This had to be the best Labor Day weekend campout for the IHR of all time. This year marked the 18th annual gathering at Ed and Lorie Linderman’s house. Yep, for 18 years Ed and Lorie have welcomed us to come and join the festivities. Ed cooks two big meals each day, and when we aren’t eating barbecue, we are grazing on popcorn, peanuts, candy and cookies. I think everyone puts on about 10 pounds. Chuck Brassfield took first place in the pool tournament, Rod Colman took second and Chris took third. In the poker tournament Dave Laaksonen was first, Dale Visage was second and Cathy Young was third. For dominos, Marion Reinhardt was first, I was second and Bonnie Temple was third. Besides these trophy winners, we had Diana Visage, Sue Summers, Phyllis Plane, Jay Cuccarese, Bob and Mardi Moore, Tim Young, Bonnie Temple, Donna Laaksonen, Mike and Karen Oliverio, Mark Reinhardt, Teresa and son Charlie, Patty Brassfield, Jack Munoz and Dan. I am so happy that David Kinchloe came and brought a new friend named Linda Marietta. We all had so much fun. To top it all off, Ed and Lorie had a showstopper surprise for all of us. We each got a T-shirt that they had made with logos to commemorate the 18th annual campout. There was bright pink for women and turquoise blue for men. Wow! I cannot wait for next year… George Penner sent me a correction on Evel Knievel days in Butte. It is the last weekend in July, not June. Thanks, George… Happy birthday to all riders who celebrate in October. Happy birthday to IHR members Colleen “Murph” Cuccarese in Salem, Oregon, Jewel Kinchloe in Elma, Washington, and Dale Visage in Medford, Oregon. Happy birthday to Paul Bush in Santa Cruz, Sue Roi in San Jose, Bill McBride, Marshall Johnson and Linda Hines in ABATE Local 17, Charlynn Matheson in Iron Steed H.O.G., Dwain “Paper Boy” Johnson and here is a big happy birthday for my sister, Jackie Nobrega, in Vacaville. Happy birthday to celebrity riders Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam… Sound the trumpets! Here is a big shout out for Robert Allen in Glendale. Happy belated birthday to you for your September birthday… Trees Linderman says anyone looking for a nice Heritage should head to www.cycletrader.com/find/listing/2012-Harley-Davidson-Heritage-Softail-110922789… There is some sad news from the Santa Cruz H.O.G. I received a call from Ray Jennings that Orin Waggoner has passed away. Many condolences to Orin’s family and friends. He will be missed. Then, I got a call from Colleen Ferrigan to let me know that Joslyn Chisholm has also passed. Joslyn’s death is a huge shock. She died in her sleep, and we will all miss her… What the hell? Here is a bizarre story out of the Bay Area. Richard Fletcher was riding on Highway 24 in Oakland as he made for home in Antioch when David Alcairo of Concord cut him off in traffic. Richard then rode up alongside David and pointed to his head as a way to say, “Think.” David became so enraged by the gesture that he began to try running Richard off the road. As we all know, if a motorcycle and a car get into a battle, the car will win every time. Richard did the only thing he could. He twisted his throttle and sped out of there. He was several miles down the road and saw nothing of David in his rear-view mirror, so he thought it was safe to back down to the speed limit. The next time Richard looked, David was barreling down on him and there was no way to escape the impact. An off-duty federal agent who witnessed all of this called the CHP. A CHP officer found David pulled over on the side of the road, and when David made aggressive moves toward the officer, the officer shot him. David will survive his gunshot, and he has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated mayhem and felony hit-and-run. Richard has a broken back with damage to his spinal cord and is paralyzed from the waist down; he will have a long recovery, and he may never walk again… Bad news: I heard that “Rambler” Steve Austin, a regular contributor for THUNDER PRESS, went down hard in Sturgis and he is really banged up. Sorry to hear that, Steve. Get well soon.
