Friday, May 22, 2009

It Gets Real, Then It's Never The Same

I spend alot of time sitting around and thinking about how others have paid a price for all sorts of things that I enjoy on a daily basis.

Damn sobering. How many folks do you see on a daily basis that have a story to tell about serving this country. How many won't talk about it or feel like nobody wants to really hear about the sacrifices made. Have you ever sat and let someone just fall apart in front of you while trying to describe the shit they went through during their time of service? I have sat through it a few times and man, if you don't feel guilty about having it so good on the account of others doing your dirty work for you...then there is something seriously wrong with you.

I have never been there, but I have listened. I have been in similar situations and can understand in a way, but only able to scratch the surface. I figured I would do a tribute by taking what has been described to me by those who were there. Maybe it's my way of showing that some of us do understand and appreciate the sacrifice. I have taken what I have heard from those who have fought for my freedom and put it as best as I understand it in my own words. If I haven't hit the mark...then I'm sorry. I'll just have to listen closer next time;

I have a new hope after returning; The Motorcycle.

As cool and romantic as the lone wolf image is...the lone wolf never really accomplishes anything. Power, survival and the ability to kick ass lies in each lone wolf giving of himself for a greater cause and joining up with a pack. The military is many acting as one undeniable force.

So, then you get plunked down in some far off place. Your ideals and goals are still the same. You go to fight for honor, freedom and truth. You are invincible and can not be destroyed because you are now the reaper. You can not be stopped and are convinced you are in the right.

Then it gets real. You find yourself no longer fighting for the cause. You simply find yourself fighting for your own life and the life of those in your pack. You are really nothing without them and they nothing without you. You share some final moments with those you have bonded with. Some just disappear and some you owe your life to. Some of them owe their life to you.

You start becoming somewhat of an adrenaline junky because you have been operating on it for some time now. You embrace the fact that you are probably not going to make it back home. You are on the edge daily never knowing what the next hour brings. You have become a God in your own right. Sometimes you wonder if you are beginning to enjoy all of this somewhat and that makes you feel like you just might be losing it. Nothing is pure anymore and you're not sure if you're right anymore. You try to convince yourself that you are doing what you have to do to deal with the guilt of seeing another man die at your hands or knowing you had a part in their death. You also feel guilt because of the rush you experience when you have taken another's life. You are living something that so many fear or can't even comprehend. You live now to survive. You live for those in your pack. You live so that you can get back home to your life.

Now you're back home. You don't have much in common with people you once knew and won't like watching others take for granted what you and your brothers have done for them. You will harbor anger at watching your nation's flag burned knowing of the blood that you tasted in it's name. You will almost go blind with rage having someone look at you like a damned murderer. You resent the fact that you went out to slaughter the cattle so they could eat the meat, then turn around and point at you like you are inhuman.

You can't get work. Being adept at killing, repairing tanks, or flying a gunship doesn't leave you too many positions to choose from. You wake up from sleep because the sound made by the garbage truck outside took you back for a moment. You do not feel whole because your weapon is no longer at your side. It had become a part of you. Society doesn't take kindly to your fascination with firearms. You get no thanks. You don't really expect it but it might be nice once in awhile. You seriously doubt whether some of the turds walking around you truly deserved what has been given to them by the way they treat, abuse and take advantage of lady liberty.

Life is now pretty much mundane and predictably safe. You just can not adjust to living a "normal" life now. You have seen too much and done too much. Everyone around you is only out for themselves. They can't be bothered with the simple things and never slow down. You are a sluggard in their eyes simply because you now stop to enjoy the simple things and look around more than before. Somehow you respect life more...yet know it wouldn't take much to take another one if needs be.

You miss the power you once had. You are under house rules now and it ain't working for you. You find a group of others who are in the same life that you are in now. You understand these people because they can relate to you for they were tempered with fire also. You take up the motorcycle because it is fast and dangerous. It brings back the rush. It's taboo with most of the population. You are once again in a pack and doing something the most of the population doesn't want to do. The power is once again yours and you and your bothers are once again depending on each other, but fighting for survival in a different way this time around. The motorcycle gives you the open feeling, the risk, the danger and adventure. You travel light and once again not sure what's going to happen next. Most importantly...you are part of a cherished brotherhood once more. They have your back whether you are right or wrong.

It's about as close as your going to get to the life you wish you could leave behind, but can't because it won't let you. Sometimes you actually miss it. Sometimes you wish it never happened. Sometimes you are thankful for the experience and other times you feel damned.

Three things have never been in doubt as far as you are concerned. You have never doubted your love for your country. You have never doubted that you are a true patriot and you never will forget those who were with you or the sacrifices made.

------------

Take some time and listen. Say "Thank You" to those who have served. It doesn't matter whether you agree or not, but you are a complete fool if you can't see past yourself far enough to see the price paid for the things you enjoy. Help pay down the debt somehow...it is a sacrifice far easier to pay and you know this.

Thank you to all who have served or are serving. It doesn't matter where or how, because you are part of the ONE that protects ALL.

Sylvester howard Roper was the first ever man to make a motorcycle back in 1867. His motorcycle was steam powered so its not technically the first motorcycle. The first gas powered motorcycle was invented by Gottlieb Daimler back in 1885.  < For more see the article below the next one>
As you fill your gas tank for your next summer trip, ask yourself how gas prices have reached current nosebleed levels. For many, the easy answer is to curse the "greedy" oil companies. Consider for a moment an alternative reason.
Oil is a commodity and therefore is subject to the laws of supply and demand. In the simplest of terms, when demand begins to put pressure on supply, prices go up; simple Econ 101. In a supply-and-demand situation, there are really only two options; lower demand or increase supply. I don't anticipate that the demand for oil will decrease, as Americans love their cars and love to drive. This leaves us with increasing the supply.
I know there are other fuel and energy alternatives, but none are mature enough or as readily accessible as oil and its byproducts at the present time. They may be in the future, but that doesn't help us out at the gas pump today. While research and development of fuel and energy alternatives will and must go forward, the supply of oil in the interim can be increased and America has vast resources that can be tapped into today.
Blocked in D.C. Investors Business Daily estimates there are 1 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale in the U.S. and Canada. Retrieving just a 10th of it would quadruple our current oil reserves. There is a pool of oil in the Gulf of Mexico that is estimated to be as large as any in the Middle East. There is an equally large pool believed to be in Alaska.
The Chinese are attempting to tap into the Gulf oil supply by drilling diagonally from Cuba. I wonder what environmental safeguards they are using?
The fact is that there are environmentally safe methods of extracting oil from shale and drilling in both the Gulf and Alaska. Congress, however, continues to block these efforts. Just last week, the Senate voted to block any extraction from shale in Colorado. In essence, they voted to make your trips to the gas station more expensive, to make air travel more expensive, and to make heating your home more expensive.

That's something to think about in an election year.
Hi All

As you know I travel many thousands of miles a year on my motorcycle. It is a sport that I enjoy very much and I strive for excellence and safety in my performance every time I ride. I have found that, even though I am a motorcyclist, I sometimes let distractions take my focus from driving my car or work van. My promise to all is to improve my focus while driving and to continue to work toward being a better motorcyclist.

I have attached a document that I hope you will take a moment to read. It might help you save a motorcyclist's life, maybe mine.

Please take a moment to read the attached document. If you are so inclined, forward this to anyone you know who drives. Make copies and hand them out, anything will help. For more information visit the AMA website or the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

Burk Forsythe


QUICK TIPS:  Ten Things All Car & Truck Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles

1.   There are a lot more cars and trucks than motorcycles on the 
       road, and some drivers don't "recognize" a motorcycle; they ignore it (usually 
       unintentionally). Look for motorcycles, especially when checking traffic at an 
       intersection.

2.   Because of its small size, a motorcycle may look farther away 
       than it is.  It may also be difficult to judge a motorcycle’s speed.  When checking 
       traffic to turn at an intersection or into (or out of) a driveway, predict a motorcycle 
       is closer than it looks.

3.    Because of its small size, a motorcycle can be easily hidden in 
       a car’s blind spots (door/roof pillars) or masked by objects or backgrounds outside a car 
       (bushes, fences, bridges, etc).  Take an extra moment to thoroughly check 
       traffic, whether you're changing lanes or turning at intersections.

4.   Because of its small size a motorcycle may seem to be moving 
       faster than it really is.  Don't assume all motorcyclists are speed demons.

5.   Motorcyclists often slow by downshifting or merely rolling off 
      the throttle, thus  not activating the brake light.  Allow more following distance, say 3 or 
      4 seconds. At intersections, predict a motorcyclist may slow down without visual 
      warning.

6.   Turn signals on a motorcycle usually are not self-canceling, 
     thus some riders,(especially beginners) sometimes forget to turn them off after a turn 
     or lane change.  Make sure a motorcycle's signal is for real.
7.   Motorcyclists often adjust position within a lane to be seen 
      more easily and to minimize the effects of road debris, passing vehicles, and wind.  
      Understand that motorcyclists adjust lane position for a purpose, not to be reckless 
      or show off or to allow you to share the lane with them.

8.   Maneuverability is one of a motorcycle's better characteristics, 
      especially at slower speeds and with good road conditions, but don't expect a 
       motorcyclist to always be able to dodge out of the way.

9.    Stopping distance for motorcycles is nearly the same as for  cars, but slippery
       pavement makes stopping quickly difficult.  Allow more following 
       distance behind a motorcycle because it can't always stop "on a dime."

10.  When a motorcycle is in motion, don't think of it as motorcycle; 
        think of it as a person.
 
"Who invented the first motorcycle?" It seems like a simple question, but the answer is a bit complicated.

Motorcycles are descended from the "safety" bicycle, bicycles with front and rear wheels of the same size, with a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel. Those bicycles, in turn were descended from high-wheel bicycles. The high-wheelers were descended from an early type of push-bike, without pedals, propelled by the rider's feet pushing against the ground. These appeared around 1800, used iron-banded wagon wheels, and were called "bone-crushers," both for their jarring ride, and their tendency to toss their riders.

Gottlieb Daimler (who later teamed up with Karl Benz to form the Daimler-Benz Corporation) is credited with building the first motorcycle in 1885, one wheel in the front and one in the back, although it had a smaller spring-loaded outrigger wheel on each side. It was constructed mostly of wood, with the wheels being of the iron-banded wooden-spoked wagon-type, definitely a "bone-crusher" chassis.

It was indeed powered by a single-cylinder Otto-cycle engine, and may have had a spray-type carburetor. (Daimler's assistant, Wilhelm Maybach was working on the invention of the spray carburetor at the time).

If one counts two wheels with steam propulsion as being a motorcycle, then the first one may have been American. One such machine was demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern US in 1867, built by one Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts. There is an existing example of a Roper machine, dated 1869. It's powered by a charcoal-fired two-cylinder engine, whose connecting rods directly drive a crank on the rear wheel. This machine predates the invention of the safety bicycle by many years, so its chassis is also based on the "bone-crusher" bike.

Most of the development during this earliest of eras concentrated on three and four-wheeled designs, since it was complex enough to get the machines running without having to worry about them falling over. The next really notable two-wheeler was the Millet of 1892. It used a 5-cylinder engine built as the hub of its rear wheel. The cylinders rotated with the wheel, and its crankshaft constituted the rear axle.

The first really successful production two-wheeler though, was the Hildebrand & Wolfmueller, patented in Munich in 1894. It had a step-through frame, with its fuel tank mounted on the downtube. The engine was a parallel-twin, mounted low on the frame, with its cylinders going fore-and-aft. The connecting rods connected directly to a crank on the rear axle, and instead of using heavy flywheels for energy storage between cylinder-firing, it used a pair of stout elastic bands, one on each side outboard of the cylinders, to help out on the compression strokes. It was water-cooled, and a water tank/radiator built into the top of the rear fender.

In 1895, the French firm of DeDion-Buton built an engine that was to make the mass production and common use of motorcycles possible. It was a small, light, high revving four-stroke single, and used battery-and-coil ignition, doing away with the troublesome hot-tube. Bore and stroke figures of 50mm by 70mm gave a displacement of 138cc. A total loss lubrication system was employed to drip oil into the crankcase through a metering valve, which then sloshed around to lubricate and cool components before dumping it on the ground via a breather. DeDion-Buton used this 1/2 horsepower powerplant in roadgoing trikes, but the engine was copied and used by everybody, including Indian and Harley-Davidson in the U.S.

Although a gentleman named Pennington built some machines around 1895 (it's uncertain whether any of them actually ran), the first US production motorcycle was the Orient-Aster, built by the Metz Company in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1898. It used an Aster engine that was a French-built copy of the DeDion-Buton, and predated Indian (1901) by three years, and Harley-Davidson (1902) by four.
   
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