Last night I found myself in the most unlikely place—an ABATE Biker meeting! This gathering was as foreign to me as a tiger hunt in Africa would be. I went to meet some Facebook friends that I didn’t know in person but I wanted to—especially, Mike Rankert and Midge Collett. Midge wasn’t there but Mike met me as soon as I entered. ABATE, by the way, stands for American Bikers Aimed Toward Education. This was a Region 3, Howard County meeting. ABATE is a not-for-profit, safety, educational, charitable and advocacy motorcyclist organization. Its aims are to promote safety, protect rights and help others. As Fate (heaven, hell, life) would have it, a pitch-in dinner was planned for after the meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half. The agenda for the evening was choosing which charities they wanted to support this year. I learned several things at the meeting-- some useless, some informative. The useless? Bikers and their wives and/or girlfriends like long hair. They also like shirts with biker logos, but the guys don’t like sleeves. Tattoos are big and so the arms that sport them. Now, of course, some of this I already knew from casual observation on the street. It’s what I didn’t know—and observed at the meeting, that I really want to share. The first is this: This group was as serious and careful in choosing a charity to sponsor as a mother pouring over baby food labels. There are churches that don’t spend as much time discussing the merits and short-comings of the charities they support. As a retired minister, I know this for a fact. This rough-looking group was intent on seeing its donations go where it would do the most good—and they knew which charity did what. The other important thing I learned is this: at a biker meeting, a woman’s purse can set on table all night while she wanders away—and nobody will to touch it. I’m not sure if that’s because they’re all totally honest…(I have a little doubt there) … or if the size of the guys prevents it. Being tackled by one of them would have to hurt really bad. To sum it up: I’m glad I went! Thanks, Mike, for making me aware of it. For more info on ABATE, read on: ABATE of Indiana represents approximately 13% of the registered motorcycles in Indiana, with a membership of over 25,000. ABATE has a full-time staff, 350 volunteer officers, and over 200 certified safety instructors, dedicated to serving the interests of all motorcyclists. ABATE of Indianas motorcycle safety program has received numerous national awards of excellence and many of the instructors have received the nations highest honors. Nearly 100,000 students have graduated since its inception in 1979. In 1986, the Indiana Department of Education became involved with the program, resulting in a dramatic decrease in motorcycle fatalities which continues today.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:26:33 +0000
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