Boozefighters Motorcycle Club

Something about Brotherhood

I learned something in Dallas at the Fall Nationals, I learned what brotherhood really is. I had an idea of what it was, but seeing 300 plus Boozefighters together really showed me what I was missing. As a Collage Frat boy, I thought I knew what brotherhood was about, but where were my fraternity brothers when I was laying in the hospital in intensive care, a shattered skull, brain damage and on a respirator after a cager sorority bitch, hit me head on with her car when I was riding  my rice burner Kawasaki to class one day. Only one brother came and saw me after I was moved to critical care. Where was the support for my wife, (then fiancé) when they told her the first night that IF I lived through the night I would either be a vegetable or pretty much confined to a wheel chair and mostly retarded. Where were they when they told her that they were going to cut my skull apart to try and stop the internal bleeding on my brain and relieve the pressure on my brain. It was the only hope they said of not being permanently a vegetable. Where were they when they told her that I was conscious and not only talking but other than being paralyzed on the left side of my body and right face, fully aware of who and where I was and that the surgery I only had a 50/50 chance of surviving was off for now. Where were my brother when I went through rehab and learned how to walk again and use my left arm and when by a miracle  gained almost full control of my facial muscles and could smile again. I later realized that fraternity brotherhood really only lasted a short period after collage. I still have a few frat brother that I am still close to and talk to on a regular basis, but the rest, gone like dust in the wind.

So where to next, well I was still part of a large brotherhood, the brotherhood of the military. But you know what, its not really a brotherhood. Not unless you are part of a special op team. The Marines are a brotherhood, Semper Fi, to all the marines out there, they know what brotherhood is all about, but they are force to know to know what it is being force into confined quarters aboard ships. 

I learned something though in Iraq, I learned about the brotherhood of combat. The brotherhood of combat is something special, it is knowing that someone has your back when you lean around the corner to take a peak down the street and that your brother will make sure no one shoots you in the back. Combat does something to people, it can make the biggest men into pussy’s and the weakest pussy’s into Tigers. I had several soldiers that I had almost written off as below average soldiers, but I stood next to one of these soldiers one night in a guard tower and together with several others fought off a deliberate attack on our camp. I am closer to those 7 guys than probably anyone else in the unit,  we were sniped at and mortared but we stood together and fought. When my rifle jammed and I was stuck out on the stairs, I will call him “Tim” this is the guy that I was going to write off as below average and would always be that way, he said “ I got ya sir, your covered.” My supply Sergeants, who were my team for the night as I made my rounds from tower to tower and gate to gate, said later they couldn’t understand how none of us got hit, “hell sir there were green tracers coming from two different directions right by your head, we thought they were hitting your sandbags. Tracers were coming in the front and coming out the back and no one was hit.”  Another guy I was with that night his name is Travis and he’s been a biker for years, but that’s a whole other story I will let him tell. I would up reassigned to the Tactical Operations Center and so did he, we became even closer. I can still hear his “Goddamn it will you fucken quit.” “Sir”  I always laughed at him because he was always so proper when he was bitchen at me when I was up to no good causing trouble on boring slow nights. He never failed to add the “sir” when he was telling me to fuck off. I will be dragging him to Nationals Next year for sure. These are guys I will never forget they are burned in my mind forever.

Now let me tell you about what I learned about Real brother hood. I learned this in Dallas at Nationals.

As I sat in the meeting room I was totally awed by the presence of the boozefighters, I sat next to Bill Hayes and chatted, I told him I was very nervous about this, what made me so different than all the Vietnam vets and the desert storm vets. Hell, I was hugged buy a guy who wore a bronze star and several guys who had purple hearts, hell, they are the heroes not me. As I write this I just found out that 2 soldiers from my unit were killed yesterday, I am deeply saddened and upset, but I am going to carry on with this because I started it and it needs to be said.  The average person has no idea what its like to be a biker, hell my mom told my wife before we left that if she felt she was in a situation that she felt uncomfortable in to scream and make me take her away. Shit Sara my wife had as much fun as I did and I felt completely comfortable leaving her alone at the table or out side near the booths while I went inside. I saw brotherhood in many different forms, I saw two brothers ( I am going to call them that even though I am still a hang around just to keep the story in perspective) arguing and it got so bad they pushed each other and threatened an ass kicken. But then 10 minutes later I walk by and they are sitting on the table with their arms around each other drinking and toasting. I saw Gene Long perfectly comfortable with having his daughters hanging around, Hell after this weekend I would leave my 4 year old and 2 year old with any of you and know they were going to be taken care of. I saw a unity of brotherhood that will never in my life be matched by anything, I saw togetherness, yeah there are issues that have to be dealt with now and again, but what organization this large doesn’t have those? It happens and gets dealt with and we move on.

I saw a true brotherhood and at first you could tell I was an outsider, I was treated a bit different, people spoke to me if I spoke to them, they weren’t cold or nasty, just mind your business well mind ours, but after the first night when I met a lot of people and people knew who I was, the atmosphere totally changed, I had Patch holders coming up to me to shake my hand and give me a hug. I was invited into a meeting of brothers, when I am nothing but a hang around, I was Honored beyond belief.

I saw something that I wanted to be a part of, something I wanted to have, a feeling that I wanted to keep forever, it was something I have never really felt beyond the guys I have fought with in Iraq, and I don’t mean went with, I mean fought with, sat in a tower and watched each others back and shot back at the enemy.

The feeling I got this weekend was incredible, my wife was happy that I was having fun and we both couldn’t believe how well we were treated, I wish to thank each and everyone I saw and met. I would also like to thank chapter 49 the Flint Hills chapter for taking roses to my wife on her birthday when I couldn’t, then giving me such a warm welcome when I got home.

I am proud to be associated with chapter 49 and with the Boozefighters and can’t wait until the day when I can proudly wear the Colors of a Boozefighter Patch holder.

And that my friends is BROTHERHOOD.

Grazz

NEXT PAGE