Happy Thanksgiving

Greetings to you all from pig land. It is good to have you back. Today is the great day of Thanksgiving. A day when we all take a moment to thank God for all the many blessings He has given us each and everyday. I always like to take a moment before we eat our dinner and just give Him a moment of my time to just say 'thank you'. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head. I am thankful I have food in my belly. I am thankful I have a job and can provide the best that I can for my family. And most of all, I am thankful for the love of a family.

Life has never been meant to be easy. We all struggle with something everyday in our lives. It is good to be able to pray about those struggles and ask God for the help we need. The funny thing about that is, sometimes we don't open our eyes and see how God has helped us and blessed us. We take for granted that it was someone else who did the helping. We fail to realize that it was God who put that person in our life. So take a moment from your busy day today and stop. Take that moment and tell Him “Thanks Dad”. You won't believe who much He will bless you more.

Today, Rainman & I are doing the cooking. We have all the usual stuff planned for dinner. Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, yams and rolls with pumpkin and pecan pie. We'll eat early (around 2:00) so around 7:00 we can have another round. Then tomorrow, it's back to eating lean again.

I wish you all a wonderful day. I hope you are able to enjoy the day with family and friends and share the love. Tune in next time when I begins a short series on some Christmas stories.

Peace & Love

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig

Hey Y'all,

Pig here, time once again for a little grunt and chat. I know that it has been awhile since you all have heard from me. My only excuse for being gone so long is I have been a little busy. But have no fear for your buddy Pig is still around to give you that great feeling you have been missing.

Today's subject for my little piglet's: C H R I S T M A S

Oh yeah, I know Christmas may be the last thing you want to hear right now, unless I have insider news for you concerning those beloved Black Friday sales you are all anxious about. Sorry I don't have any info like that. I do, however, have a feeling that some of you may look upon Christmas with a certain annoyance, be it, Christmas is the one day out of the year that is celebrated by all. It is also the time of year where a lot of us tend to go a little overboard with our spending for gifts and other things. I will talk more on that in a bit, but first I want to take a moment to describe to you what Christmas looks like from a Pigs Point of View.

Pig's Point of View

Christmas has always been a wonderful time of year, no other time of the year will you have all the colors, the smells and aromas mixed in with warm, loving feelings. All this coupled with the building of anticipation inside of you for the up coming day. We all become a little giddy with smiles that suddenly appear on our faces for no reason. We know that as the time ticks away there will be delicious food to enjoy (pounds we put on), all the presents to open (money we spend that we don't have), children smiling and laughing bustling with excitement (more like being whiny brats out of control). There will be parties to attend (with hangovers included), and don't forget the family gatherings to be had (more like time spent arguing with people you don't wish to be stuck with). Does any of that sound familiar? I'm sorry if any of that may have sounded a little negative. I didn't mean to hurt anyone's about Christmas feelings so please allow me to explain.

I love Christmas, I really do. I love all of those things I just said. It is just that I don't care for what Christmas has become. “Why Pig, what do you mean by that” you ask? Let me tell you. I used used to be caught up in all the hub-bub of Christmas, I would spend too much money on gifts, I'd party too hard, just all kinds of crazy stuff. But now I have learned to celebrate Christmas for what it truly means, I celebrate the real reason of what Christmas is all about. I would love to tell you all a Christmas story, It's a story that everytime I think of it my soul becomes renewed for Christmas once again. So imagine, if you will, we are all gathered around in the living room, sipping hot chocolate while a warm fire burns in the fireplace as snow falls outside.

Our Story

Our story today begins a few years ago in the month of September. Rainman & I were in our local Wal-Mart picking up a prescription at the pharmacy. From the waiting line you could see the lawn & garden section across the store. Here it was, the middle of September and Christmas stuff was already up Oh it was pretty, it was decorated better than a $2.00 whore. We hadn't even had Halloween yet, let alone Thanksgiving and all the Christmas stuff was planted. You know of course that I started to become a little excited at the thought of Christmas being right around the corner. I wanted to see what style of new stuff they had for outdoor decorating. Hey man, you know you have to get that stuff early and be the first one on the block to have it up. I began to tug on Rainman's pant leg wanting to go over there. He didn't say anything, he just sort of ignored my desire to go see. After we got what we came for I started to go in the direction of lawn and garden,but Rainman was much smarter as he grabbed me by the collar and pulled me the other way towards the exit door. I was heart broke not being allowed to see all the new kind of Christmas decorations they had.

We got into the truck and started to head home, I asked Rainman “who crapped in your Cheerios this morning”?

“What do you mean” he asked?

“Why didn't we look at the Christmas stuff?”

What I didn't know was I was about to get was a full blown visit from the Grinch detailing what Christmas really was. Rainman went on to explain how one must always be careful not to become caught up in all the non Christmas Bulls.... To which I responded I didn't have a clue what he meant by that, how could Christmas trees and outdoor lights be non Christmas Bulls.... I thought for sure he had some screws loose inside that bone-head of his. He went on to tell me something I was not prepared for “Pig, you can never out give the Giver”. He didn't say anything more for the rest of the way home. I of course had no F!#%ing clue what it was that he was talking about. The giver, who was the giver?

After we got home I felt a little more than deflated by what Rainman had said in the truck. My uneasiness inside made me feel that Rainman didn't care for Christmas at all and I just refuse to let that happen with my best buddy. I would rather be caught raping chickens than to let my friend not like Christmas. So that evening, we were working out in the shop on a long term project of rebuilding our dirt bike. Rainman was jamming loud on the radio while he was putting a new piston and ring set in the motor. I took this as the opportunity to talk to him. I grabbed a couple of beers out of the box and climbed up on the workbench and turned down the radio. “Dude”, I said to him as I handed him a cold one, “We need to talk.”

“What's up” he answered.

“What was up with the out give the giver comment this afternoon?”

“I was wondering how long it would take you to ask me that Pig” he answered.

Rainman stopped what he was doing, sat down on the stool and took a good drag off of his beer. He set the bottle down and looked me straight in the face as he began to tell me what Christmas was all about.

Christmas marks the day when we observe the fulfillment of the prophecies of the old testament in the bible. It is the day when God gave us his only begotten Son for the forgiveness of our sins so that we may have everlasting life with Him in Heaven. Christmas is a day when we should let go of all the junk in our lives and celebrate Christ's birth. Rejoice in Him, unite as one body of believers thankful to God for our redemption. For without Christ in our lives, we can never spend our eternity in Heaven.

“Whoa, I didn't know all of that, I just thought Christmas was a day to have a cool party and give out presents to people you like” I answered him.

“Sorry if I busted your bubble about the holiday, but here is the deal,” he began, “I used to get all caught up in the crazy over Christmas.”

“But you still do,” I interrupted. “Every year we go nuts everytime we set up the tree and the lights and stuff, we always go all out.”

“If I may Pig” he asked?

“Sorry, go on” I said taking a drag off my beer.

“Like I said, I used to get caught up in the Christmas trap” Rainman said.

“Trap?” I repeated.

“Yeah, trap. See Pig for so many years the day after Christmas was always a bummer, I would wake up and feel all empty inside, like something was wrong. I felt as though I failed to do enough for Christmas, it was like Christmas came up short.” I would go as far as to remember back in my childhood and remember all of the wonderful Christmases I has as a kid. I also thought back to how great the days after Christmas was too. But when I was no longer a kid, Christmas became a day of responsibility for me.”

“Responsibility, Really?”

“Yeap – had to make sure I had presents under that tree for everyone, even if I couldn't afford it. I felt bad the years I fell short with my giving. Then Ericka came along & I wanted her to have the same kind of Christmases I had. But then again, the day after, I felt like I didn't do enough for the holiday. I could tell that something was not right inside of me. I began to dread the coming of Christmas.”

“Oh wow” I said in complete disbelief, how could anyone dread Christmas?

“It wasn't until an old preacher I used to know got me straightened out.”

“How's that” I asked?

“By sitting down with me and talking, just like you are right now. Now let me ask you a question about the holiday Pig.”

“Shoot” I said.

“Have you ever felt like you have come up short at Christmas?” he asked.

“Well, maybe – I always figured it was the hangover talking” I stated.

Rainman looked straight into my eyes and said “think about it, real hard.”

“Well slap me silly and call me a hooker” I replied with a smile, I then realized I did in fact feel like I came up short. “So tell me, just what did that old preacher tell you?”

“He told me to read the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke in the bible, that is where you need to start at - the fulfillment of the prophecies told in the Old Testament – that is where you will find the true meaning of Christmas. That is where you will find the fulfillment of that empty feeling inside of you.”

“What if I don't understand it” I asked?

“I'll talk you through it – Bottom line is this, Christmas is about the birth of Christ. That's it, it's not about gifts, or trees, or lights. It's about love, making amends and showing someone else that you care.”

“OK, stop right there,” I said coughing from drinking the last of my beer too fast. “Hold on one minute.” I jumped down and got us two more beers from the box. “OK – that last part started to sound just a little hypocritical. You say Christmas is not about gifts and decorations and yet you do just that. Sorry dude, but that sounds like a pig in a poke to me” I said climbing back up on the bench and handed a cold one to Rainman. “Explain yourself mister.”

“Yes, I do all of those things, I enjoy doing them, they make Christmas fun for me, so let me break it down for you. First, the decorations. I buy them after Christmas at 75% off the retail price, I don't let myself get caught up in the frenzy of having to have it now. I only use multicolor decorations because each color represents a reminder of Jesus. Example: the white is for His purity, the red is for His blood spilled, the green for his everlasting life, ECT.”

“Keep going Bubba, your not not of the woods yet” I demanded.

“Second, the gifts, I never buy gifts that I cannot pay for in cash. I feel better knowing I owe no one. I also try to hand make gifts, they have more meaning than a store bought gift. I never ask for any gift for Christmas because no one can ever give me a better gift than what God gave me.

“OK Buckwheat, I'll except that answer , now spill it about the food you eat during the holiday's.”

“OK smart ass” he says to me, “Yeah, if someone has prepared a fine, tasty dish for me to enjoy, well then hell yeah I'll eat that sucker right up, what are you, nuts?”

“Ah-huh, gotcha on that one didn't I?” I taunted him. “You can't fool me. But tell me why you didn't want to look at the Christmas stuff today?”
“Pig, it's like this, big commercial businesses have ground it into our all Americans brains that in order to have a merry Christmas you have to spend lots of money and that makes good profits for them. They know that if they keep pounding on you long enough you will cave in and buy. They want you to think of Christmas as much as possible and by starting early before Halloween, they are placing messages in your brain to buy it now. Make payments, come on, don't you deserve it? You know you want it, just use that credit card and if you don't have a credit card we will give you one. You deserve it, you owe it to yourself. Never mind the fact that you will be paying for it till next Christmas, never mind the 18%-21% interest you'll be paying. Never mind the fact that you just can't afford it. And that my friend is where the emptiness inside of you comes from. You buy and buy till you can't buy anymore and they just robbed you of the true meaning of Christmas.”

“Those bastards.”

“Yeap, they're pretty slick about it, why do you think they play Christmas music in November? Pig, you just need to learn to enjoy Christmas for what it truly is, the birth of the Savior. If you keep that foremost in your Christmas, it will be the best Christmas you ever had.

That year, before we set up anything Christmas, I learned to ask questions about each thing we did to celebrate the holiday. The more I asked is the more that I learned what family traditions were. I learned family history, passed on from generation to generation. That Christmas morning I awoke to have the Merriest of Christmas of them all. My heart was filled with the joy of having the greatest gift of all.

Well that's about for now piglets, tune in later this week for my up coming blog on Thanksgiving.

Ride Hard (that way your mother-in-law falls off)

or stay Home

Pig.

Hey Guys and Gals,

It's your old buddy Pig here. I was just sitting around watching a little TV tonight trying to relax after another busy day. The cats tried to wake me up early to feed them (5:30 AM) but I showed those dumb-asses by throwing a shoe at them. They instead got Rainman up. It was funny, we do this every morning around here. Blue, the male cat, will go over and paw at Rainman's shoulder as if he was saying “Dad, it's time to get up and feed me, come on Dad, wakkkkkke upppppp! Dad, I'm not going away until you do. Rainman will shoo him off by taking a swat at Blue, so then Blue will start clawing at the side of the bed. Rainman will get up and chase him out of the bedroom and close the door. Now one would think that that should be the end of the wake up calls. Nope, What Blue does next is he will start scratching at the bedroom door. He even goes as far as to climb up the door and reach as far as he can, then he runs his nails down the door as if he was running his fingernails down a chalk board. This goes on for another five minutes or so then Rainman will finally get up and feed the dumb cat. I don't know who is the worse, the cat or Rainman.

The early morning culprit

Well like I said, we had a long day, after some coffee this morning, (we had some of that new Almond Joy creamer, it kicks butt) we got mom up and went out for some tacos before church. A couple of Bacon, egg and cheese tacos with some extra hot sauce and we were all set. Had a good time a church, we go to the Open Road Motorcycle Church held at the Deer Crossing Saloon. We had a full crowd there today with some out of town family members, it was good to see everyone there. My point for today's story is this, when it came time for prayer requests, Rainman stood up and asked for prayers for me. This perplexed me somewhat because he said I needed prayer since he brought home a ham yesterday for Thanksgiving and I took it and won't tell him where the ham is. And for that I get chastised for it at church, this great, just great. Keyman is up there telling everyone “Shame on Pig for doing that” Well not really, but I felt that way.

Now, let me explain the situation, you see yesterday Rainman went to the store and bought groceries. He never said anything about buying a ham. When he brought it home, I was helping him unload the bags for the stuff to be put up. I go to open the bag the ham was in, I look inside and saw the ham. I immediately felt ill as I thought I might be looking at what could have been a dead relative of mine. How could someone expect me to allow the dead carcass of one of my own to lay there on the table. It was just wrong. I'm sorry, but it was wrong.

When no one was looking, I took the ham and put it in a safe place so that I would not have to look at it, nor could anyone else eat a possible relative of mine. So after Thanksgiving, I will give the ham back and they can do whatever they want with it.

Meanwhile, after church we dropped mom off at the house and went for a couple hour ride up around Canyon Lake. The fall colors are starting to come in. I was a little worried this year with the drought and all that we would not have a fall season at all. There wasn't very many trees with the color but the ride was still very nice.

That's about all I know for now, BTW, I am working on a series of blogs for Christmas. So check back and be looking for them. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig.

Just another day? Or not?

Just another day? Or not?

Today was just another day, get up, go to work, get stuck behind a computer again doing bids and drawings all day long. Rainman has been rather busy lately so he has me going to work with him to help out. He says it is for support to keep him from going crazy. With having a life of doing that for 5 days a week plus all the other bullshit he goes through I could see why he needs me around.

Jimmy Buffet says it best “It's five o'clock somewhere” and brother, that is a true statement. 5:00 didn't come soon enough for us today with it being a Thursday. Bike night at the Pride is always something good to look forward to. We escaped early, headed home, changed clothes and hit the road. The bike needed gas before we headed too far out. As we approached the exit to the hood, we found plenty of rush hour traffic blocking us from turning left out of the hood. We figured to head down Foster road and take some back roads over to the Pride. It would be a longer route and that was just what the doctor ordered for us. We stopped and topped off the tank and we were off for the nights adventure.

Adventure being the key word. You would think that living on the outskirts of the city would make it a breeze getting to the back roads. But that was not the case tonight. Riding on Foster road sucked., it is full of road construction and pot holes. It made it impossible for us to keep a straight line rolling down the road. Now when I say the road was bad, that was an understatement. We hit one pot hole so hard (going 15 MPH) I thought I broke my back from the shock.

It just adds to the irony of city slicker living. We had to dodge and duck them chucks for 2 miles, til we crossed over I.H.10. We were finally able to speed up and shake off some of the stress we were having. To feel the cool breeze running through your face and hair is some of the best G D therapy you could ever have. No wonder my FM1604. As we came up to our exit, Rainman hit the gas hard and made my head flip backwards. I though he had gone crazy and was going to try and lay the bike into the turn at high speed. Nope, instead he just shot past the exit and headed on into La Vernia. I guess Rainman need a little more therapy from the week of doldrums and BS.

We hit La Vernia a few more miles down the road and did a U-turn at the Valero to head back to the Pride. I guess he was feeling better now. Once at the Pride, we found more therapy in a couple of chopped sandwiches with some good old sweet tea. Now if you need a good sandwich, get the chop at the Pride and load that sucker up with some pickles, onion and sliced jalapenos, that will fit the bill. After dinner, we settled in at one of the tables for some good rock n roll from none other than Jimmy Spotcheck. Old Jimmy was wailing on his guitar like he always does, putting on a good show for the crowd. More therapy that the docotr ordered for us.

After a couple of songs, Jimmy turned the mike over to named Uncle Willy Sparks, a blind man who played the blues on his guitar that had been signed by the none other than B.B.King. While Willy played on, Jimmy came down off the stage to have a quick bite to eat. Well he ended up sitting next to us with his band. I leaned over and told Jimmy who I was and that I liked his guitar playing. Jimmy, always being the professional musician, was gracious enough to say more than just thank you. He said that he remembered meeting me before. Wow, I couldn't believe it, two Texas legends meeting up and knowing each other. We talked a bit about music and riding. It's always fun when you get to hang-out with the band.

Well to keep this long story from getting too much longer, I'll just get to the point that I wanted to say. Life is never on easy street. I don't care who you are, we all need to remember that when you are overwhelmed, overworked, stressed out or just plain old confused as to how much more you can take, don't let yourself get all caught up in life's red tape. Take a little time for yourself, you won't believe what it can do for you. Once you are able to let go of all that crap, you won't believe how much better you will feel.

So when I say this, I mean it!

Ride Hard or just Stay Home

Pig

Its Chili Making Time

It's Chili Making Time

Howdy ya'll,

Pig's here once again for another round of Pig chat.

On of the great things about living in Texas is when October comes around, the weather changes from super hot to tolerable. And with that change in weather come events to attend. All around our great state there are chili cook-offs and varies of benefits to attend. Texans have always had big hearts and have always tried their best to help those in need. This weekend, it will be no different when a bunch of bikers will get together for the Confederation of Clubs meeting at the Deer Crossing Saloon. There will be a Chili Cook-off and the money raised will benefit children who are placed in foster care.

Now for those of you who are thinking “Oh great, this just another article about chili.” Well hold on a minute, this one is a little different. See, for those of you who do not live in Texas, one thing about Texas that might make you want to live here is our chili. Texans have always been and still are very proud of the fact that we make the best damm chili's in the US and we even have an expression that sounds something like this: “There anit no damm beans allowed in chili”. (never heard that one before?) OK, so, here is the deal. This particular chili cook-off is well known for it's stiff competition. In fact, I have heard a few Texas tales about the winners of the past that were quite interesting. And I. Pig, have decided to enter this competition to begin another Texas tale of my own with the intent of blowing everyone else clean out of the water with my legendary, damm good chili.

One humorous side note is when I signed up to enter, they asked me if I was making chili or if I was going to be IN the chili. Ha Ha, very funny. After they all got done laughing at me for entering, I drew a line in the dirt and told them all not to dare cross that line, cause them is fighting words around here when it comes to my chili. The challenge has been made and I except it. I just hope the others don't go home crying to their mama's when I whup up on them with my pot of taste bud pleasing, tummy satisfying, smile making chili.

What all of my competition does not know is I have had time to practice and perfect my recipe this past week. I was placed on house restriction (grounded) for getting busted at the strip club last Thursday. Not to worry my fans, all the charges were dropped when it was discover that it is illegal to have animals of a barnyard nature in strip clubs. So it wasn't my fault. If you would like to know the story of how I got busted in the club, you will have to come to the chili cook-off and have a bowl of my legendary stuff(with a donation for the kids of course).

I hope to see you all there, and will someone please go tell Ron “There is a new chili in town, and its name is PIG'S CHILI.

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Oh by the way, Win or lose, I will post the winnings on here Saturday evening, with a full recap of the days activities.

Pig

Bikers and The General Public

Welcome back all my lovers of pork. It's the King of Pork Chops here, yeah that's right my good people, it's me, the Pig. Time once again for another round of loving from the master. Today's subject is about something that really bothers me and I need to get it off my chest. It's about Bikers and having to deal with the general public. This morning Rainman & I headed out for biker church up at the Deer Crossing Saloon, we were hungry when we left so we stopped at a local taco house for some of those flat biscuits stuffed with some eggs and bacon along the way. Now here is what bothers me, just yesterday we were pulling into the Harley dealer when a car behind us honked as to tell us to get out of his way and that if we didn't move he was going to move us. Then as we headed out for the ride with our Brothers to the benefit, another car pushed his way right into the middle of our pack as we were leaving the parking lot. And now as we opened the door to the restaurant, you could hear the place was bustling. As we stepped in the door, everyone stopped talking and just stared at us. I guess they didn't like the idea of a couple of bikers coming in the place.

An older couple in particular seemed rather offended that we walked in as they stared at us with a look of disapproval all dressed in our gear and cuts. Rainman just ignored them and went over to sit down, as for myself, I walked past the old couple and the little old blue haired bat gave me the “look”. You know the look I'm talking about, it's the one that says “What are you doing here? You should be ashamed of yourself going around looking that way.”

I climbed up into my chair and waited for what felt like an eternity for the waitress to show up. We were still being stared at by a few people from across the place, including the old couple, so I had to ask Rainman what was up with people treating us that way and why was he not bothered by it. About that time the waitress showed and so we ordered our tacos and iced tea. He began to explain why people can be such assholes in a very unique way.

mom showing her best side

Bikers are always perceived by some people as “hoodlums, non-law abiding citizens, trash, or maybe even worthless”. What people fail to do is that when they look at us that way; they fail to remember of the last time they took a good look at themselves. We as people need to think before we judge someone. Let me ask you something. What are you guilty of that you are too afraid to admit or don't want to be known? Don't try to make yourself look better by treating us worse than what you truly are inside. There is no one in this world who is perfect. Well, that's not true, at one time there was one who was perfect and they crucified him. But no one else is perfect. Ask yourself this, are you not receiving the respect you feel you deserve? Then try showing respect to others, even if you feel they don't deserve it.

I was really beginning to understand what my wise old friend was telling me and I felt compelled to show these people what they were doing wrong. So I thought about it, and when it was time for us to go, the old couple was still there sipping their coffee. I slipped down off my chair as Rainman paid the ticket and headed out the door. I had to tell old hair that is she would give it up a little more often, her and grandpa wouldn't be so constipated. To which she replied, “Why I never!” And I responded “That's the problem, you never! Loosen up mama, daddy over there needs to tap it a little more before he dies.” Now I know that the old bird was truly offended and that I shouldn't had said something like that to her, especially since I was on my way to church. But I just felt I needed to do as Rainman said by returning the same respect she showed me.

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig

Bastrop Chili Cook-off Benefit

Three weeks ago, The great state of Texas suffered terrible losses in the Bastrop area from wild fire. The biker community responded true to their colors by attending a chili-cook-off benefit for the victims of the fire. The organizers arranged for two groups of riders to converge at the same time as a show of support for those victims. Rainman and I loaded up the bike with water for him (he was the driver) and a six pack for me. We met up with the group going at Gruene Harley Davidson shop just outside of New Braunsfels. The group from Austin was scheduled to leave at 12:00 noon as were we so that we would converge on the San Marcos Toyota Dealership where the cook-off was held at the same time.

It was business as usual for the Harley shop as we pulled in. But on the outside, they had several vendors set up to sell their wares. They had the bandana lady, the accessory ladies and there was a group of cub scouts selling popcorn. Two local radio stations were there jamming their songs and giving riders a chance to meet their favorite DJ's. We paid for got our arm bands for the benefit and kicked back to enjoy some conversation with the other riders. We had a little time so we went in the shop to check out the new 2012 Harley's they had in stock. There was a beautiful white and silver ultra-classic for only 23,000.00. Rainman wanted to play a trick on mom by texting her that he was going to see what the payments on that baby would be. Of course the only response we got was “OH HELL NO!!!”

The call finally came over the loudspeaker for all bikes to line up. We got our bike in line with the others were about in the middle of the pack. The call soon came to fire up. The thunder rolled on through the hills of New Braunsfel as the bikes warmed up. The lead bike headed out and we didn't make it out of the parking lot when a car decided to drive into the middle of the pack (right in front of us). It wasn't a very smart move on the behalf of the driver of that car. Had that dumbass hit one of us bikers, there would have been over 200 hundred of us beating the shit out of him. Luckily he turned off and got out of the pack as quick as he got into the middle of us.

Thirteen miles later we pulled into the San Marcos Toyota dealer on I.H.35. It was timed perfect as about 300 bikers from Austin arrived at the same time. The thunder from the bikes was defining. People were cheering us on as other were in total awe at the sight of our arrival. The dealership anticipated our arrival and had cleared out their used car lot for us to park in. We found that they had set up over 12 different chili-cook off contestants and had sausage wraps, soda, water and other stuff all for donations.

It was fun walking around being with other bikers and watching women try to hula-hoop and the big guys try to show up the Marines booth by doing pull-ups. We tried about seven different types of chili and they were all very good. The only thing I was disappointed in was there wasn't anyone with the “Hot Lava” type chili. Don't get me wrong, all of the chili we tried was good. But this is Texas and we are home of the hottest chili in the country. I guess the weather wasn't cold enough for it. Well anyway, the benefit raised over $10,000.00 for the victims of the fire. One family also received a new Toyota to replace the car they lost in the fire, courtesy of the San Marcos dealer.

I just wanted to say thanks for all the hard work to those who helped work to make this benefit a complete success. It takes a lot of effort to make something like this happen. I would also like to thank all of those who made chili for the competition. They were all very good chili's. What makes everything so worth while is seeing the faces of the victims as you help them out.

Ride Hard or Stay Home.

Pig

P.S. There will be another chili cook-off at the Deer-Crossing Saloon on October 15, 2011 benefiting children in CPS and foster care. Rainman and I will be entering this one with our version of what chili should be. Come on out and cheer us on to victory and help support the kids. Look for us and you might be able to have your picture taken with me and get posted here on my blog.

Peace and love.

Pig