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Hi,
I'm responding to a couple of posts from the last page. Some family matters came up and my laptop took a dump so I haven't checked in for a while. Right now my son is visiting, and I'm using his laptop. Anyway...

re: Tony's rant/vent. I never felt that the comments were directed towards me. (Remember I taught middle school for over 20 years--you can't hurt my feelings.) I share some of the same concerns Tony has.

re: Honda. I think they have lost touch with the American motorcyclist--and not recently. The introduction of the Shadow & Valkyrie Tourer and the subsequent introduction of the Valkyrie Interstate was the closest Honda ever got. Since then, they have drifted farther and farther away. I don't think the decision makers at Honda are clueless, I think they just don't care about the segment of the market I associate with--they have their Gold Wing. In the late 90's I was actually hopeful that the next thing Honda was going to offer was a Shadow Interstate. As I hopefully waited for the Shadow Interstate, Honda discontinued the Tourers and Valk Interstate and came out with the VTX. And don't even get me started on the VTX (poor excuse for a) Tourer. If I were to buy a bike today, It would probably be a Vulcan Nomad. A little more power, fuel injection for better mileage and performance, a bigger tank for greater range, roomy stock seats for SWMBO, and the availability of lots of after market goodies--including pipes. The biggest drawback would be a less-nimble bike.

re: trip to Japan. Not even close to my idea of a mediocre vacation.

re: Wynonna Judd. A talented woman, but I've seen her on a couple of talk shows. An angry, bitter, man-bashing b****. Getting big name (in this case former big name) entertainment at this type of event is almost always a problem. There a very few acts that would even please 50% of the attendees, because of the great diversity in musical tastes. A couple of years ago Harley had a hush-hush top-secret musical act for its 100th anniversary party. I lived in Milwaukee back then, and heard complaints for months that they had Elton John.

re: HRCA. I had not heard about dropping road side assistance, but that is why I have the card. Again, they seem to be out of touch. I had recently cancelled the credit card I used for my automatic renewal with HRCA. When I called to give them a new card number they told me they couldn't change that. I was going to have to rejoin when my HRCA membership expired. I asked if they were capable of changing my address or phone number, and they said yes--they just couldn't change my credit card number. When I asked if they were aware that I was tempted not to re-join, they said that was my choice.

Marysville was mentioned as a meeting site. Last year after the Hoot, we stayed in Townshend for 4-5 days. A good time was had by all. (Even they guy who dropped his VTX on the first hairpin up the Dragon had fun.)

I'll continue to work the Hoot, because it's a good time for us as volunteers. My wife and I have made many friends over the years, and renewing those relationships each year, as well as meeting and greeting attendees, is important to us. We also still think the Hoot's a good time for the attendees compared to Bike Week in Daytona, Laconia, or Sturgis. That being said, I think HRCA made some mistakes in planning this year, that will hopefully be corrected in 2009.