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Monthly Newsletter November 2015

Greetings from your President

Recently Rich and I had had the opportunity to attend a meeting of a BACA chapter on the west coast. I found it to be very enlightening and informative. BACA does great work, and we support them in their efforts to help fight child abuse in any form. For those of you who do not know anything about BACA, I have included an article that speaks about some of the great work they do.

Will

BACA-Bikers Against Child Abuse

Make abuse victims feel safe

by Karina Bland - Jul. 13, 2012 12:08 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

(Edited for length by Will)

Bikers have a soft spot: aiding child-abuse victims. Anytime, anywhere, for as long as it takes the child to feel safe, these leather-clad guardians will stand tall and strong against the dark, and the fear, and those who seek to harm.

The 11-year-old girl hears the rumble of their motorcycles, rich and deep, long before she sees them. She chews her bottom lip, nervous.

They are coming for her. The bikers roar into sight, a pack of them, long-haired and tattooed, with heavy boots and leather vests, and some riding double. They circle the usually quiet Gilbert cul-de-sac, and the noise pulls neighbors from behind slatted wood blinds and glossy front doors.

One biker stops at the mouth of the street, parks in the middle of the road and stands guard next to his motorcycle, arms crossed.

The rest back up to the curb in front of the girl's house, almost in formation, parking side by side. There are 14 motorcycles in all, mostly black and shiny chrome. The bikers rev their engines again before shutting them down.

The sudden silence is deafening. The girl's mother takes her hand.

The leader of this motorcycle club is a 55-year-old man who has a salt-and-pepper Fu Manchu and wears his hair down past his shoulders. He eases off his 2000 Harley Road King and approaches the little girl.

He is formidable, and intimidating, and he knows it. So he bends low in front of the little girl and puts out his hand, tanned and weathered from the sun and wind: "Hi, I'm Pipes."

"Nice to meet you," she says softly, her small hand disappearing in his.

Pipes - the bikers all go by their road names for security - steps back and another biker comes forward, also bent low and hand out, smiling. She has a long blond ponytail, and her name is Nytro. Next is D'Animal, his arms thick with muscles, a do-rag covering his head.

Rock, who is as solid as one, assures the little girl: "I'm really a nice guy." She smiles. And then there's Pumpkin and, whoa, the girl looks way up, squinting against the morning sun. "Hi, I'm Tree," he says, and he's as tall as one.

The girl chewing on her lip was abused by a relative, according to police reports - someone she should have been able to trust. He's not in the state any longer, but the criminal case is progressing slowly, so he's not in jail, either.

He still terrorizes her at night, even though he's nowhere near. She wakes, heart pounding. The nightmare feels real again. She never feels safe, even with her parents just downstairs.

The unruly-looking mob in her driveway is there to help her feel safe again. They are members of the Arizona chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse International, and they wear their motto on their black leather vests and T-shirts: "No child deserves to live in fear."

This one is very afraid.

A tough image

Even kids know that nobody messes with bikers. Bikers look big, and strong, and mean, both in real life and in how they are portrayed on television and in films. They are easy riders, sons of anarchy, not afraid of anything. And they take care of their own.

A child who has been abused by someone bigger and stronger knows too well what it feels like to be small and vulnerable. BACA shifts that balance by putting even bigger and stronger people - and more of them - on the child's side. And if those even-bigger and stronger people are scary-looking too, perhaps with flaming-skull tattoos, chains on their belts and scars of questionable origin, so much the better.

"The biker image is what makes this work," says Rembrandt, 54, who is tall and wiry strong. "Golfers against child abuse does not have the same feel. The pink alligator shirt and golf shoes standing in the driveway doesn't do the same thing." (No offense to golfers. Some bikers golf, too.)

What Rembrandt knows is that a biker's power and intimidating image can even the playing field for a little kid who has been hurt. If the man who hurt this little girl calls or drives by, or even if she is just scared, another nightmare, the bikers will ride over and stand guard all night.

If she is afraid to go to school, they will take her and watch until she's safely inside.

And if she has to testify against her abuser in court, they will go, too, walking with her to the witness stand and taking over the first row of seats. Pipes will tell her, "Look at us, not him." And when she's done, they will circle her again and walk her out.

"When we tell a child they don't have to be afraid, they believe us," Pipes says. "When we tell them we will be there for them, they believe us."

Earlier in the day, when the bikers met in the parking lot of a nearby CVS/pharmacy, Pipes reminded them to be mindful of their emotions. That means no hugging unless the child initiates it.

"Nytro," Pipes says, raising his eyebrows in her direction. Nytro hides her face behind her hands, and everyone laughs. She's quick to hug.

And then Pipes says, more sternly this time: There will be no crying.

"I don't want to see any tears coming out of your eyes, and the child doesn't either," he says, making sure everyone is looking at him when he says it.

"Remember why we're here: to empower the child. If you can't handle it, keep your shades on."

CORE Members,

We need Tailgunners, and Road Capt.

see Will .

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ORGANIZER AND OFFICERS WORK HARD TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A FUN SAFE RIDE. WE WELCOME SUGGESTIONS.
I'M SURE THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY IDEAS FOR A FUTURE EVENT.

While we try to mix up our rides as much as possible, it's highly unlikely that I'm going to please everyone all the time. I hope everyone has been enjoying the rides that have been on our schedule so far. I am always looking for feedback and new ideas. Your participation is what makes this club great.

Knights, if you are reading this and would like to see it continue, please let me know. I'm starting to think that about 4 people read this and I'm the 4th!!!

Thanks

Join me in welcoming our newest Knight

Dale Berry

Knights, make sure to RSVP for our Holiday party on December 19th at 7pm....even if you haven't joined us on a ride, this would be a great time to meet the Knights!! We will have a great time, see the site for all the happenings.

MJ Bean Cox

Scott Lord

Joe Ciancio

Marc Sultan

Nick Chillemi

(sorry if I missed anyone,please let me know if I did)

We have been having some great rides TIMES !!!!!!

Grampa's Bakery & Restaurant

We had a nice highway ride down to Broward. While we don't always take the highway, it was a nice change of pace....literally!! Thanks to MJ, we didn't have to wait on line. She got there and reserved a table for us...way to go girl! The food was good and the company was even better.

George Zocchi said" Another great day. A bit warm through the stop and go sessions. Overall a VERY enjoyable day. It was a pleasure meeting new friends. Thanks guys."

Knights fundraising yard sale

First I'd like to thank Rich for all his hard work in helping me make this happen!!! THANK YOU. I'd also like to thank George and Marc Sultan for coming out. The day could not have been better...although it was so HOT I thought I would burst into flames at any moment. The crowds were good, but not great. We may find a different spot next year. We did take in a nice amount that will go to the VA hospital. I hope some Knights come out for that in January. We had some very nice people that gave us $20 for things that cost $5. Also, an old friend of mine Dave Gainsborg stopped by and donated some great dolls that sold very fast...Thanks Dave. We will be making a night soon to go see his band play. All in all, in was a great success and we will try and get more Knights to participate next year.

Ft Pierce Tiki Hut

Just a great ride on a great day. The roads and scenery was awesome. On this day the weather gods were very kind, it was perfect riding weather and the ride along the water is always pleasant. We got to welcome our new Knight Dale Berry to the club, hope we see him on many more. Ricky Shades took one more ride in paradise and then heads up North to the frozen hell of winter!!. Hope he will be back soon.

Dale Berry said" Had a great time. Can't be any better, wonderful company, fantastic view, great food. What more can u ask for. See u at the next meeting . Thanks Dale "

Rick Pirozzoli said " Another great ride with the Knights"

Enough Turkey- let go to Log Cabin B B Q in La Belle

This was probably the best ride we have had in months!! The weather was perfect and the group was great!! We had a very enjoyable ride to La Belle where we went the the Log Cabin BBQ place. As promised we got free soup...and it was really good. Some of us took advantage of the free ice cream as well. I abstained as Thanksgiving has added enough lbs!! It was nice to see Simbo and George again and as always Skip and Rich. We missed a new member Amber, who like some of us have in the past went to the wrong meetup spot. We look forward to seeing her next time.