Vol 12 No 3 - 29 May, 2008

Jim was at the truck on Tuesday morning 29 April, getting the quarter glass replaced, he received a phone call for a load in Orlando. He went over and loaded and we left Daytona Beach the next morning.  Delivered a street sweeper and a small boat north west of Boston, Massachusetts on Friday morning.  Then reloaded in New Hampshire -- some used machinery and pipes destined for Ohio.  We arrived in Buffalo on Friday evening as it was on the way.

Laura and Eve.

Jim's niece's daughter had her first birthday party, so we had a get together there on Saturday.  Jimmy was in for the day as well.  It was raining, cold and windy -- a lovely birthday party though.

We left Buffalo early afternoon, stopped in Toledo to have a coffee with a friend of Jim's from his old neighbourhood in Buffalo.  Jim Kostelny and his wife, Jan have a 'hobby' goat farm outside Buffalo, but he works in Toledo (450 kms away).  I met them at Jim's 60th birthday party last year.   Jim's motel in toledo is within view of a truckstop, so we have met him there several times for coffee or a meal.  His goat stories are hilarious, it started out as a gift of two goats, now they have a hundred or so!  An expensive hobby, feeding and housing them.  Jan shows some of them, but mostly they are pets.  At any time she can have up to four 'kids' running loose in the house.  We visited the barn last Christmas.  Hoo Boy!

Delivered in Pioneer, Ohio on Monday, 5 May.  Then up to Lake Odessa, Michigan to load automated processing equipment.  A small system for a Pet Food company.  It only took up one third of the trailer.  The next morning we loaded a knuckle boom in Toledo, Ohio.

Delivered the process equipment to a Pet Food company in Waverly, New York that evening, then the knuckle boom near Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.

Loaded mulch in Oxford, Pennsylvania that afternoon and delivered that to a hardware store in Painted Post, New York the next morning.  Then back down to Manheim, Pennsylvania (near Harrisburg) and in the afternoon loaded two John Deere 710 backhoes both these going to an auction site in Florida.  We arrived in Daytona Beach Friday evening.

Didn't do much on the week end -- Jim went fishing with Jimmy, and other friends.

Jim delivered the backhoes at the auction on Monday and no suitable loads came up so we ended up with the rest of the week off because Jim had doctor's appointments on Thursday (right knee) in Daytona Beach and Friday (left knee) in Jacksonville.
The left leg has the most damage, but it has 'old' and 'new' damage and arthritis is creating a dilemma for the doctor. He is treating the arthritis. He gave Jim cortisone needles to help that, but he hasn't decided what to do about fixing the damaged ACL tear.  The next appointment with this doctor is 13 June.
Jim was not happy about the cortisone, but it is under worker's compensation he has to follow the doctors orders.

Saturday 17 May was the Tenth Annual Riding Into History at World Of Golf Village near St. Augustine.  We met guzzi friend, Frank Dugo from Cocoa Beach (100 kms south of Daytona Beach) and rode up with him.

Riding Into History was created in order to celebrate the heritage and history of motorcycles, and also to raise money for breast cancer charities. It has now become one of America's premier motorcycle events and the attendance figures have increased every year.

The World Golf Village includes the World Golf Hall Of Fame as one of its main attractions.

There is a large man-made lake with fountains surrounded by a walk way and both sides of the walkway were the motorcycle displays, the Concours d'Elegance.  500+ examples of vintage motorcycles.  Very impressive and interesting.

Mert Lawwill was grand marshall and award presenter.  Mert Lawwill, former Grand National Champion Motorcycle racer, Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Member, whose bid to defend his AMA Grand National title during the 1970 racing season is chronicled in the movie "On Any Sunday".

On Monday 19 May, Jim and I participated in the First ever National Moto Guzzi Relay (Relay to the National Rally).

A moto guzzi fly wheel is the 'baton', to be passed from one moto guzzi rider to another.  On 10 April it left the National Rally site in Malibu, California.  The idea is for it to go through all US states and Canada to be back in Malibu, California for the National Rally beginning 24 June. It had travelled by moto guzzi through the south stopping in many states and arrived in Florida on 14 May, then down to the most southern point in the USA in Key West.
The Relay website has many photos in the journey and the places the baton has been, people are having a lot of fun with this!

We met Chris Galardi at the Waffle House in Daytona Beach at 6 am Monday morning, Frank Dugo bought the flywheel from the south and handed it to Chris for the next leg.  We took photos of it and us at the Daytona International Speedway and Jim and I travelled with Chris to Savannah, Georgia.  Frank went with us as far as Jacksonville, Florida.  We took photos in St. Augustine because it is the oldest city in the USA, and at the moto guzzi dealer in Jacksonville, Atlantic Motor Sports.  Then met three guzzi riders in Savannah, Georgia to continue the baton to the north-eastern states.  We met at the riverfront tourist area of Savannah at 12.20pm, and had lunch at an Irish Pub.  Then Chris, Jim and I headed back to Florida.  We departed from Chris in Jacksonville as he took the Interstate highway back to DeLand.  Jim and I took the more leisurely coast highway and stopped for dinner in St. Augustine at the Conch House - a landmark restaurant in the area.

804 kms for the day and we were gone for 13 hours. That was the first long ride on the Bassa for us and we have had the bike for four years.  We need to make a few adjustments for comfort before our next long trip.  Jim needs a gel pad, I need the footpegs moved back.

On Wednesday, 21 May Jim had surgery on his right knee for a medial meniscus tear.  The doctor did not think it would get better or repair itself, even if Jim could stay off it. The alternative was lifelong pain and pain relievers required, or just postpone surgery.
He chose to get it repaired, instead of the wait and see option.
The surgery was same day, and we spent seven and a half hours at the hospital in Daytona Beach.  All went very well with arthroscopy surgery (only two small incisions -- less than one centimetre) to remove the torn piece of the medial meniscus.  Jim was put under total anesthesia for the hour long operation.

When the meniscus is torn it creates uneven surfaces.  This irritates the knee joint and causes pain, swelling and stiffness and a locking sensation in the knee.  If not treated, a tear can also lead to more serious knee problems.

He wore the brace on his left knee so he could handle crutches, as the leg he had to rely on to stand was the one that fails him regularly. He was on crutches for three days and was then able to walk a little bit but continued to use one crutch for three days afterwards.

24,25, 26 May was the Memorial Day long weekend, Jimmy was in for the weekend. Jim was anxious to get into the garage Saturday morning and start putting the engine back together for the 1973 moto guzzi eldorado that has been apart for 3-4 years.

Memorial Weekend is the unofficial start of summer.  The Band Shell started Saturday night free concerts and fireworks at the Ocean Walk at the beach three blocks from us.  These will continue each Saturday night throughout the summer.
This first concert was The Coasters.  Jim and I took a slow hop to the Band Shell, it was a great concert -- stomp your feet, sing-along.

The Coasters were one of the few artists in rock history to successfully straddle the line between music and comedy. Their undeniably funny lyrics and on-stage antics might have suggested a simple troupe of clowns, except their arrangements were well-crafted, and the group itself musically proficient. That engaging and infectious combination made them one of the most popular early R&B/rock & roll acts, as well as one of the most consistently entertaining doo wop/vocal groups of all time.

The Coasters at the Band Shell.

Internet: The Coasters comic vocals resulted in a string of wisecracking hits in the late fifties. they were among the first black singing groups to cross over and to be considered rock and roll/pop.
Their first hit was Down in Mexico in 1956, then hits with Searchin' (#1 R&B, #3 pop), Young Blood (#2 R&B, #8 pop), Yakety Yak (#1 R&B, #1 pop 1958), aimed at teenagers.  Followed by Charlie Brown (#2 R&B, #2 pop 1959), was also written to appeal specifically to teenagers. The Coasters now had a proven formula. Along Came Jones (#14 R&B, #9 pop 1959) dealt with America's preoccupation with Westerns and Poison Ivy (#1 R&B #1 pop 1959) preached the lesson of 'look but, don't touch.' By the end of the Fifties the Coasters were America's most popular black rock and roll group.
The group's final Top 30 hit, 1961's burlesque-dancer tribute Little Egypt.  The hits dried up with changes in the music climate, it wasn't the material or the delivery but, rather that they got caught in a backlash against rock and roll. Their last chart single was a reproduction of Love Potion No. 9 in 1971.
The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and other British invasion bands covered their songs.  Elvis did Little Egypt in the movie "Roustabout" in 1964.              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tByhkaVcyE

The Coasters were the first vocal group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987.

Sunday evening Jimmy, Alisha, Big John and Linda came over for hot dogs and laughs.

Jim is recovering quickly from his knee surgery and has been out in the garage this week.  Caught up with Lis and Harvey Tuesday evening at their place.

Nice hot and humid weather in Florida.

We arrive in Brisbane on 15 July!


(Photo Here) (Photo Here)
Jim's niece, Laura and her daughter, one year old, Eve. Riding Into History motorcycle show at World Of Golf in St. Augustine, Florida.

(Photo Here)  (Photo Here)
Relay to the Rally stop at Atlantic Motor Sports in Jacksonville:  The Coasters at the Band Shell in Daytona Beach.
L to R: Jim, Kirk Lynch (owner), Chris Galardi, Frank Dugo.