EDIT: Thought this would be pretty well received right now.....
As many of you know last week was the Jurg-a-palooza in MD. What some you may not know is that the chondro cookout/party was started by Trooper* many years ago.....then continued on by many others. Every year there is usually a MD chondro gathering, Paul August and Shane Snyder have had some epic and legendary parties. So kudos to Johnnny Blue for saving that tradition.
On to the main point. The Thursday before the dinner I took a train to Boston where I picked up my motorcycle and rode it all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay with my dad and uncles. On Sunday I left them and rode north 80 miles to Johnny Blue's house. Parked my bike, went to the dinner, and spent the night at his place.
The next morning I got up and after a leisurely breakfast with the Hollands, Jurgen and Sanna (sp) I took off for home. Just north of Baltimore, right where 95 is under major construction my motorcycle started to lose some power and spit out blue smoke.....obviously oil, obviously very bad. I looked around and there was no shoulder, just jersey barriers. As I am trying to figure out what to do if the engine seizes a man pulls up next to me and tells there is a Harley dealership 2 miles off the next exit (talk about luck). The 3 miles ride with the engine losing oil was a nightmare, I was just waiting for it to seize.
I got to the dealership (it was a Monday), pulled up, got off, and watched as oil drained from engine through the air filter. The service department was closed, so I had to leave the bike there. The guy told me he would give me a ride to a hotel for the night. I called John Holland and told him my situation. He was on the way to Greg Stephens' house with Jurgen (who was north of where I was, John was south). The downside was that he was in his 2 seater car. So they got to Greg's house, then hopped in Greg's jeep and drove to get me. When I talked to Greg on the phone he made it sound like I was right down the street from him.......it was at least an hour round trip for him to get me, he kept saying it wasn't a big deal. He is a better man than me.
We got back to Greg's house and John called Robin who lived in Baltimore, but is about 45 minutes from Greg, somewhat south of him. She was going to the zoo for an evening lecture by George Zug discussing herps in Burma. So she turned around, drove through rush hour traffic in the wrong direction to get me. Then drove back down to the zoo, she was an hour late for the presentation and missed most of it, plus I made her walk in late. She did nothing but laugh and smile and tell me not to worry about it.
I felt terrible for putting John, Jurgen, Greg, and Robin out, but they did nothing but laugh and told me not to worry about it. Truly amazing individuals.
The bike had 70,000 miles on it and never had internal engine work done. The cam chain tensioner went on the bike. My father came down and got the bike so we wouldn't have to pay the Harley mechanics to do it when he and my uncles could do the labor for free.
What I truly find amazing is that I met all of these people through chondros, yet they are without a doubt true friends. It is situations like these that make me realize there is something a little different about chondro people. Something that goes beyond just having snakes in common.
This is also why I feel it is important to come out to shows, or chondro events if possible, it is one thing to know someone from talking on the forum, but it is another to sit down and have a drink with them and talk face to face. For those who make excuses why they can't come talk to davidnj who showed up tot he Tinley show the day his wife was due to give birth. He just hung out and talked chondros like nothing else was going on his life.
Also, for those who don't know Robin, your loss. Aqila knows that there are two people I will leave her for, Rosario Dawson and Robin. However Robin has a rather large and intimidating husband so I have always shown her the utmost respect. I know it often seems like their are cliques, or "in" crowds on here, but I assure you it is nothing like that. What you have are people who have met each other, drank together, eaten together, cleaned cages together, and hung out together.
I am really looking forward to Daytona because I get to see people there that I never get to see but once a year. I am really excited Andrew Aman (super nice guy) is making the trek again along with the rest of the Texas crew who I have never met. Some of you may remember a couple of years ago when Cleve and I got into quite heavy on the forum. It got pretty harsh going back and forth, but at Daytona he walked up, extended his hand and introduced himself, we talked and laughed quite a bit. We debated in person (which is much different than online) and I ended up changing my setups completely because he was so convincing in his argument.
Any way, just wanted to share this because I truly believe we have a special community here and the reason it is so special is because of the people involved.
j
As many of you know last week was the Jurg-a-palooza in MD. What some you may not know is that the chondro cookout/party was started by Trooper* many years ago.....then continued on by many others. Every year there is usually a MD chondro gathering, Paul August and Shane Snyder have had some epic and legendary parties. So kudos to Johnnny Blue for saving that tradition.
On to the main point. The Thursday before the dinner I took a train to Boston where I picked up my motorcycle and rode it all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay with my dad and uncles. On Sunday I left them and rode north 80 miles to Johnny Blue's house. Parked my bike, went to the dinner, and spent the night at his place.
The next morning I got up and after a leisurely breakfast with the Hollands, Jurgen and Sanna (sp) I took off for home. Just north of Baltimore, right where 95 is under major construction my motorcycle started to lose some power and spit out blue smoke.....obviously oil, obviously very bad. I looked around and there was no shoulder, just jersey barriers. As I am trying to figure out what to do if the engine seizes a man pulls up next to me and tells there is a Harley dealership 2 miles off the next exit (talk about luck). The 3 miles ride with the engine losing oil was a nightmare, I was just waiting for it to seize.
I got to the dealership (it was a Monday), pulled up, got off, and watched as oil drained from engine through the air filter. The service department was closed, so I had to leave the bike there. The guy told me he would give me a ride to a hotel for the night. I called John Holland and told him my situation. He was on the way to Greg Stephens' house with Jurgen (who was north of where I was, John was south). The downside was that he was in his 2 seater car. So they got to Greg's house, then hopped in Greg's jeep and drove to get me. When I talked to Greg on the phone he made it sound like I was right down the street from him.......it was at least an hour round trip for him to get me, he kept saying it wasn't a big deal. He is a better man than me.
We got back to Greg's house and John called Robin who lived in Baltimore, but is about 45 minutes from Greg, somewhat south of him. She was going to the zoo for an evening lecture by George Zug discussing herps in Burma. So she turned around, drove through rush hour traffic in the wrong direction to get me. Then drove back down to the zoo, she was an hour late for the presentation and missed most of it, plus I made her walk in late. She did nothing but laugh and smile and tell me not to worry about it.
I felt terrible for putting John, Jurgen, Greg, and Robin out, but they did nothing but laugh and told me not to worry about it. Truly amazing individuals.
The bike had 70,000 miles on it and never had internal engine work done. The cam chain tensioner went on the bike. My father came down and got the bike so we wouldn't have to pay the Harley mechanics to do it when he and my uncles could do the labor for free.
What I truly find amazing is that I met all of these people through chondros, yet they are without a doubt true friends. It is situations like these that make me realize there is something a little different about chondro people. Something that goes beyond just having snakes in common.
This is also why I feel it is important to come out to shows, or chondro events if possible, it is one thing to know someone from talking on the forum, but it is another to sit down and have a drink with them and talk face to face. For those who make excuses why they can't come talk to davidnj who showed up tot he Tinley show the day his wife was due to give birth. He just hung out and talked chondros like nothing else was going on his life.
Also, for those who don't know Robin, your loss. Aqila knows that there are two people I will leave her for, Rosario Dawson and Robin. However Robin has a rather large and intimidating husband so I have always shown her the utmost respect. I know it often seems like their are cliques, or "in" crowds on here, but I assure you it is nothing like that. What you have are people who have met each other, drank together, eaten together, cleaned cages together, and hung out together.
I am really looking forward to Daytona because I get to see people there that I never get to see but once a year. I am really excited Andrew Aman (super nice guy) is making the trek again along with the rest of the Texas crew who I have never met. Some of you may remember a couple of years ago when Cleve and I got into quite heavy on the forum. It got pretty harsh going back and forth, but at Daytona he walked up, extended his hand and introduced himself, we talked and laughed quite a bit. We debated in person (which is much different than online) and I ended up changing my setups completely because he was so convincing in his argument.
Any way, just wanted to share this because I truly believe we have a special community here and the reason it is so special is because of the people involved.
j
Good going guys thats what friends are for!!!
CR- you are welcome!! I had a really great time with
everyone. Chondro folks are awesome.
