I need some help

Hey Gang,

I'm glad that you stopped by today. I need some help. It seems that someone I know read my last blog this morning, you know, the one about being content. Seems that I struck some nerve in the guy, he called me today and went off on me. He started yelling something about how I am just a dumb pig and that I don't have any business blogging because I am just plain ol' stupid. He said that my stories are boring, pointless and a waste of peoples time to read. (That last comment really hurt.) Here is where I need your help. I know that I am a pig. I know that I don't have an education. I know that I don't have one of those high profile career jobs either. Hell man, I don't even own a car, let alone own a motorcycle. And yes, I've been to jail a time or two, but hey, the charges have always been dropped. I just like to drink beer, chase hot women and clean motorcycles. And maybe now and then tell a few of my stories in between jobs.

Here is where I need your help. I am going to finish today's blog by describing how I view people who are not content in their lives. I'll explain briefly. In the previous blog I was describing what makes certain people happy and content, now I am going to describe what makes this and other spineless dweebs so unhappy in their own pathetic , miserable lives. And depending on how you feel about the way I blog, I would like to hear from you. Please don't be afraid to respond, because I, Pig, would love to hear from you so that I can maybe improve my writing skills a little bit. Ready, here goes.

What makes people unhappy, non-content and miserable.

When they were babies, their mama didn't breast feed them. And now they feel unloved.

The only dates they had in high school was Rosie Palm and her 5 sisters. (Painful memories)

When they were kids, they were so ugly that their mother really did have to tie a bone around their necks to get the family dog to play with them.

They spent so much money buying stuff trying to be cool and people still blow them off.

Their just pissed because the only drive they have in their lives is jumping in the car and going to Taco Bell.

Their pissed because the tornado missed their trailer during the last storm.

Their wife's nipples drag across the floor.

A news reporter just ruined their life with a news story.

Every Halloween they got a rock instead of candy.

When they were born, they were so ugly the doctor slapped their mama instead of them on the butt.

They can't pay their bills on time and their cars just got repo'ed.

Their just pissed because the new flame job they had done on their car was real flames instead of new paint.

They just found out they have the ugliest house on the street and the homeowners association wants to sue them over it.

They still haven't received their free stimulus check from Obama yet.

Their just pissed because they still have to get up and go to work in the morning.

They found out that superman is just a comic book character.

And last but not least:

What really makes them so unhappy is the fact that I, Pig, got laid last night and they DIDN'T.

You can post your comments here or you can e-mail me at ray@raysbikecleanandetail.com

Have a great day

Pig.

Word For The Day

Welcome everyone. I have a word for today I would like for us to take a look at. Today's word is "content". There are many uses for the word content. Some people may be content with what they have. Some may be content striving for more.

Content: To be happy, satisfied, fulfilled

Here are what I think are some real world meanings;

Content: A fisherman with a net full of fish.

Content: A contractor who is paid on time for a job well done.

Content: A politician who secures another vote

Content: A nurse just helped a doctor save a life.

Content: A baby has a clean butt and a warm tit to suck from.

Content: A banker some how has all his loans paid on time.

Content: A biker who just beat up the repo man who tried to take his bike.

Content: An oil well is capped off and secured no longer polluting.

Content: A trick or treater heading home with a sack full of candy.

Content: A hot woman in a short skirt knows she looks good.

Content: A brew master just completed a new style batch of beer.

Content: A news reporter who just ruined someones life with a story.

Content: A President who thinks he owns the top of the world instead of sitting on it.

Content: A tornado in a trailer park.

Content: A raccoon in a full trash can of food scraps.

Content: A teenager with a paid up cell phone.

Content: A biker with a new flame job on his bike.

Content: A blogger with many fresh and new blogs to write.

Content: A biker chick who's tits defy gravity.

What makes you content? Is it a net full of fish or tits that defy gravity? Are you happy and content with what you have or do you want to strive for more? What drives us to be content with our lives is what makes us stronger. It also defines what our priorities are. We are what we want to be, the only person who can be changed is one who can change himself.

Be content in what you have, strive to improve what you have. Always be sure to Live, Laugh, Love.

BTW, I'm content with a belly full of beer and getting my dipstick slicked up.

Peace out homies

Pig

The American Dream is Alive & Well

Welcome back all my good friends. I'm so glad that you are here today. I have great news today. The American dream is alive and well. I know that so many of us are having a hard time right now with the current economy and there are many of us currently out of work. Living the dream has never been easy, it takes hard work, time, desire and determination. A lot of people are happy living the dream by having the career. Others want the house, family and a large line of credit.

The kind of dream I'm talking about is the one where people live by opening their own business. A good friend of ours, Chris Gibson, just opened his first motorcycle shop, Texican Cycles on Saturday in Jourdanton, TX. I'm really encouraged by this cause Ray & I try everyday to keep our dreams alive. We know what it takes and what it means to do this.

We met Chris & his crew over at Texas Pride bike night last year. Chris has a computerized Dyno Trailer. He can hook your bike up to it and test out the performance of your bike for a few dollars. Ray made a deal with Chris for Chris to do a dyno on Rays Honda and Ray cleaned Chris's Harley. They have been hanging out at the Pride ever since.

Well anyway, Chris completed his tech schooling, bought the trailer and began working on bikes out of the house. As his business grew, he bought some property and little by little he got the building built with a store inside it. Saturday was the day it all came together for him and his crew.

I tried to sleep in on Saturday but Ray on the other hand decided to roll out early and get some stuff done before we could head out. I caught up with Ray and inquired as to what time we would be heading out. Ray had a puzzled look on his face as I asked him. His reply caught me off guard.

“I don't know if I want to go Pig”.

“What!?!”

“It's so hot Pig, I don't know if I want to ride in this heat”

“Screw the heat you little pussy”, I pointed my fist at him, “Don't you do this to Chris and his guys. They are counting on us to be there”.

Ray kind of hung his head in shame and looked down at the floor. I handed him a bottle of cold water and whispered “Suck it up dude, we're going”. Ray sucked down the water and between gulps he slurred something about me getting the bike cleaned up. I obliged his wishes and quickly got the bike ready. A short time later we were headed down the road

Jourdanton, Texas is about 45 minutes south of San Antonio and there are two ways to get there. The long way via the back roads would take about an hour and is out of the way to make it a straight shot, but if you take I-37 south you can get right there. As we passed by the bank, I noticed that the time was 12:07 and that it was 92*. No wonder Ray didn't want to ride, it is damm hot. Well Ray took the shorter route and got us there in no time. Good thing too, I needed something drink BAD!

We pulled in and found the party. They had the BBQ going and a couple of those Port a Cool too. About 20 or so people were there mulling around having a few cold drinks with their BBQ. We dismounted and joined them. As we approached you could feel the dream around you. There was a sense of pride in the air. People were there to celebrate and for good reason. The American dream of opening your own business was alive and well.

There are so few people in our world who can understand the advantages and the disadvantages of owning your own business. Lets take a moment to see.

Advantages                                                Disadvantages

The chance to give someone a job.          Having to deal with employees

Working with your customers                  Having to deal with customers

Having the chance to give back               Having to give more than your fair to your country                                         to the government

The satisfaction of a successful              The stress of running a business

business

The list goes on & on but the excitement of trying will always out-weight the disadvantages. It's all part of the American dream.

Chris and his crew have a really nice place. Ray and I both hope and pray that they will succeed even in these times of economic difficulty. If you ever need something for your bike give Chris a call. Gods Speed to Texican Cycles, we wish them only the best.

Pig

Much ado about nothing

Hey Ya'll

Yeah, I'm back with another post. It's good to be posting another blog today, I've had a little bit of the writers block syndrome. I wasn't really sure what to write about these days. I guess it has something to do with weather. It is still so

F****** hot here in south Texas. Relax, I'm not going to blog again about the weather, but I will say that I am tired of getting burn marks on my butt everytime I sit down. Work has still been slow. Not too many bikes to clean lately. Ray says that money is tight right now for everyone and that the ones who do have money, are playing it smart and hanging onto it. I just wish with all of this down time that I had the money to get my hooves manicured. Ray told me I could have the money if I didn't drink so much beer. Sorry dude, I do have my priorities.

We (Ray & I) haven't been able to set up at Texas Pride for the past two weeks, it keeps raining on Thursdays around here. (Then on Friday the air is so humid you could cut it with a knife) We have been working on the plans for the “Route 66” trip. So far, we are still planning on just taking the route through Texas. If time and money allow, we may go into Oklahoma for a ways before we head home. Ray has me doing all of the research for the trip. I haven't been able to find to much to do when we get there but check out a bunch of old broken down buildings. Ray seems to be excited though, he keeps saying something about listening to the ghosts of the past. We will have to see about that cause I'm not so sure I want some old ghost talking to me.

Anyway, I like I said, I do the research and Ray's doing the prep on the bike. Since we did the Athens run back in April, Ray has been working on building a set of saddle bags and front faring and windshield for the bike. He really enjoys making his own custom parts. It gives him a personal satisfaction that his bike will have parts on it that no one else in this world will have. All I know is we need something to carry all of our junk in.

I think what I need most is another cold beer and to get laid.

Just Trying To Get Ready

Well, Well, Well.

Welcome back all you lovers of pork products. Yep, it's me again, the one, the only, that little pink porker that leaves you reeling from the feeling. Pig.

I trust that you all had a nice Fourth of July this year. Lots of BBQ (Beef only please), beer and fireworks. If you had one or more of the above mentioned then you had a better Fourth than I did. Oh I guess my 4^th was OK, It's just that Ray did stock up on beer for the holiday, problem was he hid it where I couldn't get to it. Oh well, all hope was not lost, I just moseyed across the street to the neighbors house and crashed their party. I'm not welcome over at their house so I had to hide under the table and sneak a beer when no one was looking. Enough of that. Today's blog has to deal more on the route 66 trip.

One my last blog, I told you of some history about route 66. I know, I know, it was probably a little boring. Sorry if it was, but it gave us some background on which to start from. OK here's the deal. Next spring, sometime in April, Ray & I are going to make a trip to the panhandle of Texas. Route 66 ran through Amarillo and several other small Texas towns

Now I know that someone out there just said “next spring WTF, go now” Hold on there cowboy we have a few problems to solve first. First problem is the bike is not ready to make a long distance haul. Ray doesn't have saddle bags or suitcases to mount on the bike. We have no way of carrying a change of clothes or even tools. (I don't know about Ray, but I don't wear 2 day old underwear) On long distant trips, you have to have the right gear. Not over loaded but not under prepared. Second problem, Schedule, Summer is too hot to enjoy the trip. In the fall we are going to NASCAR races in Fort Worth. Winter has the holidays and cold weather. So that leaves the spring time. Third and most important problem, Money. I hate to admit it but we're a little short on cash. Work has been a little slow this year and not too many people are getting their bikes cleaned. I have noticed that lately, people have not been spending a whole lot of money out there. It will cost us on the average of $135.00 per day to go. That includes gas, oil, motel, food, ect. Now if Ray really went cheap and I didn't drink beer on the trip, we could get that amount down. However, it would be wise to prepare for the worse and hope for the best. If any of you fine folks out there have any suggestions, please let the Pig know.

Now Ray has already started on a set of saddle bags and a faring for the bike. He could have gone out and bought them. But he has some half-baked, hair-brain idea that he can build some kind of a custom set himself. (This should be real interesting to see what he comes up with). I'll give more details and updates as he progresses. We might just have a good laugh over it.

My job, meanwhile, is to start securing some old maps with the route on it, look up current maps. I will need to find fuel depots, motels and places to eat. I may try to find some campsites, If we did that instead of motels, the trip might be more interesting. Ray said something this morning about a movie called “Easy Rider” He told me to find it and watch it. He informed me that it's a movie about two hippie bikers that made a similar trip from LA to New Orleans and that they may have traveled some of the same road to make that film. COOL HUH?

Well, we have a lot to do between now and next April. I'll get back with you real soon with more updates. Ride hard or stay home.

Pig

Route 66

Hey Ya'll,

The Pig is back once again and he is still full of his hot love for all you fine, young ladies out there. Ladies, just give me a call and I will be right over. OK, with that out of the way it is now down to business. Good news, as I had promised in my blog back in May, I promised that I would start to put together a “Route 66” ride. And that I would get back to everyone with more details. Now the bad news (it's not that bad) As I was researching the web about the old Route 66, I discovered a VAST amount of information to go through. Now when I say VAST, I mean I found a ton of info to digest. (just Google route 66 and see what I mean) I have only begun to scratch the surface of everything there is regarding the history behind the mother road.

Now I know that there are some of you out there who are asking “What is so special about route 66 and why should I care”? I am here today to answer those questions. Before you sign off and not read the rest of the blog please take a minute and hear what this Pig is oinking about.

Let me give a very brief summary about the route. US 66 was commissioned by the federal government in the summer of 1926. It was intended to connect the main streets of rural & urban communities along its course for the most practical reasons. It also created a single direct route from Chicago to Los Angeles thus making it the “main street of America”. During the great depression and the dust bowls of Oklahoma, the route served as a way for people to find prosperity out west. In John Steinbeck's novel “The Grapes of Wrath” Route 66 was called the “mother road” giving those migrant farmers new hope and and new life. During WWll the route served as an important route for troop and equipment movement from one end of the country to the other. Businesses along the route still prospered even in times of economic down fall as they were able to still serve the things that people needed to travel.

After the war the country began to rebound and people began to travel more. The route changed from a road of necessity to a road of comfort along with adventure. The 1946 Bobby Troup song sung by Nat King Cole, “Get your kicks on Route 66” made the road even more appealing. During the 50's came the mom & pop motels and motor courts, hamburger stands, souvenir shop and snake farms became points of interest and legendary. The hay-days of the 50's also became the demise of the great route as Americans quickly began to outgrow the capacity of the road. The government had put plans into effect and started the new interstate system of four lane highways that started to by-pass the small towns.

In the 1960's the route spawned a TV show Route 66 that featured two young men cruising the route trying to find a place to grow roots. As the new interstates were being built and put into the use, the businesses along the route began to feel the hurt of lost business. The outdated, poorly maintained vestiges of US Highway 66 completely succumbed to the interstate system in October 1984 when the final section of the original road was bypassed by Interstate 40 at Williams, Arizona.

The once great road was decommissioned by the government in 1985. It was then when all of the road signs were removed leaving the people along the route to fend for themselves.

Decommissioned.

A general term used for the formal process to remove something from active status.

Sounds to me more like another word for “death”. Or how about like “Your fired”! “Thanks for helping out, you can leave now, you are no longer wanted ”.

Decommissioned

A hunk of junk left to lay and rot.

US Highway 66 is @ 2,400 miles long, it ran through 8 different states. The main street of America that defined the real America. It was and still is a part of our national identity. It is the road to opportunity. For you see this country is based primarily on small business. Large corporations only make up around 10% of our nations total work force. That leaves the remaining 90% to small businesses like the Mom & Pops. When the interstates were put in, the majority of businesses placed along the new roads were run by large corporations like national gas station chains and national motel chains. Leaving the Mom & Pops to fend for themselves.

When I first started researching this, I asked myself the same questions I listed above, “what is so special & why should I care”? The route is just a bunch of old road with falling down buildings and nothing out there. Who cares? I said something to Ray about it, in which he began to enlighten me as to the importance of the old route. Ray said:

“The importance of the old route is this, If you don't remember your history, then history is doomed to repeat its self. US Route 66 gave us more than 'the road to opportunity' for this country. It fed our sense of adventure. It inspired future generations to achieve greatness. Without roads like that how could we have accomplished feats things like flying to the moon. The road was more than a bunch of old gas stations and souvenir shops. It was the real America, the land of opportunity. Think of the snake farms and side shows that taught and inspired kids to become something useful in life. What about the restaurants that inspired new dishes to try. So many new business ideas were first tried out on that road and the ones that works were used in bigger cities. The road tied us together as Americans, we were able to see how the other half of the country lived. As a kid, I traveled that road many of times on family vacations. The memories are still there. I had a lot of fun on that road, I also learned a few things about life too.

The people who lived and worked along the road were the real Americans. They didn't ask for government bailouts. They paid their bills and taxes and they supported America, they flew our nations flag with pride and stood tall. That road supported farmers and cattlemen, it supported communities and small towns, it was life for so many people. And when the interstate came in it slipped a noose around their necks. They called upon Washington for help. What did they get? Ignored. Decommissioned. Left to fend for themselves. Their livelihoods taken over by corporate America. That road you can't realize why we should care is more important than you think. If we fail to remember our history, then history is doomed to repeat its self.”

Those words did more than just rattle into one ear and out the other. When Ray had finished I sat quietly for a few hours reflecting on all that I had heard. Then it happened, a fire was lit inside of me. I decided that the old road really is important and that all the vast information that I began to scratch the surface of needs to be gone through. Ray & I made a pact with each other. We agreed to one day real soon to ride the old “Main Street of America” and we will. We will visit those old towns, take pictures and talk to the people who remain there. We have a new mission to go for, a new adventure to undertake.

“If you ever plan to motor west

Travel my way

Take the highway that's the best

Get your kicks on Route 66”

Bobby Troup 1946

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn, screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!!!”