"Hello, my name is Johnny and I'm a scatterbrain ..."

I sometimes think I need a good 12 step program to stop me from being a scatterbrain.  I'm not sure the meetings would be all that good to attend because you would be in a room full of scatterbrains. Think about it. "Hello, my name is Johnny and I'm a scatterbrain....".....*crickets*.....and then the room would have one person that would catch on  and say "Hi Johnny" while everyone else is in the mental twilight zone.

Hmmmm.  Well, you have to start SOMEPLACE, right? I'm not sure you could get a group of recovering scatterbrains to write 12 steps and 12 traditions and a book containing the history of the organization.  This could be a problem. 

I'm not a scatterbrain all the time. Most of the time I have it reasonable together.  I'm a creature of habit and when that habit is upset by something, I get pretty scattered mentally.   Last night, I spoke to my wife, Randi, who is out of town, one of the last thing I told her was "Don't forget to take  your meds" and then what do I do? Drift off to sleep with nary a thought about taken my OWN pills! ACK! ACK! ACK! Some of them I could miss with no visible problems noted, however, there is one pill I take and when I miss it, I have the migraine no headache medicine will touch.

My eyes flew open at 5:00am and I KNEW I had not taken my pills, but I didn't yet have a headache. I had to act fast! I called Randi and woke her up, because she knows about such things, so I ask her what I should do.  She suggested reading the insert of the medicine and see what it said about missing a dose.

It wasn't the end of the world but it was the EDGE of my world.  I worked it out with Randi's help and had a pretty good day, all in all.

However, that 12 step program for scatterbrains could be a revolution if developed the right way.

 "I'm not just a scatterbrain, I am also the scatterbrain program president"

Tomorrow is another day to fly. Lets just hope my brain doesn't fly the coop before the rest of me!

J.

A funny thing happened on the way to today......

Its funny, having been in the military, there is a thousand things you remember because it happened on one day at one time at one moment on that one day. If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have such a clear memory of the things that happened in late May 1984.

On 23 May 1984, at the MEPS station on North Central Ave, Knoxville TN, 37917 (across the street from the old Sears building). I was 5'9" tall, my pulse was 93, my BP was 130/something and my weight was 139lbs.  I was a thin 23 year old kid.  I met a guy that day, one William Stout who was 27 and a black belt in martial arts.  We hit it off. I knew from the first time I saw and talked to William, we would be friends and I was right.  When Basic Training was all over, 8 weeks later, leaving William hurt almost as much as leaving Knoxville did on the 23 of May, however, that is not the point of all this old mush.

I can never forget that on that one day at that one time in that one moment, my weight was 139 pounds. It is on my first military ID card and I have that ID card still yet today.

About 4 months ago, I went to take off my wedding ring and almost couldn't get it off. As I tried again, and again, it finally came off.  At that point my weight was about 231 pounds. The next morning when I grabbed up my wedding ring and I knew I couldn't put it on because it would never come back off. I was heart broken, dejected and just down right hurt.  My wedding to Randi was one of the best things that happened to me and she ask me if she could get the rings we wear right after she moved to SC. In 2000 those rings cost $95 each. Now, in 2013, they are $195 each. OUCH!

It has come to the point that I must lose some weight. I MUST.  It is sort of ironic. As a kid I was SUCH a picky eater.  I had so much bologna as a kid that I won't touch the stuff now that I'm an adult and the thought of FRIED bologna just turns my guts over in handstands and flip flops. ACK!  Now, since I turned 50 on 22 Nov 2012, I enjoy eating a little to much.  We all age, we all lose our hair or our hair turns gray, we all get a bit of a gut but it has gotten out of control for me.  *sigh*

For as bad as all the things in previous paragraph are, the worst part that hurts the most is the fact I can no longer wear my wedding ring.  It is just a silly symbol, a piece of metal but for it being a silly symbol or piece of metal. it is my silly symbol and my piece of metal and it holds together a marriage that means a great deal to me.  Is it perfect? No.  No marriage is and no marriage will ever be perfect but it is my little haven of imperfection with Randi standing beside me.  Of all the reasons I need to lose weight, the reason that stabs me worst of all is that I can't wear my wedding ring. No more, no less.  It makes me sad in a way that not much makes me so sad.

Each step we take molds who we are. From now on, each step I take better make me sweat a bit of the previous steps off of me. Wish me luck!

Thoughts

I'm a Republican.  I don't often let that information out in public because I believe it is a very private matter most of the time but I feel a need to distance myself from the National Republican Party.  I'm not sure why the National Republican Party has decided to come out so strongly against the common people and are SO against anything they don't agree with or that isn't on their agenda.

What happened to doing what is right for the people of this great country? It got lost some place along the way towards big congressional salaries,  lobbyist and special interest groups.  What about the special interest group talked about in the Constitution, "WE THE PEOPLE"?

To turn this right in my mind, I looked toward The Bible, Matthew, Chapter 18, Verse 15.

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Speaking about the faults of groups The Republican Party disagree with and airing their disagreements in the 24 hour news cycle or on a syndicated Republican talk show is a far cry from taking two or three people along in private to  point on what and why they think a person or group is at fault.  

I've always thought, you can't break someone's arm behind their back and MAKE them believe what you believe or see things the way you see them. 

My Dad being in A.A., he used to say "You might be the only copy of the Big Book (The history of A.A.) an alcoholic might see" and I take it one step further. "Live in a manner that others can see The Bible in you. You might be the only copy of The Bible they might see." Some days this works for me, other days not so much...
None of us is perfect and none of us is without sin.  If any of us stood with a stone in our hand by the harlot Jesus protected from the mob, None of us could cast a stone.


We are all PEOPLE, first and foremost. We all share this planet.  We might not all agree but we have to live around each other

J.

Labels

Labels. We as people are labeled in some way or form. White, Black, Gay, Straight, English American, Irish American, Africa American,Motorcycle Rider, Cage Operator, Manager or Worker, Mom or Dad. You get the idea. I tend to believe one important label has been forgotten or left off:
PEOPLE.
The Constitution says "We the PEOPLE" not "we the (insert your favorite label here,)"
I at one point I was way opposed to Gay marriage. While driving to work this morning I heard a Gay couple recite there wedding vows. The overwhelming emotion in that man's voice shook me to my core. He truly loved his husband just as much as I love/loved my wife in a similar moment in my life  on 20 Jan 2000.
The real news in this story would have been if he and his husband could have married and it WASN'T in the news and it was the normal course of life every place in this great land of ours.
I neither support or am against the LGBT community but I support everyone having the ability to carry on there life in the manner they deem fit for them without the weight of a label around their neck to give the rest of the world thoughts about them that are unfair, unjust and untrue. I might not agree with them but their trip in life isn't my trip in life.
Lord help us judge less and love more as Jesus commanded. Help us to love the sinner while abhorring the sin. And help us remember about the log in our own eye before opening our mouths to speak about the splinter in our friend's eye.
The point of this? Watch the labels you attach to a person. They are a person, first and foremost.
J.

North Korea, at it again......

ACK!

Seems the North Korean's are at it again. It could be worse but I doubt it. NO, I am not talking about the recent underground nuclear test or the breaking of UN sanctions against such test.  I'm CONVINCED 1 ply toilet paper MUST be the only export from the country of North Korea.  I'm concerned that the U.S. Government's use of 1 ply toilet paper must be from some super secret deal between China, the USA and North Korea to ensure the continued purchase of our $16 Trillion in debt by China. I'm sure in 25 years after all the documents are declassified, The Washington Post or some other esteemed news source will reveal the text of the 1 ply contract and the agreement which made it so.

This face has see nothing but 1 ply.....but the Horse gets 2 ply, its in his contract!

 

 

A Satellite view of a North Koren 1 ply/Sandpaper plant. 

North Korean 1 ply labor camps can also produce usable Sandpaper with a slight change to a softer paper backing  but The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the proper name for the country) finds it can make more hard currency by producing tons of 1 ply product. 

I'm sure there are other items of great distress that the North Korean must have a hand in producing, such as, Chia Pets, the pocket fisherman, the Showtime Rotisserie, the Ginsu Knife's, Spray on Hair,Ceramic Knife's, deer scents and Oxiclean (come to think of it, Billy Mayes and Kim Jong-Il do resemble each other and both are now passed on to the next life. Coincidence? I think not! )

Speaking of Chia Pets, I would bet money that SOMEONE in the North Korean Government has a Chia Pet of Kim Jong-Il and Kim Il-Sung on their desk. Things that make you go HMMMMMM.

I would also believe that somehow, North Korea has something to do with the number of hot dog buns being different from the number of hot dogs in a package so you are forced to buy more buns than wieners or more wieners than buns!

J. 

Effort

Effort. Websters Dictionary defines effort as:

1: conscious exertion of power : hard work 

2: a serious attempt : try 

3: something produced by exertion or trying 

4: effective force as distinguished from the possible resistance called into action by such a force

5: the total work done to achieve a particular end  

Right now, I think definition #3 fits my needs right now.  #3: Something Produced by exertion or trying.

I am a member of a Kawasaki Motorcycle forum for Kawasaki ZL motorcycles, ZL-OA. I have been a member there since 2009.  That website and the members of that website have saved my backsides more than once while I was rebuilding my 1986 Kawasaki ZL600. 

6/2009, before the restoration.

04/2012, after the restoration

 ZL-OA was started on 5/25/2006 from the ashes of a previous Kawasaki ZL Website , called KERA. ZL-OA was started by the effort of Mark J. Terranova.  Mark was an electrician who had a love for computers and Kawasaki ZL Motorcycles.   ZL-OA has 2,497 members from all over the world.  All of those people either own or have owned or are interested in Kawasaki ZL Motorcycles. 

Due to the effort of one Mark J. Terranova, I know people I would have never met and shared the dream of continuing the memory of motorcycles we all treasure.  If Mark were here he would downplay his efforts because that was the kind of guy he was.  He was quick to help a person who was having trouble with his motorcycle either in person or on the phone.  I never met Mark in person but I did speak to him on the phone twice that I remember.  He sold me parts as I was putting my ZL600 right, he listened to my crazy ideas and never once told me I was nuts

Mark J. Terranova (ZLMark) Riding the motorcycle he loved.

 Mark wasn't just that way with me, he was that way with everyone.  A real down to earth guy with a good head on his shoulders

Right after our move from Sumter county in 2010, I spoke to Mark on the phone. He told me he had been diagnosed with cancer.  I remember feeling like "and you think you have problems" (I really did have problems at the time, and I just started a new job and Randi had just lost a job and moving was NO picnic either) ....My problems were very tiny when compared with cancer.....

As the months passed, Mark kept the forum member updated as to his progress, both good and bad.   It wasn't easy to read about but we all hoped our friend and brother would beat this thing and he would live a good long life and be riding Kawasaki ZL's into his old age.  

Sad to say, it wasn't to be.  On 1/23/2013 at 6:47pm, one of the forum members posted "It is with deepest sorrow and sadness that I have to post this specific piece of information. The time has come that ZlMark has been called upon to pursue his adventures and dreams in another place."  

I was crushed as I read this....just crushed.  

The icon ZLMark used at ZL-OA

 2496 people in this world will continue on and most likely we will all continue riding, fixing and treasuring our Kawasaki ZL Motorcycles, while thinking of our friend and brother and cult leader, Mark J. Terranova, ZLMark because he decided to put forth the effort to make ZL-OA happen.

Thank You Mark, you have made a difference.

 

The way of the Ninja

ACK! Its been a great year.  Not a perfect year but a great year.
In June or July I drove my Dodge Dakota truck to a small town in the next county to buy a 1987 ZX600 Kawasaki Ninja. It didn't have a title but it had a good engine.  The Kawasaki ZL600 I already have (and rebuilt last winter) uses the same engine as the ZX600.  For $400 I drove home with this:

1 1987 Kawasaki ZX600 Ninja in very bad shape

It wasn't pretty. The gas tank was SO bad, it went right in the trash when I got home.  I spent a few weeks trying to ensure that the engine I had purchased would do what I wanted it to do....however, I noticed, a silver frame that would take powder coating VERY well...Hmmmmm there might be more to this than meets the eye.  Could I do it again? Could I rebuild something in SUCH bad shape?  First things first. I tried to find a title for the frame I had. The best I found out was that the bike was a California specification and the last time it was titled was in Pennsylvania.   The previous owner told me when he went back to get the title from the people he purchased it from, they guy tried to stick him for more money....and I couldn't blame him for not paying another dime.  Well THAT was a dead end......  I then wrote a guy I purchased a few parts from who lived in Myrtle Beach.  I first ask him if he had a frame with a title for a ZL600....(I knew he had a ZL600 frame with out a working engine) He told me he had a frame for a zl600 but no title....well DARN, he then told me he had a 1986 ZX600 frame with a clear title.  As first I turned him down flat.  Riding a ZL600 is like riding a Tennessee walking horse. A very smooth ride for a 30 year old motorcycle.   After thinking about it I decided a ZX600 might not be a bad idea, and here's why:
1. I already had the factory repair manual as you need a ZX600 manual to work on a ZL600 because they have so many parts in common
2. I had a good understanding of how the parts fit together because I had rebuilt my ZL600 the previous winter and the ZX600 uses the same parts just mounted differently on the frame.
3. The zx600 was made from 1985 until 1997 and parts are SO much more available as it was such a popular bike.
The bad part of it all:
1. I had never seen a ZX600 with all its parts and in running condition. There just aren't dozens of 1986 motorcycles still in running condition.
2. A ZL600 has a drive shaft, the ZX600 uses a chain. I'm not crazy about a motorcycle with a chain.  It takes a "certain" touch to ride a chain driven motorcycle smoothly and I seem not to be blessed with that "certain" touch....

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.  I drove to Myrtle Beach and picked up the 1986 ZX600 frame. I picked the coldest weekend of the year to drive to Myrtle Beach. It was just plain NASTY, rainy and overcast.        When I got to the guy's farm, we talked and the frame I was purchasing had parts that I was missing so THIS was a good thing.  The money changed hands and we loaded it in the back of my truck.

There were 5 or 6 outdoor cats at this guy's farm and while loading the frame in my truck I stepped right in one of the "kitty gifts" some cat left in the yard. Oh joy! The smell we had to  live with all the way back from Myrtle Beach with the heat on was "icky"

a 1986 ZX600 Kawasaki Ninja frame with a title

Well, it wasn't winning any beauty contest but it did have a title.....
When you look up the parts manual of ZX600 on the Kawasaki.com, the three years from 85, 86, & 87 are always together.  The engine and running gear from 88, 89, through 97 was very similar and shared lots of common parts with the 86....I ASSUMED this would be simple...strip the 87 of parts, repair the frame and bearings on the 86 and then put it all back together, purchase what was missing or broken. Simple, right?.....WRONG.

The 86 and 87 Ninja are VERY close but there are certain parts that are a TINY bit different and I seemed to find out those differences at the worst moment.
I also forgot that the 87 I had once lived in a rainy part of the country and rust was on everything (and I do mean everything!)
For as much as the 87 was about 80% there, the rust made it harder to disassemble that motorcycle....trust me on this...broken parts suck.

The rust caused me to break off a exhaust/head stud  and I had to figure out how to fix that...TADA! J.B. Weld and a new stud to the rescue...(I have since learned there are "left handed" (no, that doesn't mean they smoke pot) drill bits and using a left handed drill bill will back the broken stud out 98% of the time!  The rust in that engine caused me cut the upper coolant pipe because I couldn't remove it because the part in the engine was rusted just enough to prevent them being pulled out of the engine.  Once I cut the part, I pulled and twisted and the rusty parts came right out.  Ebay supplied the new part, a coat of paint and a few sealing o-rings later, the parts were back on the engine looking good as new.

I was ask what goes through my mind while working on a motorcycle...and the true answer to that question is a bit boring.  Sometimes putting a motorcycle together is a bit like a jig saw puzzle. Parts have to go back on in a certain order or they don't fit together correctly.  I usually have two or three things on my mental agenda so when I get to a place I have to stop on one sub assembly because of lack of parts, a problem removing a part or whatever the problem, I can grab another sub assembly and continue to make progress.  If I'm not thinking of how to put something back together I'm looking for tools, for I will admit I have the organizational capabilities of a GNAT.  My organization gene got left out when I came along.  I sometimes wish I was better put together on the organizational front.......as Popeye says "I yam what I yam" and I yam unorganized in a big way! Or as Hannah Horne (news anchor for WIS TV) would say "I'm a hot mess".

For as much as I felt familiar with rebuilding a motorcycle and the parts as they went back together, I've also had challenges I didn't have the last time around.
The horn on the ZL600 is on the bottom triple tree right under the headlight....easy as cake, er pie. The ZX600 has two horns and they are frame mounted behind the exhaust header, radiator and the oil cooler...I can't seem to fit my hands in there to put the wires back on the horns. I haven't figured out how to get that task done yet but I haven't given up yet either.

Other than the brakes and chain, from a mechanical standpoint my zx600 is darn near together.  I would like to hear it RUN before I continue on.  After this, the big repairs are to the body, lights and paint.  I've never painted a darn thing in my life...(yes, I have painted a house before but I can't say I'm good at it) I must decide on a paint and body shop to paint the plastic body parts and the tank.

The paint style I'm going with.

no red seat for me....

Right now, I have that motorcycle farther together than it was when I purchased it.  I'm in uncharted territory and I'm having to dig in the factory parts and repair manuals to figure out just how to move along going forward.

Wish me luck!
J.