Rocket City Wings Huntsville, Alabama -- Chapter B, Region A Friends for Fun, Safety & Knowledge October 2005

From The Chapter Directors
- Mike & Cindy Janes

We lost an important member of our Chapter family but the Werman and Harris families lost an important part of their life.  Based on losses I have experienced in my life, I suggest there are no words to affect a miracle cure for the painful emotions.  Many things will be different, there will be a void.  We have all lost another friend.  Russ knew a lot about Friendship, he shared it with so many people. Russ knew a lot about Fun, he brought it to so many people with his ride schedule.  Russ knew about Safety, he always had it in mind when he suggested activities for the Chapter.  Russ used his riding experience, his life experience and his knowledge for the benefit of his friends and family.  Thank you Russ, for the dedication to your friends, and the memories you gave us. 

Each loss we experience seems increasingly more difficult.  If the struggle makes us stronger, then there is reason in the strife. Questioning, or seeking answers consumes the energy we need to live a full life.

Russ put in his share of energy toward a successful

Mike and Cindy Janes
Chapter Directors

Good Bye Russ…

Russ Werman you were the ultimate Goldwing Rider. Although you took a lot of ribbing over the years because your bike wasn’t the shiniest mount in the chapter, you kept your bike well serviced and maintained.  You once told me you didn’t buy your bike to look at, you bought it to ride – and ride you did. Yes, when it came to pure riding and miles in the saddle, you played second fiddle to no one. It never mattered when or where someone was going, you were always there, ready-to-ride. Like the cold December morning in 2003 when You, Roy, Mike, and I departed the CB Shell in route to Bushtec to pick-up a couple of trailers. It was a finger-numbing 30 degrees that morning when we left and never got above 45 degrees all day. You’ll recall you and I didn’t have any Gerbings, but we fixed that less than a month later. You were there for the ride, camaraderie and to support your fellow riders.  Yes Russ, you were the ultimate Goldwing Rider, and a true friend to anyone that ever threw a leg over a bike.  We miss you already. 

Chris & Linda Miller

A THANK YOU NOTE
TO EVERYONE IN OUR GWRRA FAMILY

The Werman and Harris families wish to express our heartfelt appreciation for all that you did for us during the days when we needed your help the most.

Thank you for all that you did out of expression of love and sympathy.  The cards, flowers, food, drinks, generosities and general support are just a few of the wonderful symbols of friendship.

We received strength in our grief through the kindness and support of friends like you.  How proud we are for our beloved Russ to have so many friends participate in the motorcycle escort to Russ’s final resting place and for attending his memorial service.

God bless you and thank you from the deepest recesses of our hearts.

Betty Werman,
Ken Werman,
Tom and Allida Werman,
Randy and Susan Harris

Chapter B Ride Educator for October

Now that the weather is getting nicer, there is more riding in groups, be they 2 or 22, and that dictates a reminder of the need for safe group, or team, riding.  There are several different types of riders.  Those out for leisurely cruises, errand running, and those out to set land speed records.  What we all need to keep in mind is that anytime we are in a group of 2 or more motorcycles, the odds are high that multiple rider types will be included in that group.  Many people scoff at the rider who does not keep up with the group, or the rider who insists on racing out ahead.  Both attitudes fail to consider group, or TEAM, safety. 

Remember, a one second stagger (left or right of the bike in front of you) and a minimum of two seconds following distance are rules for daylight and good weather.  Double both in bad weather or during the hours of darkness.  Anyone not wishing to participate in a team ride but wanting to go to the same destination should distance themselves from any group by at least 200 yards, though 400 yards is preferred. 

Knowing your destination is not enough, you also need to know the route and where you are in relation to the destination.  This knowledge will prevent wrong turns or unduly long hesitations in intersections trying to determine which way you want to go. 

In roadside emergencies the first rider to see the situation should announce the problem to the Team Captain (last bike).  The Team Captain should stop and render assistance while the remainder of the team continues on to a safe stopping place beyond the emergency site and wait for the Team Captain to catch up or call for help. 

Remember, November 5-6 are the training days for our 2-Up ERC and the Trike Safety Course.  Call or email if you have any questions.

Ride Safe & Ride Often
Paul & Susan Neely
Rocket City Wings
Ride Educators 

Meeting place for Fall Leaf Cruise

2, 3 or 4 wheel  Ride information for the Chattanooga Fall Leaf Cruise -Sunday Oct. 23rd

• Meet at Mullin’s (607 Andrews Jackson Way NE, Huntsville) at 7:00am CDT for breakfast.
• LEAVE Mullins no later than 8:15am CDT
• Pit stop at Dairy Queen/Cowboys Gas Station, Hwy 72 west of Scottsboro
• LEAVE DQ no later than 9:30am CDT
• TIME CHANGES TO EDT (move ahead 1 hr)
• Arrive in Chattanooga no later than 12:45pm EASTERN TIME
• Boarding begins at 1:00pm EDT Departure at 1:30 EDT return 5:30pm EDT

Directions:

• Take I-24 to the Downtown Chattanooga Exit 178
• Take 4th Street Exit #1C
• Take a left at 1st light on Chestnut Street.  Chestnut will dead end into Riverfront Parkway
• Take a left on Riverfront.
• The SouthernBelle Riverboat is located down (300 feet) on right
  PARKING IS ON THE LEFT

Contact: Julianna Polka  jul ipol ka*c hart er:net  256/233-6334

RU OLDER THAN DIRT ?????

Hey Dad," one of my kids asked the other day, "What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?"
"We didn't have fast food when I was growing up," I informed him. "All the food was slow."
"C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?"

"It was a place called 'at home,'" I explained. "Grandma cooked every day and when Grandpa got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it."

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears AND Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 11, but my grandparents had one before that. It was, of course, black and white, but they bought a piece of colored plastic to cover the screen. The top third was blue, like the sky, and the bottom third was green, like grass. The middle third was red. It was perfect for programs that had scenes of fire trucks riding across someone's lawn on a sunny day. Some people had a lens taped to the front of the TV to make the picture look larger.

I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called "pizza pie." When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.

We didn't have a car until I was 15. Before that, the only car in our family was my grandfather's Ford. He called it a "machine."

I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents. I had to get up at 4 AM every morning. On Saturday, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were the ones who gave me 50 cents and told me to keep the change. My least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they didn't do that in movies. I don't know what they did in French movies. French movies were dirty and we weren't allowed to see them.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

MEMORIES from a friend:

My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to "sprinkle" clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.

How many do you remember?

• Headlight dimmer switches on the floor.
• Ignition switches on the dashboard.
• Heaters mounted on the inside of the firewall.
• Real ice boxes.
• Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
• Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
• Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.

Older Than Dirt Quiz:

Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about. Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16. Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

I might be older than dirt but those memories are the best part of my life.

Don't forget to pass this along!!  Especially to all your really OLD friends

October 2005 - AL-B Ride Schedule

Information About Our Group Rides

• Unless otherwise indicated, all rides will leave from the ride meeting place at scheduled time.
• As a courtesy to all members, it is important to be ready to leave at the departure time.
• All bikes should be fueled and bladders emptied ahead of time.
• We plan a variety of rides.  Time and money might make it hard to make all events.  We hope this variety will give you an opportunity to pick and choose.
• If the weather is bad---come in your car.
• If you have a CB, you will find us on Channel 1.
• We will meet at Mullins for our Sunday morning breakfast at 8:30 am, most of the time.  However, there are some rides to breakfast at other locations.  CHECK THE RIDE SCHEDULE.

C/B Shell is the Shell station (3490 Wall Triana Hwy) next to the Cracker Barrel just off of I-565 in Madison.

October 2005 -  AL-B Ride Schedule

November 2005