The Cafe Indochine on Hamilton Rd. in Columbus

So Myron and I are leaving for Tuna’s little tour of the Hawaiian Islands. The flight is ungodly early tomorrow so I came up tonight and at Vanessa’s recommendation went to this delightful restaurant. Now I can’t claim to be an expert on Southeast Asian cuisine… but I do love it. I ordered egg rolls and rare beef and meatball pho.

Yummy and more yummy!

Regal quality at people’s prices… good stuff!

All the spices a feller could want!

Back at the hotel, I thought I’d take a few moments to document this culinary delight. Got to be at the airport at five-ish so even at 2035 it’s almost time for bed. Hot Tuna’s first show is in Honolulu at the Mamiya Theater on the 19th. Needless to say… more will be revealed and I will be passing it on!

Bonne nuit!

Alcoholism, takes no prisoners… destroys all in its path…

Well… I just spent a wonderful weekend in Akron, Ohio. Founders’ Day Weekend it was… the 80th Anniversary of AA. Jerry and Mutt and myself rode up from Southeast Ohio through the back country to Akron… Rubber City. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I had a flat in my front tire… had the bike trailered to Rubber City Harley Davidson where they fixed my bike on the spot. Nice customer service folks.

I missed the Men’s Meeting at St. Martha’s, but got out of the shop in time to meet the guys at Louie’s Bar And Grill for a delicious burger and some great fellowship!

Best burger in town... no kidding!

After dinner, I got the guys to pose for a quick shot.

Hillbilly, Ross, Jerry, Mutt and Jim

The weather this weekend could have been better, but that’s life on life’s terms. So be it… it was great to be there surrounded by like minded spirits on this contemplative weekend. We took some time to visit the Mt. Peace Cemetery and pay our respects at Dr. Bob’s grave. As always, I am reminded about the Four Absolutes:

Honesty
Purity
Unselfishness
Love

Resting in simple peace... May their memory be a blessing!

Sunday our friend Maria met us at the hotel to ride with us in the motorcade to Dr. Bob’s grave. Not too long ago, one of Vanessa’s dear friends (like a brother) passed away suddenly. Steve Maskell… well, he was important to Nessa and her kin. He visited us here at Hillside Farm about a decade ago. He rode down from New England on his trusty Harley… stayed with us and rode in one of our Pick And Putt runs. He gave me this great Harley shirt that I’ve been wearing ever since.

Maria holds Steve's shirt

Steve was in the program too and I wanted to wear the shirt in the Motorcade Run in his honor but it was just too rainy, hot and humid.

Here in spirit

Foto by Maria

I thought about you brother Steve. You may be gone, but you are not forgotten. Fair winds and following seas!

Start your engines

“We are all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house, birth till death, we travel between the eternities.”

I swim in memories… yet I do not live there. Life goes on, and I am grateful to be a part of it!

Jerry, Mutt and Jorma... the old boys!

There were a lot of bikes there this morning. I have no actual count but I’m reckoning about several thousand. at the Mt. Peace Cemetery there was a wonderful communing… and a sense of serenity I cannot adequately describe. At the end of the service, Joey played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.

Get your hanky

After the run Jerry and I packed up and Maria made a delicious breakfast for the boys before we headed home.

This is what I'm talking about!

Thanks Maria… Vanessa and Izze and I will feed you the next time you’re down our way!

There was rain as we headed out so I suited up. As we got further south, the weather cleared and it was back to jeans and a T-shirt. At home, everyone was in the pool so I parked my bike, got my bathing suit and jumped in.

Lovely… just lovely.

Nice way to end a perfect weekend.

Just a short note and update… When I get home tomorrow I will write some more and post some pictures. Anyhoo… life is a serenity check at all times… Caught two great meetings earlier in the with high hopes for the Big Meeting in the Infocision Stadium at Akron University. Weather intervened and lightning cleared the stands. I waited for forty minutes or so and headed back to the hotel. I heard they finally let people back in the stands, but by that time I was back in the hotel. Oh me of little faith.

Tomorrow morning at 0600 we’ll be staging the motorcycles for the run to Dr. Bob’s Grave…

More on theat tomorrow. In the mean time, bonne nuit.

Onward

Founders Day… 2015
80th Anniversary

Friday, June 12, 2015

Well, if my Mom were still alive today… she would have been one hundred and five years old… may her memory be a blessing. As for me, I rode up from Pomeroy yesterday on my trusty Ultra Classic. We took almost seven hours to ride two hundred miles… back roads all the way, no interstates. Beautiful. Up in Akron we checked into the hotel and I took a short nap… wakening to a flat front tire on the scoot. Serenity check for sure. I called HOG roadside assistance and they sent a trailer for the bike and we drove over to Rubber City Harley over in Cuyahoga Falls. They checked things out and found a leaky valve stem. Nice.

I missed the men’s meeting at St. Martha’s, but I was out of the shop in time for a delicious hamburger with the boys at Louie’s Bar And Grill.

This morning we got some breakfast and rode over to Dr. Bob’s House. Ardmore St. is ancient brick and I hit a pothole that sheared of my jiffy stand spring. Miraculously, my pal Hillbilly was right there when it happened and he reached into his tool bag and lo and behold, he had a spare spring. Thanks brother.

It poured rain… we got wet… it stopped, we got dry… at and made it to the JAR at Akron University for the evening meeting. Good stuff… problems posed… problems surmounted… a good lead and now to bed.

I’m doing this on an iPad so pictures will have to wait until we get home.

Onward…

Getting ready to ride out...

Kind friends all gathered ’round, there’s something I would say:
That what brings us together here has blessed us all today.
Love has made a circle that holds us all inside;
Where strangers are as family, loneliness can’t hide.
You must give yourself to love if love is what you’re after;
Open up your heart to the tears and laughter,
And give yourself to love, give yourself to love.

Kate Wolf… Give Yourself To Love

Jerry, Izze, Dad and John get ready to leave the Ranch for Brooklyn

Foto by Brett Thompson

Life is a funny old dog… and sometimes a busy one. Friday of last week, Vanessa, Izze, John Hurlbut, Jerry Sullivan, Myron Hart and I hopped into our rented van and set of for New York.

The girls en route...

We had planned a surgical strike into the heart of Brooklyn where Barry Mitterhoff, Michael Falzarano and I were going to play a Marjorie Thompson fundraiser hosted by the Raccoon Lodge at Our Lady Of Perpetual Help. We were joined by some of Marjorie’s (and our) dear friends, Bob Doherty, Paul Karp and Greg Franklin who played a beautiful gaggle of songs to kick off the evening’s festivities.

Setting Bob, Paul, Greg and Barry up...

We were all here to not only honor Marjorie’s lasting memory, but to also raise money and help publicize The Rapunzel Project. Check this out… We got a chance to meet the amazing women behind this great project and, thanks to our brothers and sister of the Raccoon Lodge, raise a nice sum of money for the cause.

Follow the yellow brick road... either way...

My family rarely goes with me on the road, so to spend three days with friends and family in my world was a rare treat! Our hotel was right by the Brooklyn Bridge so I got a chance to walk across it for the first time. Imagine that… all the years coming to New York and I had never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Nice… very nice!

The Freedom Tower

The girls discuss the cuisine...

Two old birds waiting for the next big thing!

Foto by Izze Kaukonen

I have known the guys and gals of the Raccoon Lodge for quite a while… they love having a good time… and they love doing good works. People came from all over the United States for this show… bless them… but the sense I community I have always felt in Brooklyn was palpable. Saturday night we were all one.

The people came from all around... just to hear that crazy sound!

Like a high school dance...

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Here is our set list:

Jorma Kaukonen & Michael Falzarano
Kaukarano
Featuring Barry Mitterhoff
Marjorie Thompson Memorial Fundraiser
The Rapunzel Project
Our Lady Of Perpetual Help
Brooklyn, New York
With Thanks To The Raccoon Lodge
June 6, 2015

First Set:
1. I See The Light
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Ain’t In No Hurry
4. The Other Side Of The Mountain
5. Walkin’ Blues
6. Where There’s Two There’s Trouble
7. In My Dreams
8. Candy Man
9. Barbeque King
10. I Know You Rider
Second Set:
1. Been So Long
2. Keep On Trucking Mama
3. Come Back Baby
4. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
5. Whining Boy Blues
6. How Long Blue
7. That’ll Never Happen No More
8. Good Shepherd
9. Bar Room Crystal Ball
10. Water Song
11. Encore 1: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
12. Encore 2: Genesis

At this point in my life, people are passing at an ever increasing rate… and that’s just how it is. We hold them in our hearts and delight in the waves that they have made in the pond of life. Perhaps the ripples will subside in time… perhaps not. We shall see. As for Marjorie, her trials are over… but her memory will abide in my heart and in the hearts of her family and all who knew her. She would have loved the fundraiser, and she would have hated being lionized. That was her!

Our deepest collective gratitude to all those who made this event possible, including you all who came to Brooklyn from the corners of the earth.

Thanks all… deepest and profoundest thanks!

Love is born in fire; it’s planted like a seed.
Love can’t give you everything, but it gives you what you need.
And love comes when you’re ready, love comes when you’re afraid;
It’ll be your greatest teacher, the best friend you have made.
So give yourself to if love is what you’re after;
Open up your hearts to the tears and laughter,
And give yourself to love, give yourself to love.
Give Yourself To Love By Kate Wolf

The road home at Sideling Hill...