Patriot Guard, Weston Missouri, And The Fanatical Phelps'

I was able to do some rides with the Patriot Guard back in Illinois and found them to be emotionally tough but ultimately very rewarding. Most of the rides were when the Galesburg area was hit with a remarkable amount of casualties and with Brendan in Iraq I thought it was a necessary association. I remember doing a 4 am to 6 am guard outside a soldiers flag-draped coffin down in Keithsburg area. I also went up to Sterling to meet a guard contingent from Chicago bringing a soldier back to Knoxville at night. I also did one in Monmouth. I think there was another one, too, perhaps a guy who was buried in Wataga. Tears would sometime fall when going through small towns and people would line the road with flags, hands on their hearts and veterans saluting. I am sorry to say that my memory fades from the exact number of rides. Of course, those don't include the flag holding we did at funerals and visitations of veterans who passed away from other conflicts. The ones I truly enjoyed however, and there weren't nearly enough, were the company homecoming rides. Cheering friends, crying loved ones and hoots for joy. Those were the ones that were fun. Is there anything better than homecomings? Below are some pics I took during this time, and a short video of a town in Missouri that tricked the Westboro Baptist family right out of town.

Some pictures of some of my rides.

The one on top is for Jerry Tharp and he was laid to rest in Keithsburg's Greenmound Cemetary. The next two were for a company of reservists returning to Beardstown. I rigged up a flag holder on my bike so it got to go up front.

I'm sorry but I don't remember which soldier's funeral this was in Galesburg at the Baptist church. I went to about 4 of them here.

This is a group shot of all of us. Can you see me? I'm the tall guy to the right of the phone pole in the back.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

Existing In BFE

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