March 2002

Trails End.......

This March issue of our newsletter reflects a new era in Memphis Tour Riders 10 year plus history. The following reflects the conclusion of the events up to date.Our February 14^th valentine day meeting was one to remember. We welcomed all members and visitors to the meeting. We had a good turnout. The members present at roll call were, Ken and Aida McCarver, Earl and Barbara Bradburn, Terry and Mary Carrol Scott, Terry Taylor, Larry Cole and granddaughter Katie Yewell, Floyd Nunnelee and grandson Rusty Higgins, Bill and Julia Jones, B.J. and Hildia Max, Charlie and Darnell Gibson, Dick and Fran Salveson, Kelton Green, Jim Freeland and Yours Truly, Stan Viets. We had several visitors. From the AGWA’s Freedom Wings out of Jackson, Tennessee, Don Oller and James Taylor as well as representatives from the GWTA that included region D director George and Debbie Deskins, Tennessee State Director Jim Quinn, region D board representative Nancy Seery and Touring News editor’s Morris and Louise Duke, all from Chapter A in Nashville. We welcomed everyone to our meeting.,

   The important matter for discussion was the circumstances of GWTA and actions that have taken place over the past few months. Our meeting agenda outlined the results and personal observations at both the National Board Meeting as well as the State meeting. We had a lively discussion of the actions of the National leadership and their relationships with the grass roots membership, the dismissal of Donna Reynolds, the recent removal of Don Oller as State Director and whether any changes are in place to improve the situation in the near future. The majority of our Chapter membership expressed their disappointment with the whole state of affairs. A motion was made by B. J. Max and seconded By Terry Scott to vote on the two options outlined in the agenda. Option 1: Continue as an active GWTA Chapter or Option 2: Continue as an independent Club and drop our chapter affiliation with GWTA. The results of the voting  were:

Option One: 5 Votes

Option Two: 21 Votes (included 7 absentees)

No vote’s:  1

The results of the above vote indicate as a group, we are ready to get back to fun and festivity in our motorcycling relaxation. In agreement with the wishes of the chapter to head in a new direction, a committee volunteered to begin working on organizing a new motorcycle Club. I will chair this committee with the progress to be reviewed at our next

meeting March 14^th. Please remember we are all GWTA members, with no loss of TA benefits, as long as membership is current. Also current member that want to be assigned to another chapter may do so by notifying the TN State Director.

We closed our final Chapter M meeting by discussing the upcoming trip to the International Motorcycle Show in St Louis, our departure location in West Memphis, etc., We expect Don and Marion Oller and several from Jackson, TN to meet us and attend as well. This was a fun trip see details elsewhere in this newsletter.

Happy Valentines Day. Thanks for coming, see y’all March 14^th here at Jimmy C’s Café. Ride safe and have fun.

Stan and Jean

Meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM

50/50

                   Winner 50/50 Jackpot: Don Oller $50.00

PAGE 2

Happenings………

The Memphis Tour Riders organizing committee meeting met on March the 28^th at Jimmy C’s Café. Present were Dick and Fran Salveson, Charlie and Darnell Gibson, Terry and Mary Carol Scott, BJ Max, Floyd Nunnelee, Terry Taylor and Yours Truly, Stan Viets.

  We discussed at length the forming of a Tennessee non-profit corporation, the purpose statement as well as the cost (approximately $400.00). We discussed an AMA social club charter, the club’s constitution, bylaws, member application form and the equally important Club name.  After lengthy discussions we revised the tentative presentations of the paper work into a nearly final form, decided on a club name, established the cost of the dues and the name of our newsletter. All these items were finalized and approved and $500.00 was graciously donated for up front expenses. MTR appreciates your dedication and a big thanks to all.

The final rules and regulations will be reviewed by an attorney to be sure they are legal and in full compliance with all local, state and federal laws prior to filing. We, of course, are anxious to complete the organization as quickly as possible but, unfortunately, until we have our Tennessee non-profit corporation charter we will not be able to accept applications. We will post the application form, constitution and bylaws on our web site, when finalized, for easy access as well as in the newsletter. We will discuss our progress at our first meeting March 14^th.

The Memphis Tour Riders can only be as successful as you, the dedicated member, and potential members want it to be. We are off to a good start. 

For those that may be undecided at the moment, we are counting on your continuing presence, enthusiasm, dedication and participation; we have an election pending and you too can be a part of the happenings. We all have fond memories of the past, now we look forward to the future. Thanks to all for your valued assistance and by remembering our motto, we can only go “Onward and Upward”.

We will continue our tradition of door prizes (win one bring one) and having our 50/50 drawings. The following is a brief résumé of our new entity.

Club Name: “Memphis Tour Riders” a nonprofit corporation

Dues: $24.00/year per family

Officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Road Commander.

Monthly meeting: Second Thursday of each month

New name for newsletter: Happy Trails

Our new web address: www.mtrmc.com

Quotation of the month: The Road to Success is always under construction…

Our next meeting will be March 14, 2002, right here at Jimmy C’s Café, eat at 6 PM, meet at 7 PM, and adjourn by 8PM. See y’all there. God Bless America, fly the flag.

Ride safe, the fun is here.

Stan and Jean, Committee Chairman

Memphis Tour Riders

The Purpose of this Social Club is to pursue and encourage a safe and effectual manner of group riding that will enhance the image of the motorcycle rider; to promote good public relations through their general behavior, club activities and community affairs; to promote cooperative coexistence between motorcycle clubs and organizations; to promote dialogue among members of matters pertaining to motorcycles; and, in general, to abide by all local, state and federal laws.

STEEL HELMET BUCKLES

  7:00AM -- Time for a morning ride. Boots, jacket, gloves - check. Helmet - Whups, have to take off the gloves to run the helmet strap through the D-rings... Sure is cold out! Working by feel my fingers start getting numb. They don't want to do what I tell ‘em to. Even when it’s warm, D-ring fasteners can be a pain for some folks. After nine straight years of using them, Hildia still hasn’t mastered the things. She hates them and so do I. A friend of mine put me on to some quick release helmet buckles one time that looked good, but they were made of plastic and I was afraid to use them. They just didn’t look very strong. Then, not long ago, Stan Viets, our fearless leader, sent me a link to a website that carried a helmet buckle manufactured by a company called “Echo ”. These buckles were recommended by MCN and even though they had a plastic body, the locking mechanism was solid steel. Plus, they were DOT certified and tested to Snell Foundation standards. That was enough for me so I ordered two sets.

   Echo’s Bob Wright is a retired quality control engineer from the Aerospace industry, where he supervised a team that had to meet quality standards for NASA's Space Shuttle program. Bob also hates D-rings. In 1979, he designed his first helmet buckle. Bob has improved on that design over the years, and now offers the highest-quality helmet buckle made, the patented Echo Quick Release.

   The Echo's construction features: Metal-to-metal tempered steel fastening surfaces, a patented locking system that requires both release buttons to be pressed, eliminating accidental opening, easy installation on any helmet and as an added bonus, they come in six different colors.

   Last week at the St. Louis Motorcycle Show while buying a helmet for Hildia, Stan joined us. There were a few cards of Echo buckles laying around on the vendor’s table…Stan looked them over and bought two on the spot. I paid six bucks each for ours and I think Stan paid the same…But I’ve seen them for as high as Nine bucks, so shop around before you buy. You can check ‘em out at motorcyclegadgets.com

HAPPY TRAILS

PAGE 3

The following are the lyrics  from a bluegrass song I heard on the radio the other day. Since we are now a non-denominational motorcycle club I thought it would be a good time to honor  the mighty Vincent…Not to mention the fact that I didn’t have anything else to fill up this space. Seriously, I just liked the words and wanted to share them with everyone…ed.                               

            1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Oh says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like"
Says James to Red Molly "My hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite color scheme"
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride

Oh says James to Red Molly "Here's a ring for your right hand
But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man.
For I've fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22
And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

"Come down, come down, Red Molly" called Sergeant McRae
"For they've taken young James for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside"
When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said "I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

Says James "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world
 Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
 Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do,
 Ah, they don't have a soul like a Vincent 52"
 Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
 Said "I've got no further use for these.
 I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
 Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"
 And he gave her one last kiss and died
 And he gave her his Vincent to ride.

Richard Thompson

Happy Anniversary

Terry and Mary Carol Scott

March 23rd

When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.

On The Road

There was a long line to the ticket booth at the Motorcycle show in St. Louis. Made me almost want to turn around and go home. But it moved fast and it wasn’t long till we were inside ogling all the new bikes. David Elston, Brenda Crawford, Hildia and I left Memphis at six AM about an hour earlier than the main group. We came up through Covington and Dyersburg and consequently we arrived about an hour ahead of everyone else.

One of the highlights of the show for us was two radically new machines, the new Harley V-Rod and the Honda ST1300..Both of these bikes are impressive in their own way. The V-rod looks like something Superman would ride and the ST looks like the Batcycle. I liked them both. At one point I sat down on a new Harley Ultra-Glide Classic.. I had to beg Hildia to join me..you know, just to see how the two of us would fit on a Harley..We fit just fine. I really liked that bike. Hildia says I liked it too much. I guess once a Harley rider, always a Harley rider.

We were on a mission of sorts. Hildia has wanted a full-face helmet for several years now, ever since she got a look at a patient that had her chin scraped off in a bike accident. So we were prepared to cough up the cash if we could find a deal. We looked at several brands and finally settled on the Shoei Syncrotec flip-up. Suggested retail on this helmet was $465.99. Since we didn’t pay anywhere near that, I can only assume that we got that good deal.

The Memphis Tour Riders caravan left the parking lot together heading for Lamberts in Sikeston, Missouri. We stayed together for at least thirty seconds before getting’ separated. Four of the cars took the wrong turn and ended up in East Beirut, Illinois better known as East  St. Louis. As Stan said later, it’s a lot easier to keep two wheelers with CB radio’s together than four wheelers with cell phones.

Lamberts turned out to be toooo too crowded so we drove on to Dyersburg and ate at the Catfish Gally while the rest of the bunch, including Don Oller’s gang outta’ Jackson ate at Ryans in Sikeston…

No less than fourteen of us made the trek this year and they included Ed and Irene Morris, Bob Branch, Terry and Mary Carol Scott, Charlie and Darnell Gibson, Floyd Nunnelee and grandson Rusty Higgins, Stan Viets, Brenda Crawford, David Elston, Hildia Max and Yours Truly. This was a great turnout for the New Memphis Tour Riders inaugural trip proving that Independence suits us just fine. A politician might say, “It’s the people stupid!”

                                                                                                 bj max

Happy Birthday

  March 4^th - Danny Parker

 March 13^th - David Elston

Many Happy Returns!

"Tomorrow or the next life, who knows which comes first?"

                                                                                      Dalai Lama

Happy Trails  is Published Monthly by Possum's Anonymous, Memphis, Tennessee 901-377-9140