Cutting Grass

Some emails are just to good not to pass along...

I can’t think of a better word than "PRICELESS" FOR THIS. . .

I hope the picture below will go through for you - of this Army soldier in Iraq with his tiny 'plot' of grass in front of his tent. It's heartwarming! Here is a soldier in Iraq, stationed in a big sand box.


He asked his wife to send him dirt (U.S. soil), fertilizer,

and some grass seed

so that he can have the sweet aroma, and feel the grass grow beneath his feet. When the men of the squadron have a mission that they are going on, they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil

to bring them good luck.


Of all the things he could have asked his wife to send to him from home...........he asked for American soil. WOW.

If you notice, he is even cutting the grass with a pair of scissors.. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we take for granted.

Big Al

Biker want a be???

Hmmm, I hear that phrase a lot and it seems to me that hardcore bikers and people in general seem to think you are either a full time biker or you’re a biker want a be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs22KAw8Woo This brings up many questions in my mind and I’d love your feed back (I’m sure I’m going to get it. Ha-ha). Let's take myself for example; I’m a 46 year old male that has never owned a bike (except for a few dirt bikes and scooters) before, but have always wanted one. Truth is, I just never had the extra cash (wife, kids, mortgage) and none of my day to day friends ride one. So I ended up spending my extra cash on fast cars, boats and jeeps and things. Well a few months back I was diagnosed with type two diabetes and in my mind figured life is short; time to get my first bike.

My first thought was go get yourself a Harley Davidson!

But, after considering the price of one, I was not sure if I would ride it enough to justify the cost. One of my problems is I’m a big guy 6'5”, 270lbs., so buying one of the smaller models like a sportster (under 10 grand new) just would not work for me. I thought about buying a used one, but again I have no friends that ride or work for a dealership where I might get things fixed cheaper on an older bike. So I decided to look at the metric bikes. “True story” a buddy and I stopped by the local cycle dealer, Hattiesburg Cycles, hattiesburgcycles.com (metric bike dealer) on our lunch hour and I asked the salesman what kind of bike can I get that was over 1000cc’s and under 10 grand. The next thing I knew he was pushing a 2008 Yamaha V Star 1100 (fully loaded)

out for me to take a better look…it was love at first site…I came back the next day and bought it…the price you ask…$ 9,500.00.

After I bought it, the salesman threw me the keys, my wife wished me luck getting it home and I was off. I admit I was very shaky as it had been over 15 years since I had ridden a street bike and did not even have a motorcycle driver license, nor did I know I had to have one at that time…breaking the law…breaking the law!!! Ha-ha.

Ok, all that said now getting back to my questions, I’ve had my bike around 6 months now. I ride it almost every day back and forth to work ,each day to rally’s, long weekend rides and almost anytime I get the chance, hot or cold days (not much into the rainy day riding but have done it too) I consider myself a fair rider (and no I don’t think I’m Evel Knievel

or anything like that) but I truly believe I can hold my own with most day to day riders. Why do people think people like me want to be a Harley guy or a hardcore biker? Truth is I could care less…I just like to ride. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the company of hardcore bikers and Harley riders…but I enjoy the company of metric riders and even the scooter guys and girls just as much.

(ok I admit it, I do make fun of the scooter guys…but its ok because I have one myself. Ha-ha.) Why do people have to always fall into classes, why can’t people just be people?

Here are some of the reasons I came up with;

One; it’s like the great Ford and Chevy debate, Ford guys love Ford cars and Chevy guys love Chevy…hmm, I am a Chevy guy, by the way, but drive a Ford truck…go figure.

Two; I think a lot of my non-bike riding buddies see and hear me talking about wearing leather jackets and even leather chaps (that always gets a laugh). They think that it is someone trying to pose as a tough Harley rider on a metric bike, (Too much of the Fonz).

Little do they know , that the leather is one of the only things that will keep you warm on a cold day and give you a little protection if you hit the road doing 50 mph. Truth is, I wear a blue jean jacket most of the time, unless its really cold outside.

Three; people tend to stare when I’m dressed in khaki pants and an AT&T shirt (required work uniform for management) on my way to work and back. I’m way to lazy to wear biker gear and change once I get to work and change again once I get ready to go home. I swear even if I wore a suit and tie everyday, I would still ride with my tie flapping in the wind. I think sometimes people would rather you not ride if you can’t dress the part (biker gear) not me buddy…I’m going to ride.

Four; why would you ride a bike that is not made in America? Let me just say you don’t get more American than me (I’m all about hot apple pie and baseball)

but there are very, very few of us who buy all American. I actually heard a guy at a rally telling another guy that his bike was made in the good old USA, “true story” the bike was sitting in the back of a Toyota pickup. I hear this all the time from Harley riders, as I look at their foreign made cell phones, helmets, boots, and clothing hanging on their bodies. It just makes me laugh inside.

When I go back and review this, it looks like I picking on Harley guys and girls. This is not true at all. I hear these kinds of remarks mainly from non-riders. To me there is nothing better than the sound of a Harley with aftermarket pipes; it’s a sound once you hear it you will never forget it. It reminds me of a race car with un-capped headers.

As I mentioned above, I bought the bike I have now partly because I was not sure if I would ride it enough…well I have proved to myself I have bike riding in my blood and am now dreaming of a bigger bike. And yes, most likely it will be a very large Harley as I would love to ride one all across the USA.

Ok, I’m sure some of you are asking yourself…after all that, why would I buy a Harley…first I have nothing against Harley or Harley riders…second, I love the sound…third, now that I know I love riding, I don’t mind the extra expense of owning one…fourth, I love the aftermarket products…fifth, it is an American made product and as Americans we should try and support American made products as much as we can, just don’t get caught up in the hype that buying a Harley will save America's economy.

Hmmm, I wrote this post (above) about a month ago but just never got around to posting it, other things kept coming up. Well the other day at work something happen that might change my mind on what kind of bike I might want to buy now. Stay tuned….

WORDS FROM AFGHANISTAN??? BAGRAM??? KANDAHAR????

Morning everyone, here is a post about my little buddy Jimmy Touchstone, I just received an email form him yesterday and decided to share it with friends and family that know him, for those of you that don’t I posted this link to catch you up to date…http://bigalscompound.blogspot.com/2008/09/words-from-afghanistan.html

Jimmy writes…

Big Al,

Good to hear from you, sorry for taking so long to write but things have been really really really crazy for me lately. I actually was transferred to bagram to take over a team that was having issues then no sooner than I got there, I was asked by coorporate to take a job as a perminate Site Supervisor going to a new location that is in the process of being built, so they transferred me to Kandahar to take over and get the thing organized and the people prepared to move. I have 49 people that work for me, and will be moving this entire site to FOB Shank. It is even more remote than where I was before and a lot worse, as again, they are still building it. The funny thing is that I will be there before the main body of the military will, so that puts me in a situation where I am leading 49 un-armed folks into a hot zone, anyway that is where I am at right now. I told them that I would give them until the end of October but that was it, That should give me enough time to get this thing set up and running smoothly, anyway we will see.
Well man I gotta get out of here and get busy again. I will try to write more later, but I know that in the short term ther will not be internet access out there but as soon as I have it I will mail you. Take care old friend and tell everyone that I said hello.

Take care,

Jimmy