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Cutting a Motorcycle Windshield

July 27, 2013 By: Scott2 Comments

As Margaret has gotten more comfortable on her bike she has had an ever growing issue with the windshield.  She’s getting a lot of reflections and glare on the inside that is affecting her ability to see the road due to its height. Everyone has their preferences on how tall, short, fat, etc. a windshield should be. Most articles, riders, and accessory places will recommend that your eye site should be just above the top of the wind shield.  I tend to agree with this.  Try having a windshield that you have to look through and ride in the rain.  No wipers means you can’t see through it and you’ll end up having to crane your neck to the side of the windshield to see the road.

We finally decided something had to be done for her.  We could take it somewhere and have a company cut it for us or try it ourselves.  HA! Let’s do this! No Fear!  We Ain’t Skeerd! The worst situation that could come from this is we could mess it up and have to buy a new windshield.  It’s not like we would mess up the bike from improper procedures on this task.

We started by having her sit on the bike in riding position. As corny as this sounds I took a builders level and stuck it close to her eye until the bubble showed level and marked that spot on the windshield.  Naturally she whined that I stuck it in her eye, blah blah whatever dear. This gave us a good visual reference as to where her eyesight came into contact on the windshield.  Then we measured down 1” from that spot for our cut point.  This point was exactly 2.5” from the top of the windshield.  I measured 2.5” from the top center around towards both sides and made a lot of pinpoint marks as I went.  When you get to a certain point towards each side you have to begin to taper your measurement to merge your cut line with the side of the windshield.  This way it won’t look like you just chopped off the top.

Next I connected all the dots I made using a permanent marker.  I did this freehand but had made enough dots to where it came out nicely rounded.  Now I took painters tape and ran it on the lower portion of the windshield along the marker line.  This helps prevent chipping if the jigsaw blade catches too much.  I made sure to put a couple inches of tape to prevent the jigsaw base from scratching the plastic while moving it along while cutting.

For the cut I purchased a Bosch Plexiglass blade pack at Home Depot for $8.95.  This was our only expense on the project since I had everything else necessary.

I started at the blend point on one side of the windshield so I could make one continuous cut most of the way around without having to stop and reposition the blade.  I didn’t push very hard or force the blade to cut.  Just hold the jigsaw firmly and let the blade do the work.  I also held the windshield very firmly and close to the front of the cutting blade to eliminate any jumping that could happen from snagging.  If the blade snags it could cause the plastic to chip in that spot.  Snagging will usually occur from a dull blade, pushing it along to fast trying to force the blade to cut faster than it is able, or a blade that is not fine toothed enough to cut the material.  Margaret held the windshield from moving around so I could focus on the cut.  Just follow the tape line around and try to keep it as smooth as possible.  You might not get an absolute perfectly rounded cut but you’ll be sanding any points or other imperfections afterwards.

When you get about ¾ of the way around you’ll want to stop cutting.  Your gonna want to cut the big rounded piece you’ve been working on off.  The reason for this is to prevent the plastic you’ve already cut from snapping off due to the weight which could cause damage to the windshield.  After you do this continue your cut on the remaining small piece until your done.

Now I took off the tape to get a better view of the cut and began sanding the edge with 100 grit sandpaper using an electric sander.  I used the 100 grit to smooth any areas that might not have been rounded well or any points that I needed to blend.  When I was happy with the shape I moved to 400 grit and used this one to begin rounding the edges to match the original cut.  I finalized the sanding with 600 grit without using the electric sander.  Doing this allows you to feel any rough spots with your hand that you might need to go back to using a courser sandpaper.

Closeup before sanding

I tried to get another closeup of how well the edge looks upon completion.

And thats it!  The whole job took about 2 hours and came out well.  She’s ridden with the shorter wind shield 3 times and is very happy with the results.

Air Filter Cleaning

July 20, 2013 By: Scott2 Comments

Another very important maintenance procedure is to clean and lubricate your air intake filter.  When that thing gets dirty your bike will start running rough due to not getting enough air into the cylinders.  Its an easy procedure that anyone can do with basic tools.  If you have been doing your own oil changes you’ll  already have all the tools necessary to do this.  The owners manual that comes with your bike shows this needs to be done every 5000 miles.  I clean mine with every oil change and that puts both maintenance procedures on the same schedule.

If you have the stock filter that came with the bike when you bought it, you can only perform this about 1 time before the filter falls apart.  I bought a K&N stock air filter replacement at 5000 miles.  K&N has a million mile guarantee on the life of the filter.  The cost of the K&N at the dealership was $88.95.  Not bad considering the stock replacement that can only be cleaned once is $60.

The only tools you’re going to need for this is a Phillips screwdriver and a Torx T-27 wrench/socket.  Aside from purchasing the filter which I highly recommend you will also need to purchase a K&N Recharger Air Filter Cleaning Kit .  You can get a small kit for $12.95 at the dealership or here: K&N Air Filters & Cleaning Kits which will do a LOT of cleanings.

Enough chatter on my part, lets get going!  First remove the air filter cover.

Now remove the filter using the Torx T-27 wrench.  Once you get all 3 bolts loose they will come off with a large bracket that holds the filter in place.

Now your left with the housing.  There will be some oil all around this area which needs to be cleaned.  A small amount is normal due to blow back.  A good thing to know is if you overfill your crankcase when doing an oil change you will get excessive blow back and your filter will clog from the oil causing your bike to run rough.  I use a shop towel and wipe all of the oil off.  Clean all over including into the butterfly valve.

Inspect the gasket on the back of the filter.  You can see mine is worn pretty badly.  I had to make a trip to Harley to pick up a new one.

Now your going to use the cleaner that came with your K&N Air Filters & Cleaning Kit.  Spray the cleaner all over the filter both inside and outside fully coating the mesh material.  Let that sit for about 10 minutes to give it time to break down oil and particles that are in the filter.  Don’t let it dry though.

Once you’ve waited about 10 minutes rinse it with cool water.  Start from the inside of the filter until you can see that the majority of particles and oil is gone.  The filter should start looking white in color when its clean.  After washing from the inside I finish it off with a good blast around the outside too.  This way I can flush out any oil or particles still inside the filter and between the fins.  If the filter was really dirty you can spray the cleaner again and repeat the process using soapy water in a sink.  Just be sure to rinse it well.  If you have chunks of stuff like I had in the picture below you can easily dig them out with a pointed object.  Just be careful not to puncture the filter.  Somehow I got a rock wedged in mine.  Often you’ll find grass still stuck in there that you’ll need to carefully dig out.  Once your done with this part let it dry.  This is critical and it warns you in the instructions from K&N to be sure the filter is FULLY dry before applying the oil.

I take the time to clean the air filter cover while its drying.

It was 100 degrees outside when I did this cleaning and took pictures so the filter dried completely within an hour.  Now you use the air filter oil that comes in the kit.  Hold it about 3 inches from the filter when you spray it.  Your only going to want to coat the filter until it lightly covers it and turns the white part red.  If you kind of use it like a paint spray can and use short moving strokes you can get down inside the folds well without over oiling the filter.  Work you’re way all around the outside.  Some of it will get on the metal housing and you’ll want to wipe that off when your done so as to leave only the actual filter part oiled.  Some people have asked why we have to oil the filter.  The reason is the oil will keep the filter fibers from being too porous and will help to keep small particles like dust from entering into the intake.  Particles will stick to the oil instead of being sucked through.  The oil also repels moisture so if any moisture gets into the filter housing the oil barrier will keep it from getting into the intake.

Install the new seal on the back of the filter and reassemble.  There are 2 vacuum tubes that you will want to be careful to insert into the back of the filter when putting it back on as well.  Just reach behind the filter and stick them into holes in the back of the filter.  They don’t fasten or secure in anyway, they just stick in the back.That’s all there is to it!  So how much are you saving doing this?  Well, at 18K miles I had to take my bike in for another oil leak.  The work to fix the leak was covered under the warranty which was nice.  While they had it in the shop they called and said my air filter was dirty and would I like them to clean it while they had it in.  I said sure since cleaning time was coming up soon.  I didn’t realize that work was considered “maintenance” and not covered under the warranty. I didn’t complain, they did the work and I agreed to it without asking about charges.  They charged $54 to clean that filter.  So consider every time you take that bike in and have them clean the air filter they are going to charge you $54.  They might roll that price into whatever other maintenance your paying them to do but that’s the price their gonna pass on to you.

Lets break this down:

K&N Motorcycle Filters= 88.95 (Dealership price)
K&N Air Filters & Cleaning Kit= 12.95 (Dealership price)
Your Cost= 101.90

Since your supposed to clean the air filter every 5000 miles you will pay this back starting after your 2nd cleaning at 10K miles if your paying the dealership to do it.  You will also have the piece of mind that its being done thoroughly and correctly by doing it yourself, and once again, your getting to know a little more about your bike.

Steering Head Bearing Lubrication

July 14, 2013 By: Scott3 Comments

This VERY simple maintenance tip can be performed by anyone and with only one tool!  That is exciting news for anyone.  Your steering head bearings should be lubricated at regular intervals that are outlined in your owner’s manual.  This will keep your steering bearings from binding which could cause control issues. My Street Glide is every 10K miles, Margarets Softail Deluxe is also 10K miles.  The first lube is supposed to be performed at that critical 1K miles service. What your owner’s manual does not explain is how to lubricate, how much lubrication to use, and what type of lubrication to use.  This information can be found in a service manual for your specific bike.

When your bike initially gets shipped to the dealership and assembled the steering head bearings are already packed (lubricated).  The factory packs the bearings before they install them into the steering head.  So off you go into the wild blue yonder and 10K miles later it’s time to lube them up.  Fortunately this does not require any disassembly as some older bikes may require.  Harley has been kind enough to install a grease fitting into the steering head of their bikes.  If yours doesn’t have one, then your outta luck and this post is not for you.

The only tool you’re going to need for this simple maintenance procedure is a 14oz grease gun.  You can purchase one at Northern Tools for $19.99.  They sell a couple of higher priced ones but unless you’re gonna run around squirting grease all over the place every day you’ll be wasting your money on those. You won’t need any special adapters or extenders, the basic grease gun right out of the box works just fine.  That’s it for tools!  You’re still gonna need to get grease though.  Easy enough!  Head out to your local dealership to the parts counter and tell them what you’re doing.  Harley has a special purpose grease that is formulated for higher temperatures before it liquefies. Using this grease is important because if you just pick up some bearing grease at Autozone the breakdown temperature may not be as high and if it’s hot outside and/or you’re doing a lot of maneuvers (skills day, competition, etc.) the grease could literally seep out of the bottom of the steering head and begin to leave the bearings without lubrication.  It’s not expensive at the dealership and it’s approved by Harley for this purpose.

Load the grease into your gun according to the grease gun instructions and get ready to squirt!  With your bike on its jiffy stand, turn the handle bars fully to the right side to expose the grease fitting.  THIS PART IS IMPORTANT- Be sure to get someone on the right side of the bike to hold it.  The bikes center of gravity has now been changed and it could tip over on the right side if too much of a push is applied from the left side.  Push the grease gun head onto the grease fitting making sure it’s on securely. This push is why you want someone on the other side of the bike to keep it from tipping over.  Once you’ve got the grease gun attached start pumping with smooth, even, full pumps with the lever.  If a lot of grease is coming out from the fitting then you haven’t gotten the gun on correctly.  A little will come out but it shouldn’t be excessive.  When your bike is assembled, even though Harley packs the bearings, they do not fill the steering head with grease.  Now for the first time the steering head is getting filled.  You’re going to use almost half of that tube of grease the first time you do this if it hasn’t been done before. Just keep squirting grease in there until it begins to come out of the top and bottom of the steering head.  This is done in accordance to the Harley Davidson service manual.  When the grease begins to ease out you know the bearings have been lubricated since the grease has to go through the bearings before it will come out of the top and bottom of the steering head.

All of that write up for a simple task.  I wanted to be detailed though!  Now you can clean up the grease around the fitting and steering head and give your bike a nice soapy bath to show it how much you appreciate it.

I don’t know about cost savings on this one.  I do know that by doing this myself those bearings are greased at the correct intervals and greased fully.  I’m not trying to bash or discredit anyone but I do want to mention that I took my bike in to the dealership at 1K miles to get the initial service performed.  They did not lube the steering head bearings as they were supposed to according to the service manual.  I only knew this because of the amount of grease I had to use when I did it myself.  It’s also nice to be able to take 10 minutes and get it done at home instead of taking the bike to the shop, dropping it off, waiting, or picking it up later.

Here is the cost breakdown:
Grease Gun- Northern Tools: $19.95
Grease: $9.95
Total Cost: $29.90

This is the special purpose grease that you can buy at Harley.

A closeup of the grease.  This kind of shows the thickness of it.

This is the Service Manual (not owners manual) that shows the process.

Grease fitting on the steering head.

This picture shows the grease squirting out from the bottom of the steering head.

This picture shows the grease squirting out from the top of the steering head.

How to Lubricate the Steering Head Bearings on a 2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide

How to Lubricate the Steering Head Bearings on a 2013 Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe

Margarets First Road Ride

July 7, 2013 By: Scott2 Comments

Last weekend Margaret completed the state mandated riding class and obtained her license.  She did quite well by having the overall highest scores of the class.  Congrats on that!  Being an extended weekend due to 4th of July, we were able to get her out in the parking lot a bit more than usual so she could get more comfortable on her Harley.  She gained so much confidence that she asked if we could take a short ride on the road Sunday morning.

We left very early in the morning knowing there wouldnt be many cars on the road.  We stopped at the McDonalds in Crowley and had some coffee and talked about how she felt about the ride before heading back.  She was a bit nervous and it showed but that is to be expected.  On the ride home she did much better.  You could see she was more relaxed and her riding reflected it. Total round trip was 16.8 miles.  That was enough for her first time out.  This gave her the opportunity to apply her riding abilities to the road and experience a taste of what is to be expected on the road. I was very happy with her riding and comfortable with her as a riding partner.  I was never nervous or worried about her riding or feared that she was a danger to herself, me, or others on the road.  Her basic riding skills were well developed and she handled the bike on the road just fine. Refined skills will come with practice and repetition.

Million Mile Monday 2013

July 4, 2013 By: Scottcomment

Every year Harley Davidson does a Million Mile Monday. Launched in 2008, Million Mile Monday has been an annual event on the last Monday of June that brings thousands of Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders together in a collective effort to celebrate the motorcycle riding experience.  Outside of having an excuse to take off work on this Monday and ride, nothing really comes from it.  Fort Worth Harley Davidson has taken a step to incorporate this ride into part of their year long charity fund raising event.

For every mile that is ridden and logged by Fort Worth HOG members, our sponsoring dealership gives one penny to a local charity.  This may not seem like a lot but when you compile all of the members miles over the course of a year it begins to add up.  The miles don’t even have to be chapter event related.  Just riding to work and back will count towards the charity donation at the end of the year.  Over the last two years, Fort Worth HOG members rode over 2 million miles collectively each year, and for 2 consecutive years.  We are the only chapter in the United States to have done this 2 years in a row. The dealership donated over 20 thousand dollars both years to a local charity.  We are hoping to accomplish 2 million + miles again this year.  Originally it started out as the Million Mile Challenge, now it has evolved into the 2 Million Mile Challenge for our chapter.

The end of June closes out and begins the miles accumulation.  On Monday June 24 a nice sized group of riders from our chapter formed to put some miles in for a final push to reach the 2 million mile mark.  Being a Monday most riders had to work, but some of us took the day off to ride.  Others that are retired took advantage of the gathering to get another group ride in.

Monday started out at a nice 74 degrees but soon peaked at 95 degrees.  We left the dealership at 9:30am and headed for the Glen Rose, TX area.  Fort Worth Harley surprised everyone by buying our lunch in Glen Rose for which I am personally very appreciative.  We arrived back at the dealership and recorded our miles at 2:30pm.  It was a fantastic ride, 18 bikes were involved and we rode 167 miles.

Million Mile Monday

The Other Side of the Ride

June 22, 2013 By: Scottcomment

Everyone that rides dreams of those times on the open road.  We want to experience looking out and seeing nothing in front of us except the beautiful landscape that God has given us.  Always searching around the next turn for exhilaration as we ride into some new road and scenery.  We crave endless roads that are free of cars, trucks, buses, construction vehicles, and gravel haulers.  The riding experience can be difficult to get across to non-riders.  Try as you may, they simply don’t “get it”.  Hence the biker patch that reads, “If I have to explain you wont understand“. Riding is addictive and every time we embark on our next journey we chase after that perfect ride.

However, there is another side of riding that does not satisfy our craving.  Many of us use our bikes for more than just weekend or vacation pleasure trips.  I am one of those riders.  Nearly every day through the year my bike is transport to and from work.  Unless its below 42 degrees or raining.  Those are the decisive factors to whether I am driving or riding to work.  My commute is 57 miles each way, 114 miles daily,  from South Fort Worth to North Plano.  One hour to get to work, 1.5 hours to get home.  There is not much pleasure riding taking place on this commute.

The morning commute starts before the sun comes up year round.  The ride going to work is not too bad.  At 5:30am there isn’t much rush hour traffic.  There are more big rigs in the morning since those guys tend to drive through the night.  I see a lot of construction vehicles because most construction trades start work very early so as to close out their day at 2 or 3pm.  In Texas they do this to avoid the hottest part of the afternoon, performing the bulk of their workday in the cooler hours of the morning.  Freeway construction is at an all time high in DFW right now and most of that takes place during the night so gravel haulers, construction trucks, and cement trucks are often present.  Fortunately I have had very few close calls or near incidents during the morning commute.  Most of the ride is freeway and tollway.  I choose the tollway because its less congested due to having to pay a toll but it’s also safer.  There are some areas where traffic can be heavy and it causes a bit of that horrible stop and go action. My bike can travel  250 miles on a tank of fuel so even though I could go 2 days before filling up, I just stop every morning and keep it topped off.  My afternoon commute is so horrible its nice to know the tank is full when traffic gets bad and I’m sitting there wondering how long its going to take before we start moving again.

After a long day at work I have to face the afternoon rush hour traffic.  Unfortunately there is no getting around this.  I have a section of the tollway that takes me about a third of the way home without issue.  Then it hits.  Constant braking, stop and go, flared tempers, speed monkey’s that think jumping in one car ahead will get them home quicker, wrecks, breakdowns, tailgaters and gator tails, other debris that has fallen off or spilled from vehicles through the day, and closed lanes for various reasons.  It’s a freaking nightmare, and I am tired from being up since 5am and working all day and now have to deal with……this.  The local radio traffic report becomes your best friend so you can deviate from the usual route due to excessive congestion if necessary. There is no pleasure riding through this.  It’s just not possible.  My alertness and awareness level of possible threats is at its peak.  You cannot relax your attention for even an instant because that’s when some idiot in a cage will be texting god only knows who, and why, and will swerve into you to get one more car length ahead.  On a side note, the entire world survived just fine throughout history without cell phones.  As a worldwide entity, humanity made it, without cell phones!  So why in freaking hell do two thirds of drivers on the road assume every minute of their time is an emergency that justifies talking or texting while driving, ALL the way home!?  I’ve always wanted to develop a hand held EMP device that I could point at a car and fry all of its electronics.  That would shut them down! Imagine zapped cars littering the roadway with dumbfounded drivers standing around unable to make phone calls for assistance. Haha! Anyways, it takes about 1.5 hours of this crap if not longer to get home and by the time I survive the onslaught of cager stupidity and pull into the garage, I am exhausted.

A minimum of 12 hours has passed since I rolled out of the garage in the dark of the early morning.  There is not much left of me now.  My energy is drained, I’m basically just a lifeless lump of flesh.  I have no motivation or ambition to do much of anything.  It can take an hour or more to come down from the stress and adrenaline of work and the ride to even enjoy relaxing.

Not all riding is sunny, happy faced, smelling the flowers, whistling with the birds, waving and smiling at other drivers with a plastic formed toothy grin on your face.  Though riding can be a great experience, in my case for 5 days of week its a grind.  This is reality for many bikers that utilize their machine for more than just weekend pleasure.  This is the Other Side of the Ride.

The Other Side of the Ride- To Work and Back

Margarets Softail Deluxe

June 17, 2013 By: Scott3 Comments

For months I have had to endure the whining from Margaret saying “Wheres my Harley?!”  I learned to tune the question out or pretend not to hear her say it.  As she has gotten more comfortable riding the kawasaki I knew the question would have to be addressed eventually.

Friday she sent me a text asking if we could get her bike early.  I didnt really see the need to seeing as she still doesnt have her license yet.  I told her that and she agreed but wanted to stop by Harley and take a look at the bike.  We also wanted to find out about pricing for the bike so it seemed reasonable to stop by and talk to our salesman and get some concrete numbers based on different options to choose from.  So off we went to Harley when we both got home.

Race (thats our salesmans name) offered quite a few different scenarios based on bike color, term, warranty, down payment, etc.  We both had agreed on a ballpark amount that we would settle with.  While he was working up options we were looking at the bike and discussing things we would need to put on it.  We would need a super reach seat replacement, engine guards, and windshield immediatly.  So we went to the parts counter to get some prices on those items.

Race came over to us with some figures and asked us what we thought.  Without even looking at me Margaret said, “I just want to know when your gonna finish this paperwork and sell me my bike?”  Race laughed and said, “Ok, Im on it!” There I am looking at her with this WTF? look on my face!  Did she just buy that thing!? So much for my input, she just took control and got it.  That woman wanted her bike!  I just settled into the back seat on this one and let her go.  A few minutes later Race was pushing her bike out the front door to take it to service to be prepped.

While we were at the parts counter trying to decide when we were going to buy the parts we needed, Race came to us and said “I forgot to tell you, Harley is doing a promotion where they give you a gift card for $500 if you buy your bike in June.”  Wooooot!  That was a bonus we had not counted on!  So the parts manager worked with us and in the end we got the seat, engine guards, windshield, and a fender bib which they had to order.  We got all that stuff and only had to pay $19 extra.  As far as the bike goes, we got it for right about what we wanted to spend and with a 4 year extended warranty.  We were completely happy with the entire purchase even though it was a bit sudden.  I want to give a special Thank You to Race and Nick in parts and also to all of Fort Worth Harley for helping make this happen.

I picked it up the next day while she was at work and put all the parts on to have it ready for her to ride.  We went out Sunday morning so she could get her first ride in on the new bike.  There was some learning for her to do as the bike rides completely different than the kawasaki.  Lower center of gravity, longer wheel base, longer turn radius, heavier, forward controls, tighter clutch, wider handle bars, etc.  She did good though, never dropped it and was riding it around quite well.

Margarets First Ride on her Softail Deluxe

Monitor Crash

June 14, 2013 By: Scottcomment

Yup, my primary monitor crashed last night.  I thought it might be going out for quite a while because it would often flicker or just not turn on.  Last night though, the electronic grim reaper came for the monitor.

Off he went with it as I waved goodbye in frustration.  It was a very nice samsung 23″ monitor which was very good for video and pictures.  I ran a dual monitor setup with a little 18″ off to the side which for now is going to have to be my main visual aid.  I think im gonna need glasses to see the screen and after working with duals for years its gonna be hard to get used to doing everything on one screen.

Computer Crash

June 12, 2013 By: Scott1 Comment

My computer crashed this past weekend so I haven’t been able to post. I did have a post just about ready when the problem occurred.  Fortunately all of my data is stored on a separate drive and backed up to our server so nothing was lost.  It will probably be another week before a new riding post goes up since I don’t have a lot of time to work on the computer when I get home.

I did manage to get my computer back up and running though.  Re-installed the OS, device drivers, and updates.  That’s about as far as I got.  Still have to install applications.  For the media I use Cineform Studio for clipping and converting video into a format I can work with.  Then I import the media into Sony Vegas Movie Studio where I add headers, music, and stick all the clips together.  Once I’m happy with the video I make the final movie into a .wmp format for the web and upload it.  Hopefully Friday Ill get all of that installed and configured so I can get back to making some media!Even now I have some good stuff to work with and I have some ideas for upcoming posts as well.  With Margaret taking her license class in just 2 weeks and getting her bike shortly thereafter it will open up a whole new direction for write ups.  We have some short rides planned to do together after she gets used to her new bike. Our chapter also has some good stuff planned for the next couple months that I’m looking forward to doing as well.  Wow, theres gonna be some fun riding this summer!

Patriot Guard- Memorial Day 2013

June 4, 2013 By: Scottcomment

This year for Memorial Day Margaret and I took part in a Patriot Guard mission.  The mission was to set up a flag line and flag back drop for the speakers of the ceremonies and to respectfully stand tall and silent.  The placing of the flag and wreath presentation that represented all branches of the armed forces was performed by the Mansfield High School ROTC.  Many speakers including Rick Crabb from the Patriot Guard reminded us of the importance of remembering the men and woman that died in service to our country.

I guess as I get older my perspective is beginning to change.  I have attended Memorial Day ceremonies in the past but they didn’t move me like this one did.  I just didn’t appreciate the sacrifice our countrymen made so we could live free.  This year though my heart was heavy with the understanding that these men and woman gave their life so we could live as we do.  When I say “understanding”, their sacrifice was finally a reality to me that never took hold of my heart as it did this year.  Then when you consider their families and friends loss as well, their sacrifice runs deeper.  These men and woman died for our country, their family, their friends, and for all of us. They gave the ultimate sacrifice and should not be forgotten.

Patriot Guard Memorial Day Ceremony Slide show

Patriot Guard Memorial Day Ceremony video

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