Nov. 2011 Newsletter

November 2011 T-Twister Newsletter

We are deeply saddened by the recent loss of a dear friend and former T-Twister, Donna Scheller of Andrews, TX. On October 20th, Donna and her husband Frank had spent the day together in Midland, eating and shopping, and were enjoying riding their new bikes in the beautiful weather. On their way home, a man in an F-450 pick-up drifted into her lane and hit her head on. Frank, riding behind her, narrowly avoided being ran over also, by going into the bar ditch. The driver of the pick-up later told police he had been “distracted”. There was no mention of what had “distracted” him.

Draw your own conclusions. All of us have. Was that “distraction” worth the life of a truly beautiful woman, a wife, mother and grandmother? Was it worth the nightmares her husband will have, as he relives seeing that fiery explosion over and over again? Was it worth this man possibly spending years in prison for vehicular manslaughter?

No “distraction” is worth this! And we’re ALL guilty of being distracted, myself included, to my shame. I cannot sit here and say I will never drive distracted again, as some distractions are totally unpredictable, but I CAN and WILL say I will never drive again while DELIBERATELY being distracted, such as being on the phone. Think about this, because next time, it could be YOU!

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And there will always be a next time! The day after Donna’s accident, I came home to a phone message from a cousin in Oklahoma, telling me that her son, while riding his bike in OKC, was hit head on by a pick-up, same day and almost the same time as Donna’s accident. PLEASE, PLEASE watch out for the 4-wheelers!! Friends, THEY DON’T LOOK OUT FOR US!!!!!

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Donna Scheller’s funeral was October 25th, and it was a wonderful tribute to a terrific lady. The fact that there was standing room only in the chapel proves the fact that she was loved by all.

Seventeen T-Twisters met at Kent Kwik to ride to Andrews together. There were Al and Mary, Ed and Nola, Bob and Jan, Randy and Cindy, Mario, Eddie, Gilbert, Johnny Franco, Ronnie, Brois, Charlie, David Ellis and Mike Williams. Carroll and Mary Ellen, Sabas and Elfida Fierro, and Larry and Susie Mercer were already there when we arrived.

Frank had reserved the front of the chapel for the T-Twisters. After a very moving ceremony, the T-Twisters were waved out to follow the family car from the chapel to the cemetery. There were several CMA members there, along with the Andrews Honor Guard, and various outriders. The Honor Guard held flags for Donna at the cemetery.

I didn’t count the bikes in the procession, but guess there were about 30.


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Our 2011, 3rd annual Chili cook-off is in the books! What a nice weekend it was, beautiful weather, not too hot, nor too cool. We had a nice turnout, although slightly smaller than last year. We had 21 T-Twisters that either camped or came up for the day. They were: Al and Mary; Charlie and Shirley; Mike and Mel; Bob and Jan; Tom and Tommye; Smurf, Tracey and Kaylee; Johnny Davis, Gilbert (thanks for the food); Ed and Jr.; Eddie; Mario and sons; Bobby Hunt; Richard; and Dennis. And, oh yeah, SANTA CLAUS!!! You read that right! To the delight of the children in the park, Santa made the rounds and visited with everyone. It never hurts to get an early start on the “wants” list!

Congratulations go out to Roger Bejil of San Angelo, for having the winning ticket for the $500.00 VISA card! A big “Thank-you” goes out to everyone that bought tickets!!
The Chili winners were…4th Ronnie Stephenson, 3rd Mike and Tina Harper from “Bling Bling”, 2nd Tom Jones and 1st place went to (ta-daa) Tommye Jones!!
The bean winners were…4th place, Mary T., 3rd Mike and Tina, 2nd Tom Jones and 1st place went to (ta-daa) ME!! (ha-ha! Don’t tell me I don’t know beans!)
And the winning guess for the candy jar was Greg (sorry, I didn’t write his last name down). His guess was 520, the actual number was 572.

I will have all totals at the Nov. general meeting.

Nov. 19th is our annual Toys for Tots Ride to Channel 9. We will meet at Midland Powersports at 8:30. Please bring new, unwrapped toys and be ready to ride!

Don’t forget the general meeting at Warfield on the 4th!
TMRA 2 meeting at Warfield on the 5th…time???
Officers meeting at Warfield on the 22nd!

The dinner ride for October must have been forgotten by most people. Shirley called me and said they couldn’t make it; her kids were fixing her a birthday dinner that evening. No one else called, so it was just Ed, Nola, Al and I. We went to Mi Piachi’s in Odessa, and it was wonderful, as usual. There will be NO dinner ride in November, due to everyone being busy.

Don’t forget to give thanks to God for all the blessings we have. Have you ever thought about a leaking roof as a blessing? It is…it means you have a roof over your head! How about a flat tire? It means you have a car. A grouchy boss? Yep, it means you have a job. And that list could go on and on. Many people don’t have homes, or cars or jobs. So be thankful for what we so often take for granted. AND THANK GOD FOR OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN!! Without them, we’d have no AMERICA!!

Love ya all…and please, please ride safe!!
Mary T.