bill Peck and his wife will be making the trip too. This will be the first time we have seen each other since I got out of the Air Force 43 years ago. His wife Sarah has never been to the Hills before so they should have a good time touring the area, although things have changed a lot in that period of time. Jan and I plan on taking a run up to Red Lodge while we are there, and I have a big trip west planned in June sometime, so thing are heating up here. Well, my fingers are getting sore from so much typing so I will leave off here, stay in touch please!

A short Note

2009-05-20T11:28:00.002-05:00

I'll just drop a short note here to keep readers from forgetting me. My visit to Mayo last Monday went well and the process of re-installing some teeth in my empty jaw will be involved and rather lengthy. When I get a creative urge I will flesh this out some, so stand by.

An Early Trip South

2009-04-19T18:16:00.006-05:00

I know, I know it has been awhile since my last post and I really have no excuse. Let me think, I guess that I had a return visit at Mayo in March that went well, and I have been getting some therapy on my jaw, and I had another bout with a respiratory affliction that has come around some with an application of more meds. I gotta say that I am getting a little tired of this stuff. Anyhow last Wednesday I packed up the ST and headed south to Arkansas to check out the roads in that direction for a change. I had been watching the weather in that direction all Spring and it looked as if the weather gods would smile on me if I moved out smartly, so I did. I spent the first night in Kirksville, Missouri and scored a Missouri highway map from a kindly couple that overheard me at the desk inquiring about a map. In way southern Iowa I waved at a lot of Amish kids walking home from school and the motel had a couple van loads of, I am assuming Hutterites maybe, the type of folks that a person can feel safe around. Stopped for a snack someplace the next morning and sat and listened to the banter between the woman at the counter in a MacDonalds and her customers and realized, yup I'm back in the south. South of Rolla the roads got really interesting, rolling and curvy, chasing a herd of horses down the road and a police roadblock. When they noticed my PGR sticker they waved me through. I stopped for a break in Thayer Missouri and got talking with a group of motorcyclists from St. Louis. I was again looking for a map and one of those guys gave me his Arkansas map and then proceeded to hilite the best roads in the northern part of the state. Believe you me just about any road in the north half of Arkansas is a good ride. They have had a terrible ice storm down there recently and I think that almost every tree had the tops broken over, it was really a mess with big stacks of branches by the side of the roads were people had collected them. Anyhow, I had a terrific ride to my next stop at Mountain Home, Arkansas. I did manage to drag my toe once in a corner but other than that I was fairly careful. The next morning it was up across central Missouri through the Lake of the Ozarks area and that area is just nuts with development and traffic etc.. I can see that in the Summer it would be crazy busy in that area and beautiful too. I stopped for dinner and had a talk with an older gentleman that noticed the USS Lassen ball cap of Han's that I was wearing on the trip. He asked if the DDG was a destroyer and I said yes and told me about his experiences on the USS Hopewell DD681 in WWll. He had been at Guam when the Japanese surrendered and talked about two Jap subs flying the white flag and their crews wouldn't look at the Americans. We chatted about Guam some, as I spent some time there too in the 60's. When I went outside there was another older lady checking out the bike and commented how nice it looked, so we talked awhile too, she and her husband used to ride an Indian a long time ago. She told how they used to ride to Colorado and Indianapolis to the races before there were freeways and comfortable rear seating. If a person only wasn't in such a hurry it is amazing the storeys that you run across when you are on a bike, it seems to open up opportunities that you don't get in a car. Anyhow, I made it to Story City, Iowa that night and was at my favorite eating establishment when another older lady wiping tables saw the ball cap and remarked that her husband had been in destroyers in WWll. I have to tell you Hans, that ball cap has gotten more remarks from people than any hat that I have worn lately, thanks again for the gift. After Story City it was an easy 3 hour run home, where I surprised Jan with an early arrival. This morning I headed down to Sioux Falls for a National Guard send off. It was cold and rainy on the way down so I drove that one, luckily I took some warm clothes along as it was to be indoors but ended up outdoors. There were Guards from western Minnesota that filled up 5 planes for a trip to Ft. Hood in Texas for some training before they deploy to Kuwait this time. Tuesday we have a bunch from South Dakota shipping out so maybe I'll ride to that one, if the weather co-operates. Jan and I did spend a weekend with the Theobald boys ( the young ones) a couple weeks ago while their parents ( Steve and Gen) went to Chicago to visit a friend. I did scan a few slides while I was holed up with whatever it is that I had this time and ran across a couple of our eldest child, who now has children older than she was in the pictures. So there it is, any questions leave a comment otherwise be well and stay in touch. Oh ya, the picture with Jan and I in formal wear was at her sister's wedding , Paula and Steve Johnson. Come to think of it there are a lot of Steves around. It is my middle name, my son-in-law's, and brother-in-law's too, whatever. Bye.

Spring may be here-maybe

2009-03-21T10:17:00.006-05:00

As promised I am back with the update that I planned on putting in the other day. Primarily I wanted to report on the Patriot Guard mission I was on in Madison, South Dakota. You may be able to get some idea of it by going to KELO TV in Sioux Falls, the Argus-Leader, or KSFY which is in Aberdeen among other towns in South Dakota. The funeral was for Chad Mechels, a 32 year old sheriffs deputy in Turner county. He was killed in the line of duty last weekend answering a call on a domestic disturbance. Our South Dakota assistant ride captain is retired Army and a part time law enforcement officer in the area,and he related some details in the case that the general public probably don't get. Chad went to a farm house to check on a guy threatening suicide. When no one answered the door he stepped inside and was shot in the shoulder with a 30-06 rifle, he retreated to his car and was shot a second time through the windshield in the neck, which proved fatal. The perp is a 19 year old kid that was working on a farm and by all accounts was a hard worker etc., I'm afraid that his life for all practical purposes is over. The kicker in this whole thing is that the kid texted someone that he would kill the first cop that came through the door. The text was relayed to the sheriff's department but it did not get to Chad in time. He leaves a wife and two small kids behind. We stood outside the University Playhouse before the service and I got to tell you that I have never seen so many law enforcement officers in one place in my life! Another member counted at least 300 before he quit, cops from the Twin Cities, Wisconsin and all over South Dakota. There were deputies with their Stetsons, SD highway patrol in tan slacks and maroon jackets with their smokey bear hats, the Sioux Falls honor guard and Rapid City policemen and women. The highway patrol also guarded the casket with M-14s, I hope that this is the highway patrol's small arm as it would give them some serious firepower. Anyhow a group of us that had driven rather than rode to the funeral went out to the cemetery ahead of time. Eventually all of the LEO's drove out to the road to the cemetery and lined both sides for least 1/2 mile on both sides with their Crown Vics with all of the lights going and standing shoulder to shoulder on both sides for the last 1/2 mile. I think that we had 26 bikes that led the hearse up the road and it made an impressive sight. We then stood on both sides of the group with our flags during the internment ceremony. This is a man that was as much a hero as anyone killed in action in any war. I don't know how long it has been since any LEO has been killed in the line of duty in South Dakota, but I am sure it has been awhile, particularly for sheriff's departments in rural areas. This was a mission that I really had to get to as our South Dakota group isn't nearly as large as Minnesota, besides being from southwestern Minnesota I feel a kinship with South Dakota my second favorite state. I feel a sense of satisfaction, sadness for the family and community, and I guess inspiration, if that is the proper term. Sunday we have another mission in Rochester as a memorial for a soldier that recently died from cancer, so Jan and I plan on hitting that one on the way to the Theobald's house for a sleep over. Monday I have a follow-up with my doctors at Mayo to see how I am coming along, hopefully good. I thought that I would finish up here with a few pictures from our past. The first one is me, Ron Schmoldt and my brother Paul under an overpass at Wasta on our 73 trip, then me in the Big Horns. Then Jan at a ball game in the Cities and her on the plane, before we took off on a trip we took to the Air Force Museum. After this trip she did not get on another airplane for 30 years (it was a rough ride). It is amazing what an incentive grand children are to overcoming your fear of flying, eh St. Jan? Well, stay in touch and be well.

short update

2009-03-20T09:14:00.007-05:00

I know that I promised to blog something yesterday, but time got away from me. I did have a PT session in the afternoon that went pretty well. I primarily wanted to relate somethings about the latest PGR mission that I was on last Wednesday in Madison, South Dakota. I will try to get back to the subject afternoon as St. Jan and I are headed to New Ulm for things this morning. I have also been searching my slide scans for a particular photo that I absolutely cannot find so until I do we shall have to wait. Although, if i can't find it I'll substitute something else. Here are a few from recent events in our households. Actually these photos are all from Leah's 3rd birthday party.

It's still winter here

2009-03-03T09:17:00.006-06:00

Last Saturday we attended a birthday party for our grandson Gus at his home in Rochester. Except for the DeFors all of his cousins, aunts, uncles, minus Joe, grand, and great grandparents were there. This first photo is Gussie and his uncle Bill having fun at his level. The weather - boy I'm on this subject a lot lately- was clear but cold again or still, I think about +12. Not warm but the sun was melting snow on the roof and the roads. I'll throw in a few pictures from the party and you can jump to the Tatertot blog to see more. As usual you have to start at the end of the photos and read back toward the top to get these pictures into sequence. That is another skill that I have not mastered yet, getting pictures and text co-ordinated. Oh well, the party was a big success, everybody had fun and got home safely. Last week I had my VA physical at our local clinic and as usual- I use that word a lot don't I- I learned something new from the PA I have been seeing out there. She was checking my feet out and remarked what a good thing it is to have hair growing on your toes, something that never occurred to me, as it is a sign of good circulation in your legs and feet. She said not to worry about losing hair on your head as it isn't the same thing. I remarked that my hair does seem to be migrating south on my body to my nose and eyebrows etc. Back to the story, she said I have nice feet- I have always been rather fond of them myself and tried to protect them- she said " you would not believe some of the feet I've seen". I have put a lot of miles on those feet and I intend to put a lot more on them before I am done here. Now if the weather would just straighten up I be able to get some more miles on. Other than that I have been putzing with the bikes some, put new brake pads on the RT and have the rear wheel off to get a fresh tire for it, and moving the trickle charger around to keep all of the batteries in good shape. The funny thing about this blogging stuff, I sit down trying to think of something to say and the next thing I know I have a page full, anyhow, be healthy, be solvent and stay in touch.

I have to admit it's getting better-sort of

2009-02-18T11:03:00.007-06:00

I imagine that it is time to bring my few faithful readers up to date on goings on here. Last Friday Jan and I revisited the Doctor (actually she is a PA) for a followup check and at least my lungs are now clear. She surprised me when she told me that she wanted to put me in the hospital on my first visit. I guess that I dodged that bullet. I have been doing this on the VA's dime so it isn't quite as painful. While recovering I have spent a lot of time scanning slides into memory. I am up to about 1973, I think and it has really been a trip down memory lane. I hardly recognise that couple in those early pictures, me with lots of hair and that little blond farm girl from Alpha that took me in.

I see that it was the first picture on a roll, it was taken at a campground in Riverton, Wyoming I'm pretty sure. Anyhow, back to the present time. After seeing the Doctor last Friday Jan and I ran up to Mankato just to bum around on the day before our anniversary, she goes to Target and I head for Barnes and Noble. We did have lunch at Red Lobster mainly because Jan had a gift certificate, ordinarily for us, eating out means the Irish Steak House (Hans' favorite). Saturday we drove to Rochester to see the Theobalds and I went on to the Cities for the motorcycle show. I don't think that I will be going again as several manufacturers didn't show up due to costs I guess. Gen and Jan had a good time shopping and everyone seems to be coping with Lewis's loss as well as could be expected. Steve made us steak, baked potatoes, and corn for supper and it was much, much better than Red Lobster, I kid you not. Oh ya, about a month ago when we were down there I lost my everyday watch somewhere and figured it is either gone forever or lying next to the driveway somewhere. The thing was I had just bought a couple of batteries for it so I wouldn't have to look the next time it went dead. I bought it in San Jose in 1980 when I was there for training and my old watch crapped out. Anyway, we pulled up and I got out of the car and there it lay on top of the snow bank next to the driveway, still running with the correct time and date! This was after rain, snow, and some nasty weather.

Monday Jan and I baby sat Leah and Aaron in the afternoon while Eli and Lindsey went looking for cabinet options for their new home when it gets built. Yesterday Phil and I cruised up to Cambridge and Rush City for our semi-annual pilgrimage to the bike shop and Dennis Kirk for some parts and a new pair of riding boots that I have been wearing around the house to break them in. I may get my Aerostich and helmet out of the garage later and watch "On Any Sunday".

Other than that not too much new around here, as usual the weather is turning cold and windy today. Last night I drove home from Phil's in a snow and rain storm, it's a good thing it was above freezing so it was just wet. At least it flushed the mud off the GT. I'm going to tack a few pictures on here too from our past. Take care and stay in touch. The pictures at the top of the page are from supper that Jan and I ( in a supporting role) hosted Sunday evening. The towels were Kathy's anniversary gift to us. I couldn't think of a better way of verifying that we got them.

Dog my Cats, what next!?

2009-02-08T11:28:00.004-06:00

After my last blog where I was complaining about how I came down with a cold at a most inopportune time, I got some more bad news. Last Wednesday I think, in the evening I was so cold I was wearing a stocking cap in the house, was the time that Jan figured that maybe I should see a doctor. She got me in the next day and sure as hell it's pneumonia now!! So I'm back on anti-biotic and cough syrup and Tylenol and lots of fluids. I think that I am getting the short course in what it really feels like to be 90 years old. Those of you that can remember him, John Denver had it all wrong about " it turns me on to think of growing old" or some such nonsense. Then he had the audacity to kill himself in a plane crash before he could test that theory out. I was feeling pretty good about my progress from last Falls' brush with death, doing some exercising at home trying to get in shape for riding, if the weather ever turns nicer, and getting some walking in trying to build some stamina on the icy streets in town. Now that we have had some warmer weather and the streets are bare, guess what, I'm reduced to looking out the window at the puddles and dry paving. It is getting to the point where I am almost afraid to leave the security of my house for fear I'll pick something else up. Mentally I am also starting to scale back some of the projected long distance rides I have been dreaming about because unless I can get back into shape and stay healthy 5 and 600 mile days are going to be a thing of the past. My best day was years ago when I ran from Lewistown, Mt. to home in one pass, a total of 905 miles. I got home late at night and when I did the math I wanted to get back on and do the other 95 miles knowing that I would never be that close again, but Jan talked me out of it, probably a good thing come to think of it. I don't think that I will be going off-roading with Eli this Spring down at Zumbro Bottoms, it almost killed me last Fall and I was relatively healthy at the time. Well, I have spent some time getting some of this off my chest now if only I could get this other thing out of my chest I'd be a much happier man. I think that I will dredge up some pictures to brighten things up. Take care and stay in touch and healthy. The pictures that I picked are from our annual picnic in Owatonna, just so that we can remember what green grass looked like. We have gone to the same park and the same location for several years now and have never had bad weather or crowds.

adding insult to injury

2009-02-02T09:20:00.010-06:00

In regards to the title, not only has it been one of the 4 coldest January's since they started keeping records but I developed a cold over the weekend. I don't think that I have had one since last year sometime. What made it all the more pleasant was this was the big weekend at the lodge in Whalan, Minnesota. The idea was that all of the local children and grandchildren were to spend a couple nights at this lodge on the Root river down in the bluff country. Well, the job Eli had been on for at least a month that gave him weekends off, fizzled when someone bumped him off that job and onto a road job. He spent the weekend in Sioux City in the motel and Lindsey and the kids were home. Anyhow, I had a cold, Gen was developing a cold and Steve had a black eye after being elbowed at basketball the night before. Jan, Sam, and Gus luckily were healthy. I have to admit that the facilities were top notch and the scenery was great too. It surprised me that there were not more snowmobilers running around because there was a lot more snow there than here. I may be trying to make a funeral tomorrow in Glencoe for the wife of a co-worker of mine. She has been having health problems for quite some time and finally just failed I guess. I know how impatient I have been on my recovery but at least I'm recovering. I can't imagine how hard a lingering illness must be on everyone involved. Gerry Stepien had worked at the head office in Chaska for years before she retired some time ago. I will add some pictures here to give my readers an idea of the lodge area from this weekend. As usual St. Jan is taking good care of me still, rubbing Vicks on my chest, etc., but we don't have a chunk of scratchy wool to put over the Vicks. Anyhow, I think that I will live for a few more days ( I hope) , Jan is already making reservations at the KOA in Rapid City for the end of May, so if this snow ever melts I will need to get the toyhauler into shape for travel. Stay warm and stay in touch.

winter continued ad nauseum

2009-01-26T09:28:00.007-06:00

I just read a blurb that wondered if SAD is a real disorder. This person must be living in the tropics somewhere, you bet it's real. I have had advice that I should try snowmobiling to get out in the winter, but I'm just not interested, besides where would I store it? My garage is overflowing now with toys. So I spend a lot of time this time of the year pouring over my assortment of maps and flying over routes on "Google Earth" to get a feel for what is out there. The thought did cross my mind of loading up the GS and heading down to west Texas to get some riding in, but that would be hard on the budget for the upcoming summer. PGR missions are slowing down somewhat with the slowdown of combat around the world but there is a statewide series of rides to Minnesota soldier's grave sites. So far I have been thinking about running down to Atlanta early in the year-to beat the heat-to a buddy's home and maybe my dream tour to the west coast again, with a long loop through the Pacific northwest on the way home. Oh well, it keeps me hopeful during the coldest part of the year. On to a different subject, the inauguration of our first black president. I have to admit that I voted for the other guy but that I am kind of hopeful for Obama's success. Things in this country really have changed since I became aware of the race problem in 1962 when I was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi for training. Coming from a small town in Minnesota I had never met a black person. We used to go to Gulfport to a service club run by the local Missouri Synod Lutheran church, which I attended on a fairly regular basis. One evening a couple of us went to the local Sears store just to look around and there were two drinking fountains, one white one colored. I asked the lady that ran the club what the deal was and she said " don't drink from the colored one it is for Negros" or some thing to that effect. That was the South in the 60s. The county that we were in was dry but there was a bar on every corner, they all paid the sheriff to look the other way. All I could think was " you are not in Minnesota anymore". My sister Kathy and I were in Washington for the 25Th anniversary of the Vietnam Wall, she read names and I tagged along. We were at the ceremony at The Wall on Sunday I believe and heard Collin Powell speak among others. He gave a terrific speech and when he left just about all of the vets in the crowd were urging him to run for president. I have to tell you I would have voted for him in a heartbeat. On to a more pleasant subject. Jan and I had Eli, Lindsey, Leah, and Aaron over for supper the other night so we got some pictures. Saturday night we watched the two little ones so Eli and Lindsey could get a night out for a change and wouldn't you just know it we left the camera over there so I can't include any from Saturday, but I have some from our dinner party downloaded so I will throw a few in. Watching those two in not that big a deal Leah is such a snuggler and Aaron has cut one tooth so he is a little cranky for him, which is not very cranky. Well, that's about it for now, I just heard the mail box clunk so I had better see if anything important has landed there. From the Great White North- to borrow a Canadian term- take care, leave a comment, stay warm, and tell those around you that you love them.

winter deepens

2009-01-16T15:24:00.003-06:00

I think that being cooped up by this weather is hard on a person's frame of mind. We have been having near record cold, yesterday morning it was a -23 and that is Fahrenheit not Celsius. Today it is almost 10 above and now they are talking about freezing rain ! I am just starting to get rid of the ice from our last go round with freezing rain. I wonder how people deal with the cold in the arctic and the lack of sunshine, but then I would imagine that citizens of Venezuela wonder how we get along with the cold that we have. Lately also we have been getting snow about every other day so it is starting to really pile up. I have been out scooping or blowing snow off the walk and driveway every day this week. I'm such a whiner. Last weekend Jan and I spent the weekend with the Theobalds in Rochester, mainly so that Jan and Gen could go shopping together childless. Just about all of them were nursing colds in various stages and luckily Jan and I escaped picking that one up. Oh the joys of small children, you get to catch everything that is going around at day care and later at school. Anyhow, I made the rounds of the bike shops just browsing, although I did pick up an off road helmet for dirt biking if this weather ever breaks. Jan had to take a picture of me watching tv with it on. It is a good thing to get them broken in before the season rolls around. I remember when I first got my Aerostich riding suit I watched tv in that one too. So I will include a picture of the newest addition to my collections. I thought that it would be a good idea to get away from an open face helmet with my rebuilt jaw hanging out in the breeze. This one will give me some protection the next time I kiss a tree in the woods or rocks in the mountains. In regards to my surgery recovery, the leg in finally healed up to where I don't bother putting any kind of dressing on it, although I wonder how it would be with french, maybe not. Now if it would just quit itching and my jaw would quit hurting when I take the first few bites, things would be even greater. I walked up town today and over to Mom's but she was still uptown. She hadn't been out since Sunday so I am sure cabin fever was setting in over there too. Well, take care and stay in touch.

piano man

2009-01-06T15:29:00.005-06:00

Today we had the piano tuned up, hoping that it would fix a kind of rattling sound when the keys are released. Although he did find an old plastic paper clip in behind the keyboard the problem is still there. He says that the keys can be removed as a unit but he was unwilling to do it for fear of causing more trouble. On Sunday we had Eli, Lindsey, Leah, and Aaron over to watch the Vikings lose to the Eagles. Leah had on the Viking cheerleader outfit that Jan gave her for Christmas, so I will show a couple pictures of her.

Of course I had to show one of her little brother too just to even things out. You may or may not be aware that we had freezing rain on Saturday and as of today it really hasn't melted much even though it has been in the high twenties and clear the last two days. I waited until around 2pm to let some of the ice disappear and went for a good walk. I suppose for a couple miles anyhow. We do have a treadmill but I don't like it much, my legs feel like lead after I get off the thing, so I much prefer walking outdoors if at all possible. I see the thermometer at the bank said 29, so it is pretty nice, clear and quiet to boot. It feels very good to get out and walk for a half hour or more without the limp that has all but disappeared. The recovery marches on. I just finished " Eisenhower, a soldiers life", and it was a good long read, with incredible details of his life. This one ended at the end of the Second World War, so actually there was a lot of life after that. I just wish that I could remember 10% of the facts brought out. Saint Jan and I plan on heading to Rochester over the weekend to watch the boys while the girls go shopping somewhere. Bill Peck, another EAFB comrade also called over the weekend so I heard from him too. I plan on trying to get to see him sometime this Spring as we have not seen each other since 1966 when I was discharged. It should be interesting. We also have an appointment at Mayo the end of March to see about putting some teeth back into my new jaw. We shall have to see how involved that is, like will it interfere with next Summer's riding etc.. I am getting along pretty well with the teeth that are left so it can wait if need be. Well, time will tell won't it?

almost a new year

2008-12-31T10:00:00.008-06:00

I hate to admit it but if this recount continues in Minnesota we may not know who our other senator is until summer. Right now that famous comedian is ahead by 50 votes or so. I can see why they are fighting over ballots, originally Coleman was ahead by 250 and now he is behind. I wonder why ballots can't be checked at the polling place and corrected before the voter walks away. I suppose that this would negate the secret ballot process, but wouldn't it be easier than this! It is later now, I was interrupted by trouble with my retirement check that I won't get into the subject here. Also dealing with the Veteran's administration, which I might say goes much, much smoother than dealing with the company that I worked for for 40 damn years. We had a late Christmas at our house last weekend with all the family except for the DeFors who just happen to be spending the season in Rome. For updates on that trip and I do mean trip see Rachel's blog, minnesotaisheaven.blogspot.com. I have links at the top of my blog to all of my kiddos. We had a good time and everyone stayed healthy, PTL. Other than the weather which is, as usual not that nice cold and windy. I think that December has been the snowiest on record and the temp has been below normal almost everyday also. Just more proof of global warming. I had a phone call from John Wilson tonight, it was really good to hear his voice again. We hadn't spoken for quite some time. We are old, and I use that term lightly, Air Force comrades from Ellsworth AFB. He was in the Bomb-Nav shop and I was Electronic Warfare and we spent a lot of time hunting in the Hills or out on the prairies. On another subject. It's New Years Eve and I'm at the keyboard and Jan is watching TV, pretty exciting huh? I never was one to go out on this night, too many drunks trying to have a good time. Just the two of us hanging out together. I hope that you younger couples out there live long enough to get to this stage of life where you can communicate without talking to each other, very warm and fuzzy. Anyhow I'll throw on some Christmas pictures to give you an idea of the festivities at our house.

another hurdle crossed

2008-12-23T21:23:00.007-06:00

I used to run 110 yard high hurdles in high school and I think that I can use that event as a kind of analogy of life's' journey if you don't mind. Think of life's' major events such as births of children, marriage to your partner, deaths of loved ones and friends, etc, etc. Well I just passed over a pretty good sized one today let me tell you. I had my three month visit with the surgeons that worked on me three months ago and had a good check up, in fact they really don't think I would need anymore physical therapy if I don't want it. My leg is healing nicely and my mouth must look good too. Anyhow, to back up here Jan and I drove down to Rochester Monday afternoon to board with the Theobalds for the night. It was good to see them again after the fiasco on the week before Thanksgiving. Gen and Steve had things going on after work so Jan and I got to watch Sam and Gus for awhile while they were gone. We had a fairly late appointment today but were afraid of the weather, which this winter is turning into a real threat. I think that we have been getting off lightly so far but we still have at least 2 feet on the lawn and the banks are getting higher along the streets here in town. We have gotten into a rut lately of snow of some amount every other day and high winds from one direction or another. Today coming home from Rochester we saw two cars in the ditch before we got to Kasson. It has also been cold with a capital C, with many days not getting above zero. With everything white around here including our vehicles I think that I will dig up some more summer photos, so we can dream of warmer times. Take care and stay in touch.

another garage

2008-12-11T09:05:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I ventured off to Jay Leno's garage. Believe me it is a whole lot more interesting than mine by far!! If you are interested in performance vehicles of any kind take a look. For instance, he has a 427 Cobra replica that he says the 427 side-oiler was giving him trouble so he slips a 427 SOHC in. After going over the car it's " lets take it out for a drive", did I mention that these are videos? Anyhow it's cars, bikes, airplanes, you name it he's got one or is going for rides in. Anyhow I marked that site in my favorites list for return visits. This time of year has me dreaming about all the riding that I want to do next year, and you thought that I would be dreaming of Christmas, speaking of which, I also need to start on my Christmas letter too. I head out to the garage, turn on the heat, fire up the amp and the cd player or the tv and putz around with the bikes. I am entertaining the idea of thinning out the herd some to generate some traveling funds, but it's just a thought for now. After following the book by Neil Peart I got a cd by "Rush" and have it in the player in the garage, I like it a lot. Sitting at breakfast this morning I had this whole train of thought about how I was going to do this blog but by the time I got sat down and the computer fired up it was gone, rats. To quote a close relative,"whatever". PT has been going well I guess. I am hard pressed to see any progress, but trying to stretch the jaw further open is the major project now. At least progress there is measurable. Also the work area on my calf is getting better with only one point left that needs covering, so I guess that that is moving forward. Friday Jan and I will head up to hear Donna's concert at Woodale church in the Cities, it's quite a production and spend the night at Phil and Laura's. There have been a few PGR missions this last week but I just don't feel like freezing my feet off lately even though the cost of driving to these mission locations has come down considerably. If I can find some pictures of summer biking on the hard drive I will throw them on too. Take care and leave a comment?

December 3rd

2008-12-03T14:23:00.004-06:00

Several things have crossed my mind lately. Last night I was thinking about how many roads there are that I haven't traveled yet and I thought about my aunt Arlyne who was wearing a shirt when I saw her awhile back that said " so many books so little time" on the front. That would go for me too I guess, reading and riding have been a big part of my life since I learned how to read and ride. Ask Saint Jan how many atlases I have by the bed sometime, along with topo maps of most of the surrounding states. I see by the news that Al Franken will probably lose the election regardless of how many times the ballots are counted and re-counted. I will throw a picture in here that we took last Fall when Hans was home to see his Grandma. This was also the day that I got my cancer diagnosis, boy, does that feel like a long time ago. For lunch today Mom, a neighbor of hers and I drove down to Ormsby for the annual customer appreciation lunch. I wonder how many banks still do this anymore? It is a small part of mid-western Americana, with ham sandwiches, potato salad, bars, cookies and all the coffee you can stand. We sat across from a former neighbor of ours from Galena township, Ervin Wassman, who is a WWll vet. I asked him what his service had been and he talked for quite a while about his service in the south Pacific with an artillery unit. He feels incredibly lucky to have missed several initial invasions of islands in that campaign. They ended up in the Philippines training when Okinawa started off so slow and then figured on being sent into Japan as a decoy unit to the primary invasion force. This turned into an occupation after the a-bombs were used. I don't know how many readers out there are American Legion members but the latest Legionnaire paper has a terrific poem along the lines of"Twas the night before Christmas" but it is about the men and women guarding this country in places around the world. If you should get a chance try to read it. As far as my recovery goes things seem to be progressing if I think back to what I was doing a few weeks ago. I am chewing carefully and walking more all of the time with virtually no limp. I figure I should be ready to ride by spring.

Winter Returns

2008-12-01T11:30:00.007-06:00

Joe and Annie on the stairs and with his LeapFrog . Below is Rachel with her new shirt and Aaron sitting on his great-gramma's lap.

Just a short one here. The ground is white from a weekend dusting and the wind is out of the northwest and its about 20 degrees. Rachel, Joe and Annie are already back in Germany with Hans. We followed the flight back for them and they were an hour late out of the Cities because of de-icing the plane. I think that I was up after mid-night and they were over Ireland at the time and a little over an hour from Stuttgart. I just talked with her and they are headed over to Garmich tomorrow, whew, off the plane and into the car. Saturday I ran down to Sioux Falls for a PGR mission for a veteran and an ex cop. the internment was attended by both the military and the Sioux Falls police force and us. Luckily again, it wasn't too cold and I was dressed warmly except for my feet. I will attach some photos from the past week to keep you informed.

midnight musings

2008-11-27T18:50:00.006-06:00

It has been a busy week here at our humble abode what with the get together on Saturday when almost every attendant came down with the double barrel flu-if you know what I mean. Rachel, Josiah and Annika are here from Stuttgart until Saturday when they start the trek back to Germany via the Cities etc. Everyone keep you fingers crossed that they are all feeling at the tops of their game when the plane is boarded. Today we had Thanksgiving or should I say that Jan had Thanksgiving here. My Mom is still not feeling well and now Eli is upchucking as well so rather than 11 people we were short a couple of guests. Now we have the curse of lots of leftovers to eat through, but no pumpkin pie, we killed that off the other day. My recovery seems to be moving along finally. All of the sudden the trach site healed up and everyone keeps saying that the swelling is getting less in my jaw area although I would be hard pressed to see the difference from day to day. The bone harvest area on my calf seems to be getting some better but is progressing veeerrryy sslloowwllyy. I have had a couple of stitches come to the surface lately so I guess that is a good sign.

Yesterday I had an early get up to drive to Spicer Minnesota for a Patriot Guard mission. It was for a Viet-Nam vet and close friend of one our group. The day was quite nice with low winds and sunshine.. They had a large turn-out for the funeral at a church in Spicer and the internment was at a cemetery on a lake in New London, I think. Afterwards we had a get together at the Legion in Spicer for a little ceremony for one of the guys honoring his Purple Heart. Rumor has it that he may have a Silver Star in his future for actions in an ambush in Viet-Nam 40 years ago. It is fun to hear these guys who actually spent time with people that were actively trying to kill them in any manner possible laugh about some of the goofy things that happen in war. Although at the time they weren't so funny. People that lived through that share an extremely special bond, that I envy some times. Back in about 1968 I thought about enlisting in the Army but with my electronic training in the Air Force I would probably ended up in a technical job but maybe I would have been there instead of just flying over it. I have had a few troops tell me that the B-52s saved their bacon in Viet-Nam on occasion so that is gratifying.

Back to the title of this blog, while lying awake at midnight I have more thoughts about things, things that are important to me, like my wife and family among other things. I should keep a note pad handy or get out my recorder to record my thoughts. This being Thanksgiving a list of what I am thankful for would include my wife Jan, daughters Rachel and Genevieve, son Eli. My sons in law Hans and Steve and daughter in law Lindsey. Then comes grandchildren Josiah and Annika, Samuel and August, Leah and Aaron. I am thankful for the country that we live in, men and women that are willing to sacrifice all in defense of this country. I could go on and on but you know what I mean and who I mean. I will throw in a couple pictures also to give you the reader an idea of the festivities here. Sleep tight, I know I won't, tomorrow is Black Friday.

As`a post script here while looking at pictures to upload I remembered that Saturday night we had Aaron's baptism at Long Lake Church. It is a small church in the country near Ormsby and this all happened before the scourge hit us, so it went very well. Now I'm done for now.

Visitors from Germany

2008-11-18T10:54:00.007-06:00

Jan has been after me to do another post, so I will do one today. I guess that a lot of things have been going on here lately so I need to bring the one reader up to date although she does live in the same house as me. About a week ago Eli gave me a ride up to Lake Crystal on his way to work in Mankato. It had rained all morning but broke around noon so I grabbed my gear and got the GS out of the shop in the afternoon. I had a nice ride home on a round about route through Hanska and Godahl. So I have all the bikes back under the same roof.

Sunday afternoon Rachel, Joe and Annie dropped in for a stay after spending a few days with Gen, Steve and the boys ( see tatertot hotdish). Later on Sunday evening Eli, Lindsey and kiddos came over to see Rachel and family. As you may imagine with three youngsters things got a little crazy for awhile, luckily Aaron isn't mobile yet or it could have been nuttier. Jan was holding races down the steps with the three eldest. They were sliding on their tummy's on the carpet. I was figuring on carpet burns but everyone survived, maybe laughter insulates you?

Yesterday I went on the first Patriot Guard mission that I have been on in a couple of months at least. It was for a local man that had served his country in the 50s. We met in Butterfield for the briefing and social time prior to the funeral. I am not sure what the temperature was but I was glad that I was all leathered up cause it got pretty nippy before the funeral got started, at least we got to hang out in the basement during the actual service and get a cup of coffee in. Then out to the cemetery for the internment, what with the wind etc. people did not hang around for long. The honor guard policed up the brass and headed back to their van asap and the family was gone 15 minutes later. It sure felt good to see the guys again after missing most of the Fall missions.

I have been going to PT a couple times a week lately and the PT guy says I am doing just great. I am always a little suspicious of his encouragement, being a natural pessimist at heart, although the site of the tracheotomy is finally shrinking to a small point and not drooling down my chest. Now if the swelling in my neck would just go down and the right calf would heal up I would feel better. I admit that I seem to walk without much of a limp anymore and I have more energy than before but now the problem is trying to sleep nights, man if it isn't one thing it's another. Anyhow I will throw some pictures in but I am not sure what order they will show up as.

On the Road Again

2008-11-05T12:29:00.003-06:00

The top two are from a couple of reunions that I participated in over the weekend. Upper left is at Mom's house with the five of us. Next is at my cousin Kay's home in Fairmont with the majority of my first cousins on the deck. It was tough to get all of us in one shot unless you have a wide angle lens. To the left now is me after a short run on the GS (Fritz) on Sunday I think. With the weather as nice as it has been it was pretty difficult to sit and look out the window and listen to the bikes running up and down the streets. I had to borrow a line from Willie Nelson for the title today that about sums up how I feel. My recovery, even though the therapist says it is going great, is not moving fast enough for me let me tell you. It doesn't help, I guess that I am reading a book by Neil Peart about his ride around North America after his families death. The things he writes about out on the road are the things that keep most riders ready to turn right around and go again, the smell of fresh hay, onions or garlic around Gilmore, even a slight wiff of cow manure isn't so bad. Anyhow where was I? Oh ya, the reunion was a lot of fun again. It seems as if this bunch always enjoys the company and the potluck dinner would attract strangers off the street if we would let them in. It is fun catching up with what has been going on in other people's lives even though they are much more complicated than they were 50 years ago. We have been a pretty lucky bunch come to think of it, as we have only lost one of the original cousins, correct me if I am wrong. We, the immediate family got together on Sunday for lunch out in honor of Mom's 88th birthday. I'll admit it was over a month late but Kathy was here now to sit in. Yesterday (Tuesday ) I ran the GS up to the dealer in Lake Crystal to have a couple of recalls worked on and except for the high winds the riding was great. I just hope that when they get done it isn't snowing, which it could do real easy in this part of the world. I appreciate the replys to my last blog, the witty repartee is more fun than the blog itself. Take care and please stay in touch.

Thanks for the Replies

2008-10-30T09:47:00.002-05:00

If you wish to refer back to yesterday,s photos, I will give a little explanation. Evidently MamaD4 spent too much time rolling her eyes when she was younger as I scrolled through my slides. The top two and a lower one are taken from the I.P. position in a B-52D of another B-52 refueling from a KC-135 over the South China Sea on our way into South Viet-Nam, I think in May of 1966. I did a couple of ride alongs on combat missions over the South. I made one flight to the Danang area and one west of Saigon around Tay Nihn. I think that I was included in these missions in case the EWO had trouble with our equipment (electronic warfare equipment). As it turns out there isn't too much I could do anyway because 90% of our black boxes were outside the pressurized compartments of the aircraft anyhow. I got to admit that training missions in the States were much more fun, with lots of low level (200ft) through Wyoming and North Dakota badlands etc.. I even got to ride in the right seat and run the throttles at altitude once and view the Cascade volcanoes at sunset as we headed west, great fun all in all. I hope that this clarifies some things.

what a drag it is to look in the mirror

2008-10-29T11:26:00.006-05:00

Yesterday Jan and I went for my weekly PT and encouragement session here at the local hospital. He says that I'm doing well and so does Jan and the site on my right calf that looks like a hunk of raw meat is coming along nicely too. I'd show you all a picture but I'm afraid it would gag some people that have sensitive stomachs, like Eli perhaps. Anyhow, we, wife, sister,brothers, sister in laws, grandchildren, Mom and Mom in law all drove to Rochester last Saturday for Sam's birthday party. It was a pretty good time to say the least. I don't recall, but did I blog about this already? Judging by the replies that I am getting on this blog my wife-Saint Jan is the only person reading this account of my life and I can talk to her at home, although she will say there is damn little of that either. I think that I am getting more cranky all of the time, with the glacial rate of recovery that I am experiencing. Day after day I keep hoping for some sign of improvement but it just seems to be the same morning after morning. Man, I just started re reading " Ghost Rider" by Neal Peart. He is the drummer and lyricist for the band "Rush". He lost his wife and daughter in less than a years time and took off on his BMW and rode all over North America trying to cope with his loss. The book is from his journal while he traveled around. It is interesting reading but it can be depressing in places. I also started scanning in some of my slides from my Air Force days and that has not been going well. Scanning 4 at a time, sometimes gets all 4 and the next batch comes out as one picture or only half of the slides are scanned in. At one time I was going to scan in all of my slides-6000+-but at this rate I don't think that the project is feasible. I need to figure out what is going on with that scanner and I suppose that it means a call to tech support in some third world country. I'll throw in a couple of slides here to show what I have started out to accomplish.

Back on the PC

2008-10-21T10:44:00.006-05:00

Me and the grand kids, well anyway 1/3 of them. Leah and Aaron stopped over on Sunday for a visit before they went for a walk with Eli and Lindsey. Jan had been busy with outdoor stuff, planting the mum that I got in the hospital and surprisingly enough a straggler that has survived several winters next to the kitchen foundation. We moved it out to where it should have a better chance of getting some moisture. We also unwrapped the trailer and winterized it with lots of anti-freeze. Yesterday-Monday- was my first day at PT and it was pretty much exploring what exercises I need to do to keep the ankle loose and stretching my jaw out. We also had a misunderstanding corrected. I had thought that the doctors had removed a section of the fibia to repair the jaw but the therapist showed me that the bone is still in one piece. Evidently just sections were transplanted. Now I need to make out a chart of some kind to keep track of my exercise routines similar to the one that I made up to keep me up to date on meds.This weekend we will be running back to Rochester but this time it will be for Sam's birthday party. My sister Kathy is flying in from California today and Jan and I will be picking her up in Mankato later this afternoon. Well, that's about it for now, I'll post more in the future. Bye

one of these days

2008-10-18T11:40:00.002-05:00

Just a short post here. I will bring you up to date on the goings on here, or lack there-of. I have pretty much been devoting my time to getting better, although from point of view it is going way too slow. I must listen to the professionals who tell me that I am ahead of the curve, but maybe they just say that to keep my spirits up. This week I have been eating my meals with a spoon out of the blender. Every time I run up a can of soup etc. I look at the blender and think of Linda Ronstad- think about it- it's a Waring blender. Anyhow, Pastor Johnson stopped by Friday for a short visit and Mom and I went cruising in the afternoon. We went the usual route to Mt. Lake, down to Bergen and cross country through the windmill farm back to Ormsby and St. James. She brought me over some home made soup of hers which went through the blender and down the hatch for supper. As usual it has the commercial brands beat hands down. I have also been limping around the house without the walker more lately too and it seems to be going well but awkwardly. Today Jan and I are going to run up to New Ulm again for some shopping. Other than that it has been a quiet week here in St. James. Oh ya, I start PT on Monday so we will see how I am doing a week from now. Just think 3 weeks ago I was just out of surgery and wondering if I would live to see Sunday. The curve has definitely been steeply up since then. I don't what I would have done without Saint Jan at my side the last weeks, literally.

Things just keep getting better

2008-10-14T12:58:00.005-05:00

This blog will be an upbeat one for sure. Jan and I drove over to Rochester for my follow up visits with my Doctors. I wonder some times if they aren't a little magicians for some of the things that they do. Doctor Moore's assistant Eli met with me yesterday after the swallow tests etc. I get the impression that they are like kids unwrapping a present when the see me or take off wound dressings. I think that they have a little wonderment themselves at what they have been able to accomplish. Anyhow, first off was the swallow test where they had me stand in front of a type of x-ray machine and watched me swallow liquids of varying consistency to see how the plumbing was working. Praise the Lord everything went down like I hadn't stopped eating by mouth 2 and a half weeks earlier. Next up was Dr. Eli and his staff. He pulled out all of the staples and stitches and last but not least the feeding tube. I must be tougher than I think I am because he warned me about pulling the tube was going to be really unpleasant. I found it kind of unique, feeling it come up from the bottom of the stomach and out through the nose. God, what a good feeling to get that chunk of fuel line out of my nose. Oh ya, first he had to snip the stitch out of my nose that held the tube in place, even that was not too bad. We went from there to the visitor cafeteria where I had some mashed potatoes,yogurt and a chocolate milk. It went well and after that we met Gen at the Hilton building for a bit before we headed back to St. James. The last couple of photos are of Gen and me, then there is one of me actually eating scrambled eggs and cheese. Later in the evening Eli,Lindsey, Leah and Aaron dropped by and there is a photo of the kiddos here on the kitchen floor. Today I had for dinner a can of soup that Jan ran up in the blender and it was terrific,about the first thing that I have been able to just slurp up and swallow. I have been praying for blessings for all the people that have praying for me, so I hope that all the help that I have been receiving will reflect back on an awfully lot of people. I think that it is time for a nap after dinner as I still don't have near the stamina I had before. Take care and leave a comment, please?

Saturday Cruise

2008-10-11T20:52:00.007-05:00

In my latest post I have thrown in some more recent pictures. The upper left is my left thigh where they pealed off the skin graft to cover the hole in my right calf where they harvested the fibula to fix the jaw bone that was removed to get rid of the cancer. According to all reports, the mission has been accomplished,praise The Lord. Next photo is me out on the deck getting some fresh air, as you can see the orange mums have opened to a yellow center. Then another of the flowers.This afternoon nurse Jan chased me out of the house and told me to get busy raking leaves. I think that the leaves were falling faster than I could rake them up.

Luckily in the nick of time my Mom drove up and rescued me from an afternoon of toil. She was on her way to Odin to a birthday party with our Neighbor Leona Shellum. Jan and I cruised up to New Ulm again mainly to get a prescription filled but since we were going by Target and Herbergers she just had to stop and check out the bargains and she got some. I am having a hard time getting used to the idea that I don't seem to have much stamina since surgery but everyone says that being on table for 10 hours takes a lot out a person. Every day seems to get better though, especially when I think back to how I felt 2 weeks ago. Keep up the prayers, it really does help to know that so many are pulling for me. Thanks for all of the prayers so far.

Oops

2008-10-09T12:03:00.001-05:00

After going through the trouble of pointing out my source for movies I forgot to include her name. It's Melissa.

The Recovery

2008-10-09T11:38:00.006-05:00

The left photo is me at the kitchen table futzing with the laptop, ditto the next one. The lower left is me in my shop saying hi to the gang, well most of it. The last is the picture of the flowers that I received at the hospital. The mums did not get into the first round of pictures. They are out on the deck now and have opened up to a yellow center. The bunch from Kathy ended up at Gens' because we were out of room in the Focus. Jan and I did take another trip up to New Ulm the day before yesterday for some stuff at Walgreens and then continued on the river road up past Harkins' store. Not a whole lot going on around here, we are really getting into a routine with feedings, meds, bath time and spending some time on the computer. One of Jan's' co-workers made up a list of their movies and I am picking out the good ones, so that helps pass the time. Yesterday we found out that my brother in law Steve Johnson had been rushed to the hospital in St. Cloud with heart trouble . They cleared up some blockages but they are looking at more surgery down the road. Will have to add them to the prayer list too. I ran into an older gentleman at Fort Snelling earlier this year that told me "the first 50 years are for building after that it's all repair work". It is starting to sound more apropos all the time. Stay in touch and don't be afraid to leave a comment, unless it isn't nice of course.

More Progress reports

2008-10-06T08:52:00.007-05:00

To the top left is me sitting in the car before a ride to New Ulm to visit Target. It sure felt good to get out of the house for a little bit, but I am having some difficulty getting used to the idea that it takes so much out of me to do such previously small things. Yesterday afternoon while I was taking my post lunch nap something woke me up. Jan's and co-worker Mick and her two daughters Sophie and Claire were raking leaves off of the deck and lawn. I guess that you never know who will show up to help, so I just had to get their pictures into this blog, Sophie is the older of the two girls and Claire of course is the younger and Mick is Mom. My brother and sister in law, Phil and Laura also drove down from Delano to see me and Eli, Lindsey, Leah and Aaron were here about the same time so I had plenty company for awhile. I look plenty scary to me but Leah jumped right up in my lap when she was over. Maybe it is because I have never been down like this before, I've not been aware of the power of human contact on your outlook, I promise to change in the future if at all possible. Anyhow Saint Jan keeps me fed and medicated even at my 0200 round. I imagine that it is a little like feeding a baby although I don't cry as much. I am sitting here in front of our kitchen windows watching the squirrels peel and eat walnuts and the changing leaves fall off the trees. Well, stay in touch and I'll try to do the same.

Filling in the Blanks

2008-10-04T12:36:00.009-05:00

I downloaded some pictures that Jan took of me while in Mayo this week. I hadn't seen them before and that is probably just as well. I will go from the day before I checked in to home again. I don't know about people that don't know my brothers, but I think I looked a little like my brother Paul. We also received flowers at the hospital. The big mum came from our incredible children, Rachel, Genevieve and Eli. My sister Kathy sent the basket of flowers that lent a spot of color to the room. I even had a few visitors, Gens' mom in law and Steve DeFor, Rachels' father in law.Later that evening- I'm not so sure what day it was-a co-worker of mine from Plainview stopped by. It took me a second to figure out who it was- LaVerne Irish- I was a little surprised to say the least. It seems that the company that I retired from has been pushing out e-mails on my condition, anyhow we talked for awhile and I got around to asking him what he was doing there. It seems that his wife- a Janice too- had been diagnosed with stage4 cancer in the abdomen just the day before. I wish that I could have been able to give him some encouragement but I am on the way up from my bed and his path looks mostly down hill from here. Although miracles do happen, as bad as this has been prayer has allowed us to catch, fix and recover from what could have been a devastating condition. The weather has been terrific since we got home and it has been a little tough hearing the bikes running up and down the streets, but it is late in the season and I usually wind down this time of year. I did get a couple of god rides in this year, one with Eli and I to the Black Hills for a few days and the recent " Farewell Tour" ( I'm so melodramatic). Eli was over this morning to help out some with leaves which are already piling up on the deck and get a pair of his old crutches down from the garage. OK, I'll add the pictures now, maybe I should add a warning about disgusting pictures but hey, here they are.

The Other Side of Mayo

2008-10-03T13:46:00.002-05:00

I will probably not make this a long post as I am forced to use our laptop instead of the pc. Not being a touch typer it just seems tougher on this thing, although I can sit in the recliner while I am pecking away at the keys and backspace buttons. Jan- The Saint- and I got home from Rochester yesterday around 5pm after a mostly unexciting trip, I have got to get her to drive more in traffic. She did drive back and forth from Gen and Steve's a few times, all it takes is experience. It seems kind of redundant to recap the festivities as there seems to be information out on the net, but here goes. We walked into Methodist early last Friday like a lamb to slaughter. I think that I knew I was in for it when they rolled me into the operating room there were at least 8 to 10 people waiting for me. The next thing that I knew I was in recovery 10 hours later. I gotta tell you readers out there, the next 24 hours were the worst time I have ever spent in my life, although I have told you what a charmed life I have gotten by with so far. Saturday I thought I could easily die here in this bed. When I was still alive and kicking Sunday morning I finally realized how tough it is going to be when I really do step off this moving sidewalk of life. With a 7 day stay in the hospital that wasn't even ICU gave me a new appreciation of what some other acquaintances have gone through. Like my daughter Rachel's brother in law who was severely injured in the same accident that she broke her arm, and the GIs that we in the PGR have welcomed home from the sand box and Afghanistan with incapacitating lifelong injuries. These young people have a long row to hoe at least I am 64 and retired with a fantastic family for support. I have been able to write this note while putting lunch in my tummy, because I am taking everything in through a tube up the nose and into the stomach. I did finally get some mouthwash last night and it the first thing I have been able to taste in a week. The bone to repair the jaw was-harvested-from the small bone in the lowere lag along with associated tissue veins and arteries, this necessitated a skin graft from the thigh on the other leg. The whole shooting match was then used to patch out what jaw bone had been removed. The artery and the veins were patched in on either side of the neck, which means I will have a scar from ear to ear. To allow me to breathe a tracheotomy was done. Right now I am waiting this to heal up. The old body is starting to look more or less normal except for a lot of swelling around my neck, although Jan says "you should have seen yourself after surgery". Oh, ya, I also have not shaved yet so I getting a little bristly. I think that it is time for my nap and Jan needs to get a few things uptown. I would have to say that I am proof positive of the power of prayer. Thanks to everyone that prayed for me in locations all over the world, believe me I, or we could feel it!!

The Big Day

2008-09-24T08:57:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the day I have been agonizing over all week long. We meet with the doctors to find out what all those tests last week will tell us. I am sure that Friday will still be the day of surgery but it would be nice to wake up most of my parts still intact, but time will tell. Jan and I are heading over to Rochester this afternoon after she gets off work to spend the night. Our appointment is at 0930 on Thursday so in 25 hours we should know what lies ahead. I just wish that I could make it easier on the people around me. I always feel that I have lived such a charmed life, I guess that now is the time to pay up. I don't know what I would have done if I had not had Jan to hold my hand through all of this. This is when those wedding vows " in sickness and in health" start to mean something. Does this sound like whining? I suppose so but I am not used to this sort of thing. Whatever, please keep up the prayers, we need them all.

Rochester Report

2008-09-18T08:31:00.002-05:00

I will not have the problem of adding pictures to this blog. Our first office visits here in Rochester turned far worse than we expected. The explanation of the surgery involved does not sound pleasant. About half of my lower jaw and associated tissue has to come out , with the jaw repairs with the smaller bone from my lower leg. The doctor said it is a long procedure but you will be asleep the whole time. It is too bad I couldn't just be out until everything is healed up, which sounds as if it will be about 3 months. The recovery is the part that I am not looking forward to. Return visits will be frequent. Luckily we have Gen and Steve and the boys home with a spare bedroom to hang out at. I gotta tell you that we did not expect a treatment that would be this extreme. I felt a strange sense of peace about the whole thing yesterday it is probably all the people praying for us. Today I have a PET scan that will be a few hours long and tomorrow another scan of some sort. All through this whole thing I keep thinking " how can I feel so good while all these things are happening in my body?" Surgery is scheduled for next Friday so keep up the prayers? One drawback to waiting all week is that the tension will build all week long until check in next Thursday.

The Farewell Tour?

2008-09-16T08:48:00.008-05:00

I have been busy these last few days. I just completed a 2100 mile bike tour and I actually took a few pictures to illustrate what some of the things that were seen. Above is a snake that I saw while stopped for a break on a township road in South Dakota. I am not sure if it was a rattler or not but it sure acted like one. In the upper left is a prayer from a war memorial in Hudson SD. The pictures are in the reverse order, next time I will start at the end and work back so they come out in proper order. After finally getting some action from Mayo last Thursday, I loaded the bike and headed west after dinner or lunch as some would say. Leaving Chamberlin in the fog on Friday morning kind of set the stage for later in the day when I ran in rain and 50 degree weather for a couple of hours. In between I had a nice ride south from Belvidere on a gravel state hiway. Saturday I left Kimball Nebraska early to Cheyenne and down to Fort Collins and west over the mountains on 14 to Walden.

Here is a picture or two from Colorado. At a stop in Walden for lunch I made what turns out to be a good decision to go north back into Wyoming not south further into Colorado (they had more snow the next day) . After that it was a long drone across Wyoming to Worland where I spent the night. Up early on Sunday and over Powder River Pass where it was 28 degrees at the top. It was pretty with the grass covered with frost all sparkling in the sun. above to the left is a picture from Ten Sleep Canyon which you go through to get to the pass. Then across more of Wyoming and back roads in the Hills to Rapid City. Yesterday ( Monday) was spent just getting home although I took a side trip down in the Yankton area to check out an old rail line, it's still abandoned. I wanted to get home to Jan and the rest of my family but getting home means facing reality of what could be ahead of me, none of which is attractive. We are headed to Rochester today to start my doctors appointment tomorrow morning to find out what lies ahead. Long distance riding gives a person an awful lot of time to contemplate things, what your wife and family mean to you, how will I cope with whatever comes down the pike and how lucky I have been so far.

I am still learning here so this will be a little disjointed. To the left is a picture that I took south of Belvidere and below is the GS as loaded before I left.

So anyhow I hope that this title is far from the last tour but if it is it was a grand one. I had a tape recorder along for details and it may make interesting listening for someone, maybe. I hope to blog you from the other side of this, so pray for us.

missing pictures

2008-09-11T09:31:00.011-05:00

Evidently the picture did not make the jump. So here a few from Theilman and a few from our weekend in Rochester.

Good times and Bad news

2008-09-11T09:03:00.005-05:00

I am not sure what just happened here but I loaded up some pictures from Eli and my trip to Theilman for the semi-annual off road ride in the woods and hills. Several riders that we talked to said that it some of the best riding in this part of the country. I only crashed three times and managed not to damage me or the bike although I am a little sore from the physical activity of the day. Running through the woods on my 250 Kawasaki was a lot of fun but getting out of the way of the KTMs was important. Everything went pretty well until just before we managed to find a trail back to camp when a passing thunderstorm got the trails and hills really greasy. You haven't lived until you have fishtailed down a hill just trying to stay upright. I was glad to see the truck at the camp. It meant dry clothes and cold beer, it doesn't get much better than that, well, that is not entirely true.
We, Jan and I and Eli and his family had all spent Saturday night at Gen and Steve's' home in Rochester. Jan and I watched the four kiddos Saturday night so that the two couples could go out for their anniversary's. We all had a pretty good weekend I think.
I think that I have been blogging about my tooth trouble and last week we ended up an oral surgeons' office in Mankato. He looked in and took a biopsy of a spot in my mouth and Tuesday we went to get the results. It was a picture perfect day with a bad news start. I got the word " it's cancer", so now I am waiting for Mayo to give us a heads up on when this can get taken care of. In the meantime I was planning a long bike trip to Colorado and Utah so that is on hold until we hear. The treatment options do not sound pleasant to be sure. So there it is out I'm wondering how much other stuff can go wrong and then I get to thinking about some of our troops that I have welcomed home with missing limbs and brain injuries and they are just kids. Well, there is all the news that is news. If the pictures don't make it I will post another blog containing some from Theilman and Rochester.

picnic by the lake

2008-08-29T09:23:00.004-05:00

Last night Jan and I took a ride in the country after stopping by Subway. We rode the GS because it is pretty good on the gravel roads around here. First was a stop at a new campground on Kansas Lake. It has possibilities but needs to mature a little (little grass and no trees) before I would find it a good place to drag our toyhauler to. Although it is on the west shore of the lake. Then on to Odin and the north shore of Cedar Lake near Monterey ( for you old timers) . This is a county park and is quite nice, with room for a lot of campers both tent and trailer. We found a table on the east side and had our sanwiches while the sun sank lower over the lake. Fall is in the air and the evenings are getting cool. We stopped at a small cemetery near the park and looked it over. I think that the latest burial had been in about 1915. I am always curious as to why some of these little cemeteries seem to be just randomly located around the country. Maybe at one time there was a small church located across the road. On the way home the sun was at just the right height so that our shadow was projected on the corn fields along the hiway.

One of these days I will scan in some of my old slides to give you an idea of why I have been using the B52Buff moniker. It used to drive the kids crazy when I would go through my old slides, aircraft pictures by the dozens, I can't help it. Oh ya, on another subject, I am probably going to get another tooth pulled today, so wish me luck. I think that I will throw in a couple random pictures to brighten up this story.

The Rochester weekend

2008-08-24T20:55:00.005-05:00

Jan and I spent the weekend in Rochester as you may surmise from the title of this blog. Gen was off in the wilds of Wisconsin running in a relay race from Lacrosse to the Cities. You can get a much more detailed brief from her blog, which I am sure most of you know. This picture is of Gussie after his bath which was administered by Gramma Jan. He is a real good eater and moving right along into rolling over and sitting up by himself and he is so good natured.

I may get the layout of the pictures figured out sooner or later but every time I add a picture it goes into the upper left corner and pushes the previous on to the right. Anyhow, I'll let you figure out which one I am talking about. One is Gen and Steve on the couch Saturday evening after supper just after her return from the race, she is bushed. One is Gen and Sam this morning after 8 or 9 hours of sleep, big difference. Then I'll throw in another of Gussie from this morning.

Saturday was also the Patriot Guard state rally in Stewartville and I wanted to pick up some items from the PGR store. I didn't get in on the ride around southeastern Minnesota but they had a big turnout. While in Stewartville I ran into Allan Peterson who I see at most missions in this area. I asked him how many bikes were on the ride and he said they were in the middle of the pack but could not see either end of the group on straight sections of road. Judging by the amount of bikes in the parking lot there must have been hundreds for sure. The last time I checked I think the there over 4300 members in Minnesota and well over 100,000 in the country. Well, I hope that sorting out the pictures won't be too difficult and take care and stay in touch.

Rachies' birthday

2008-08-18T19:30:00.003-05:00

Not too much new here today, although we had Roadways over to build the pad for the toyhauler this afternoon. Shortly there after I retrieved said trailer from Eli and Lindseys' place and put it in our backyard. It is nice to have it this close to the house so that we can hook up the water and power. Now if we only could get the sewer hooked up we could rent it out and start getting some income off it. With the refrigerator running out there, at least I have a place to store my excess beer. Also last but far from least, today is our eldest ( I know she hates the term) daughter Rachel. If I remember correctly, Rachel means "beautiful woman" in Hebrew and time has born that out. We still can't figure out how we got such good looking children and grandchildren to boot. It must have been all of that clean living over the years. Lemme see here I think I will throw in a picture here that may show that. This blog picture is Rachel and Jan at the Stuttgart airport. Since this is her blog that will be the only picture this time. Take care and stay in touch.

Lucan warm welcom home

2008-08-17T16:33:00.007-05:00

Today I returned to Lucan to participate in a welcome home mission for some National Guard troops. Primarily I wanted to meet Capt. Andrea Ourada who just got home from Iraq. She is a Blackhawk helicopter pilot who has flown plenty of combat sorties. I finally got to meet her at our staging location, asked for a picture and gave her a welcome home hug. I said "I never hugged a Captain before", so she said " then you get two". Andrea is about 5' 4" and maybe a buck ten, I have to get over the idea that you need to be this big muscular person to fly combat aircraft.

Also there was her cousin, who could have been her sister, who just got back from Afghanistan. After a parade into town behind the firetrucks there was a program next to the bank. On the way in the street was lined ( at least 2 blocks) with citizens waving flags and cheering, wow!! After the program we had a short tour of the brewery and some samples. Very tasty that Brau Brew. They are also growing their own hops due to the high cost of hops nowadays. The next event was a drive out to the Ourada farm for lunch. The usual southern Minnesota fare of ham and barbecued pork sandwiches, all the fixings, salads, assorted things to drink and mementos of Andreas' time in Iraq. I have to tell you it was positively worth it to return today. It is fun to hang around with people that are all moving or thinking in the same direction. I'll add some pictures here but you will have to sort them out as I haven't figured out how to label individual pictures.

a day early

2008-08-16T15:25:00.002-05:00

I am sorry to get you all thinking about the mission for today but there was a small change. after hustling over to Lucan to meet fellow PGR members for todays big event, I realized that I was the only bike in town. Where the hell is everybody, I asked myself? I was sure that I had the time correct. After a quick peak at the printout I figured out what the deal was. It's tomorrow, you dummy. Oh well, the weather was terrific and the Deuce was running good so I putted on home via Redwood Falls and other small localities. I have ridden farther for less reason than that. Bye.

The yearly Alex run

2008-08-15T20:26:00.006-05:00

Today Mom and I made our annual drive to Alexandria to meet with her relatives, I guess that they would be mine also. We also celebrate her aunt Almas' 104th birthday, I think, it is either 104 or 103, anyhow, at a restaurant in Alexandria. It was a "sunny day" ( Annie would like that observation), the roads were quiet and it was cool. After lunch we all went over to one of Moms' cousins' apartment for more talk and some lemonade. Boy those women sure can talk a lot and loud too. I got a couple of pictures to verify that I actually was there, so I will include them here. The right one in Mom and aunt Alma. Alma is as sharp as a tack and gets around pretty good. The upper left photo is of all the inlaws and outlaws. I always take a different route coming home, but you know, all you see on this route is more corn, soy beans and wheat. Some cows and the usual road kill. It does seem as if there is a lot more wheat than in years gone by but after 325 miles I really don't care anymore. Tomorrow the PGR has a welcome home celebratio in Lucan, Mn for some National Guard troops and a lady Blackhawk pilot just back from the Sandbox. I'll let you know how it goes. Good Night and Good Luck.

I'm starting to get the hang of this.

2008-08-14T09:14:00.004-05:00

After fooling around for a couple of days, I broke down and watched the tutorial video. I think that now I should be able to add pictures! Shazam.

This picture to the left is of me on Eli and my trip to the Hills in June. It was taken Oakoma, SD. As usual, while working on the computer, the clock runs in fast forward while I watch videos on Military.com and clear out all of the junk mail that has misteriously started to appear there. I must have given out our adress to the wrong location. Rats. We have a PGR mission on Saturday in Lucan, Mn for returning National Guards ( is people correct now?) men. One of which is a female Blackhawk pilot who has been serving in Iraq ( the sandbox). The return missions are always a lot of fun and Lucan has a micro-brewery taht has some tasty brews according to rumors. Take care.

It's Tuesday

2008-08-12T19:16:00.000-05:00

Nothing much new today. I ran up to Lake Crystal this morning to check on a recall on the GS, it turns out that there are three on this machine so it will be a couple hour process. One is just software, one is on a brake line routing but the third is gonna be fun. A component in the ignition key sensing unit is going bad and needs to be replaced. Naturally due to the steps taken to thwart thieves it is damn near impossible to remove and replace this item. I wish them good luck. Ron, the shop owner just got back from Sturgis and said attendance was way off this year. Maybe due to fuel costs for the big motorhomes that some drive from all over the country. Also went on to Mankato to price out times for the Focus, 28,000 miles and the original tires are toast. Will run up tomorrow to change. I need to get back to Francesca the 94 Ducati 900 and try some fresh fuel in the tank to see if I can get her to run like she used to. I really don't want to have to take her in the shop as no one works on Ducks for fun. Bye

first post

2008-08-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

This site is under construction. I need to get together the items to fill in this page. Today I was on a Patriot Guard mission to East Chain, Mn, to honor a WWll veteran of D-Day and 5 campaigns in Europe. He was awarded both a bronze and a silver star, so we can assume that he did his share. After the war he was a large farmer in the East Chain area according to people that knew him. His wife of 62 years died a couple years ago, so they are back together again. we have a mission tomorrow at Camp Ripley at Little Falls for a vet that just lost his battle with a brain tumor but it sounds like rain and it is a long drive. I try but I just can't get to them all. Sometimes you have to take care of the living also, like my wife, kids and grandchildren. As soon as I figure out how to add content to this page I will be back with more mundane drivel.