TOPIC:

this is my dad. his name was dean fuller and this is the last picture taken of him alive.
on june 26th 1986, our lives were changed forever.
his first bike was bought @ kawasaki east in victor ny in 1973. it was a z1. i was only three.
mom always bitched about him going behind her back and buying it. ( damn i wish he kept it )
he always said there were nothing but problums with it, mostly keeping it running at idle.

fast forward a few years.
he bought me my first bike.
a yahama 250. it was a street bike not a dirtbike.
i was 13.
he always told me to never ride it unless he was there.
again, i was 13.
so one day i was riding down a city street with no helmet when i noticed a bike comming the other way.
guess who?
bike was gone the next day and i learned a valueable lesson.
listen to the old man.

fast forward a few more years.
i was camping with friends and walking to the store when the neighbors truck comes screaching to a halt next to me when he yells at me to get my ass home.
mom is crying in the passenger seat.
all i heard was dad was in an bike accident, get home.
oh yeah, my grandmother from germany who spoke not a word of english was visiting for the first time in 10 years.
this was about 5 pm.

at about 11pm, we got the phone call.
my sister answered.

i knew right away.

dad was never comming home again.

i am the only other person besides my mom who can speak german.
i had to break the news to grandma and my 10 year old brother.

i learned at 16 that life changes in a second.
regrets ? i got a ton.
one last chance to say " love you " at the kitchen table that morning.
who knew that would be my last chance?

he died two days after his birthday.
i went to his grave yesterday but i just cannot bring myself to go tommorrow.



so again i ask you.
will you please wear a helmet today?
when i say it makes the difference between a open and shut casket, i speak from experiance.

SLOW DOWN!

the world will still be there in the 5 minutes of time you made up.

wear your gear.

sweating is better then bleeding anyday.

NO MATTER HOW MAD YOU ARE, NEVER LET SOMEONE LEAVE WITHOUT TELLING THEM YOU LOVE THEM.

i'm now 38 years old. more then half my life i have lived with this sorrow.

i know i can be an ass here sometimes and a joker others.

but i really hate to hear one one of my brothers goes down. and i consider all of you my brothers.


so in conclusion, be safe everyone.

my wish is for this thread to die and we never have to read about a member going down again.

the only thing positive that came out of my experiance is this.

when i ride, i can feel him.
sort of like angles flying with me.
sometimes i feel like i have a passenger when i know i don't.
i know he will not let my girls go through what my family did.

sorry for the bad grammer guys.


thank you to all my buds who read this all the way through.

again, this is one club i wish i was not a member of.


now i will go back to tipping one in his memory.


HERE'S TO YOU PORKCHOP!

Wow,Stevo...do you ever look like your pops,man!

Once again,you made another great safety-post,and with great respect to your Dad.
He sounds like he was a helluva guy,and a great Father.

I'll honk the Kawi horn tomorrow,my friend.

Rest In Peace,Dean FullerB)

Wow Steve, sorry to hear about your Pops, and especially the way he departed this earth.

It's obvious you have a fond recollection of him, and his spirit will live on through you, and then from you to your daughters.

I can kind of understand what you went through and are still feeling.

I had a good friend who was like an older brother to me that drowned in '87 while on vacation with some of his co-workers.
I was the first to get the bad news, then had the dubious "honor" of playing the Grim Reaper and relating the news to his wife, parents and cousin.

There's rarely a day that goes by that I don't think about and miss him, and always wonder what life would be like were he still alive.

I can tell you have a good grasp on this, since you're already making sure that you don't take any un-necessary chances (ie: helmet and riding gear), and aren't missing the chance to tell those important to you that you love them.

Kawasakiman, that's pretty much the best eulogy ANY guy could want....dad, brother, buddy, whoever. Your grammar works for me....brought a tear or two to my eye and gave me the choked up throat thing.
Heck, I was over 50 when my dad died and I still took it hard....just like someone gave me a hard right to the chest.
I still misss the old sonofagun and find it hard to believe he won't be at home when I go back for vacation in a week or so.
Hug your dad, guys. I started hugging mine later in life and still treasure every one of those hugs. I wish I'd started hugging him sooner.....