Today we said farewell to a remarkable man, whom I was extremely privileged to call friend for the past 30 years....... Theres a saying that the point isnt to arrive at the end of life sedately and in a well-preserved body, but skidding in sideways, a little raggedy and beat-up, and yelling, Wow! What a ride! That was pretty much Gus philosophy, and he spent his life pursuing many paths and interests, often all at the same time, and always with great enthusiasm. Loogootee, Indiana, was a quiet little town, at least until December 6, 1938, when Terrance Augustine Haag came into the world (it may surprise some to find out he actually had a name, since so many only knew him as Gus or Pappy). Many years later, for his 50th class reunion booklet, Gus wrote a wonderful memoir of growing up in Loogootee, and in that story, he wrote of a lively childhood with his friends. Theres something telling about Gus in the fact that he still vividly remembered teachers and every person he went to school with, and had pertinent memories to relate about them - adventures, incidents, pranks and quotes. All of those people really meant something to him, and he clearly enjoyed his boyhood. From the incidents related in his story, Loogootee apparently wasnt quite so quiet any more, either. Its clear from his story that Gus came into the world intending to make the most of it, and thats just what he did. Whether he was born with the open roads in his blood, or whether he was bitten by the traveling bug because he learned to drive a big truck when he was still very young, Gus was a traveler. He always had stories of his trucking adventures, motorcycle trips and, later, trips in the beautiful motorhome he and Colleen built from an old motor coach. Gus was also a U.S. Navy forward recon pilot in Korea, flying off of aircraft carriers, and still flew private planes up until the early 1990s. He was a great one for documenting these adventures with photos and anecdotes that he loved to share with everyone. Through all of his travels, he wasnt there just to go somewhere, but to see things, really experience the places, and meet people and hear their stories. And thats one of those things about Gus: he always had time for people. He was truly interested in what made people tick, what their stories were. He really LISTENED, and remembered, even long after. Many older people dont have much patience with small children, but Gus had a pretty good time with the fact that little kids thought he was Santa, and he would spend a great deal of time having very serious chats with the little ones. He touched some of those children much more deeply than he probably ever realized. One of the children whose lives he touched is my daughter, Heather. During her teens, she had a rebellious interlude involving multicolored hair, and hanging out with some people who worried her father and me. I spent many sleepless nights worrying that these ‘friends’ would get her headed down a disastrous path. After all those years together, Gus and Colleen decided to get married, and we were honored to be invited. At the wedding, Gus gave Heather a huge hug and said, “I am so proud of you!” When he released her and turned to welcome the next person, I saw my daughter’s face – she was choked up and trying to not cry. Right then, like a flash, I knew that things would be OK. As tough as she’d been trying to act, if she still cared so deeply what Gus and some of our other dear and respected friends thought of her, she wasn’t going to do anything stupid. And that is exactly how things turned out - she grew up to be a wonderful woman. He was also great with people who had disabilities or challenges - he didnt see the disability, he saw the PERSON and heard their story as well. He often saw strengths and abilities in people that even they werent aware of or too sure of themselves. A couple of things that always set Gus apart from the crowd were his ability to adapt to change, and his fighting spirit. Both of these served him well and helped him make changes, sometimes far beyond his immediate world. When he saw things happening that he didnt care for, he found a way to fight. When there were rumblings in the Minnesota Legislature that a motorcycle helmet law was coming, Gus became one of the charter members of Minnesota A.B.A.T.E. (American Bikers for Awareness, Training and Education) and an amazing strategist in the fight to improve motorcycle safety through better training and driver awareness. He studied statistics and legislative tactics, educated others, and lit a fire under so many in the motorcycling community, uniting various organizations in one vision and one loud voice. He worked hard along with Bob Illingworth of the Minnesota Motorcycle Riders Association, and others, to rewrite motorcycle licensing law, changing it from a motorcycle endorsement to a motorcycle “license”, and strengthening the penalties for riding without a license. As part of the same bill, a surcharge was added to the motorcycle license fee, to be deposited into a dedicated account to help fund motorcycle training programs in Minnesota. That fund is still heavily subsidizing what is now a much larger rider training effort. And, largely through his leadership, A.B.A.T.E. of Minnesota came to have the largest percentage of women bikers actively involved and invested in the running of a biker organization. That was a huge thing at the time, because women bikers were still very much a voiceless minority, and in many other states werent allowed to hold an organizational office above chapter secretary. His leadership in Minnesota, and his encouragement of womens active and vocal involvement at all levels, was so effective that it changed the tone and culture of motorcycle safety groups nationwide. Though many dont have a clue about those days and wouldnt recognize his name, what he did during that time is a legacy that affects so many, far and wide. I was one of the women he encouraged - well, maybe it’s more accurate to say he pushed, pulled and dragged me – to get involved at higher levels in A.B.A.T.E. I’ve never been sure just what he saw in me that made him think I had some potential, but he talked me into writing a newsletter column and, later, serving as an officer in ABATE Metro Chapter, as the chapter’s representative on the State Board of Directors. I was scared to death of getting up in front of a roomful of bikers and saying things they might not be happy to hear, but I did it because Gus had my back and he had this crazy belief that I could do it. That experience changed me forever. It taught me that, if I can stand up to the president of the Hell’s Angels, nobody else is going to scare me very much. Gus taught me that I have a voice, things worth saying, and both the ability and the right to say them. I will be forever grateful to him for that. Technology was changing rapidly during that time, too, and our ever-adaptable Gus hopped right on board with it, figuring out how he could get the most out of these newfangled personal computers and this Internet thing. He used it very effectively during the A.B.A.T.E. days and, later on, technology became a joy to him. Well get back to that in just a moment. In 1998, Gus was diagnosed with Stage 4 head and neck cancer. The tumor was wrapped around his carotid artery, and the only option was to undergo aggressive chemotherapy and radiation that could kill him. The oncologist told him the first two weeks would be like a honeymoon, after which the treatments would become extremely difficult. During the long treatments, which gave him severe claustrophobia, he distracted himself by designing a beautiful 40-foot motorhome in his mind. Many of us remember the journal he kept of that fight and which he e-mailed to us. Sick and scared, he was overall mostly angry at this invader, and determined to beat it. The Gus who came out of that cancer ordeal no longer looked much like the Gus who went into the hospital, but if anything, the fighting spirit and adaptability were even stronger. The radiation fried his esophagus so that he couldnt eat? So be it. Hed learn to feed himself a liquid diet through a tube, then, and get on with his life, because he had things to do and a life to live. Gus motto became: I know cancer will most likely kill me, but its going to know it has been in a hell of a fight. And, having thumbed his nose at death, he spent the next 16 years determined to get the most out of life. Sometimes the phrase make the best of things is taken to mean that a person will just meekly accept limitations and sit there and sigh about it. That was not at all how Gus interpreted make the best of things. And heres where that new friend, technology, came to be such a joy to him. Cancer robbed him of all but a whispery vestige of his big, booming voice so, instead, he would write. Gus was always a wonderful writer, having written newsletter and newspaper columns, but now he turned to technology to be his voice as well. It was an odd day for many of us if we didnt get an e-mail or ten from Gus, whether it was a long letter, a big thought-piece on the state of some facet of the world, a few short lines with some random thought that occurred to him, or just passing on some funny or infuriating thing he found on the Internet. He loved that digital camera, too, and so many of those e-mails came with photos from travels with Colleen, his many projects, the flowers in the yard, the state of the weather. Over the past 16 years, Gus had to slow down, but even so, he was still doing more than a lot of people EVER do. Gus was always an avid reader, a deep thinker, a gentle giant. But during this slowing-down time, he began to be more reflective and introspective, a little softer and gentler, taking more time to appreciate and savor both the things he was doing and the people he was with. Always proud of his family, it became even more important for him to stay in touch with them and keep up on their lives, and to just enjoy them all. That beautiful motorhome he designed in his mind during the long cancer treatments became a reality through the work of his own hands and some help from friends, and he and Colleen took many memorable trips in it. He couldnt eat except for the tube feedings, but found another way to enjoy food and share a meal with others - he learned to be a great cook, and delighted in the sensory experience of cooking - the aromas, the colors, the sounds, the creativity of coming up with new things. Most of all, he loved having others enjoy his culinary creations, his gift to them. The Shriners Childrens Hospital was a cause dear to his heart, and until fairly recently he was still volunteering there. He enjoyed working in the yard, creating a relaxing oasis of shrubs and flowers, and he was excited to watch the seasonal changes, the birds that came to visit. Some of the projects he did with Colleen were playful and whimsical, like the big colored ice balls they made and hung in the big tree this past winter. And, of course, there were his restored trucks, the little passenger trailer, and other mechanical projects, including very recently helping his neighbor restore a mini-bike. Those trucks, especially, were a labor of love and creativity, and his excitement and pride came through in every e-mail about them, from the first photos of the rusty hulks, through the various stages of restoration and creation, and then all the truck shows and events. He had such a good time working on those, working out solutions to detailed little problems, and loved showing them off and talking about them. And there was so much fun in pulling the little trailer around the neighborhood to deliver goodies to neighbors, or giving rides around the grounds of the various truck shows. There were still trips back to Loogootee, and to the woods up north. Hed just returned from a trip a few days before his stroke, and he was contemplating some new projects. Mae West once said, You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. Im not sure if Gus would agree that once was enough, but he definitely did it right while he was here. He may have left us behind now, but its doubtful hes done yet. Surely hes already making some new friends and reunited with old ones, is spinning his tales, telling his jokes, looking for new adventures, and finding the answers he spent his life pursuing. Godspeed, Gus. And thank you for letting us have the privilege of sharing the ride with you for a time
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 00:53:49 +0000
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