Many Happy Returns of the Season to
all! I'll bet everybody's busily getting
ready for a festive Holiday, and are gearing
up for the Toy Runs that are scheduled for
virtually every weekend until New Year's
Day, it seems! ABATE's Chapter events are
included on that schedule as well: virtually
all our Chapters are collecting toys and
canned food for Oklahoma's underprivileged
families. Just surf over to
www.abateok.com and click on the
State Website link and check out our Biker
Calendar of Events, or click on the
individual Chapter sites and take a look at
their upcoming happenings. I'd like to
highlight ABATE of Tulsa's Toys for Tots
Run, which will be celebrating its 25th
Anniversary this year and constitutes one of
the largest single gatherings of motorcycles
and trikes in Oklahoma , and the COD ABATE
Toy Run, held in conjunction with the
Christian Motorcyclist Association. Both
of these events are taking place on December
12. Also, the Naysayers M/C, one of our
Oklahoma Confederation of Clubs members, is
hosting its annual Toy Run on December 5,
which they've been putting on for 26 years
in Midwest City. Their efforts benefit the
Red Andrews Christmas Dinner, providing
Holiday joy to poor Oklahomans for over half
a century. Hope to see you at a few of
these events! For those I haven't been
able to make, I hope my fellow ABATE members
have enjoyed a very successful and rewarding
time hosting these, and I salute you for
your community outreach. This is also
supposed to be a time when we're
anticipating getting together with family,
friends and loved ones that makes the
Holidays so special. Crossing paths with my
Riding Brothers and Sisters does that for
me. Of course, finding a shiny, restored
'48 Panhead under the tree wouldn't hurt
either. After all, this is the time of year
when dreams are supposed to come true, isn't
it?
I'm still on an emotional high from
the overwhelming success of Jaggers' Law
Run, but that excitement has been tempered
by the injury of some very special folks, a
lot of them due to the actions of the
negligent and irresponsible. I was involved
in a motorcycle accident myself when I got
rear-ended at a stop sign on October 24.
Fortunately, I wasn't injured, and the
bike's getting fixed-we can replace parts,
but we can't replace good people. Butch
Hensley, who works at Ray's Custom Cycles in
Oklahoma City, was left-turned by a
motorist, and is in Midwest City Regional
Medical Center with multiple injuries, and
my dear friends Rick and Cindy Hudson,
longtime members of H.O.G., were involved in
a bike wreck on November 7. They were
tail-ended by a speeding SUV in a
construction zone, and their dresser was
totaled. Rick got some scratches-he's a
tough old bird-but Cindy sustained a broken
collarbone and fractured skull, even though
they were both wearing helmets. Thank God
these wonderful people are still with us,
and I hope all of you will remember them in
thought and prayer. These incidents
definitely provide more justification for
passing Failure to Yield Legislation to
punish the reckless, and I hope they throw
the book at the motorists that were at
fault. Speaking of which, former Congressman
Wes Watkins of Oklahoma just settled a TWO
MILLION DOLLAR judgment for killing two
people and leaving three little girls
orphans last year while driving
inattentively. It remains to be seen if
he'll face a criminal trial for negligent
homicide in that case. Oh yeah, and former
South Dakota Congressman Bill Janklow is
APPEALING his felony conviction for killing
a Biker after running a stop sign--pretty
amazing, huh? I'll keep you updated as to
how THAT goes!
I headed up to Tulsa on November 7 for
the Oklahoma Confederation of Clubs meeting,
which attracted over 35 different motorcycle
clubs, organizations and associations.
There were over 190 motorcyclists and
trikers present, and over 155 bikes in the
parking lot. The Confederation, of which
ABATE is a member and will continue to be in
2005, has renewed its Sustaining Membership
in ABATE of Oklahoma for next year. It's
very gratifying to see so many different
motorcycling groups, representing a broad
cross-section of our riding community,
taking an active part in increasing Biker
political activity. I'm very proud to have
served as Liaison Officer for the
Confederation of Clubs this year, and look
forward to keeping active next year as
well. The Confederation focuses on
promoting unity among all
motorcycling-related groups in Oklahoma, in
the interest of making Oklahoma's
motorcyclists a more powerful force for
improving Quality of Life in our state. The
next Confederation meeting will be held
Sunday, January 9, 2005 in Oklahoma City
and I'll let you know the location as soon
as possible . The Confederation also has a
pretty spiffy website: check it out at
www.oklahomacoc.com It'll
especially be worth checking out in the
early Spring, when the Confederation will be
hosting the 2005 Motorcycle Expo, a
world-class Bike Show and Rally at the Cox
Convention Center, downtown Oklahoma City
March 19-20, 2005. Additionally, those of
you that missed a tremendously successful
National Coalition Of Motorcyclists
Convention this year in Oklahoma City should
plan on joining the Worldwide Confederations
Of Clubs in attending the 20th Annual NCOM
Convention in Nashville, TN in May,
2005.
It was really special to see everyone
that took some time out of their busy
schedules and braved the cold to join in
with their fellow motorcyclists on COD
ABATE's 7th Annual Veterans' Day Parade to
the State Capitol. We had over 165
motorcycles and trikes turn out to join in
the festivities, not including automobiles
and trucks. We also raised 520 DOLLARS for
the Tinker AFB POW/MIA Memorial building
project when we "passed the hat" during the
Riders Meeting before the Parade kicked
off. One of the big-rig truckers asleep in
his cab at the Skyline Restaurant parking
lot even kicked in a few bucks when all that
two-wheeled thunder woke him up! The Parade
was VERY impressive, and the reason why we
were there made it that way! After the
ceremony was concluded (which only lasted 35
minutes including my speech, I'll have you
know!), a good number of attendees rode to
Charley's Last Stand for build 'em yourself
hot dogs and chili dogs, and the American
Legion Riders Post #1340 inaugurated its
brand new flagpole with Old Glory snapping
beautifully in a stiff North Wind. There
was a lot of spirit and sense of unity
present in everyone that was there, and a
deep love and support for our nation's
Veterans that made the event truly
meaningful. Many thanks to all those that
participated in the ceremony, to the
American Legion Riders Post #1340 for
hosting the cookout, to Charley's staff for
their continued hospitality, and especially
to all you dedicated motorcyclists and
trikers that showed your appreciation for
the sacrifices of America's Veterans,
without whom our Free Lifestyle would be
nonexistent. The Tinker POW/MIA Memorial
project folks were very grateful for our
donation, and ABATE is helping them organize
a fund-raiser Poker Run for Saturday, April
30, 2005. It'll be great to see Oklahoma's
Motorcycling Community included on the
bronze plaque listing major contributors.
I'm so proud to be associated with such
special people as my ABATE Family, and am
both honored and humbled to be able to speak
on your behalf.
As we get ready to settle down for an
enjoyable Christmas with family and friends,
I want to thank all of you out there for
your continued membership in and support of
ABATE of Oklahoma as we continue to work
together to make everything better for our
state's Motorcycling Community. I also
would like to express my appreciation to
Charley's Last Stand and the Downed Bikers
Association for becoming our
newest Sustaining Members of ABATE , as well
as those other organizations already
expressing a commitment in this direction .
We have some good things happening on the
horizon, like our annual ABATE State
Membership Meeting and Party on Saturday,
January 8, 2005, at the Bricktown Plaza
Hotel, and our yearly Legislative Breakfast
on Thursday, February 17, 2005, 7:30AM until
10:30AM at the State Capitol Fourth Floor
Rotunda. It's a tremendous opportunity to
get to know the many new folks that'll be
representing us in the State Legislature and
let them know our position on the issues we
care about. There are also challenges to
meet, and possibly more battles to fight.
We're going to need to find out what kind of
procedural changes for getting things done
in the Legislature may be incorporated by
the Legislature, which now has a
Republican-controlled House for the first
time since the early 1920's. Fortunately,
the causes we champion cross all party
lines! I was interviewed for over an hour
last month by a reporter from the Daily
Oklahoman, which is preparing a feature
article on the feasibility of reinstating a
Helmet Law in the State of Oklahoma.
Needless to say, Holly Swinford and I
provided the Freedom of Choice point of view
for the article, which I hope will be an
objective piece. I just passed my Fifth
Anniversary serving as your State
Coordinator in ABATE (some like to call me
the "Master ABATE-r" Ha Ha!), and our State
Organization will be entering its
Fifteenth Anniversary of existence in 2005.
It's been quite a pleasurable experience
for me, and it's been an immense privilege
to work with the kind of special folks that
are my Freedom-loving Brothers and Sisters
of the Road. Best wishes for all good
things this Holiday Season, and for a bright
and prosperous New Year. Ride Safely, and
I'll see you on the road as we Jump n' Jive,
as well as Survive, in 2005!
Keep It On The Black Strip Between The
Trees,
Tiger Mike