ABATE of Oklahoma

Greetings, Riding Brothers and Sisters! I sure hope the weather is going to start drying out in Oklahoma soon. Of course, I usually expect that to happen once the Oklahoma State Fair is over! Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the cooler motorcycling weather now that Autumn is here. It's hard to believe that, ten years ago this month, I took over from Muskogee's Mark Baldwin as ABATE of Oklahoma State Coordinator, since he needed to take a job in Mortuary Affairs with the Department of Defense. I don't hear from him, but I know he's playing a valuable role in supporting our Armed Forces. Awhile back, I even saw a picture of him in the middle of Iraq. Time sure flies when you're deep into the fight for Liberty! Your State Motorcyclists Rights Organization is currently laying the groundwork for what we hope will be a successful 2010 Oklahoma State Legislative Session. We're currently networking with the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office to get more Public Service Announcements posted on the state's Electronic Bulletin Boards urging motorists to Share the Road and look out for motorcycles. If that idea is appealing, you might want to fly one of our snappy ABATE "Look Twice For Bikes" T-shirts! As mentioned last month, ABATE, along with the Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs, has been busily circulating petitions for bike owners' support of a Three Dollar registration fee increase to fully fund Motorcycling Safety, Awareness, and Education programs. We're submitting those petitions to the Legislature this month, in time for the House of Representatives to go ahead with their Interim Study on implementing those programs beneficial to motorcyclists of all backgrounds. Remember, folks: going ahead with these programs will directly contribute to reducing deaths and injuries among our Riding Community. Both the bill related to these programs and ABATE's "Red Light" Bill, allowing bikes to proceed if they don't trigger the signal at controlled intersections, are in committee to be considered as the 2010 Session begins in February. ABATE's Legislative Committee is still looking into additional issues to be addressed, in order to line up bill authors and co-sponsors over the next couple of months. Also on the Legislative front, we had a number of our members attend the Motorcycle Riders Foundation's annual Meeting Of The Minds convention, which took place the end of September in Minneapolis, MN, including Garry Canaday, Carol King, John Pierce, and Charlie and Bernie Williams. I was able to check out Garry's pictures on MySpace--it looked like another terrific MRF occasion. I understand it was a successful, well attended event, and that our Oklahoma attendees did us proud. I'll be very interested to get a recap of how things went, which we'll see in this paper, and read about it in MRF Reports newsletter. You can also get more information on this important event by going to the MRF Website at www.mrf.org I'm very glad the Sooner State was well-represented this year and, as both a fellow ABATE Member and officer, I just wanted to mention how proud I am to be associated with all of the attendees, who are experienced Freedom Fighters. Thanks very much for your continued dedication to furthering the cause of Riding Liberty in our state.

ABATE spent a lot of time with these important topics at the September Board Meeting, along with finalizing logistics on our annual "Party On The Plains", which took place the first weekend of October at the Westlake Recreation Area in Enid. I hope a good number of you were able to attend, and that you enjoyed yourselves in the company of your Biker Brothers and Sisters. You'll be able to read about how successful this festive event was in the next Biker Journal issue. Many thanks to all our ABATE Members who worked so hard to make sure everything went well. Additionally, our ABATE State Website has been updated, and we're keeping our original domain address, so log onto www.abateofoklahoma.org sometime and see what we're up to. Ms. Debi of our Tulsa Chapter has graciously stepped forward to volunteer to be our Web Mistress, and I'm confident she's going to do a terrific job! She's experienced with computer operations, and has really shaped up the Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs website already. Welcome Aboard, Ms. Debi! One major event ABATE also prepared for was the annual Mid-South Motorcyclists Improving Legislative Effectiveness (M.I.L.E.) Seminar, which happened October 16-18 at the Best Western Hotel in Emporia, Kansas. Rights Activists from a five-state area (Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas) participated in educational and informative programs covering a wide variety of topics. National-level Rights Organizations including the American Motorcyclist Association, National Coalition Of Motorcyclists, and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation were also represented. We'll come up with a more definitive recap on how the M.I.L.E. went, along with pictures, in our next month's newspaper. Be sure to obtain more information on these valuable seminars in the future by checking out www.midsouthmile.org

Tiger's Tip O' The Month: Did you ever wonder how Road Gators are born? You know--those strips of tire tread and chunks rubber we see frequently on Oklahoma highways? Sadly, a lot of vehicle owners and operators out there, from compacts to big-rigs, treat having well-maintained vehicles like it's some kind of joke, and there are a bunch of overloaded eighteen-wheelers out there with underinflated retreads just waiting to add to the Road Gator population. Be aware of passing traffic, and keep an eye out for possible
parts which could fall off in your path, as well as tires that might look like a blowout waiting to happen. Also, don't forget that those Road Gators throw a bunch of metal on the highway from their steel belts, too. That could end up putting you on the side of the road with a flat tire, so avoid running over that stuff if you can help it. It's amazing what you see blowing by you on Oklahoma roadways, too. I got passed not long ago by an econo-box
doing seventy that had THREE of those mini-spacesaver donut spares on it--You can bet I gave him a wide berth!

Well, that'll do it for this month, compadres--Ride Safely, Sober and Aware! You can see that the Sooner State continues to lead in the fight to enhance Motorcycling Liberty. The Eagles Lodge in Chickasha hosted September's Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs meeting, where over 300 Bikers of all backgrounds convened to listen to Gimme Jimmy of Texas, founder of the U.S. Defenders Program. This is a valuable system whereby motorcycle clubs and organizations can respond in an organized fashion to write, call, and visit their Legislators en masse when ABATE issues a Legislative Call To Action. It's similar to the Committees of Correspondence which were so successful during the American Revolution. Brook Bullock and I represent ABATE to the U.S. Defenders Program, so expect more information from both of us in the future, especially when the Oklahoma Legislative Session begins. Next month, I'll have more information as to the ABATE State Elections results and who our new officers will be, but I want to close with a heartfelt thought and a prayer for my dear friend Charles "Roach" Hoffmann of Missouri, who just passed away from heart problems. Roach was a patch holding club member and a longtime Motorcycling Liberty Defender, holding memberships in a number of SMROs including ABATE of Oklahoma. At the time of his death, he was the Regional Chief Of Staff for Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.), and traveled all over the country assisting Bikers down on their luck. Roach was also an Army Veteran--a Special Forces NCO with multiple Vietnam combat tours under his belt. I was gratified to see this special individual recognized with a Silver Spoke Liberty Award at the NCOM Convention this past May in Reno, NV. Please remember his family, friends and Club Brothers in your thoughts and prayers. I was honored and privileged to have been his friend, and his loss leaves a void in my life difficult to fill. Ride Free Forever, "Roach" Hoffmann! I also need to mark the sudden passing away of Sam Arab of the Christian Motorcyclist Association. Sam (AKA the "Savage Syrian") was very active in our Motorcycling Community while he lived in Oklahoma, and continued to be so when he moved out to California. He was an ABATE Member in both states, and on the CMA's Prison Ministry Team. He loved the Lord, riding his motorcycle, and reaching out to help his fellow human beings of all backgrounds, and will be sorely missed by his many friends and loved ones. Please remember his family, friends and the CMA in your thoughts and prayers--Ride Free Forever, Sam!!

I know it seems as if we've touched on the departure of quite a few Motorcycling Family members lately, but it's part of the Circle of Life that all of us are a part of. Let's be sure to celebrate the good times together as well, and enjoy the weddings, the new family arrivals, and the down-home close-knitted spirit of the Road which comes from a common bond of loving Freedom on two and three wheels. As we approach Thanksgiving and celebrate the harvest in this land of bounty, I want to once again express gratitude for being an American, a motorcyclist, and being part of ABATE, as I close out a decade as your State Coordinator and prepare to step down. That said, I want to assure everyone that my gratitude will translate into continued active defense of Riding Liberty as I continue to stay involved as an active ABATE Member. May you have a very Happy Thanksgiving with family, friends and loved ones, and best wishes for good health, happiness and God's richest blessings!

Keep It On The Black Strip Between The Trees,

Tiger Mike