Happy Florida Thanksgiving!

Salute to Veterans Bike Fest 2

Sunday morning dawned another absolutely gorgeous day on the Northeast Coast of Florida. Crisp, about 60, and not a cloud in the sky - God's weather. And we had a great way to kick off the festivities for the final day of the Salute to Veterans Bike Fest weekend at The White Eagle Lounge in Korona -- a Biker's Sunday Service with Dixie Biker's Chaplain, the Reverend Al Paquette.

Rev. Al has a unique way to connect with fellow bikers and always puts God's message for us in 'biker' terms. It was a great way to start the day. Thanks, bro!

Below - Rev. Al and his wife, Sharon, head out around noon to another function they had to attend. As I mentioned - a gorgeous day for a ride! If you'd like more info on Rev. Al's ministry, you can check out www.hd4jc.com

Jim and Tracy, Geneva, camped out all weekend at The White Eagle. As I shot this picture, Jimmy commented, "Gotta get some hot sauce in me to get prepared for Big Engine!"

When Boots and I arrived at the White Eagle, we found Ted, the Executive Director of Work Vessels for Vets, in a little of an upset mood. Well, maybe not a "little" upset. He was downright pissed. Seems the sound engineers for the big stage used the day before took off with their equipment under cover of darkness even though they were contracted through Monday. Sunday's headliner, Big Engine, was supposed to play on the big stage Sunday afternoon, so all of a sudden folks hadda scramble to make their show happen on the smaller stage.

After The Inner Void finished up their Noon til 2 pm set, folks scrambled to get sound equipment, drums, mics, etc. set up quickly so Big Engine could do their thing. And they did! Those rockin' boys outta Jacksonville took the stage and rocked the joint with their high-energy rock-n-roll!

I'd say at least a thousand, perhaps lots more, bikers were out to enjoy the gorgeous day, the great concert and to support Veterans through Work Vessels for Vets. Yet again, the front and side parking lots at The White Eagle were full of motorcycles.

Left to right below: Hans, Tony and Ryan. Benny's on drums and I kinda missed him in the picture. Sorry, bro.

The crowd was rockin' and as the sun was settin', folks got it goin'. Tony commented, somewhat jokingly - "Hey, ya'll! This is a Big Engine show, not a Beach Boys show!" The crowds ate it up and started knockin' the beach ball at the boys in the band. Pretty funny, and just added to the all around great time, great atmosphere and great folks puttin' on the weekend event.

Alas, partyin' weekends gotta end and we all gotta get back to the 'work-day' world and back to scratchin' out a livin'. But man-oh-man, what a great respite from day-to-day life it was this past weekend at The White Eagle. A great location; a great charity; great people; great music; and most of all - you! Thousands of Bikers supporting our young American heros - Our Veterans.

Thanks to y'all's support, we've already locked in next year's Veterans Day Weekend for the next Salute to Veterans Bike Fest at The White Eagle Lounge. Mark your calendar now and be a part of it! November 12 - 14, 2010. For more info on where you're generous donations went, vistit www.workvesselsforvets.org. They'll have info posted once they recover from the past weekend, I'm sure!

Salute to Veterans Bike Fest 1

The weekend's Bike Fest isn't over and I gotta head out to for Sunday's Festivities at the White Eagle Lounge in Korona, Flagler County, but I wanted to get something posted on this awesome event.

After a two year hiatus, we're proud to once again to sponsor a "Salute to Veterans Bike Fest." We'll have full coverage of the event in December's issue of DBI and will also post a full article with plenty of pictures on our main website at DixieBiker.com later this month. After-all, the event is still running.

Friday night started off with a Friday, the 13th party at The White Eagle. The fine folks from Work Vessels for Vets, Inc., a non-profit that supports America's Veterans, was set up, geared up and ready-to-go.

Frank Scott, WHOG, 95.7 - Daytona's Classic Rock station rode in to do a remote to kick off the weekend. He was joined later by the other half of the morning show, Tracy Dillion.

Around about 10 pm or so, Frank presented Dawn, from Palm Coast, with a pair of tickets to next week's AC-DC Concert in Orlando. That's Jules from local kick ass band, Banditz, holding the raffle box.

The next morning, Saturday te 14th, things kicked off with a poker run with 154 folks registering for the ride through the country, along the ocean and back to the White Eagle via The Loop. Many more participated in an 'in-house' poker walk to raise money for Work Vessels for Vets. By mid afternoon, the White Eagle was wall-to-wall with motorcycles.

John, far right, let's the audience know how Work Vessels for Vets originated, and explained what it's all about. Following this, Ted, the executive director, 2nd from right, presented laptop computers to several American heros - all recently returned and recovered from injuries through their service to America in Irag or Afghanistan.

After the presentations, the thousands in attendance enjoyed a free concert with The Dave Mason Band. Dave is a founding member of Traffic, and the writer of several Rock-n-Roll standards such as All Along the Watch Tower, Feeling Alright and many others. He's also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Following the Dave Mason Band, there were three more bands and we partied into the wee hours. But that story's gonna hafta wait for another day cuz Boots and I gotta head back out to the White Eagle for today's (Sunday, Nov. 15) festivities.

Veterans Day Tea Party

On Wednesday, November 11, I attended a Veterans Day ceremony at Holly Hill, Florida City Hall. After those somber ceremonies, I wandered across the street to a 'last minute' Tea Party Express Rally in Holly Land Park. Wow. Ran into a couple of thousand patriotic Americans who, unlike President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, LOVE America and what she stands for.

Originally the Rally was scheduled for Jacksonville but some snafu screwed that up so the week before the location was changed to this little town between Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach. I got an e-mail from Kristina at the Volusia County FairTax group letting me know about the rally. Thanks for the info.

I've never attended a rally of this sort, nor have I been very active in politics other than editorial type cartoons on this blog or in Dixie Biker Illustrated, but the past 10 months have really got me an' Boots to worrying about the future of these United States and the legacy we're leaving for our kids and grandkids. If we don't speak up now and have our voices heard, will our kids and grandkids enjoy the same quality of life we've enjoyed?

Are we allowing our politicians saddle our kids and grand kids with massive amounts of debt?

Are we allowing America, the world's leader of freedom and liberty, to become just another socialist country?

We don't wanna see that happen, and I figured this was a good chance to see who's participating in these Tea Parties. Are they 'right wing fanatics' clinging to religion and guns? Are they Republican right wingers? That's what the all the newspapers and TV stations -- except Fox -- are telling us. But that's not what I saw. Pictures don't lie ...

... but this guy tells it like lotsa other folks see it.

I hadn't seen this one before.

I wondered the same thing - below - and is why I canceled my membership in AARP this past summer. They can keep all their silly ass discounts. I'll just use my AAA card instead.

How's that Hope and Changey thing working out for you?

I'm an Army Vet, but I gotta give this Navy Vet a shout out -- He's got it right.

You can click the pictures below to see larger sizes.

Dang! I can't believe all those "angry, white men clinging to their guns and religion" in the pictures. Can you?

Somwhere around 11:15 Bikers for First Amendment Rights led the Tea Party Express buses into the park - below.

According the the map on the side of the bus, this was the last stop on the two month journey across America. Glad I got a chance to be a part of it - it was an eye-opener to see so many different 'classes' of Americans involved in something so important to the future or our Republic.

This guy's sign said everything that Boots and I are really concerned with. Though she's only four years-old, our granddaughter, based on the sour look on her face, seems to "get it."

I doubt it ... she's probably just mad that I made 'em stop playin' on the playground so I could get some pictures before taking off for their favorite fast-food joint for lunch.

That's okay. I don't mind her being upset with me for a few minutes -- it's not the first time, and certainly won't be the last. More importantly, we're probably gonna be gone in fifteen or twenty years. If we don't speak up now, what kind of legacy are we gonna leave our grandchildren? That's the trillion dollar question.

Hope and Change One Year Later

Thank You Mr. Obama ...

So how's that hope and change working for you?

Have you thought about what it's doin' for your kids and grand kids?

From Kim F.

Novemebr "Free Ridin'" Toon by Thunder

For the rest of the 'toon, click here:

http://www.dixiebiker.com/thunder.html