AGAINST THE WIND
By Paul Lancia

Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have We. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand. From the Movie, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

December. Clock's ticking, time's flying. My bikes are in the garage, kicked over if the ground's dry or I need a reminder that Spring will be coming. This has been quite a year. For all of us. Time's bad for many of us, our bike's being some of the only escape we have from the stress, the drudgery, the monotony of an economic system that's been pronounced dead and showing no signs of life. Our bikes start with a roar. They don't moan or complain. We saddle up, thoughts off to the four corners and twist ourselves onto the road moving fast. Moving fast and away from all that has clogged us up. Bike and escape. A marriage made in heaven!
It's not hard to put a spin on things. Not hardly. I look back over this year and I see lots of good things.
New England Biker News has grown from a small monthly newspaper reporting on all things bikes to a 50,000+ per month issue newspaper and growing monthly. NEBN is THE source for biker news, events and products. Quite an accomplishment in these days of media bombardment and distractions. Thanks to all of you for supporting NEBN.
The best part of all this is that NEBN is still the same as it was before. No bullshit. No ass kissing, just good and simple reporting on the things that fuel our passions for riding. The NEBN radio show has improved exponentially since its first broadcasts. Thank God for that! We have fun, but work hard to deliver. Listen and join us every Sunday. In January we shall start broadcasting live from the Motorcycle Shows throughout New England, beginning with the Rhode Island Bike Show January 8 and 9.
On the front lines, we have the New England Motorcycle Associations fighting the fight. And they have their hands full! The MMA has a lot to be proud of. It has been active throughout the spectrum of good and evil and has an excellent track record of getting involved this year in all matters of importance pertaining to motorcycling in Massachusetts. From confronting the Governor on the Motorcycle Safety Fund issues to being first to firmly dissuade specific towns from attempting to enforce their own brand of motorcycle (noise) enforcement to working with the Attorney General's office to return a monumental amount of insurance premiums back to the motorcycle riding public to taking the time to vet candidates for public office. The MMA seemingly never sleeps.
RIMA in Rhode Island and the United Bikers of Maine have had their hands full this year. Renegade enforcement of the EPA label like laws has reeked havoc amongst riders. These police actions are foreshadows of more similar times to come. Don't think that it's over. Not by a long shot. We are all targets for the shortcomings of the New England state and local police's feelings of inadequacy.
(Think Christmas gift for the biker you love: 1 year membership to a motorcycle association.)
So where are we now. On the fast track to a wonderful and joyous Christmas holiday. While our bikes sleep downstairs, we renew and reinforce relationships with friends and family. Let's take heart that we did the right thing this year. We supported those who needed our help with the charity bike rides and events we attended. We took the time to acknowledge those who deserved the attention. We did the right thing, consistently. Carry it forward. Wear it proudly into the New Year. We start anew then.
I look over my shoulder and see this year fading into the books. What happened to make it go so fast?
I look forward and see our Christmas coming, a New Year on the horizon and everything reset back to zero.
Thinking back, I remember how things used to be, the warm blanket of safe, cleansed memories picking through a cavalcade of Christmas' past that was once, but shall never be again. I wonder about those days and their passing one by one ceaselessly without rhyme or reason. I wonder how much better things could be and then it comes to me, in a flash without hesitation, the groups of people your friends and family, those whom rose and fell with you over the past year, the very ones who have and still stand with you regardless and notwithstanding, not in spite of. It's these people that ignite the fires of Christmas. Their never-ending thoughtfulness, contemporary courtesies, their particular niceties which have sustained you when nothing else did.
These friends and family are Christmas. It is a time to share and embrace the ones you love, those whom you cherish, a time to thank each other for friendship, for caring, for being there.
While not all enjoy such wonderful ties to friends and family, we all have those in our lives of whom we rejoice and are thankful for. And at the end of such busy, difficult and complex years like this, we remember them fondly and with love.
This year I'm thankful for not so out of the ordinary things when it comes to my riding, my strong ties to biking; and to the law.
I'm thankful for the Judges that ruled in my favor (my client's actually) in those cases when I was not sure that the case we presented was strong enough or that they could be impartial to the biker standing in front of them. This thanks extends to my clients that ride for sticking to their principles and not throwing in the towel when things looked bleak! We went undefeated this year in challenging the numerous traffic citations issued to bikers for loud pipes, speeding, improper lane change and other charges that were meant to harass.
I'm thankful for the patience and encouragement the big guns at the MMA gave me when I would drag my butt getting an assignment done.
I am thankful for Buddy at RIMA to entrust me with challenging the Newport (anti) bike noise ordinance.
I've been happy to go on the air with Rol for the New England Biker New Radio show every week. It's fun to have a big microphone in front of you!
I'm thankful for meeting more than a few bikers and riders this year who've shown me how much riding has meant to them, reminding me just how much it means to me.
I'm thankful to be a part of something good with the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association protecting riders rights and reinforcing basic civil liberties. A great team, a great organization.
I'm thankful to Rol and Karen of NEBN for giving me a voice in the New England Biker community.
Finally I'm thankful for having such wonderful family and friends. When things got tough, they stood by me. When the rest of the world went out, they stayed in.
I don't need much else, as far as I'm concerned I have it all. I think that most of us do when it all comes down to it, when you really think about it.
Sincerely I wish you all..........
Merry Christmas -- Happy Hanukkah -- Happy Holidays -- Happy New Year
Embrace those you love. Rejoice in another year well lived. Give thanks for the year before us.