Long time.............

Greetings! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkkk! Ok, so the new job is getting easier! I halfway understand medical charts and whatnot now. And, I'm getting much better at the harvest. In fact, the other night I harvested at LifeShare, which is the tissue bank here in OK. I got there early enough to watch the entire procedure that they do. It was pretty cool. The man who had died was kind enough to be an organ, tissue and eye donor. So, after the organ harvest, tissue was next. They procured the skin, bones from his legs and the tendons. Now, I enjoyed watching it. It would not be for everyone to see, though. It's a little gruesome....So, when they finished, I went for the eyes. I kept thinking that that poor man had no idea he was going to be doing that today. But, he didn't feel a thing and think of the people he helped. Donation is a good thing!

Finally!

Back on board. Ok, so, yes I've been neglecting everyone and I'm super, super sorry about that. Work is very interesting and I like it a lot. The only thing is that my brain hurts on a daily basis. I'm actually having to learn all of this stuff and it's like a foreign language. Medications, procedures, diagnosis. Crazy. Not to mention the actual cutting. That rocks, actually. Pretty cool and I'm getting better at it. I've got 8 globes to practice on this afternoon. Just think, some poor sucker gave up their eyes so I could learn. Gotta love that....

News

It's been awhile since I've posted anything new or newsworthy, but I've been in a bit of turmoil the past several weeks. I am excited for a new turn my life is about to take. I have accepted a position at the eye bank in Oklahoma. I resigned from my current position at the dead zone on Monday. I'll be here until the 25th, then start at the eye bank on the 28th. This new position will open new doors for me, and honestly, will be (I hope) a very good move. It also means that I will work Monday thru Friday....more time for riding, spending time with family and enjoying life. The only reservation I have is that, strangely, I love the funeral business and am afraid I will really miss it. Fortunately, I have many good friends at the funeral home and they will continue to allow me to work funerals if I'm available. I'm excited and scared at the same time, but look forward to this new direction. Wish me luck...

Celebrate!

Finally, my favorite holiday is here! I am sitting at work, waiting for the clock to tick away. It's times like this that I really wonder why I ever started working at a funeral home in the first place. I started out wanting to be a teacher. Weekends, holidays and summers off! I just didn't take into account that I don't care for children. That was a rude awakening. The next logical thing was Mortuary School. Quiet times. And, damn interesting. Thankfully, we don't have much going on today. I'll sit here and be thankful for that. And be thankful for the fact that I can still afford fireworks even with the gas prices. Ridiculous. Have a happy 4th everyone!

4th of July: a mere 16 days away!

In honor of my favorite holiday, I will share a story I found in the Darwin Awards. I promise I will not attempt to do this stunt, Mom. Do not worry. However, I can promise that my fireworks extravaganza will be fantabulous. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, it is a private party and none of you can be invited. I do apologize. Just know this: I rock at blowing shit up.

At a party somewhere between Nashville and Bloomington, a young man was drinking and watching people set off fireworks. Suddenly a great idea occurred to him. He could improve upon this amateur fireworks display! He put down his drink and set to work.When it comes to fireworks, your brain can't be much safer than sheltered inside a football helmet. He found an old helmet, duct-taped a mortar-style firework to the top, put it on his head, and lit the fuse...A bright flash of light nearly blinded observers. When their eyes recovered, they saw him lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Astoundingly, the 21-year-old survived this party stunt with only a mild concussion and burns. His helmet, however, was blown to pieces.

A motorcycle post (of sorts)!

Finally, a small post about motorcycling. No, not a detail of a trip, I did no riding this past weekend (which, by the way, is really starting to SUCK). But, something I came across while researching a Patron Saint for a family that I met with today. Enjoy the history lesson (I especially like the prayer at the end):

The Patron Saint of motorcyclists and the bikes they rode in on is Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, otherwise known as, Our Lady of Grace. In 1830 in a convent in Paris, Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Laboure. Our Lady asked St. Catherine to make a medal and showed St. Catherine a picture of exactly how the medal should look. In essence, then, this medal is a self portrait of Mary. The medal was an instant hit and earned it's name. So many people who wore the medal had miracles happen to them that the medal came to be known as the "Miraculous Medal". No one is sure how the Miraculous Medal came to be the protection of bikers. An obvious guess is that if you have an accident on a bike, it's a miracle if you survive.

Another Patron Saint dealing with transportation: Mother Frances Cabrini, Italian immigrant and builder of orphanages, schools and hospitals in major cities of America, once hitched a ride in a limo. She told the rich woman (who gave her a lift) of a dream she had had the night before of an orphanage on yonder hill. When the rich woman dropped off Mother Cabrini at the convent, the rich woman asked for a glass of water. The woman told Mother Cabrini that for the glass of water she would donate the hill....since she owned the property. Mother Cabrini getting a ride to exactly where she really wanted to go has earned her the patronage of keeping your vehicle moving. Prayer for the intercession of Mother Cabrini: "Mother Cabrini, put down your liguini, look down from heaven and fix my machini."

Another unique casket

Nice.

This story was in the news about a month ago. It got me to thinking about interesting burials I've had over the years. Although I've had many, many interesting services, I can't recall any that had a custom casket, except for the one that was a plain, pine coffin. A young lady was killed in an auto accident and her family asked her friends to write messages on it with a sharpie pen. It was a lot like signing a yearbook and it seemed to be very therapeutic for the other kids.

As for me, I used to think I wanted to be cremated and pumped into a basketball (I was 17). Not anymore. I'm not down with the cremation. It's fine for others, but I can't stand the thought of burning. So, I recently purchased a nice corner lot at the cemetery across the street from the funeral home. Interestingly enough, this is in one of the oldest sections of the cemetery. Another interesting point is that it is, shall I say, used. No, the previous tenants aren't still there. Their families had enough money to disinter them, buy new vaults and move them to the lakeside property located approximately 200 yards away (why not leave people to rest in peace?). So, it was a great location and a great price. Especially since I received 50% off for being an employee. That translates into $47.66 per month for the next 5 years. Hopefully, my adventures on the road won't cause me to use it any earlier. But, hell, that's why I have insurance, right?

Survey says....

The NFDA (National Funeral Directors Association) has released an article about the demographics of future funeral directors. I was not surprised at what they have reported: the number of female students has increased 71% since 1996. Women now represent 60% of currently enrolled mortuary students. When I graduated from mortuary school in 1997, women were definitely in the minority.

It was difficult those first few years to get families to trust that a female could direct a funeral just as well as a male, not to mention the way some ministers felt about us. Oklahoma is not really a progressive state. It was a man's profession. Not anymore. Out of the 30 or so directors working for our company in OKC, I would say that 85% are female. Ministers are finally used to us. In fact, they typically look at me first now, and not at the 70 year old male limo driver.

Looks like we made it!

PS, I finally scored a tshirt I've been wanting for ages. My birthday was last week and my twin sister got me the one (from Undergroundhumor.com) that says "Have you hugged your funeral director today?" Right on. The Moose, she rocks! So, peeps, go on out and hug your funeral directors today. We aren't that creepy....

pic of Me and Tracy: Funeral Directors Extraordinaire!

Designer of Pringles carton buried in crisp tube.

Dr Fredric J. Baur, who was 89, had told his family to ensure his final resting place was the inside of one of his most famous creations.
They honored his request by having his ashes buried in a Pringles tube – and a more conventional urn for the overflow – at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr Baur, who was a retired chemist and food storage technician at Pringles owners Procter and Gamble, patented the design for the saddle-shaped crisp’s vertical container in 1970.
His daughter Linda told the Cincinatti Enquirer that the packaging was his “proudest accomplishment.”
He also invented several other products, including a freeze-dried ice cream, which didn’t enjoy as much success.
His son Lawrence Baur told the Enquirer: “Basically, what you did, you added milk to it, put it in the freezer and you had ice cream. That was another one he was proud of but just never went anywhere.”

Trip to Davis, Oklahoma

Saturday we took a trip with some friends to Davis, Oklahoma. Davis is in the southern part of the state near the Arbuckle Mountains. There were eleven bikes and 14 riders. The trip there was long, and hot. About 3 1/2 hours, and 94 degrees. I'm so smart that I didn't put sunscreen on until we got to the lake. Very good. We stopped at Nat and Kelly's lake house and grilled chicken and hot dogs. The lake is very beautiful, and unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it. On the way home, we decided to hit I-35 and get home a little sooner. It wasn't too crowded and was actually a nice ride. Except for the hot asphalt and my sunburn. All in all it was a good weekend ride.

It was the only riding I got to do on my week off. I have really been neglecting the farm since all of this motorcycling business got started and it was time to do some much needed work. The good news is, it's mostly in shape now. That means on my next weekend off, I'll be able to ride! Yea!

Time to catch up, finally....

This week has been extremely busy. The 2nd to last post, I was bitching and moaning about how it's really slow around here, then bam! the bottom falls out. The last post I had, the bottom did indeed fall out and we were up to 5 actual calls and 2 pending. That night it got worse. We ended up with 2 more, plus the 2 that were pending. That brought the total to 9, with an upcoming holiday weekend. Yea. Not so much. The cemeteries are very strict about when you can and can't have services on Memorial Day weekend. Therefore, we had 5 services yesterday and 2 today. Then, 2 families get to wait until next week to have theirs. At any rate, I am thankful we got no more calls last night, since I'm the only director on this weekend. After Monday, though, I'll be off the rest of next week. I plan to use my time wisely and put many, many miles on my bike. Have a good holiday, everyone!

The bottom dropped.

Ah, no sooner than I gripe about being slow, I pay for it. I got 3 new calls last night, 2 more that are pending and 2 that I already had. That's not too bad. 7. Good times.

Work is a drag.

Not for the obvious reasons; I'd rather be riding my motorcycle, I'd rather be mowing, I'd rather be fishing, etc. But it's a drag because this business is so cyclical. There is a definite "slow" time down here at the dead zone. And, there is a definite "slammed" time. Generally, the slow time is in the spring (now), then picks up a little in early summer, then drops off again by July or August. That's if we don't have a heat wave.

It's not that I wish people harm in order for us to be busy. It's just that if it could ever be steady throughout the year, it would be nice. Having a few slow weeks is not a reward for getting 8 calls in a night. It just makes you restless, waiting for the bottom to drop out. So, until the bottom drops out, I wait. I am working this weekend, and it's a holiday. That in itself generally makes for a busy time.

While I'm talking about the holiday, I'll also say this. Be careful. Dangerous things happen on holidays. Trust me, I've seen it. Too many idiots on the lake, road, etc and usually too much alcohol. I never like those to be the reasons I'm busy. Never. It's too damn hard.

I am Reaper, hear me ROAR!

The pipes are excellent! We rode to Goldsby (south of Norman) yesterday. It's only about an hour ride from here and it took us 2 1/2 hours. We got stuck on some country road, kind of got lost, but it didn't matter. We had our good friend, Joy, with us. She rode on the back with Dee the whole way there and back. I don't know how her butt took it. On the way, we saw a cow that had just given birth (we could tell by the large gooey thing she was eating, gross) and saw a hawk flying over us with a large snake in his mouth. We ate catfish in Goldsby, then decided to get back on the highway to head to Norman. That trip took us 5 minutes. Then we went by the OU Softball game and stopped to have dinner on the way home. We were gone about 12 hours.

The pipes are nice. I'm sure I irritated the other drivers, because I can't help but hit the throttle when I'm sitting at a red light. Too bad. I'm sure I'll get over it, or not. We are getting back on the bikes in about an hour. The farm looks like crap. I need to mow. Guess I'll do it after work tomorrow...

Jackasses.

I left my bike at the shop yesterday with high hopes of picking it up tomorrow with new pipes. I think that will be a miracle. I called earlier and he says they are 10 days behind in the shop. WTF? Another guy told me yesterday that I could pick it up this afternoon and I said I wouldn't because of the fact that it was going to be stormy. So, who is right? The service guy or the guy at the counter yesterday? Who the hell knows, but I'm sure going to be pissed if I'm sitting at home all weekend because of their little oversight. Dammit. I guess I should have waited until winter.

Bike is at garage!

Good news, I left my bike at the shop this morning and should be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. I'm certainly anxious to hear how it sounds. And, the weather looks good for the weekend! Maybe I'll have some tales to tell come Monday!

Cemetery in the Ocean?

Since I worked this weekend, I did no riding. Therefore, I will bore you with more very, very interesting stories from the funeral business. :) Tomorrow, however, I drop my bike off to get her new pipes installed. Watch out, OKC, I'm riding this weekend!

Artificial reef near Miami is cemetery, diving attraction
Associated Press

MIAMI - About 45 feet beneath the ocean's surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches. The Neptune Memorial Reef, which opened last fall, is seen by its creators as a perfect final resting spot for those who loved the sea. They hope that one day the reef will cover 16 acres and have room for 125,000 remains. "This is simply as good as it gets," said Gary Levine, a diver who conceived the reef and is now a shareholder in the company that owns it.

The Neptune Memorial Reef is located in open waters 3 1/4 miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, which means any certified diver can visit. The artificial reef's first phase allows for about 850 remains. The ashes are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mold, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message. Jim Hutslar, who manages the construction and deployment of the placements, said he wears sunglasses when he mixing the remains with cement to hide his emotions, especially when the family of the deceased is present.

"I intentionally try to think about the person," Hutslar said. "I am pretty sentimental anyway."
In one instance, a mother wanted to mix the cement and ashes of her son. She also left the imprints of her fingerprints and put a note into it. "It's sad to see someone die, but this is almost a celebration of life," said artist Kim Brandell, who created the reef's design. "We call it 'life after life.'"

In March, the remains of 93-year-old diver Bert Kilbride — who called himself "The Last Pirate of the Caribbean" — were placed atop a column of the reef's main gate, because of his contributions to the sea. Kilbride was named the oldest living scuba diver in this year's Guinness Book of World Records. "I think he would feel very honored," his son Gary Kilbride said. "This is somebody who has been connected to the sea his whole life."

Originally, the reef was named after the so-called lost city of Atlantis, but it changed after its owners Afterlife Services Inc. partnered with BG Capital in 2007 to form the company, said Jerry Norman, president of the Neptune Society, which is marketing the reef. The company specializes in cremation services across 11 states. Brandell said he was given no parameters in the reef's designs, which grew as they waited three years for permits. "It just kept getting larger. When we went to get permitting, it took so long. During that time I kept developing the ideas," Brandell said.

The structures are 90 percent cement. Some of the sculptural elements are in bronze and steel. It is the same pH balance as the sea, he said. "I designed it to be a divers' location. I am hoping and planning it be to the most dived location on the planet," Brandell said. "I didn't want it to look like Roman or Greek architecture. I wanted it to be contemporary or modern in design."
As a diver swims down the pathways of the reef there will be themed areas, like dancing or sports. "If it's music I might have concrete or metal musical instruments," Brandell said. "Nothing is going to be in words to describe these features — it will be sculptural elements."
Location and temperature made it an easy-to-make reef, Norman said.

"It's very conducive to marine habitat growth. You've got marine organisms, light and water," he said. "It's an easy dive for beginners and well as (the) experienced." The cost of a placement starts at $995 and can go to $6,495, for those who want to be placed inside the base of a lion statue for all eternity. Hutslar said the reef is designed to last forever and engineered to withstand the harshest hurricane that has hit Florida in the last 100 years.

Stephen Blair, chief of the restoration and enhancement section of Miami-Dade County's department of Environmental Resources Management, which has oversight of the reef, said it will become a tourist attraction. "I think the combination of the structure, the dive-site aspect as well as the how it's being used, makes it a unique site," Blair said. Keith Mille, an environmental specialist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, said another method of burying ashes inside reef balls creates a habitat for fish and corals to attach. But he was impressed with the engineering concepts for this reef and the environment that it creates for divers.

Dive companies on the reef's Web site said people have been calling with interest in diving it.
"I am sure once it's completed ... it's going to be spectacular. It's definitely a beautiful site," said Alex Nunez, an instructor at South Beach Divers.

http://www.nmreef.com/

Dissolving Bodies with Lye ~ A New Idea in Mortuary Science

I'm not a huge fan of cremation and that's a fairly normal process. I don't think I could ever get on board with this idea.

AP NEWS -
CONCORD, N.H.—Since they first walked the planet, humans have either buried or burned their dead. Now a new option is generating interest—dissolving bodies in lye and flushing the brownish, syrupy residue down the drain.

The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.
No funeral homes in the U.S.—or anywhere else in the world, as far as the equipment manufacturer knows—offer it. In fact, only two U.S. medical centers use it on human bodies, and only on cadavers donated for research.

But because of its environmental advantages, some in the funeral industry say it could someday rival burial and cremation.
"It's not often that a truly game-changing technology comes along in the funeral service," the newsletter Funeral Service Insider said in September. But "we might have gotten a hold of one."
Getting the public to accept a process that strikes some as ghastly may be the biggest challenge. Psychopaths and dictators have used acid or lye to torture or erase their victims, and legislation to make alkaline hydrolysis available to the public in New York state was branded "Hannibal Lecter's bill" in a play on the sponsor's name—Sen. Kemp Hannon—and the movie character's sadism.

Alkaline hydrolysis is legal in Minnesota and in New Hampshire, where a Manchester funeral director is pushing to offer it. But he has yet to line up the necessary regulatory approvals, and some New Hampshire lawmakers want to repeal the little-noticed 2006 state law legalizing it.
"We believe this process, which enables a portion of human remains to be flushed down a drain, to be undignified," said Patrick McGee, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester.
State Rep. Barbara French said she, for one, might choose alkaline hydrolysis.
"I'm getting near that age and thought about cremation, but this is equally as good and less of an environmental problem," the 81-year-old lawmaker said. "It doesn't bother me any more than being burned up. Cremation, you're burned up. I've thought about it, but I'm dead."
In addition to the liquid, the process leaves a dry bone residue similar in appearance and volume to cremated remains. It could be returned to the family in an urn or buried in a cemetery.
The coffee-colored liquid has the consistency of motor oil and a strong ammonia smell. But proponents say it is sterile and can, in most cases, be safely poured down the drain, provided the operation has the necessary permits.

Alkaline hydrolysis doesn't take up as much space in cemeteries as burial. And the process could ease concerns about crematorium emissions, including carbon dioxide as well as mercury from silver dental fillings.
The University of Florida in Gainesville and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have used alkaline hydrolysis to dispose of cadavers since the mid-1990s and 2005, respectively.
Brad Crain, president of BioSafe Engineering, the Brownsburg, Ind., company that makes the steel cylinders, estimated 40 to 50 other facilities use them on human medical waste, animal carcasses or both. The users include veterinary schools, universities, pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. government.

Liquid waste from cadavers goes down the drain at the both the Mayo Clinic and the University of Florida, as does the liquid residue from human tissue and animal carcasses at alkaline hydrolysis sites elsewhere.

Manchester funeral director Chad Corbin wants to operate a $300,000 cylinder in New Hampshire. He said that an alkaline hydrolysis operation is more expensive to set up than a crematorium but that he would charge customers about as much as he would for cremation.
George Carlson, an industrial-waste manager for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, said things the public might find more troubling routinely flow into sewage treatment plants in the U.S. all the time. That includes blood and spillover embalming fluid from funeral homes.
The department issued a permit to Corbin last year, but he let the deal on the property fall through because of delays in getting the other necessary permits. Now he must go through the process all over again, and there is gathering resistance. But he said he is undeterred.
"I don't not know how long it will take," he said recently, "but eventually it will happen."

Pipes are ordered!

I ordered a set of Vance & Hines Cruzers. He did suggest I get the fuel management system (whatever that is), so it's on order, too. They sound pretty good from the youtube videos I've watched. Kind of a low rumble. I think I would like that better than the ones that sound like they are screaming. Maybe by next weekend, I'll be in business!

Downed Biker Association Poker Run

Greetings! It was a fabulous day to ride on Sunday. Dee and I did our first poker run. I was seriously nervous, but I made it. I was very happy with the group of girls we rode with. Every last one of them kept asking if I was ok and if I'd rather take the back roads. I appreciated them understanding that I was nervous. That's me on the right and Dee on the left (ON THE HIGHWAY!), courtesy of Shelly Moe taking the pic over her head (she was riding, not driving). Anyway, we left home at 9 and got home around 7:30. I was so tired and was shocked when I looked at the mileage and we had only gone about 120 miles (and about 60 of those miles were from the commute into town and back). There were 5 stops in all, and the cards I drew at each location were crap. But, I did win 50 bucks on a raffle. We also bought some patches. I bought one that says "Fear the Reaper" another one is an Army one and the last one says "These are my church clothes". Makes sense since I usually only get to ride on Sunday (and I'm PRAYING a lot while I'm riding). All in all it was a great day and they raised quite a bit for the Sherriff's Deputy that got injured while riding. Oh, and major sight-seeing. The state fair has nothing on bike runs. Trust me.

Bon Jovi Rocked!

Finally, I got to see him. 18 years after my parents wouldn't let me go. It was worth it! That was, by far, the best concert I've ever been to. Better than Cher. Better than Billy Joel. Better than Heart. Of course, I didn't make it to work until 11:00 today. My head is going to split in two. Jennifer said that she was happy she could be there to see me live out my life-long dream.....I danced and sang and I'm sure I irritated the geriatrics sitting behind us. I think I'm going to go lie down in stateroom 5 and take a siesta. I need one........

Happy Anniversary!

Ten years ago today, I got licensed as a Funeral Director/Embalmer. Good grief, am I that old? All in all, it's been a good ten years. I estimate I've probably met with 1,000 families, worked 1,200 funerals and embalmed 1,500 bodies. Not bad for a decade of work. If it wasn't supposed to be stormy this afternoon, I'd probably treat myself with a ride after work. But, riding is NOT FUN in the rain, so I will wait. There is a ride this weekend ~ Ride for the Cure, I won't make it because I'll be burying the dead, but I may make the after party.... I'll keep my fingers crossed!

For Becky

Becky wrote that she'd like to see a picture of Oklahoma. Here you go. This is a photo we took last year on a ride to Mt. Scott. It's the closest thing we have to a mountain here in the plains, but it overlooks a lake and is really beautiful. Enjoy!

Finally!

Yesterday was Thunder Run IV. We decided we would check it out, even though neither one of us felt comfortable enough to ride with that many people. This is the biggest run in Oklahoma and it was amazing as we drove out Memorial Road to Thunder Cycles. I'm not sure how many bikes there were, but I would guess thousands. We pulled into the parking lot and parked way down at the end. Bikes were parked up and down the road and packed into a field behind the venue. We decided we would look at the vendors' items, then go on our own ride. So, we bought some Showtime cleaner and a tshirt then headed to Bricktown. It was such a nice day and we rode for about 5 or 6 hours off and on. Nothing like burning $3.21/gallon gas just for the hell of it. But, on the bike, it doesn't feel as heinous as if I were just driving around in my truck for no good reason. It finally feels like the cold weather is gone and riding days are here again. Like it's not a tease this time; oh how I hope I'm right!

Motorcycle Pipes and Spring!

Well, I think spring has sprung here in the great State of Oklahoma. The first day of Spring is still a couple of days away, but at least it's getting closer. Man, this has been one of the worst winters I can remember. The weather hasn't been particularly worse than any other winters, I'm pretty sure it has sucked more because my bike has been trapped in the barn. That's all about to change, though. Which brings me to my next point/question: The Great Banty Rooster Bush is promising $600.00 to all of us taxpayers. I know I should save it, but I'm going to buy new motorcycle pipes. I want louder pipes, I don't feel like the stock pipes are near loud enough (for numerous reasons). So, any suggestions as to brand, type, etc.? If you have any ideas/suggestions, please feel free to share! Yea for SPRING!!!!!

Is that the wind I hear?

I rode my bike into work today. No, not my bicycle, I'm not insane (too far), but the motorcycle. I have missed riding so much (because it's so damn cold) that I thought the 30 mph wind gusts would be "no big deal". Dee tried to tell me as I was getting dressed that I might want to step outside. I told her I could hear the wind and it wasn't that bad. First of all, if you can hear the wind, it is bad. No matter. I got all my gear on, got out in the barn and started her up. I got down to the corner, turned south. All was well, what a pleasant ride, I was telling myself. Got to Britton Road and thought I may as well cut across now since I work about 20 miles west. I make the turn, cruise up to about 60 and wham! Holy mother of God. 30 mph wind is apparently plenty windy. I could barely hear my ipod it was so windy (yes, I know that's illegal). I'm hanging on for dear life, thinking that this was indeed a stupid idea. And, in the back of my mind, I hear Dee saying, you might want to step outside. Well, I finally made it after trying to criss-cross south and west as much as I could to take a break from the wind. When I got to work, I called Dee and she said, "How was the ride?" "PERFECT" I said, "not that windy". Damn, 5 o'clock is going to be here before I know it. Better start praying now......

Bad News for Funeral Directors? Motorcycle Airbag Jacket

Found this on a funeral blog, bet you didn't know there was such a thing...


Will a new airbag jacket cut down on motorcycle deaths? Of course, we're just joking about this being bad for our profession; anything that saves lives is great news and besides, we serve everyone eventually.
But the question still remains: will these jackets encourage motorcyclists to drive even faster (because of the lower risk of death), thereby endangering even more of their fellow travelers?
And before you go all "even us motorcyclists deserve our rights!" crazy on me, remember that I also drive a bike. So I'm part of that particular "brotherhood" as well.
From WBALTV.com:
BALTIMORE — While motorists who have been in car crashes often attribute the help of air bags to saving their lives, a Maryland motorcycle rider injured in a collision is doing the same — for a jacket.
Joseph McPhatter, of Randallstown, was injured in a crash on Interstate 83 after being cut off by another motorist in September. According to police, McPhatter was ejected 100 feet, hitting the ground at an impact rate of 140 mph.
Police said that McPhatter might have been severely injured had it not been for the Impact Jacket he was wearing — a jacket that inflates like an air bag when a motorcyclist is in an wreck.
McPhatter suffered from sore ribs and knees and a few other minor injuries, but it could have been much worse, officials said.
Officials said McPhatter's crash was the first real-life incident in the U.S. where the jacket was used.

Here she is!

Motorcycle Mayhem

Good morning, all!

Lesson #2 was last night. We ventured across to the cemetery and made two laps. I have now put eleven miles on my beautiful bike. Of course, five of those miles are probably from the parking lot. I even got the bike up to around 30 mph on the straightaway. 30 mph seems a lot faster sitting on two wheels! Then, we came back across the street and practiced stopping and starting on a hill. I think I will take my written test on Tuesday, then venture into Nichols Hills. Maybe by next Saturday, I can ride home. Keep your fingers crossed!

Motorcycle Diaries

Tomorrow, I take delivery of a new motorcycle. A 2007, Suzuki C50 Boulevard, to be exact. I will be wearing a helmet, because I am vain enough that I, at the very least, want my face to look good in my casket. I know, weird. If you knew me, you would understand. Mind you, I've now operated a motorcyle for less than 8 hours in a class I took last weekend. I suppose I will make several laps around the funeral home parking lot until I feel good enough to drive it 25 miles home. Again, if you knew me, you would understand. Wish me luck!