Posted on 06/02/2008 3:20:00 PM PDT by real saxophonist
A glimpse inside the heart of scary-motorcycle-rider guy
I am in the frozen food section of a grocery store, dazed in that Technicolor way that settles when we're faced with 14 kinds of margarine to choose from. I'm staring at the boxes when I catch sight of a man in a jacket.
It is superb, covered with patches and insignias, drab and worn in all the right places. It is so perfectly aged, it looks like a something from the wardrobe department of a Hollywood movie.
The man wearing it could also have stepped from a movie set -- he's what my kids, when they were younger, would have called a "motorcycle-rider-guy." He looks tough and convincingly self-sufficient. He's not smiling while he leans over the vats of butter and margarine to pick up a box. I'm staring. I spot the letters on one of his patches and string them together over the folds of a pocket. It says "Patriot Guard."
One year ago my friends attended the graduation ceremonies at Rocky Mountain High School and watched a boy graduate. Then they headed home to get ready for the party, to take the cheese plates out of the refrigerator, to unwrap the cold cuts, and double-check that the red and gold streamers hadn't blown away.
That's when they got the call from the wife of their oldest son. Sgt. Nicholas Walsh had been fatally shot in Iraq. Nick's wife wanted to tell them before two Marines, solemn faced and duty bound, made their long drive to arrive at the doorstep of this family that just moments before had been in celebration.
A full military funeral was held, smack in the middle of Fort Collins. The entire town stepped up. Word had it that crazy people -- and I don't use that phrase lightly -- from a Kansas hate group might picket the funeral. Hundreds of people showed up to place themselves as barriers, up and down the street, ready to shield the family from any potential ruckus. The Patriot Guard, clad in leather, with huge motorcycles and even bigger American flags, lined up to make an impressive and respectful wall.
At the grocery store, all this flits through my head. I look from the man's jacket to his face. He watches me stare at him. I blurt out, "Are you in the Patriot Guard?" He still doesn't smile; after all, I'm a complete stranger, staring, and in the dairy section no less. He answers a solid "yes."
Then everything moves together for me. I must have put the butter down. I leave my grocery basket and make my way around the refrigerated display. He's looking at me warily until I say "Did you ride for Sgt. Nick Walsh's funeral? His mom is my friend." His face falls, and then lifts and lights and softens all at once. His eyes fill half with tears.
He puts his butter down, and I hug him, and he's not even surprised. I thank him over and over again. He holds both my elbows, and says, "It wasn't about us, it was about Nick."
Before Nick's second deployment, his mother traveled to San Diego to see him, his wife, his two boys. As they drove through the gates of Camp Pendleton Marine base, they passed protesters with placards and signs about the war. His mom asked him, "Does that bother you?"
"What, that?" he said, following her gaze. He told her it didn't bother him at all. He said, "That's why I'm a Marine. To protect those kinds of rights, to protect those people."
After we left Nick's funeral last year, we walked past row after row of revving motorcycles, and crowds of -- I'll just say it -- some scary looking "motorcycle-rider-guys." I said to my sons, "See those riders? They are amazing. Don't ever be afraid of people just because of they way they look."
One son, who already wasn't afraid and was giving me the "Oh, brother" eye roll, said, "Not even the one with the spikes around his wrists and the skulls on his bike?"
"Not even him," I said.
The other son said, "Are they for the war or against it?" Because children see that Americans seem to fall into two camps over just about everything. "It doesn't matter," I told him. "They are both. They are all of it mixed up. They are Americans."
Natalie Costanza-Chavez is a writer who lives in Fort Collins and welcomes your e-mail. You can reach her, and read past columns, at www.gracenotescolumn.org, or e-mail her at grace-notes@comcast.net
You've only met the brokers and insurance salesmen on their week end put...don't on any circumstances talk to them about your retirement plans.
I hate it when that happens.
The folks I’ve met in the PGR are some of the finest folks you’ll ever want to meet. I’m proud to be associated with them.
Wow, I met this woman for all of sixty seconds in our local supermarket and exchanged maybe ten words with her and she turns into this wonderful story.
I find this young woman description of me extremely embarrassing. She certainly has a vivid imagination. Apparently our meeting meant something to her. For that I am thankful and have to admit I also enjoyed our crossing of paths.
I try to make my participation in P.G.R as selfless as possible,but you know what. Its true the more you give the more receive.
One more thing you do not have to be a biker or a veteran to take part in P G R missions.
BTTT — Bad dudes are never as bad as they seem. :-D
1% of the motorcyclists are in the “outlaw” gangs. Rest of us work, hold steady jobs, raise families just like anyone else you know. We are rebels to a degree because we ride vehicles that most of the rest of the people think are dangerous.
Too many people stereotype all bikers by what they’ve seen in the movies and read about groups such as Hell’s Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, Mongols etc.
That was you?? Too cool ~ you make us proud, Wet Willie!!
I'm sorry, but what exactly is "normal attire" when riding a bike?
All that leather and stuff isn't just for looks. Since all you have between you and the road is what you are wearing, leathers will literally save your skin if your bike goes rubber side up.
This write up in Newsbuters hands that pathetic dweeb his butt in a paper bag. Its wonderful.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/05/28/garrison-keillor-mocks-patriotism
Care to add me to your list, brother Martin?
I’m not referencing bikers as such. I know quite a few and they’re good people. I’m talking about bikers who intentionally dress and act like outlaw bikers. They choose to project an outlaw image, for whatever reason.
I’m sure many of them just get a kick out of the role, and a good many of those who really are outlaws probably can be decent guys at times, if you don’t get on their bad side. But the adage about walking like a duck and quacking like a duck springs to mind.
Similarly, if somebody dresses and acts like a Crip or a MS-13 member, I’m not going to assume he’s really a decent guy at heart. Doing so sounds a lot like reverse profiling and is just as dumb as assuming that the wild-eyed ME looking guy chantingt “Allah akbar” as he boards the plane is a pacifist.
We’re all in agreement that there are some very bad people in motorcycle gangs, and that most bikers are actually very good people.
Mistaking one group for the other could obviously be very dangerous to your safety.
Any suggestions for making this distinction with some reliability?
A year ago we went to a “welcome home” ceremony for a unit of local national guard who had been gone for a little over a year. When we got to the location we discovered two fire trucks with ladders extended forming a “arch” over the street with a giant american flag hanging down in the middle. Lined on both sides of the street were the the PGR each holding a big american flag. My first thought was that it was a pretty unusual group of guys who were here. As the soldiers marched into our view I noticed almost everyone of the PGR guys starting to have tears welling up in their eyes. The closer the soldiers got the more I noticed everyone around me quietly crying......needless to say I was in tears throughout the whole parade. The squad finished their parade in a small area and most of the spectators went to talk to them and thank them for their service. Every one of the PGR joined the soldiers and we had the chance to talk to most of them. I quickly discovered I couldn’t talk because I was so overwhelmed with emotion....I managed to get out a thank-you to a pretty rough looking PGR and immediately his eyes had tears and he hugged me and said it was his honor to be there to show his love and support for his fellow soldier. I went home that day and found the PGR website and joined up to be one of those in a “cage” (car)and to this day can’t begin to tell you the feelings of love I have each time an funeral, welcome home parade is held......it gives me a chance to honor our military...a small way of being part of something that touches your heart forever. For those interested here is the website...
http://www.patriotguard.org/Home/tabid/53/Default.aspx
Don’t worry, Sal. God knows what your uncle is and He keeps better records than anybody else. When the Books of Life are opened....
I suspect hmmmm. So you suspect it now please source it. I do PGR rides, so does my husband. Its not what is on the outside of a person it is what is inside. Shaking my head again!
Mistaking one group for the other could obviously be very dangerous to your safety.
Any suggestions for making this distinction with some reliability?
Heres a hint for you if you see colors stay away unless you know a member. They don't quite care for people walking up & bothering them. PGR is different but some PGR ride in clubs too. If you are respectful usually you get respect back. Another hint is most club bikers don't like their pictures taken without you asking. Nor pictures of their bikes. If you are worried about bikers stay way from them! I get so darn tired of people who don't ever see the good they do. Just the bad. AS for the way people look or dress what is the big deal? I know plenty of morons who dress in suits & are supposedly fine people & certainly aren't. My Aunt's brother in law who we called an uncle was one of those fine people & I still can't get over the fact he molested ever female cousin I had & myself. My sister & I could never get our parents to believe it either.
If bikers scare you then don't go by them is the best advice I can think of. If you want to know some get involved with the PGR. IMHO I am more worried about MS13 then any outlaw biker club!
I have no intention of harassing bikers, or anybody else for that matter. I suspect some of the problems arise when idiots want to prove how tough they are by standing up to the bikers.
I do find it odd that you think anyone who is made nervous by big burly biker types must be some sort of bigot. You mention MS-13, so I assume short Central American-looking guys with lots of tatts make you nervous.
How do you know a guy who looks like that isn’t a wonderful person? Shouldn’t you assume he’s a great guy until he proves otherwise? That’s the criteria you seem to be applying for people who intentionally dress and act in ways that scare many people but with which you personally are comfortable.
BTW, thanks for your advice. I already do all this stuff, though.
I don’t know anything about dangerous men, pandy. Sorry. Love to help you.
I don't think people are bigots because they don't like bikers. I think that people judge too quickly but to be quite honest I truly don't care what people think about my looks or how my husband looks.I have no problem with any club bikers I know. I am sure some are rotten but thats true of all people IMO.
As for MS13 yes they do scare me ...They have no problem with killing in the town next to me & machetes seem to be their fav weapon. I stay far away from people who will kill like that. And they make no bones about their lifestyle. Plus I don't think I am a bigot either for not trusting them. I tend to think they wouldn't like me either & so I respect them by staying far away from them. I know who they are too by their tats which clearly state who they are. They have nothing that I am interested in. I don't do drugs nor wish to be involved with a group that I feel is a real danger , more so then an outlaw club. Most bikers I know are very loyal to their country. MS13 is NOT!
lmao! Thats ok TE... I know enough about them already. Its those dangerous biker women you need to watch out for...s/
Dangerous women period!
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