Continued from last blog; 

Rol and I took a ride to the Farmer’s Market in Connecticut, south and a little east of Hartford. We grab a whole pallet of corn (roughly 800 ears) donated by a local farmer, and the owner of the market threw in 4 flats of grapes (nice surprise!). We got back to the American Legion Post 85 on River St in Woonsocket just around noon. A setup crew of roughly 8-10 volunteers were setting up tables and chairs for 200, and hanging a huge banner that we had made so guests who were coming that may not know the area well could see the venue from the street. We decided not to “shuck” the corn until Sunday, because if we did and it did rain Sunday, the corn would have been ruined before the “rain date” next week.

Please, no rain- not tomorrow Lord.

A group of about 8 of us went back to Rol’s place and loaded up cookers, propane tanks, serving and ticket sales tables and tents, and the bike trailer- replete with the mini-chopper to be raffled, 50 bags of Kingsford charcoal, 50 or so pounds of potato salad in 3 pound tubs (iced, in huge coolers), and (can this sentence run on any more?) all sorts of miscellaneous supplies… and back to the venue we go.  Oh yes, 500 pounds of chicken went with us too.

Chicken, potato salad, and corn all went into the walk-in fridge at the venue. Charcoal, cookers, mini-chopper, and miscellany were all tucked away in the venue garage. On and off again during the day we got soaked to the bone by hard rain that couldn’t make up it’s mind to keep going or not.

Are we done? No. With all but Rol and I dismissed until tomorrow (with orders to arrive at 8:00AM sharp), off he and I go to BJ’s, to provision more supplies. Napkins, paper plates, condiments, even more miscellany, and more barbeque sauce than the cashier could believe (heheheh). With a stop to fill up the 4 propane tanks, back to the venue once more for a final drop off. One really nice surprise was that one of the American Legion members came outside with a draft beer and about a dozen fresh raw littleneck clams (hot sauce in hand of course) each for Rol and I. That really hit the spot, and was when I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. No matter, we were provided for handsomely with those clams. Back to Rol’s, the last chore of the night was to mix up 7 gallons (you read correctly, seven GALLONS) of barbeque sauce mix- the recipe for which will only be left via Rol or I’s last will and testament, whomever goes last. It is a rule of natural law that barbeque sauce cannot be created properly without a beer or two being consumed by those who are the designated sauce creators, and we thought it best not to fool with Mother Nature. At 7:30 PM I head back to the old homestead, tired but mostly happy, with only one nagging worry-

No rain, not tomorrow Lord. Please, no rain then.

That night it takes me a long time to prepare my motorcycle and the few supplies I’ll need for the ride tomorrow, I’m fairly exhausted so not thinking in a way to promote efficiency. My wife and girls keep me company (yes, in the Garage/Studio/Bar) while I do so, and we each discuss how our day went.

Note to self; don’t ever forget how lucky you are to have them, dude.

Around 10:30 PM my eyes are closing on their own, regardless of what I want them to do. Good night. Oh, and one final thought; 

Please, not tomorrow Lord, no rain.

Sunday, July 29^th, 06:30- Wake. The girls know I’m out early today- I’ll let them sleep. Get ready, and open the Garage/Studio/Bar door to the foggiest morning I’ve seen in years. Hoo boy. The Harley needs gas. The weather prediction is that there may be sporadic rain until the fog lifts, before noon, but then there’s only a 20% chance of showers! I sure hope this doesn’t affect attendance… off I go- with my mantra repeating over and over in my head…

Almost there Lord, no rain, not today, please.

One more note to self; no matter how tired you get, no matter what may happen, don’t you dare be anything other than thankful and friendly- funny would be a nice touch too, if you can pull it off. Don’t you dare have a single selfish thought, remember the sacrifice our guests have made, there’s nothing that you’re doing today that comes even close to that… you’re no hero dude, not even close compared to them.

After I gas up and arrive at the Legion Post, the rest of the day goes by in a blur. I cannot thank those who volunteered enough, really. We had great weather, a nice one hour ride, no crashes, and only a few break downs- all of which we could fix ourselves without needing a tow. The food was terrific, and there was plenty of it. The band “Slow Burn” kept us all entertained, and the “biker games” were a hoot (even if I lost, oh well- next year). There were approximately 250 bikes and almost 600 people in attendance. Massachusetts State Representative Jennifer Callahan came to give one of our guests of honor, Army PFC II John Shurick (her constituent), a certificate of thanks from the Massachusetts Senate, and a thank you letter from Governor Duvall Patrick. Our guests of honor from 2005 and 2006 were able to come as well. It was truly a gift to have all four of our honorees together at the same time! The winner of the mini-chopper came from Cranston, Rhode Island. I sold the winning ticket. I know, I know, but since all those who donated by taking a chance are closer to winning (because I sold the winning ticket)- the way to insure a win next year is to increase the mathematical probability by buying even more tickets from me next year!

This was not about politics, nor will our ride next year be about politics, each year we get a wide mix of people both volunteering and attending- it is about per year supporting one or two servicemen or women from our area, and their families -that through no fault of their own were put in circumstances that no family could be expected to handle well without help from the community.

For those who helped or donated- You came through. I honestly can’t thank you enough. You folks are among the best ever, worldwide, in my book. This time, Marine Corporal Patrick Murry and Army PFC John Shurick and their families thank you too. Marines James Crosby and Zac O’Grady and their families thank you for your past generosity, every chance they get they remind me to thank you again. We plan to hold this “bike run” (which is really a “welcome home party”) for as long as this war lasts. Everyone is welcome, and there is never any trouble. If you are a non-rider, aren’t you curious to see how “bikers” hold a party? Of course you are. Well, here’s a chance to do something about it! Next year, we truly hope to see you there.

By the time we got everything cleaned up and packed up and put away, it was close to sundown Sunday, maybe 8:00PM. The sky looked threatening, thunderstorms would open up any minute- but the only precipitation experienced that day, that I know of, was in the form of two drops only. You would indeed have needed very keen eyes to have seen them. They slid from behind the bottom of the dark lenses of the sunglasses on some random biker’s face as he rode home, one on each side, the short distance that it took to fall into his moustache, and that was it.

On that ride home, my mantra changed;

Thank You. Your will. I couldn’t have asked for more.