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Latin Steel Benefit for a club member

I went to a benefit today put on by Latin Steel for one of their members that had a motorcycle accident. As i
understand it they will be ok, but there are always costs that the insurance doesn’t pay, so this will help out
some. They served BBQ plates with all the fixins’ and I can tell you that it was wonderful. Can you say
Peppers and Spicy! After lunch, some of us settled in for some football on TV, provided by the local
establishment. Later we went to the Round Rock Harley dealership for a look at some of the merchandise. I
always have loved a good set of shiny Harley headlights.
September 4, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Decisions – Chaplains Moment for August

Have you ever wondered why you make decisions a certain way. I mean, like when you have a choice to
take that next beer and head down the path that you know leads to being driven home by a friend, but
instead you choose to limit yourself and head home under your own power. Or maybe someone says
something that pisses you off, and you consider for a moment, bopping them one, but instead you think
better of it and let it slide, this time. Or maybe you are like me, and you get bored and head out to the
internet to look for some entertainment, which leads to places where it is better for me not to go, but then I
think about what I am doing, and turn away. Why do we make those decision, sometime one way and
sometimes the other. Well, I would contend that more often than not, we make decisions based on a voice
we listen to in our head. You know the one I mean, the one that says "ok, he didn't really mean that, I will
let it go this time", or perhaps instead we listen to the voice that says "that blankety blank deserves this, and
I am going to give it to him". I am sure you can guess where I am going with this, God is the forgiving
voice, and we know where that other voice comes from. But the point I want to make, is that if we have a
relationship with God, then we really do get to make the decision. The decision to do or say or look where
God would have me look, or to, well you get the idea. I will confess, that I am still struggling with this, and
I don't always make the right decision, but when I remember to ask for help from the One who supplies all
the power I need if I will only ask, then I am able to overcome the temptation, the anger, or the boredom, or
whatever situation I find myself in. Praise God from whom all power comes, and praise God I have the
power to ask for help, and I can have confidence that He will supply all my needs.
Tom Zimmer
Chaplain, New Life Riders (CMA)
Chaplain, UCOA
August 18, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Randy and Paulas 40th Anniversary Party at Leander Assembly

Debbie and I went to Randy and Paula’s Surprise 40th Anniversary party this evening. It was supposed to
be a surprise to Paula, and as I understand it Randy actually managed to surprise Paula. That has got to be a
first! I think they must have been negative one years old when they got married, they look so young!
Of course Debbie and I had to play the spoon and fork game again. Debbie was the fork, I was the spoon.
As usual, click any picture for a larger version.

By the way, if you would like to receive emails when I post new entries to this blog, you can click the
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Chapter Run to Amy’s Ice Cream

We had out chapter run this evening, starting with dinner at Rudy’s BBQ over near 183 and Duval, then we
ran over to Amy’s Ice Cream Parlor for some wonderful ice cream. We ate it outside, and even the skeeters
loved it and us too of course. Actually the mosquitoes weren’t toooo.. bad. But the ice cream made up for
them. Then it was spoon games, which Debbie and Don clearly won. And finally stone cow games to see
who could look the silliest. I think Debbie took that prize. Oh, yes, nice sunset too.
Benefit for Ashley

Debbie and I went to a benefit for Ashley Rivera today at El New Goal Post in Round Rock. Ashley has a
auto-immune blood disorder, where her blood won’t clot. Her friends were selling BBQ plates with all the
fixin’s to help pay for some of Ashley’s medical expenses. It was really good BBQ too, with sweet tea and
cake for desert! Debbie got to talk to Ashley for a few minutes, and we were blessed to pray with her before
we left.
August 7, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | ashley rivera benefit blood disorder auto immune | Leave a
Comment | Edit
The Summer Sizzle at C-Hunts

Debbie and I went to the Summer Sizzle today, at C-Hunts in north Austin. We had a great time. They
don’t call it sizzle for nothing, the weather lived up to its name. Entry include a great BBQ chicken dinner
with all the fixin’s. Also had a silent auction, and real auction with Bandido Doug doing the calling and
Escondido Paul helping encourage the crowd. Music was great, provided by Young Generation. All this to
help raise money for our local charity J. W. Rock, which provides Christmas food baskets and toys to the
most needy families in the Austin area. We work with St. Vincent DePaul to find the families that we help.
In all, I am sure we raised over $1000 for J. W. Rock. Well done!
Grace, Grace, More Grace!

This months article is about grace. We need to give more grace to the people around us. That would be you,
me and everyone else. Why you might ask should we give everyone more grace? Well, it is simple really.
You see we all screw up, sometimes big, and sometimes small, but we all doit. Sometimes on purpose and
sometimes by accident, but we all doit. And, whenever we screw up, God pours out His grace up on us. He
doesn't even say "gosh I wish you wouldn't have done that", He just forgives us and pours out His blessings
upon us. So, what I am saying is, that we should be more grateful to God for the limitless grace He pours
out onto us, by allowing Him to pour our His grace "through us" on those people around us. Especially
those that don't deserve it, which none of us do. Hey, if your ears are burning, I am right there with you. As
the old song says, "grace, grace, more grace". Forget about justice and mercy, they don't even come close, it
is grace I want, and grace I have through the salvation available only through Jesus Christ!
Tom Zimmer
July 25, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
I decided to get a toupee

The mounted fish display and Debbie and Linda clipping

Lowell is famous world wide

Barber Shop 2
Visiting Lowell’s Barber Shop
Day Two – Mostly Kansas

We today was mostly Turnpike, which wasn’t that good for milage, but before that it started out nice with
this first shot of my tank average at 50.2 mpg. If onlly it had kept up. Next the Waffle House, not much
good I can say about it, except the service was good. Unfortunately the waffles left something to be desired.
Now we are into my mostly turnpike pictures shot out the window. At one stop, we did see some very
interesting farm equipment.
Vacation First Day

We are heading to Minniapolis, heading up 183 to 281, etc. On 281 we found the Hard 8 bbq in
Stephanville, and it was delicious. We can highly recommend the pulled pork, but everything was great.
Next we found this old building on 81 north of Bowie, it was a rundown two story building, but it was
clearly something that should have been preserved. Built out of rock, petrified wood and glass, it was quite
a site in the afternoon light. The grass was all grown up around it, and filled with grass hoppers, but that
didn’t slow me down as I walked around to take these pictures.
The Memorial for Sputnik at the Texas State Capital

Debbie and I went to the memorial for Sputnik this morning at the State Capital in downtown Austin. We
had a large number of people in attendance, probably over 1000. We also had a Norma Chavez, one of our
most involved legislators in attendance. We had music and a great sermon. It was a wonderful event, with
all the clubs working together, and Sputnik would have been proud to attend. Sputnik will be missed in so
many ways, but we will not give up the fight to protect out freedom.
Here are the best of the images we took, in no particular order. As usual, click any image for a larger
version. Let me know if you want any full size images.
Dinner and Fireworks at Gary and Sharon’s

The Taylor CMA chapter had a fireworks extravaganza (sometimes known as a potluck) at Gary and
Sharon’s house last evening. Lots of great food and fireworks. I can smell the smoke now!
We bought some flashing fireworks that made for some interesting photos, and their next door neighbor had
lots of roman candles.
I particularly like the ghosting and the multiple flash image.
The middle one above looks like we are having a war, and is Debbie doing jumping jacks?
And what flashing fireworks would be complete without everyone getting involved!
New Life Riders Chapter Meeting

We had a chapter meeting last evening, for our New Life Riders CMA chapter, and we had two visitors.
Jim, who just moved into the area and was checking us out, and Phil who is a CMA member in Ireland, and
is vacationing in Austin. On such a momentous event, I thought we should take a picture of our little band
of motorcyclists. Also visiting, our honorary member Claude from the Taylor CMA chapter, and Paula, half
of our area reps. Randy (the other half) is in the hospital at the moment, recovering from an infection in his
foot after surgery to correct a break that didn’t heal correctly. Come on Randy!
Sputnik Tribute – The Fallen Warrior

I heard a couple of days ago that Sputnik, our fearless leader of TMRA II (Texas Motorcycle Rights
Association) has passed away. He worked tirelessly until the end. He had a heart attack, and passed away
early in the morning. He will be greatly missed.
As a small tribute, I wanted to post all the pictures of sputnik I had accumulated over the years. I am sure
you all have many more, but here are the ones in my library; As usual, click any image for a larger version.
It was great to know you Sputnik, and I also know with confidence that you are now in a better place, riding
your bike with Jesus at your side, enjoying the beauty of the heavenly highways.
Farwell Sputnik, you will be missed.
Tom
June 29, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
Chapter ride to Oatmeal and then lunch at Cooper’s BBQ

We had the montly chapter ride today, and we went to Oatmeal to see the largest oatmeal container on
earth! Well, in Texas at least. The temperature wasn’t too bad, in the morning, below ninety. Then we rode
out to Cooper’s BBQ in Llano for lunch. It was my first time to Cooper’s, and wow do they have good
BBQ. They ahve sause, but it was so good right off the barbecue, I didn’t even try the sauce. Then we
smoked it home (as in it was smoking HOT!). Several people stopped part way home at the Potters to cool
down.
I think it is time to start planning the next ride to Cooper’s!

June 26, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | oatmeal bbq coopers hot chapter ride biker motorcycle | Leave a
Comment | Edit
Call Me Wacko! – Chaplains Moment for June 17th 2010

Call me wacko if you like, but I find my day goes better when I keep my eyes on the Prize. The Prize in this
case is Jesus Christ. There are several stories in the bible about Jesus walking on the water, but there is also
a story about someone else walking on the water. You might remember it, when Jesus was walking out to
the boat that held his disciples, Peter saw him, and got out of the boat to meet him. He just got out and
walked on the water. Everything went “swimmingly”, right up to the point where Peter realized what he was
doing. Then, he began to sink, and sink quickly. Fortunately he was within arm’s reach of Jesus, and Jesus
reached out and caught him before he went under. The two of them then started walking back to the boat
and Jesus said “Why did you doubt?”. The point here is very clear. As long as we keep our eyes on the
prize, we will be safe. If we look away, and start worrying about our circumstances then we will begin to
sink. The good news is that Jesus is always there to catch us. Are you keeping your eyes on the prize?
June 15, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Final Set from the ROT Rally

To finish up my posts on the ROT Rally, I thought I would end with a few of my favorites.
To start we have this image of the ROT Rally Trolley. I don’t know where it was coming from, or where it
was going, but it carried lots of people.
Here is an image of Janice (right), Kerry (middle) and.. well.. I don’t remember his name, but they were
having a great conversation.
And finally, my favorite image of the Rally. This is Bandido Santos. He is a really neat guy, and he is
shown here working the crowd, selling Bandido support merchandise. The quality of the image isn’t great,
but gosh, wouldn’t you buy a koozie from a guy like this?
The Rush of Registration at the ROT Rally

Here is a series of images taken in registration, with very long exposure times. I like the feel of people
rushing around.
Preparing for the ROT Rally

ROT Rally Sunset HDRs

Here are a few HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos taken at sunset at the ROT Rally, Enjoy.
Friends at the ROT Rally

Well, we pretty much finished the ROT Rally today, so here are a few of the pictures of a small set of my
friends that I happened to take pictures of while I was there. If you don’t happen to be included, it is either
because you didn’t want you picture posted, or you forgot to ask me to take your picture. Ok, well it is true,
that I didn’t take that many pictures, but here are a few anyway. As usual, click on any image to see a larger
version.
This first picture isn’t a friend, I don’t know anyone that would have spent $35 to be tortured like this poor
person. Can yo spell Bungy Cord?
CMA Chapter Meeting at IHOP – Come Follow Me

We had a small but lively chapter meeting this evening, mostly related to the preparations for the ROT
Rally next week. Don and Susan are now officially members again of New Life Riders. They made at least
one motion each, just to exercise their new powers (of membership that is). Here are a few pictures taken
after the meeting out front of IHOP during the fellowship time.
As usual, click any picture for a larger version.
My devotional this evening was on Mark 1:17, borrowed and converted into modern language from My
Utmost for His Highest.
“Come follow Me.”
One of the greatest hindrances to my trusting Christ is the excuse that I have the wrong personality. We
make our personality and our natural tendencies, barriers to trusting Jesus. The first thing we realize when
we do trust Jesus is that he pays no attention to our natural tendencies. We have the idea that we can make
out natural personality a gift to God, but you cannot give to God what is not yours; there is only one thing
you can give to God, and that is your right to yourself (Romans 12:1). If you give God your right to
yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you. God’s experiments are always successful. The one
thing that marks a saint’s life as being different from everyone else, comes from their abandonment or
complete trust in Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing wellspring of life in their response to all
of life challenges; The Spirit of God is a well of water springing up and eternally fresh. The saint realizes
that it is God Who engineers circumstances, and so there is no need for whining, just a reckless
abandonment to Jesus. So do not let experiences guide your life, instead trust God and let His uniqueness
work in others as He is working in you.
If you abandon yourself to Jesus, and follow His guiding when He says “Come,” He will continue to say
“Come” through you. You will then go out into life being the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in
every soul who abandons themselves to Jesus.
Have I come to Jesus?
*Note: Just to be clear about the previous line, yes, Jesus is saying come to Me. If you are not a christian,
that is the most important thing you can do, accept Jesus as your Savior. But, for those of us who have
already accepted Jesus as Savior, He is also saying Come to Me and TRUST Me completely. So often we
try to do GOD’S work in our own strength, which is POINTLESS!. Only God can do God’s work. The way
it works is, we work is by letting God WORK THROUGH US! Ok, I will stop preaching now.
Can I hear an AMEN!
Oops, I went all Baptist on ya.
Praise the Lord!
Tom
Two Bikes, Hot Sun, Cool Iced Tea in Bertram

We went on a “very small” (just two bikes) chapter ride satruday, the high was 95ʹ′, but we got home before
that.
We started at about 10am at IHOP at Duval and 183 with very nice temperatures, rode out 183 south to 360
south to 2222, took that to valente road I think, then up to 1431, then out 1431 to cow creek road and up to
the road that goes to Bertram. Very nice ride. Had some very good Mexican cuisine, then slogged on home
in the heat around 2:30pm.
Stopped at a low water crossing on Cow Creek road to take some pics. ooh it was gettin’ hot! As usual, click
a pic for a larger version.
Debbie had to play in the water. Not a good idea, they don’t call this Cow Creek for nothing.
Gosh that horn was loud!
May 31, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Benefit for Behr put on by the Taylor CMA chapter
Debbie and I went to the benefit for Mark “behr” Barron today, he is in critical condition in the hospital,
and all our prayers go with him.
They had a ride, and then met for the ‘party” part of the event out at a farm one one of the chapter
members. We had lots of great food, and wonderful deserts. Oh yes the fellowship was great too, and the
music as well. We even had a real nice visit from one of the local William County Constables, no problems
of course, just a friend of the family I believe.
Please keep Behr in your prayers!
Tom
Weren’t we meeting at IHOP?

Well, Debbie and I went to IHOP bright and early this morning, so we could get some coffee before leaving
with the group for our chapter ride. The coffee was great, but nobody ever showed up for the ride. Turns out
we were meeting at Rudy’s, just down the block, not at IHOP. Oops! Bummer, I hate it when I don’t pay
attention, but I am sure it must be someone elses fault, right?
NO..
Click for a larger version.

Johnny Portrait
At our officers meeting the other evening, I took a photo of Johnny our chapter VP. I really like the image,
but the background was very distracting, so I blurred it out, and this is the result.
Hey Johnny, I will be happy to have a print made, and send it to your mother if you like,
Tom
A Time for Everything – UCOA Moment for May 2010

I have heard that if you are going to borrow, then you should borrow from the best.
Here is a writing from the man that was called “The wisest man to ever live”.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-14, one of the writings of Solomon;
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they
cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from
it. God does it so that men will enjoy him.
What could I add, but WOW!
Tom Zimmer
Bandido Santos Benefit at Lone Star Bar in Jonestown

Debbie and I went to the benefit for Bandido Santos today. He had an MC accident a while back, and has
had to have some operations on his shoulders. Ask him about that if you want the gory details. Here are
some pictures I took at the event, as usual, click on any picture for a larger version.
Tom
Run For The Son 2010

We went on (and had a wonderful tim at) the Run For The Son run today. We went to Fredricksburg to the
court house for prayer, and later we ate at the Catfish Haven. Here are a few of the best pics. Click on any
image for a larger version.
May 2, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | run for the son fredricksburg texas | Leave a Comment | Edit
UCOA Meeting At VFW Post 8787

I attended my first UCOA meeting at VFW Post 8787, just North of Braker Blvd. on the East frontage road.
It is a big place, easily large enough to hold our group of 150 or so. It was great to get back together with
my friends in all the clubs.
Here is a panorama of the hall, click the pic for a larger version.
I took this of FireBam, he said he didn’t have any pictures for the web site. I really like the color and detail.
What a handsome fellow.
Here is the address of the VFW Post, in case you missed the email;
VFW Post 8787

500 VFW Rd.
Austin, Tx. 78753
April 24, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Slave or Free – UCOA Moment for April 21st, 2010

As a Christian, God is my master, but I am also free, because He tells me that I am free to make choices,
well really one choice anyway. I can choose to let God use my hands and my feet, or I can choose to do
things my own way. If I choose my own path, I am still a Christian, but I am not a very useful one. You
see God uses Christians to “work His Plan”, we are His hands and feet. If I don’t play along, well then
God will use someone else. God is omnipotent naturally, so He will complete His plan, whether I
participate in it or not. I can exercise my free will, to, well, to be miserable really. Yes, its nice at first,
doing all the things I want to do, but soon, I get bored, or I hurt someone, and then I realize what I am
doing, and I ask God for forgiveness so I can get back on track. You see true Joy only comes from living
the life that God has planned for me. Then I see all the wonderful things he is doing, and I get to
experience the Joy of being part of His master plan. So as a Christian, I am free to choose, to choose my
own path or to be a slave. I choose Life, how do you choose.
Tom Zimmer
April 20, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Edit
Only – UCOA Moment for March 17th, 2010

Have you ever felt alone? Perhaps your buds are all away at a rally, and you have to stay home and work.
Of course I am talking about more than just being alone, I am talking about FEELING you are alone,
without any friends. Like no one cares. We all know what a bad place that is to be in, perhaps you feel like
that even now, in this place filled with so many people. As a Christian, I know that I am never alone. God
is always with me. Of course that doesn’t keep me from feeling like I “only” have God as a friend at times,
and perhaps feeling like He isn’t enough. But when I feel that way, I am denying His power to fill my
loneliness with His joy. I am denying that God is sufficient and powerful. Of course I am personally guilty
in this area as anyone else, occasionally of thinking of God in limited human terms, thinking of Him as only
this person I pray to, but who can’t really help me feel better. Sometimes I need to be reminded that God is
more than human, more than just enough, more than a lot, He is everything, and more…, more than
anything and anyone. The Bible describes Him as the Great I AM. The One who was, who is and who
always will be, speaking to me in His still small voice saying “I love you, I know you and I am with you
always”.
Tom
March 17, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Bandido Gimmi Jimmy’s Birthday Party at Sam’s Town Point

We talked to lots of friends at Bandido Gimmi Jimmy’s birthday party at Sam’s Town Point in south Austin
today. The weather was wonderful (mid 60s), which was quite a change from the several inches of show we
got earlier this week. The event was very well attended, with all the local and some not so local clubs and
ride groups coming in to enjoy the free sausage wraps and the fellowship. We certainly filled Sam’s Town
Point to capacity, and It is great to have a local establishment welcome us in, as colorful as we might be.
Here then without delay are a few pictures i took today, starting out with the guest of honor, with some of
his grand-children. Click any picture for a larger version.
Of course no birthday party would be complete without the cake;
And finally, a panorama like I love to take;
February 27, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Shaylah Dame Benefit at the Road House

A benefit was held for the parents of of Shaylah Dame, who was killed out in Round Rock, in front of the
community center.
The event was primarily to provide emotional support for the family. Most of us can’t even imagine what it
is like to lose a son or daughter in such an unfortunate way.
Here are a few shots, click any one for a larger image;
Front of the Road House, and a wild color version as well;

The crowd and the musician, he was excelent by the way, though I don’t know his name;
And of course I wish I could take him home, but I had to give him back to daddy;
CMA Seasons of Refreshing in Tyler Texas

Just got back from Seasons of Refreshing, our annual CMA event for fellowship and training. Had great
music and teaching. We had around 450 in attendance, and trained almost another 100 up to back patch
wearing status.
Here is a panorama I took from the front of the church;
And of course the group shot;
Click either image for a larger version.
If you want a much larger version of an image, just let me know and I will send it along,
Tom
February 7, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | seasons of refreshing cma tyler texas | Leave a Comment | Edit
In Memory of Shayla Dane Rally at Commumity Center

Shayla Dane was struck by a car and killed this last Thursday Jan 28th, while trying to cross Gattis School
Road in Round Rock to get to the Community Center in her neighborhood. This was a sensless death that
could have been prevented if there had been a lighted crosswalk available to her that was less than a 1/4
mile away. Gattis School road had heavy traffic, and there needs to be a crosswalk in this area to prevent
the sensless death of another of our children.
I am posting photos here of the support rally that took place today (Saturday) to ask the city put a lighted
crosswalk in this area. I am also posting a link to a quicktime VR (Virtual Reality) video that allows you to
get a 360 degree view of the area.
The following link will open a Quicktime VR (Virtual Reality) panorama of the rally. You need to have
Quicktime installed, and after you click, just press the mouse on the image, and drag right or left to pan
around to look all around you. You can also press and hold the Shift key to zoom in, and the control key to
zoom out. Enjoy, but be patient it takes a minute to load!
CLICK for a VR Panorama of the Rally
January 30, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
December CMA Chapter Meeting Moment

The holiday season is a very busy time So much so that it is easy to lose site of the real reason for the
season. I have noticed that starting after Thanksgiving, many of my friends seemed more stressed than usual.
So much so in fact that tonight, I wanted to give y’all a reminder that I received recently. The reminder is
this; Why am I here, and who do I belong to? Yes I know that you know the answer to those questions, but
at those moments when I start working myself into a tizzy, I need to remember that I am here for One
person alone, Jesus, and that I belong to Him, and to Him alone. Remembering this little detail helps me so
much, I can’t even tell you what a major difference it makes. We had a special guest speaker last Sunday,
and he shared a story about how he thought he was going to go crazy at his day job because his boss kept
yelling at him. That is until he remembered who he belonged to. After that, he only had one thing to say to
his boss when he started yelling. Jesus. After a moment, his boss would just walk away. You see, it is
impossible to intimidate someone that knows they belong to Jesus.
December 3, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
No Curve – UCOA Moment for Nov 18th, 2009

We all know what it means to be graded on a curve, that is being compared to each other. Well, I am sure
glad that God doesn’t grade on a curve. I mean, He loves me whether I make the grade or not. I can be
obstinate, pig headed, stubborn, rebellious, even defiant, and He still loves me. Yes and you too. Of course
He has standards, standards that I often fail to meet. But His love is so amazing that it covers anything I can
do that doesn’t come up to His standards. Wow, what a God! There is in fact only one thing we need to do
to take advantage of this unbelievably good deal, and that is so simple, that many people can’t believe that
there really is a free lunch. The only thing we need to do, to partake in this great deal, is to say yes when he
comes knocking at our door. Say yes, I would like to have a relationship with the God of the universe, and
yes I haven’t been doing such a good job on my own lately. From that point forward, the responsibility for
doing a good job, and coming up to God’s standards falls squarely on God’s shoulders. You see, he doesn’t
want me to work hard for Him, he just wants me listen to the nudges he gives me and respond when He
suggests a path of action. That is why people talk about that still small voice, God doesn’t need or want to
yell, He likes to whisper, and then enjoy our response. A friend of mine said today, that sometimes he just
has to tell God that he (my friend) needs to go off on his own for a while. God’s response is Ok, I will be
here waiting for you when you get back. No anger, no shouting, just patience and an eternal love we can
hardly understand.
November 19, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
UCOA Meeting, and Turkey Donations

You want your picture up here, who am I to say no. I only wish I had brought the good camera so you
wouldn’t be so grainy. Click any picture for a larger (grainier) version.
UCOA is donating a bunch of turkeys for a Thanksgiving dinner for the Vets, that is what is in all those
plastic bags on the table, dozens of turkeys. Don’t worry if it seems early to collect turkeys for
Thanksgiving, they will be stored in a big freezer. Word has it that the cook has a custom turkey cooker that
will cook 9 birds at a time. Now that’s a cooker!
October 22, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Moments – UCOA Moment for October 20, 2009

We have moments in our lives when we have an opportunity to make a choice, should I go this way, or that
way. I might be just going along, minding our own business, and then, suddenly, a decision is require.
Perhaps someone falls, and needs a helping hand up, or perhaps we see a stranded motorist beside the road,
and we decide whether to stop or to continue on. This series of choices we make, happen more or less
constantly throughout our day. Will I eat lunch at McDonalds or Taco Bell. You could say, at the end of the
day, we are the result of all of the choices we made today.
One choice I observed recently was at the Apache Pass Rally, and it struck me as particularly significant.
Many of us were out by the river watching pastor Rick and Rhino baptize people. When Rick had finished
baptizing all those that planned to participate, he decided to ask if anyone else wanted to be baptized. It was
probably a spur of the moment decision, but that decision prompted a man in the crowd, to consider that he
needed to be baptized, and so he raised his hand and walked out to Rick and got baptized on the spot. It
was just a decision, but it is probably one he will remember for the rest of his life. Our moments are full of
choices, how are your moments going?
Tom Zimmer
October 20, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | ucoa moments cma | Leave a Comment | Edit
Took a few HDR Pics at Cowboy harley Davidson

I really like this High Dynamic Range photography. It is lots of work to create, but the results are really
neat.
Sam’s Town Point Benefit for Denise

The sloppy Joes were great, The band Young Generation was great as usual!
Debbie trying to talk One Wire’s wife into drawing her raffle ticket. Good luck!
Panorama of the back area of Sam’s Town Point.
Companeros Anniversary Party

Attended the Companeros 13th Anniversary Party, had some great BBQ, and the band young Generation
played some fantastic “old” rock. It was wonderful.
<
Apache Pass – Hospitality Tent Crushed
Apache Pass – Getting ready for the baptisms

Everybody came out to witness the baptisms. We had seven people in all baptized Saturday, including one
extra unplanned participant.
Apache Pass – Hospitality Tent

We had a great time at Apache Pass for the Run to the River rally, which was also the COC state rally.
Everything went great, till Saturday night, when it poured, and swamped most everything. We still had
coffee for sSunday services, under the pavilion.
<
COC Meeting for September

We had a great COC meeting in September, with lots of Clubs attending.
Medical Expenses Benefit for Julian

Went down to the Office on East 7th St. in Austin today for a benefit for Julian (the child being held by his
father in the first picture). We had burgers, iced tea, great music and fellowship among all the MCs today.
The event was put on by Latin Steel for one of their own, and we all had a great time for a great cause.
Click on any picture for a larger version.
September 27, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Julian Office UCOA Bikers benefit | Leave a Comment | Edit
Is it worth it? – UCOA Moment for Sept 15th

If someone were to offer to pay you a very large sum of money to perform an extremely dangerous task,
would you do it? In the Bible, there is a verse that talks about a very rich man that sold everything he had to
buy a pearl of great price. He sold everything to obtain something so valuable that to obtain it was worth
any cost. When a man is young and he falls in love with a young woman, he will do almost anything to
convince her to be his. What would you do or pay almost anything for? a family member, a friend? The
Bible also says that someone might possibly die for a good man, but there is One who died for someone not
so good. He died for me, and He died for you. What is that worth? I didn’t ask for Him to die for me, but
He did it anyway. He died, and rose alive from the grave, so that I could live life to the fullest. Are you
living life to the fullest?
Benefit at Hanover’s in Pflugerville for the family of Albert C.

Borrero, killed in a motorcycle accident.
I went to the Riding for a Brother benefit at Hanover’s Draft Haus in Pflugerville today. Albert C. Borrero
was killed in a motorcycle accident recently, and this event was to help his wife Patricia and children Aiden
and Avery. My prayers go out to his family.
The brisket and sausage plates were great, as was the music. It was well attended by the local clubs. I only
stayed for the first band “Luvream”, but they were very good, if also very loud. Pics are below, click on any
one for a larger image, or click the title above for the youTube video (sorry for the bad audio).
Finally, a new type of photograph I have been experimenting with called HDR (High Dynamic Range).
Enjoy!
Tom
Being Used – UCOA Moment for August 19th, 2009

Life can seem kind of hum drum, day in and day out, week in and week out, especially in the summer. I get
into a routine, and just keep going. Sometimes I don’t enjoy it very much, but once in a while, something
happens to brighten my day. You might ask me what that is, and I will tell you that the thing that brightens
my day is when I see God working. What do I mean my that? Well, what I mean is I can be going about my
business, and out of the blue, someone will want to talk and I will be able to see that God is using me to
minister to that person. It may be a heavy duty conversation, or it may be some light joking, but whatever it
is, I get this sense that God has place me in the situation at that time for His specific purpose to minister to
someone. It just makes the whole day go better. I guess what i am saying is that having a relationship with
God really requires some interaction with this being we call God. So, my suggestion to you, is that you take
a moment during your day to ponder how God might be using you. You see, to me being used by God is
one of the greatest blessing I can receive.
Tom
Summer Sizzle 2009

The annual Summer Sizzle was last evening at the Moose Lodge. We all had a great time, music, door
prizes, spaghetti dinner (Debbie and I helped serve), lots of clubs, and lots of fun.
Click on any photo for an enlarged image.

August 2, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Edit
Is Your Faith Stronger? – UCOA Moment for July 2009

Some months ago, I presented a moment called “How Can I?” (believe GOD). This month I want to ask “Is
Your Faith Stronger?”. We all have faith, faith that the sun will come up, faith that our bikes or cars will
start. Sometimes that faith is fulfilled, and sometimes it is disappointed. My car doesn’t always start. But, if
your faith in God is to grow stronger, you have to do just one thing, that is trust Him. Trust Him when times
are good, and trust Him when times aren’t so good. If you are like me, your trust fails occasionally. I turn
away from what I know is right, or I get angry with God because I don’t like the situation I find myself in.
But I always turn back, and I ask Him to forgive me for doubting, and He always accepts me, always with
open arms. He knows me better than I know myself. He knows that growing faith and growing character
take time, lots of time, but He has time. I guess I have as much time as He gives me, and surely that will be
enough. Is your faith stronger today?
Tom
Hard Choices – UCOA Message for June

At the ROT rally last week, I spoke with a young man that had recently returned from a tour in Iraq. I
learned that he was very disturbed by his experience there. He didn’t go into much detail, but he did say he
was having a lot of trouble being around large groups of people, like the ROT rally. He also said he had
been leading a group of men in Iraq, and would be leading again on his next tour. He was very concerned
about being able to make the right decisions, both to accomplish his missions, and also to protect the men
he would be leading. He was clearly aware of the limitations of his human abilities, and the responsibilities
he would have. He said he was a Christian, a Catholic actually, and so I assured him that Christ would
always be with him, even in those moments when he wasn’t sure how to make the right decision, and that
he need only ask for spiritual guidance to be assured of coming to the right answer to any problem. I
suppose it sounds simplistic, to say that God is always there, waiting for us to ask for help, but that is what
the Bible says. Now, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with making our own decision, after all, we
make hundreds of choices everyday, but if you find yourself at the end of your rope, remember, there is
always one more place to turn for help.
Tom
ROT Rally 2009

Here is my web gallery of photos from the ROT Motorcycle Rally.
We had a great time again this year, registering thousands of people, and serving gallons and gallons of
coffee, lemonade and ice water from our hospitality tents in the hot weather. Yes, is was around 100 degrees
everyday, and we had a thunderstorm Thursday evening that crushed the tent. But, with some repair work,
and lots of help it was back up in a couple of hours Friday morning, and we were “back on the road”,
serving more refreshments and peoples needs. It was hot, hot, hot!
Highlights;
The hospitality tent is first assembled.

Preparations for the big storm.
Thunder storm Thursday evening crushed the tent under the weight of the water.
Janice has a neck pinch, and gets an overly exuberant massage assistant.
The hospitality tent gets rejuvenated, with the assistance of a tube straightener .
Janice discovers a much less painful solution to her pinched nerve.
Lots of fun at registration and at hospitality tent.
Click the link to view the pictures;
http://gallery.me.com/win32forth/100032
Here are the videos of the Sunday Service out at the ROT Rally, first the music, and then the sermon.
Songs;
House of Gold, Calling You, I Saw The Light, Me and Jesus We Got Our Own Thing Going, Were you
There
Sermon;
Sermon Part 1, Sermon Part 2, Sermon Part 3
Tom
Cross Country Riders CMA chapter in Taylor Texas

Debbie and I went to an event at Woods Honda/Kawasaki/Suzuki/Yamaha off Breaker Ave. at IH35 in
Austin today, in support of the new CMA chapter in Taylor Texas called Cross Country Riders. The Cross
Country Riders wanted to have an event where people could get to know about them, so they coordinated
with Woods cycles to set up a hospitality table in support of their raising funds for the one and only CMA
fund raiser called Run For The Son. They had a silent auction, various biker (female bikers that is) head
bands, hand drawn post cards and other stuff, that were sold to support the cause, including sodas and
sausage wraps, which were very popular. We went and hung out, and came close to buying a bike a couple
of times, but clearer heads, or maybe pocket books prevailed.
Click on the title above to see a photo gallery of the event.
Tom
April 19, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | cross country riders cma | Leave a Comment | Edit
How Can I? – UCOA Message for April 15th, 2009

How can I say in the midst of my worries, that God will bring me through?
How can I say after being dragged down by a long day at work that God will lift me up?
How can I say when the bills are overflowing, and my account is nearly drained that God will provide?
How can I say when I am sick, or my bones are broken that God will heal me?
How can I say these things? Well I can because He can and will bring me through.., lift me up.., provide for
my needs and heal my broken body.
Matt 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke
is easy and My burden is light.”
I believe, not just in Him, but I believe Him. I believe what He says is true. Do you believe Him?
Tom Zimmer
April 15, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Believe true burden light rest gentle humble | Leave a Comment |
Edit
Gallery of pictures from the Samsung HZ10W Camera

Hello Everyone,
First of all to Debbie, Yes dear, I bought another camera. Anyone need one or two old Casio cameras?
7MP?
I went to Frys Electronics for the first time in a few weeks, big mistake! I found the HZ10W (great name!),
10MP, 10x optical, stabilization, etc, etc.
I actually went in looking for a Cannon, since they have had a great reputation for the last several years, but
somehow I walked out with the Samsung. It wasn’t significantly cheaper ($20), but the HZ10W has a 2.4
mm (like 24 mm in a film camera) ultra wide lens.
Anyway, the last few weeks, I have been feeling kind of down, lots of pressure at work, and Debbie is off
to California visiting the grand kids (it’s ok Debbie, don’t worry about me). Anyway, again, this morning I
was reading my daily devotional, and it said something like “you have spent too much time going after
things, which is draining you spiritually. You need to go spend some time with God, and get re-energized.”
So, I picked up my trusty “thing” (the camera), and went in search of some time with God. I drove around
looking for the infamous Texas Blue Bonnets, but… there aren’t any (not enough rain), at least not yet. So I
kept wandering, and landed in Pflugerville, and parked near a green strip (a place with lots of grass where
people can walk, cycle, jog, etc.). I started wandering on foot (yes Debbie I can walk), and found that this
green strip was right next to the river. It was kind of overgrown, but there were a few places where I could
wind my way over to the edge of the water, and so for two hours I just wandered around, looking for
beautiful things (God made them!) to take pictures of. It was very relaxing and peaceful. I took over 100
pictures, and pared them down to 61, and published them as a gallery on my MobileMe account.
Take a look, I think you will find some you like. Oh, Dad, you aught to like lots of there, I used the Vivid
and Forest setting for lots of them, so they have very saturated color. Forgive me Mark, I have dad’s color
saturation disease :-}
A final note about the camera, it also shoots 720p (1280×720) video at 30 fps with stereo sound, and the
zoom can be used while you are taking video. It shoots MP4 (AVC/AAC) directly, that is compatible with
Quicktime.
I hope everyone is having a great year, and I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Love,
Tom
Click the title above or this link to see the gallery;
http://gallery.me.com/win32forth/100016
April 4, 2009 Posted by tomzimmer | Samsung HZ10W digital camera ultra wide 10x zoom | Leave a
Comment | Edit
Busy, So what! – Newsletter Article for April 2009

I know as you read this, you are a busy, busy person, with many places to go and things to do.
But just for a moment, think about these words, one at a time, and give each of them time to sink in;
Peace…, Joy….., Love… Jesus…., Salvation…., Heaven….

Ok, now that you read them in 1 second, really go back and read them again, but one at a time. Close your
eyes and give each word time to sink in.
What images do these words bring to your mind as you just stop for a moment and experience them?
Now, that you see the truth, that it only takes a moment to refocus on eternal life, doesn’t the present seem
less pressing, less urgent than it did just a few moments ago?
So, as you go about your day, racing from one activity to another, remember to pause; The peace of Christ is
only a moment away!
Tom Zimmer
Anger Does! – UCOA message for March 18th, 2009

I have seen what anger does. I have felt what anger does. Sometimes anger is justified, and sometimes it is
not. What you do with anger, and what I do with anger is at least as important as whether it is justified. I
know I have made some of you here angry in the past, either by my actions or my words. You might not
admit it now, but I know it is true. I also know that you kept your anger under control, either because you
understood that my error was unintentional, or perhaps because you have a soft spot for this foolish old man
I sometimes am. Whatever the reason, I appreciate it. I was never good at fighting, I once picked a fight
with a boxer, that did not end well. So why do I tell you this tale, well, only because I want to remind you
that while it might be true that no one in this world can understand you, or the anger you have bound up
inside you, there is someone who does understand you and every detail of your being. He wants only to be
your friend, to encourage you and to give you His peace. I know many of you know who I am talking about,
but if you want to know more, come talk to me when you are ready.
Tom
The Joy of the Lord is my Strength

I heard someone say once, that if I don’t feel the Lords Joy, then I just don’t want it bad enough. That if I
felt like the world was collapsing in on me, then I am not abiding because I don’t want to. That my pride is
telling me that my situation is all God’s fault, because after all, He made me this way.
I find these interesting thoughts, that if I don’t abide, it is because I am somehow happier being miserable
than being joyous. That I would rather sit in my pity party, than express the Joy that Christ is willing to fill
me with if I will but give up my will to Him. Do I really have a choice, can I really turn off the bad mood,
or climb out of that depression pit when I feel like no one understands me. Well, I am here to tell you that
the answer is a resounding YES! I DO have a choice, and you DO have a choice, if you and I will but listen
to the still small voice of God saying “I love you, you are My special creation, and you are fearfully made
for My very special purpose. Abide in Me and I will abide in you”, and stop listening to the screaming
voice “No one understands me, everyone is an idiot, why do I have to work with these bozos, no one loves
me…”. We have a choice, it is in fact the only “work” that God give us exclusively, the work of making a
choice. He provides the power, we provide the choice. Do I always make the right choice, no, but you and I
can start whenever we want, so lets start today, lets choose to grow just a little bit today. Let us make the
right choice today, just once, and see what God does.
Tom Zimmer
It’s All About……

It’s not about me. It is not about my pain, it is not about my joy, it is not about my job, it is not about my
childhood, it is not about my parents, it is not about my motorcycle, it is not all about what I want, it is not
about my stress, it is not about my boredom, it is not about my anger, it is not about my disappointment, it is
not about my money, it is not about my car, it is not about the price of gas, it is not about being a democrat
or a republican. It is not about being right, it is not about my fear, it is not about being respected, it is not
about depression, it is not about whether God made me the way I am and I can’t change it…… it is not
about me, as if God should do things my way.
You alone are God and I surrender to Your way, It is all about You! Jesus! For Your glory and Your fame!
Is it all about you?
Tom
Blog: http://tomzimmer.blogspot.com
Joy to the World

Joy to the world the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And
Heaven and nature sing; ….
As we enter this joyous season, I think it is useful to consider the words of this famous Christmas carol. We
wait in anticipation for a the coming King, not in dread of the loss of our way of life to an unseen enemy in
a far off country. We wait with Joy for a King that first came in weakness as a baby, a King who will return
in Power and Majesty. The King of kings who will wipe away every tear. We are to prepare our hearts for
His return, and we are to do it in Joy and Love for our fellow man. There is no fear in Love. Against Love
there can be no law. We are to be different, in Love, because He is different, in Love. Though I be a mere
man, incapable of loving anyone, even myself. Yet I will love everyone, not with a love I do not have, but
with the Love that God pours out on, over and through me to the world around me. A love that surpasses all
understanding, a Love that flowing moment by moment from God alone, and Christ alone.
Rejoice, and let “Heaven and nature sing; And Heaven and nature sing; And Heaven, and Heaven and nature
sing.”.
Tom Zimmer
November 26, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit
Blessings – UCOA Message for November 19th, 2008

I have been participating in a lot of bike blessings this month, asking God to bless these in-animate objects
we call motorcycles. I ask God to bless the person riding the motorcycle as well of course, but at least on
the surface, we are asking God to bless an machine. So, why would God bless a piece of hardware, like a
motorcycle? Well, in the Old Testament, in Exodus, God led the Israelites through the desert for 40 years,
and during that time their clothes and shoes didn’t wear out. They didn’t even have to ask God to bless
them, He just did. So, there has been at least one precedence set already, by God himself to bless these
vehicles we calls motorcycles. Speaking of blessings, as we approach Thanksgiving, this is an appropriate
time to remember all the blessing we have received this year. Blessings can be physical, like avoiding an
accident, relational, like the wedding many of us attended here recently, financial, like having a job, or
maybe just being able to put food on the table. And finally, blessings can be spiritual, like developing a
deeper appreciation for who God is and what my part in this life is all about. As we consider our blessings,
I would like each of you to know, that you have been a blessing to me this year, and I appreciate you.
Tom Zimmer
President’s Point – Step Up and Step Out

I have been putting off writing this article for a couple of weeks. I haven’t been feeling too guilty, because I
heard that Janice’s (our editor) computer blew up, and we might not be having a November newsletter.
Anyway, she got a new one, so I am getting off my (you know what) and getting moving.
Yesterday I received the CMA Heart Beat (our association’s monthly magazine), and I read an article by
Holly Ogden in the Fast Lane section. I am really glad I did, because it reminded me that God knows where
I am, what I am going through, and that He desires to equip me to handle anything that is being thrown at
me, and everything that is going to be thrown at me. Now to some of you that might seem obvious, but what
really touched me was the way God did this. I will give you a brief overview. Holly’s husband (John Ogden
Jr.) went on a trip for a month, and Holly was feeling very alone. They had been apart before, but this time
she was having a lot of trouble dealing with the separation. As the days went by, It seemed that she was
being driven to retreat even further into isolation. At this point, God took steps to get her some help. He
encouraged her to go to church Sunday and ask for prayer. I don’t want to give away the entire story, so just
let me say that she not only got the help she needed, but she was empowered and enabled to handle the
future events that God already knew were coming. The important points that are revealed in this article, are
that God required that Holly step out of her comfort zone to get help, and that God used other people to help
her. Stepping out or our comfort zone gives us an important opportunity to grow in our trust in the Lord, so
we can better understand that He is in control and can handle it. Finally, helping other people in need,
strengthens our own relationship with God, and enables us to see how He works, and to experience the joy
of being His tool in helping another person get through a difficult time. So, step out, and step up, the
blessings far exceed the risk.
If you would like to read Holly’s article, I have posted them below, just click on a page.
Tom Zimmer
BELIEF – UCOA Message for October 15th, 2008

I don’t know how many of you read the old testament of the Bible, or know that all of mankind is connected
to the Jewish race in a very unusual way, but God says that He will bless whomever blesses the Jews, and
He will curse whomever curses the Jews. That is a pretty strange thing for Him to say, but He does. The
Jews were clearly very special to God. Does that mean that the Jews always did things that God likes? Well,
no, in fact God himself threatened to destroy them completely because of disobedience to His laws. So, why
are the Jews so special to God? Well, I believe that God chose them to be an example to the rest of us. The
Jews are an example of what to do right, and what not to do wrong. To do right, is to believe God. Not just
to believe IN God, but to believe that what He says is true. To do wrong is to ignore what God says and to
do whatever seems right to me. That is the very definition of Faith, simply to believe God. In the old
testament, the Jews had a contract with God that said; If they would obey God, they would be blessed
physically, and financially, with big families, good crops and winning wars. Our contract with God, if we
chose to accept Jesus as our saviour is a little different. He primarily promises he will take care of our
needs, and that He will be here to help us through the difficult times. Some people say that he also promises
wealth and prosperity, but I for one am having a hard time finding that promise in my bible. So, where are
we, well God is always sufficient, to carry us though every part of this life, whether it is a world wide
financial crisis, or a motorcycle accident that lands me in the hospital with several broken bones, He is
always right here to remind me, that it will be ok. He can heal my bones, and He can heal the world, if we
will only believe him. Lord, help me to believe you, as the father of a sick child in the bible said “Lord,
remove my unbelief”.
The Presidents Points – Plug It In!

I often wonder (too often I might add) why God puts up with us, well, puts up with me really. I know none
of y’all have this problem, and I am the only one that struggles constantly with (as my pastor would put it)
“the old man”. The old man being, that person I was before Christ saved me, and that person that keeps
jumping up and kicking me at every opportunity. I often feel like a punching bag, getting beat up by my
own self. Ok, I know I am speaking in riddles, and some of you don’t know what I am talking about. To be
a bit clearer, “I do the things I don’t want to do, and I don’t do the things I want to do”. That was written by
the apostle Paul in Romans, chapter 7, nearly 2000 years ago. So how is it that Paul and I struggle with the
same thing? Some of you would say it is my sin nature, but since I have had a “spiritual” heart transplant,
that is I accepted Christ, and he has exchanged my old nature (heart of stone) for a new nature (heart of
flesh), then I believe my old sin nature is dead. So why do I still struggle with this old dead thing? Well, I
believe it is this “body of death” (more from Paul), that is my current physical body, that has enjoyed being
kicked for so many years by my my sin nature, that is actually picking up the dead leg of my old sin nature
and hitting me with it. Now that sounds insane, why would I do such a thing? Well, you know the answer is
so simple. I am taking my eyes off of Christ. When I look away from my source of power, my battery runs
down, and pretty quickly. So, before Christ, I was like a laptop that had a built in battery, but that had a
defective program. I could run a long time, but I did all the wrong things. With Christ, my battery has been
removed, my program has been corrected, and I am plugged into Him (the main AC power), the source of
all power. As long as I am plugged in, I run just great (He fixed my program remember). As soon as I
unplug (using my free choice), I run out of power really quickly, and my program goes bonkers and crashes.
So, this is the secret that Paul learned (and I am still learning), so many years ago, and it is so simple. Just
stay plugged in!
Fortunate – UCOA Message for September 16th 2008

I am guessing that if asked you whether you had been through a hurricane lately, you would say no. We
probably all wished we would have gotten at least some rain from hurricane Ike, but we are also glad Ike
didn’t decide to track directly up through Austin. We would like rain, but we don’t want our windows blown
out, our fences knocked down and the power out. Ike is gone now, but what remains is the devastation it
caused and the reminder of how fortunate we are to not be in it’s path. Many weren’t so lucky, including
my nephew. He is still waiting for the power to be restored to his neighborhood, north of Houston. Some
lost everything, houses, cars, photos, and some lost family members. Yes, we are fortunate, and sometimes
we need to be reminded of that. So how does God fit into all this? Well, I think God knew about the
hurricane, and I think He permitted it. So, I suppose we could be angry at God for permitting such
devastation, or we can choose to respond to this event by helping others. Even though, collecting food for
the food bank is a small thing, it expresses our concern for the people that have lost much. I think that is the
lesson God wants us to get, that we should care about those around us that are less fortunate.
Real Biker – UCOA Moment for August 20th 2008

I bought a new ride a few weeks ago. I still love my Road King, but since I live only a mile from work, I
have to ride it about five miles out of the way just to make sure it gets warmed up. So, anyway, I bought this
ride, it is a scooter. Yes, I said scooter. Worse, it is electric, and has peddles. I have ridden it to work several
times, and every one at work loves it, they think I am wonderful because I am doing my part to save gas.
So, I have been thinking. If I don’t ride a real motorcycle, does this mean I am not a real biker any more?
Once you become a biker, can you really stop being one? I guess I am of the thinking that says no, you can’t
stop being a biker, even if you stop riding. I think being a biker is about more than the motorcycle, yes the
motorcycle is important, but it is also about attitudes, individuality, freedom, about respect and brotherhood.
I thank God that he made me a biker, He gave me His freedom, and He gave me a family of brothers and
sisters to share it with. I am Free indeed.
Tom Zimmer
Sometimes I want to Escape! – My Journey to Joy

I was lamenting recently that I am having difficulty getting enthused about getting off my butt and going out
to motorcycle events. Yes, I am still committed (or perhaps someone should have me committed , but
excitement seems to have slipped away when I wasn’t looking. I know at least some of, and perhaps a lot of
my lack of excitement can be attributed to my job, which has been very stressful this past year, and is
showing no signs of getting less stressful. So, to dig a little deeper into this, in Philippians 4:11-13 Paul
says;
“… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
Which makes me wonder “HOW DID HE DO IT!”, how he learned this well kept secret. If I don’t have
joy, it seems I must not have learned something right just yet. Clearly all these years of my asking God to
teach me, hasn’t yet reached the point where He has decided to teach me this particular truth.
Then I read Paul’s comments, in James 1:2-4;
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, because you know that the
testing of your faith produces endurance. But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be
mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
Wow, so If I want to have joy, I have to endure trials and Like It!? Hmm… Ok, maybe I don’t have to like
it, but it does say I “must let endurance have its full effect”, if I am to be “mature and complete, lacking
nothing”. So, I have to be patient (ouch), until the trials are complete, and by implication, I must NOT try to
ESCAPE from the trials. Bummer, it is so much easier to run away than to stand. Well anyway, to end on
positive note, I have noticed, that if I don’t react too quickly when I am depressed, that soon, the depression
does go away and I DO REGAIN JOY!. So in the end, the solution is precisely, specifically and exclusively
about waiting on the Lord, to accomplish his plan in His timing. I know the end will be great, and I am
waiting.. How about you?
Change – UCOA Message for July 16th, 2008

The church I attend has been going though a lot of change lately. The CMA chapter I am president of has
also been going though a lot of change in recent months including several people being ill. UCOA has also
been going through a lot of change, like the moving to our new home in the Moose Lodge. COC and TMRA
II have been joined by Texas Defenders, again lot of change. Good change, but change none the less. Of
course there is one thing, or person really that doesn’t change. God is the same today as He was yesterday
and as he will be tomorrow. He loves us just as much today and he cares about what is happening in our
lives exactly as much as he did yesterday. More even than we can imagine. Of course all the changes in our
lives sometimes make it hard to see and feel His love, but if we will pause for a moment and focus on him,
he will take away the stresses that fill our lives, and replace them with a joy that surpasses all understanding.
And if you think you are not good enough to know Him, just remember that He is perfect so we don’t have
to be. We need only ask to know him, and he will come in.
July 16, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | change ucoa cma tmraII coc god love joy | Leave a Comment | Edit
Videos of the 4TH of July

Chloe and Debbie on the Moon Walk Race
Claire on the Velcro Jumping Wall
Our Fireworks
4TH of July Parade in Wells Branch Texas

We walked to the Wells Branch 4Th of July parade, just down the block. It was very quick this year, we
actually missed the lead police cars because we were a couple of minutes late. Anyway, here are some
pictures and my video of the event. Click any picture for a larger version. Click the title above for the video.
My neighbor Mark in his parade truck, complete with patriotic music!
My granddaughters Chloe and Claire who are visiting from California. Their favorite part was collecting the
candy being thrown from the parade floats.
Jessica Perry is Missing

Click image for a larger version, If you have seen her, please call!
UPDATE: She has been found, alive and well!!
Chloe’s Art and Debbie’s Too

while relaxing, during an event at the Moose Lodge, Chloe (our granddaughter) decided to draw Debbie
(Nana) and I (Ba). Here are the drawings she made. She is 10. Click any picture for a larger version.
Of course I had to take a photo, so you can see how we look in comparison, so here it is;
And finally, Debbie draw a picture of Chloe in return;
Just another relaxing Saturday afternoon.
June 29, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Edit
Prayer – The President’s Points for July

I have been reading of late, a little book my daughter gave me, simply called “Prayer” by O. Hallesby. It
was written in 1931, and she gave me an antique copy printed in 1964. She knows I have an interest in
collecting old books. At the time she said she had been reading a later (non-antique) copy of the book, and
had been finding it very helpful in dealing with some of the stresses in her life. Now there are probably lots
of books that were written in 1931 that are not worth reading today, but somehow a book on prayer seemed
to me that it could be worthwhile, since prayer itself hasn’t changed since God created it several thousand
years ago. Of course you might think you already know all there is to know about prayer, but having read a
fair portion of Hallesby’s book, I can tell you that you probably don’t. Anyway, it is available at
www.christianbook.com, and I think you will find it a blessing. Here then is a quote from my latest reading;
Note: Before this paragraph, he had just finished describing how a large number of lights in your house can
be controlled by a small switch.
“When man fell into sin, his soul was not only cut off from God, but the whole wiring system was
destroyed. To restore it, Jesus had to suffer and die. The wiring is now in order again. We may all re-
establish contact with, and make use of, the powers of the heavenly world. And prayer is the mysterious
little instrumentality whereby the contact is made, enabling the powers of His salvation to reach our souls
and our bodies, and through us, to others, as far as our zeal and perseverance will permit.”
The language may be a little dated, but to be clear, prayer is like the little switch that turns on God’s
enormous power in our lives, and his power flows through us out to everyone and everything around us, like
flood lights on the world. I want to be a floodlight, I think it is time for some prayer!
Tom Zimmer
It’s HOT Out There!

Well, the ROT rally is over, and hopefully everyone made it through with minimal damage to motorcycle
and body. I say that because, given there were many thousands of bikes there, there were lots of
opportunities for accidents,and given the heat, there was lots of opportunity for sun stroke. Fortunately, most
people realized plenty early that they were getting too hot, and found a place to rest in the shade or aid
conditioning. A few people pushed it too far, and got seriously overheated, and I am sure some of them
went to the hospital to recover. Personally, I stayed in the shade most of the time, and drank lots of water. I
like to think of God as the shade, sort of the protection from the extreme heat. Some of us try to stay in His
shade most of the time, some of us stay out in the heat until we get hot and then hunt for cover, and a few
of us stay in the heat until it is almost too late. Christ is always there, waiting in the shade with that cup of
cool water, waiting for each of to realize we need to come in out of the heat.
Thomas Zimmer
June 17, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | UCOA Message ROT Rally HOT Christ Jesus | 2 Comments | Edit
Sunday Music and Sermon from ROT Rally

I went to the ROT Rally this week, for the umpteenth year in a row. It was amazing as usual. We gave away
hundreds of gallons of water, lemonade/Gatorade and coffee, snack crackers and thousands of shop rag
tracts that CMA had specially printed for the ROT Rally. We blessed thousands of people while listening,
talking and praying under our tent, encouraging everyone to stay hydrated and come back anytime for more
life saving water. The temperature ran up to 100 every day.
I have a few pictures to post, but first I am putting up the videos (via YouTube) from the Sunday Service
presented by CMA.
First song: Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising Sun
Second song: Were You There
The sermon was given by: Kerry Gibson

We had a great time, we did 5 bike blessings at out tent, and more at other tents and after the service
Sunday. I spent most of my time keeping the coffee, ice water and lemonade/Gatorade containers full,
which was exhausting, but a joy. Everyone was very appreciative. On Saturday we used over 280 pounds of
ice. Man it was HOT!
Here are a few photos I took, sorry I didn’t take more, I was pretty busy (click any picture for a larger
image):
First the hospitality tent;
Next the Zimmer Hilton that everyone shared (one at a time) during the week;
Special motorcycles;
Special People;
And there there was me. I think I got kind of worn out!
Tom Zimmer
June 15, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | ROT Rally Biker CMA Sunday Sermon Music | Leave a Comment |
Edit
Howard Low Memorial Ride – Fund Raiser

I went to support the fund raiser for the Howard Lowe Memorial Ride that raises money to help provide for
the Veterans at the Kerrville VA Hospital. The event was small this year, but the first group of a dozen or
so riders left Giddy Ups down on Manchaca at 11 AM. Tomorrow is the actual ride out to the VA Hospital,
we will be leaving from the Y at Oak HIll at 10 AM.
Here are a few pictures I took, click on any picture for a larger version;
Tom Zimmer
Howard Lowe Memorial Run this weekend

I hope to see y’all there!
Click on the image for a larger version:

New Blood – Newsletter article for June 2008

I received an injection of new blood today. No, not a literal blood type ‘O’ injection, I mean that I met
someone for lunch today that is interested in finding out about and possibly getting involved with CMA. Of
course my new friend might not have known I was receiving an injection, but it was effective none the less.
I feel more alive, more excited about ministry than I have in a while now. I suspect the funk I have been
experiencing is not exclusive to me. It seems we are all being pulled in many different directions, and
finding it hard to keep up, let alone stay focused on the mission. I don’t blame any of you, I believe the war
for our time and attention is just being fought on a lot of fronts, and we are being pulled apart bit by bit.
Now at this point, I want to make it extremely clear that I do NOT want everyone to buck up and keep
pushing. I think that is what the enemy wants. What I do want, is that we should each spend some time in
our daily prayer time this month, asking God to clear the way, and provide the time and energy we each
need to do whatever ministry God has told you He wants you (and me) to do. Without God’s power, we are
useless. Let me say that again. Without God’s power, we are truly powerless. Just consider for a moment,
your personal power and strength, however much that might be. Now consider the fact that God is, out of
His power, continuously (moment by moment) holding this universe together. What do you and your
strength and power expect to accomplish in ministry (spiritually), without God? The answer is…
NOTHING!
I think we all need an injection, and that is my prayer for each of us. Lord, please fill us with your power,
without You, we are nothing! With You, we can say to that mountain, go fall into the sea and it will
comply! Mountain, get ready….
Tom Zimmer
New Life – UCOA Moment for May 21st, 2008

I have a new grandson. He was born last thursday evening, his name is Corbin, which reminds me of Bruce
Willis’ character Corbin Dallas in the movie The 5th Element. I don’t know if he will grow up to be quite as
adventurous as Bruce was in that movie, but Corbin is definitely a good name for a future biker. Now all I
have to do is convince his mother that it’s safe to ride with me. Maybe in a few years.
The arrival of new life is always exciting, but it is also a little scary, considering the wars and rumors of
wars that plague our planet. Can we protect the littlest members of our society from such things? I don’t
know, but I do know that we have to try our best, and part of that best, is training them up to be men and
women of their word, respecting their elders and respecting each other. The Bible goes even further, telling
us to love each other as we love ourselves. Loving others is not a small thing, and it’s not a suggestion. It
was given as a command. Love God, and Love each other. Where am I going to get the power to do that? I
think you can guess.
Tom
COC State Rally

Well, the COC (Confederation Of Clubs) had their Texas State Rally this past weekend. I think most had a
great time, though it was punctuated with some serious rain and lots of mud. Debbie and I participated
Friday evening in the (first) rain event, but we decided to go home before the second event Saturday night.
You can click on any picture for a larger version, or click the title above for a video:
A GREAT DAY
I had a great day yesterday. It wasn’t so different from most of my days, and in some ways there were
reasons that it shouldn’t have been good at all. I woke up as usual, felt like crap, for reasons we won’t go
into, and then I worked my butt off, pretty much all day. It probably sounds familiar to many of you, though
you may have different details, the results are usually the same. You get home in the evening, and you are
exhausted, and you just want to crash. There were however, two things that were different about my day
yesterday. First, I made (found, discovered, happened to have) time in the morning to spend time in prayer,
and with God’s word. Now I can hear you already saying “Well gosh Tom, don’t you do that everyday?”,
and the answer is mostly yes, but I have been struggling lately to to “find” the time, and have been often
taking it to work, where I try to take some time at the start of the day. Unfortunately it doesn’t really work
very well, work is just too busy. Second, at the end of an exhausting day, I went to an event at Great Hills
Baptist Church to hear Eldon Wright speak about, and to hear directly (through a video) how Evel Knievel
came to Salvation in Jesus Christ. Mr. Wright was a good friend of Evel, and witnessed to him in the
1970ʹ′s, then after 30 years of living separate lives, Evel called him up and wanted to know more about this
Jesus that Eldon had spoken of. Eldon was privileged to lead Evel to Christ last year, shortly before Evel
pass away. Evel’s testimony was broadcast from the Crystal Cathedral, and is now available for viewing on
youtube. It was truly inspirational. If you want to see for yourself, you can just read the next entry below,
and click on the links.
It was a great day, Indeed!
Tom Zimmer
Bike Night at Great Hills Baptist Church

We had a great dinner, and met the man, Eldon Wright, who was blessed to lead Evel Knievel to Christ last
year, shortly before Evel’s death from lung failure. The program started with a BBQ dinner catered by
Southside BBQ of Elgin TX. We then got to see a video about Evel, and a slide show with commentary by
Eldon. We also viewed Evel’s testimony as given at the Crystal Cahedral, to which I can only say wow!
You can see the testimony video by clicking on the title above, or the links below:
Evel’s Testimony short
Evel’s Testimony full
April 25, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | Evel Knievel Jesus Eldon Wright | Leave a Comment | Edit
Too Busy – UCOA message for April 16th, 2008

Is your life as full as mine? Do you have so many things to do, that you can never get to them all? Am I the
only one that feels this way, or are you in the same boat, feeling the same pressures, running in the same
circles? Within the past week, I have spent $500 on service on my motorcycle, $1400 on the brakes of my
car, I am about to spend over $1000 on transmission repair on my wife’s car, and I still have to spend
another $1000 on my car to get it to quit leaking coolant. Why do all of my vehicles need to breakdown at
the same time? Why does God allow all these pressures at the same time? What is He trying to teach me? Is
it that He doesn’t want me to think I have it all under control? Well, then I get the message. Or perhaps He
knows that there are some of you that are feeling the same way, and He wants me to be able to understand
what you are going through. I am sure you know that I don’t think God causes these things to happen, but
He does allow them. I think what God really wants, is simply to remind us that He is always there in the
midst of our difficulty, and that we need only turn to Him in prayer for some much needed peace. He is
always available, we only need to look up!
Tom Zimmer

Doug and Linda Got Married!
Doug and Linda got married at the Jonestown Baptist Sunday. Debbie and I took some pictures, and here
are a couple of good ones. Click on a picture for a larger version.
I came across these while cleaning

I was cleaning off a shelf, and I came across these photo copies of a newspaper article about our CMA Bike
Blessing that took place at Jones Brothers Park in Jonestown TX in May 2004. I thought they were pretty
neat, so I scanned them in for greater exposure.
This last photo is from the same event, taken with my camera. It is probably easier to recognize the people
in this one.
Click any photo for a larger image.
Honor ride for the Veterans Moving Wall in Georgetown Texas

I and about 50 of my biker friends rode up to Georgetown, to the Veterans Moving Wall display and
ceremony at San Gabriel Park. The ceremony was great, and at the end, many veterans rode past the wall to
honor our veterans. You can click on the title to see the video of the event, and here are a few of the photos
I took;
Who is your Backup?

Here I sit, freeer now than I was a couple of days ago. The trauma is over, and almost forgotten. We all
seem to collect stuff, and I collect as much as anyone, probably more. You see, I used to have a computer,
that held all my photos, home movies, emails, etc, etc, etc. All this stuff. Now a lot of this stuff is very
useful (helpful?) to have around, I had pictures and home videos going back to the mid ’90s. Some pretty
valuable stuff to me. Well, as you have probably guessed, a crash caused much of it to go away. Now I can
hear you saying, that it serves me right, if I didn’t have it backed up. Problem is, I did have a backup, a full
current backup that was working perfectly. Then one day, the main, and the backup both crashed at the same
time. I was doing my duty, trusting in my backup, and believing that two separate hard-drives would not
both die at the same time. Well I am here to tell you that it can happen, it happened to me. Of course there is
a longer story behind all this, but my point for today, is “Where are you placing your trust?”. Are you
trusting your backup, and is that backup trustworthy? Mine apparently wasn’t. You can think of a backup
like an old friend who is always there when you need him or her. As a Christian, I have a backup who is
always there when I need Him. He is completely trustworthy, and will never fail me. In fact, as I look back
a the circumstances that surrounded the crash, I think God may have been telling me that it was time to get
rid of some stuff, some stuff that was just hanging around, stuff that I didn’t really need. I do feel a lot
freeer now. Who Is your backup?
Tom Zimmer
P.S. Technical background: I had two 1TB (Terra-Byte) drives in external enclosures, sitting at comfortable
room temperature, that had been running without error for the past 8 months. When I turned them off to do
some maintenance on another part of my system, they wouldn’t come up again. Six hours of recovery effort
later, I did manage to get my email back, a few (very few) of my home videos, about 70 percent of my
music library and a few documents. Lets say I recovered maybe 20 GB from a drive that had about 700GB
on it. The backup never gave another whimper, and the primary became progressively worse, until it was
impossible to get anything else off of it. The good news, is that I had (for other reasons) done a second
backup of my photos, which is now at about 55GB consisting of over 24,000 photographs. I got back what I
“needed”, and I lost what I didn’t really need. Free indeed!
March 20, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
Out of Control – UCOA Message for March 12th 2008

Here I sit, at 2AM, thinking about how out of control my life is. If you are at all like me, there are lots of
things about your life that you would change if you thought you could. You know, like, less stress in the job,
more money in the pocket, or a car that didn’t breakdown every week at just the wrong time, and on and on.
Of course there are good things in my life too, but the irritating bad things seem to keep popping up and
screaming at me. Sometimes I feel like I’m just a small cog in a big machine, going around and around
with an ever louder squeak, getting hotter and hotter. Wishing for something to make things run more
smoothly. Being a Christian of course, I have the guy with the oil can in the sky. I only need to ask for
some help in cooling things down. I just wish He would smooth things out, without me having to ask all the
time. I think my biggest problem, is that I have trouble accepting what He has already told me, that ”All
thing work together for the good, for those who love God”. If that is true, then even the popping up and
screaming things are for my own good. Maybe I don’t have to like it, maybe I just need to keep asking for
help. Maybe He wants me to remember that I am not in control, and that He is, and that all thing are
working together, even when I can’t see it.
Presidents Points – Pam is starting a journey

It is late, and I haven’t had (or made) the opportunity to write an article this month. Fortunately my daughter
Pam has just started blogging, and she posted this wonderful article about a journey she is starting. It is a
scary journey, and we certainly covet your prayers for her during this time, but I think you will enjoy her
writings. The title is a link to her blog, where she will be posting more steps in the journey.
Tom
Where’s the Joy?
I have had these words “trials=joy” on my cell phone screen saver for a couple years now. I claim them
based on James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my bothers, when ever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith developes perseverance. Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature
and complete, not lacking anything.”
I like that each time i check the time (does anyone else use their phone as a watch?), I see these words and
they help to “center” me when life’s little hiccups come along. I would even go so far as to say I look
forward to difficult circumstances (or at least things that take me out of my comfort zone) because i know i
will learn something about myself or life or God. This has been the case for awhile now, until my most
recent hiccup. I’m having a little trouble with the whole joy thing. I guess this blog is about my journey…
because i will find the joy, i promise you!
So, my story is that when i was 21 i was diagnosed with MS. It stopped my life in it’s tracks…but only long
enough for some really cool things to happen. JOY ALERT!
1. I surrendered my life to God. Yes, i had known Christ as my savior since i was a kid but was still holding
the reins so to speak. When i was flat on my back for more than 2 weeks with vertigo, double vision, pins
and needles in my face and some pretty bad headaches…i was brought to my knees, literally. Was I going
to die? If not, what kind of life could i have? Would i ever get married and have kids (which were the
ultimate and only real goals i had up until this point)? But there was joy to be found, when from my knees
that i reached out and grabbed for my fathers garment…and He comforted me, and then…He healed me.
Ok, so the doctors said i had relapsing/remitting MS and that i could very well go another 20 years until
having symptoms again…but as far as i was concerned, I was healed…at least until God decides otherwise.
But the point is, that from that moment forward, my life was no longer my own…God had a plan for me
and i was on board!
2. The diagnosis brought my wonderful, sensitive, hilarious, all around amazing, albeit “anti-commitment’
guy to the place where he felt God telling him it was time to step up. Eric says he literally felt like God told
him to take care of me…WOW! So, he got off the fence, we got engaged, got married, had 2 beautiful girls
and are living happily ever after…seriously, we have an amazing marriage that could only be a gift from
God himself!
3. I have had the privilege of viewing every healthy day of my life as a gift. No, that doesn’t mean i don’t
get grumpy and irritated and self-absorbed and stressed out…but i try to keep an underlying attitude of
gratitude. In the grand scheme of things…isn’t gratitude really the overflow of joy?
There have been MANY more joy sightings on the way to today and i ‘m sure i’ll be revisiting them on this
new leg of the journey…which brings me to today:
I am currently seeking the joy again because the MS may be back. I am 36 after all…the clock is ticking on
that 20 years the doctors mentioned. In the midst of the the Dr. appointments, MRI’s and tests is the
WAITING! Waiting to see if my symptoms really are the MS returning. It’s HARD! But, really the hardest
part right now, is that I guess i thought that i was prepared for this. Like when it returned i would be ready.
After all, God had brought me through this trial once, I should feel confident He would do it again. BUT, i
am finding i am less than confident…actually downright fearful. So, at this point in time i am attempting to
claim a new verse, Romans 8:14-15
“…because those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that
makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father.”
AMEN!
— If you would like to read more from Pam, goto:

http://trialsequaljoy.blogspot.com/
My Problem – President’s Points for February 2008

I have a problem. My problem is me. Ok, well I guess I need to back up. Yesterday we had a great sermon
at church that started me thinking. The basic question asked, was “Did I accept Christ, or did God draw
me?”. This is one of those questions that makes my head hurt, because it makes me consider God’s
sovereignty, did I choose Him, or did He choose me. The simple answer is, both, but if you think about this
for a while, you will realize there is a problem with that. you see, I can change my mind, and un-choose
God if I want to, but God is sovereign, and He doesn’t change His mind. So, I think you might be starting to
see the problem. You see, God chose me, I am saved, and I am going to heaven one day, whether I want to
or not, although I can’t imagine not wanting to. I on the other hand chose to accept God’s grace, and yet, I
am able to at any moment in time, to choose to do what I want instead of what God wants me to do. Do you
see the problem? I keep choosing to do what I want to do, when I know it isn’t what God wants. We call
this rebellion. And yet, God accepts me, even in the midst of my rebellion. He isn’t going to change His
mind, I have to change my mind, to conform to His. And yet, I keep resisting Him, even while I know that
He cannot be resisted. It is the old Irresistible force meets the immovable object problem, except I know I
am not immovable, just stubborn. Anyway, I think you can see the problem now, I get to choose to be my
own biggest problem, or to be part of God’s wonderful solution. Lord give me the power to be part of your
solution, by releasing my will to You!
Tom
January 21, 2008 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
Triggers – A Moment with the President, January 2008

Triggers, we all have them. Like the trigger of a gun, (where the small action of one finger causes a large
reaction, to occur) we all have reactive defense mechanisms that are activated by a certain word, action or
tone of voice. Our reaction may be to get louder and more aggressive, or it may be to get very quiet and run
away. Either way, we are headed down a path that will result in bad things happening if they go too far.
Fortunately, we also have limiters, that kick in to help keep us from going too far down a destructive path.
A limiter can be internal, where we tell ourselves to calm down, or it can be external, where a trusted friend
whose voice we can still hear, even in the middle of a reactive situation, leads us away from disaster. Either
way, limiters are important, they help keep us from doing things that (in a clearer moment), we know we
don’t want to do. Of course we do have to listen to them, if they are to be effective. The third kind of
limiter, is God. When you have a relationship with God, He speaks to you, and you hear His voice. In my
case, it is not an audible voice, but a voice inside me that speaks with a clear head, helping me to see how
to recover from a reactive situation. A voice that I can listen to, or choose to ignore. A voice that speaks the
truth. I know it is the truth, because He speaks words that are consistent with His Word the Bible. Finally,
there is a fourth limiter, well, an anti-limiter really. When I listen to that voice, it tells me to keep going the
way I already am, becoming more and more reactive, which can ultimately lead to destruction. That is the
voice I don’t want to listen to, a voice I can silence only by diverting my attention to God’s calm and clear
voice of truth. You see, limiters work by changing my focus, from all about me, to all about Christ, and the
amazing gift he has given us.
Tom Zimmer
POWER – UCOA message for December 12th, 2007

We bikers like to talk about POWER, powerful engines, powering through the curves, powering away from
the cars. We like to increase the power of our bikes by installing custom exhaust pipes, and adjusting the
carbs or fuel injections computers. Power makes us feel great, when we are in control. There is another kind
of power, where we are not in control, like the power of a roller coaster. Big motors crank the train up the
hill, and release it in a controlled fall back to the origin. All we can do on a roller coaster is hang on, and
pray the workmen who maintain it have been doing a good job. God’s power on earth, called the Holy
Spirit, is a lot like a roller coaster. He kicks in to pull us up the hills, as we wait patiently. He lets us coast
down, seemingly out of control, but yet always still in control. The ride has lots of ups and down, but the
Holy Spirit is always there to make sure we don’t stray too far off the track. I may not always be in control,
but I am glad the one who designed this roller coster we call LIFE, knows what He is doing.
Thomas Zimmer
December 12, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | UCOA power life holy spirit | 1 Comment | Edit
Ken on Hammered Dulcimer (click for video)

Our CMA Christmas party this year was lots of fun, and was significantly enhanced by one of our members,
Ken, who brought and played his Hammered Dulcimer. It is a very interesting instrument, that sound a bit
like a harpsichord. You can click the title, to link to a video with some very nice music. Enjoy!
And of course, no party is complete without food:

And we don’t want to forget shenanigans and party hats:
And of course gifts a nice too. Can you say Chicken?:
luminaries in Wells Branch (click for video)

Debbie and I made our annual Christmas time trek, two blocks away to the local community center, just
after dark, to see the Luminaries setup for the communities viewing enjoyment. The display is very simple,
consisting of hundreds of lunch sized paper bags lining the sidewalks. A bit of sand is placed in the bottom
of each bag to keep them from blowing away, and then a candle is lighted just at sunset. After dark, the
display is very beautiful for a couple of hours, until the candles burn finally burn out. You can click the title
above to link to the video. Then it was off to see some of the local Christmas light displays, some are shown
here:
COC Chili Cook Off
The Austin COC (Confederation of Clubs), had their first annual Chili Cook Off Saturday, and it was a great
success. As you can see it was well attended by the local MCs and Riding groups. At least 10 different
styles of chili were prepared on site and presented for sampling. I personally tried about 6 different kind,
and I was amazed at how different they were from each other and yet they were all very good. I didn’t stay
until the end for the judging, but I am sure many were qualified to be the best.
COC is an organization that works through the political process to preserve the rights and freedom of
motorcyclists everywhere.
Always remember, This is our country, and the freedom we have, is only sustained through the exercise of
our vote in the election process. Voting is a privilege and a responsibility. If you don’t vote, then you have
no right to complain when you freedom is taken away, and it will be if you don’t vote. To put it another
way, imagine someone you know that doesn’t happen to believe government should be run the way you do.
If you don’t vote, they will get their way. Do you want that?
Tom Zimmer
November 18, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | COC Chili Cook Off UCOA TMRA II | Leave a Comment |
Edit
Thanksgiving thoughts
Thanksgiving is next week, and I am thankful for lots of thing… or, well, perhaps I should say, I am
thankful for lots of people. I am thankful for Jimmi, I’m thankful for Sputnik. Closer to home, I am thankful
for my wife Debbie, and for my children, Pam and Chip, and I am thankful for my grandchildren, Chloe,
Claire and Ezra. I am thankful for the privilege of being able to ride a motorcycle.
What are you thankful for?
Tom Zimmer
Respecting the Un-Respectable – for UCOA Oct 17th 2007

Here lately, God has been teaching me a lesson that I am having a hard time learning. Have you ever been
in a situation where you felt you were not appreciated, and not being allowed to use your full set of skills to
complete the work you are given to do? In other words, have you been told to do what you are told and
don’t worry about everything else? You try to be helpful, and all you get is a slap in the face, either
because the other person doesn’t want to hear what you have to say, or they don’t value your opinion. I was
sharing some of my frustration with my wife, and I asked her if she had ever felt that way. I expected her to
say “no never”, but of course that wasn’t what she said. That caused me to think of the times I wished she
had kept her opinions to herself, and why I wished she had. Mostly those time revolved around
insignificant things like which is a better route to take to some destination we are going to in the car. I am
driving and I decide to go a certain way. She says something like “why don’t you go this other way?”. I
retort with “would you like to drive?”. Of course it usually isn’t that simple, we banter back and forth, and
then end up there. But, you get the idea. She wants to be helpful, but I don’t want her help, I would rather
she just let me make the decision. I don’t feel respected when I am questioned about decisions I have made,
especially those that are insignificant, like which route we should take somewhere. So, basically, the lesson
in all of this, is that there is a time and place for questioning, but it isn’t always the time when it comes to
you mind, and some things are better not questioned, because they are not significant enough to bother
with. If I don’t see someone in another car that is about to hit us, and she screams “Look out!”, so we don’t
get into an accident, that is a perfectly valid time to question my actions, but other far less urgent questions
are sometime better left unspoken. Now all “I” have to do is learn when is the right time to speak up at
work, and when is the time to keep quiet. I told you I was having a hard time learning this lesson.
Peace Like A River – UCOA message for September 18th

“Peace like a river fills my soul, when chaos like ocean waves are breaking all around me,”
This is a modern translation of the first line of a very old hymn. It talks about the fact that God is always
around us to provide the comfort and peace we so dearly need, in the middle of the turmoil that often fills
our lives. God is there for us, available at our moment of need, even if we have been actively pushing Him
away for many years prior to the moment we call out for His help. God is very patient, and He loves us with
a love that surpasses all understanding. He waits for us to reach the point of finally understanding that we
need Him, that we can’t doit on our own, and then, at our greatest time of need, He comes in to provide
what we have always needed. Love, Peace, Joy, Patience and strength to do more than endure, to overcome
all obstacles. Phil 4:13 says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Tom Zimmer
BACA Bikini Bike Wash

Baca had their fund raiser to help battered childeren out at Detours in Lakeway last Satruday. As you can
see, it was a bikini bike wash, and attendance was pretty good. The washers are washing my ’99 Road King,
and it hasn’t looked this good for quite a while (the bike…, being clean I mean).
These are some of my friends, part of the Austin biker community from several of the area bike clubs. We
are all members of UCOA (United Clubs Of Austin), a part of UMCT (United Motorcycle Clubs of Texas).
You can go to UMCT.NET if you want to know more about UCOA or UMCT.
Latin Steel Taco Plate Fund Raiser

Latin Steel MC had a small, but hopefully profitable event for a relative of the club that was in need to help
pay medical bills. The food was great, and we had great community support, with cars and vans coming
through the drive through constantly for taco plates. Click pic for a larger view.
Sometimes Ministry Stinks by Debbie

Tom and I were on our way home from The Brotherhood of Bikers 9th Annual Blowout at Tators Park in
July. It was about noon on Sunday and we were discussing whether we should stop at church. We might be
in time to go to lunch with them. “I don’t know”, I said, “we’re kinda stinky.” To which Tom replied. “I
don’t know. They know where we’ve been, and we smell like ministry.” Don’t remember the exact words,
except for the “smelly” part, but it’s close. Now, that comment caused me to reflect on the weekend. And
also caused a piece of Scripture to pop into my head. There were several opportunities for my brain to deal
with the word “odor”. Think about two days in the heat and humidity. Not to mention two unwashed bodies
and their dirty clothes in an enclosed space.(the tent). It was also the celebration of Independence Day and
Tators always put on an excellent fireworks show. After testing a few rounds, the band (although they were
too young to remember that era) quoted a well known movie. “Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the
morning.” The band had played another song called “What’s That Smell?” One line was ” there’s smell of
death all around.” Now that was one I didn’t particularly want to remember, but God had other ideas. We
had a Sunday morning worship service. Some attended. Many did not. Some just packed up and went on
home. Others expressed appreciation for us being there. So we were there that weekend, along with some
others from our chapter, a small group of Christians, being a witness in words and actions to a small area of
the world called Tator Park during a motorcycle rally. In case you’re still wondering where I’m going with
all of this, God used two unlikely words to focus my brain (and heart) on why we do this in the first place.
“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To
the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” 2
Cor. 2:15,16 Not me, I’m sure but with Christ, all things are possible. Hmmm, isn’t that in the Bible
somewhere? ‘-} So go out there and BE SMELLY!
Debbie Zimmer
Warfare – UCOA message for July 18th

I have been under attack lately, not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. You might wonder what I
man by that, and I simply mean that in my world view, there is a spiritual plane in addition to this physical
plane, and that while we can’t see the spiritual plane with our eyes, if exists none the less. Many people
believe that angels exist, and watch over them. I personally believe that the spiritual plane contains both
good and evil beings. In other words a war is raging all the time, even though we mostly don’t see it. Now, I
am not here to try to get you to believe like me, I only want you to understand that from my viewpoint I
believe that I am under attack from the evil beings in the spiritual plane. So, when I feel these attacks, what
I do, is look to the One who perfectly describes good, that is Jesus. He has been given power to overcome
evil. You could say that is His job, and he does it very well. When I trust in Jesus I am filled with his
overwhelming peace, peace in the middle of my difficult circumstances.
Tom Zimmer
Fireworks for 4th of July at Twisted Tators

Debbie and I just got back from the 4th of July rally at Twisted Tators near Coperas Cove Texas. put on by
the Brotherhood of Bikers. There was a huge threat of rain, so the rally was very lightly attended, but it
turned out that we only got a sprinkle Friday night, and the rest of the weekend weather was wonderful. We
also brought up our CMA hospitality tent, and provided coffee, ice water and lemonaid for attendees. We
had a great time. You can watch an edited video of the fireworks by clicking on the title of this posting, and
photos will follow; Sorry for the low quality of the video and audio, we were experimenting with a new low
cost camera, and it seems to take great pictures, but mediocre video. Oh, well;
July 3, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | fireworks 4th july rally biker brotherhood of bikers | Leave a Comment
| Edit
Its Hot – UCOA Message for june 20th

You will probably find this message a bit unusual, but I hope you will agree that it is very important.
As we enter summer, with temperatures already in the mid 90s, I have a check list for us;
1. Remember that your body are over 50% water. In effect, you run on water.
2. Plan on drinking lots of water, don’t rely on your feeling thirsty.
3. When you are having a few beers, mix in a bottle of water occasionally, alcohol is a dehydrator.
4. Wear a hat whenever possible, even a ball cap provides substantial insulation from the sun’s heat.
5. Wear sun screen, I know you are tough, but extended exposure to the sun does cause skin cancer.
6. Repeat, drink lots of water.
I don’t want any of you ending up in the hospital with sun stroke. A few of you have had it, and it isn’t any
fun.
And finally, so that I don’t leave God out of this, pray with me for some overcast days with moderate
temperatures. It is going to be a great summer, let’s all stay healthy and enjoy it.
Tom Zimmer
June 19, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | heat summer hot water dehydration sun stroke | Leave a Comment |
Edit
Pictures from ROT Rally in Austin Texas

We just got back from the ROT rally, lots of fun, and lots of work. Here are a few pictures;
Brenda’s Song and Curtis’ Sermon from ROT Rally in

Austin Texas
Click the title above to see the video on YouTube.
June 3, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | Brenda Curtis Sermon ROT Austin Texas | Leave a Comment | Edit
Suffering – UCOA Message for May 16th

Why do people have to suffer? Not just people in general, but our friends and loved ones. Why do they
have to suffer? Is it because they were bad? Some people think that the way to avoid suffering is to be
good. But if that were so, then why do good people suffer, and you can believe me, they do. Now, I am not
saying that everyone suffers all the time, just that pain is part of life. If you are one of those, that like me
believe there is a God, then you have probably wondered why God lets people suffer. There is an answer to
that question, more than one actually, but not answers that we like. One of the answers for me, is that God
lets me suffer because it drives me to clearly understand my limitations. As a Christian, suffering drives me
to ask for God’s help. The theory goes, that if God made me perfect, then I wouldn’t need him any longer.
So God doesn’t make me perfect, he leaves me with some “issues” to remind me that I am not God. It’s not
a bad plan actually. It seems to work pretty well. I don’t enjoy the pain of course, but it certainly helps me
remember who the “boss” is, and it isn’t me. Now I need to point out that I am not saying that God causes
suffering, this is a fallen world we live in, and suffering is part of it. What I am saying is that God allows
our suffering. He allows pain for lots of different reasons, and sometimes those reasons are hard to
understand, but as long as we live on this planet, there will be pain and suffering and I know where I am
going, to get help when I can’t take it anymore.
May 16, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | pain suffering god why | Leave a Comment | Edit
Latin Steel Fallen Brother Benefit for Sam Rodriquez

at Capuchinos
Latin Steel had a benefit today for Sam Rodriquez, it was sort of a luncheon. The food was great, as was the
fellowship. We had good attendance from the clubs, and good support from the community as well. Lots of
cars came to buy lunches to go. Oh, yes, and we had great weather for a change. Not a drop of rain in site.
Here are a few pics I took of the event, click any one for a larger image.
March 31, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | Latin Steel Fallen Brother Benefit Sam Rodriquez Capuch | Leave a
Comment | Edit
The COC meeting and Picture Presentation

the COC (Confederation of Clubs) was Sunday afternoon, and the COC presented 30ʺ″x10ʺ″ prints of the
group that was in attendance on Legislative Day at the Capital to Sputnik and Gimmy Jimmy.
Here is a small version of the print, click the image for a larger, but still relatively small version of the
group picture.
That’s me in the red shirt, with the bald head making the presentation.
Then on the way home from the meeting, we a bit of a problem with Debbie’s left saddle bag. The brackets
broke, and it hung from the bike by a rear stabalizer, until we got off the highway. Not a pretty site, but, it
ws another adventure!
March 29, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | saddle bag ucoa coc tmra II sputnik | 1 Comment | Edit
Pictures From Debbie Most Recent California Trip

Aren’t these the cutest grandchildren you have ever seen? Oh, yes, and the bigger of the two multi-colored
children is of course my lovely wife Debbie. Click an image to see a larger version.
Truth Be Told
My wife Debbie and I just celebrated out 37th anniversary last week. 37 years is a long time. Not all of
those years were easy, some were pretty painful, but they were all worth it for the companionship we have
shared all these years. I try to be a good husband, so I tell Debbie I love her, and that she is special to me,
and I even tell her she is a wonderful gift from God. She always seems to be a little suspicious when I say
these things, like “what do you want now?” I can’t imagine where she would get the idea that I want
something. Anyway I heard recently that true compliments are not generalizations like the ones I just
mentioned. If we are going to compliment someone, we should be specific. All I can say to that, is it seems
like it will be a lot harder, I have to actually think about why I love my wife. But, even though it is harder, I
think it is still worth while, so I am going to try to be more specific in the future. That then is my
recommendation to you. When you compliment someone, a brother, or a loved one, try to be specific, it will
mean a lot more and they might not ask “what do you want now?”.
Alan babin Presentation at the Roadhouse

Today we attended the presentation to Alan Babin of a check for $1705 to send him to an Paralysed
Veterans Winter Olympics in April. Alan was a member of the 325th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, as a
medic, and was seriously injured while attempting to assist another wonded soldier. Alan was later awarded
the Bronze Star with the Purple Heart This month marks his 4th year of recovery, and he has made
wonderful progress.
Here is a video I took at the event: at the Roadhouse,
Click on any picture for a larger version;

March 19, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | Alan Babin UCOA Austin Texas Veteran | Leave a Comment | Edit
The Hardest Thing To Do

You are riding down the road on your motor, enjoying the wind, minding your own business, and out of the
blue, somebody changes lanes right in front of you, without signaling.
You see him in time to get out of the way, but the hardest thing to do in the whole wide world, is to keep
your cool and resist kicking in the side of his car. The reason this is the hardest thing to do, is because you
have this voice in your head screaming obscenities at the guy, which are then coming right out of your
mouth word for word.
You know he is bigger than you, or at least his car is, but you still have this voice screaming in your head,
and it is telling you to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.
We have all heard that voice, it is a voice that comes out when we get angry. It is a voice we know we need
to control, and sometimes we do, and sometimes we just get after it.
We have all heard that voice. A voice we would rather not hear. God would like to help us with that voice.
God can help with that voice by calming our anger and frustration. All we need to do is ask. All we have to
say is “God help me!”, and he will. In that moment He will respond, he will take away the pain, and he will
silence the voice.
February 21, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | UCOA motorcycle biker harley anger | Leave a Comment | Edit
Memorial for Queenie in Lampasas

We went to the memorial service for Queenie today up in Lampasas. She was a friend, and a very active
member of the Brotherhood of Bikers. She will be greatly missed. She leaves behind her husband Shorty,
four adult children and many, many friends. It was a wonderful service, and I praise the lord that she is now
riding the clouds with Jesus.
And finally, a picture of Randy our New Life Riders CMA chapter president, pointing out the disk lock that
he put on his bike. Unfortunately he left the key at home. Definite binky material. I don’t think he will do
that again.
February 4, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | memorial cma bob brotherhood of bikers binky randy | Leave a
Comment | Edit
Janice get glasses and jokes with Debbie

Janice bought herself some glasses, cause everything up close was getting blurry. Isn’t it amazing how
things change when you turn *&^*&^*&
February 4, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | CMA glasses janice debbie | Leave a Comment | Edit
Courtney’s Soccer Game in Austin

Debbie and I got a call from Kim, to let us know that she and Courtney were in Austin for a soccer game.
Debbe and I went down to Slaughter Park to watch, and had a great time. Of course it heped that
Courtney’s team won. Here are some pics we took; Click on any picture for a larget version.
You can click on the title of this post to play the video we took.
Go Courtney and the Longhorns!
January 27, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | soccer austin kim courtney longhorns | Leave a Comment | Edit
Legislative Day in Austin Texas
Debbie and I went with TMRA II and COC to the capital building in Austin Texas to participate in
Legislative Day, the day when you are supposed to be able to get in to see your legislators in their offices.
We did talk to our ligislators assistants, which was ok, and then we stayed and went to the presentation in
the legislative session that started at 2 PM. A declaration was made about bikers and motorcyclists in Texas,
which passed. Click the title of this post to see the video of the declaration.
January 23, 2007 Posted by tomzimmer | Legislative Day Austin Texas TMRAII COC biker | Leave a
Comment | Edit
Ice and Snow in Austin Texas

Over the last two days, we have had below freezing temperatures here in Austin, and pretty much
continuous rain, which accumulated into about 5/8 inch of ice on most surfaces. We stayed home Tuesday,
but decided to venture out today, so we needed to clear the ice off the Burp (my ’94 Suburban). The video is
available by clicking the title of this post.
Have An ADVENTurous Christmas
While Debbie and I are on vacation in California for the Christmas holidays, we attended our old church,
Christ Community Church of Milpitas (CCCM). One of our granddaughters is in a musical this coming
weekend, so we had a preview of that performance in the Sunday service. Click the title above to see the
video,
Tom
The Christmas Story – a verse and a poem

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
ISAIAH 9:6
And all who gathered round Him,

Rejoiced and praised His birth.
For the babe, the King, named Jesus,
Is our Saviour here on earth!
So as we celebrate Christmas
With Candy and presents and more
Remember we have a Savior,
Giving us life evermore.
The poem above is an excerpt borrowed from: The Christmas Story
You can click the title above to go to the WWW.DLTK-BIBLE.COM web site.
Ladies of Faith performance for Messiah’s Birthday

A video of the Ladies of Faith performance as part of Messiah’s Birthday Celibration is online, you can
watch it by clicking on the title above.
Performance at Faith Church in Round Rock Texas, enjoy!
Tom
Here is the video of the Book Club performance at Messiah’s

Birthday, followed by the Kings of Faith
The video of the Book Club’s performance as part of Messiah’s Birthday Celebration, followed by the Kings
of Faith is online, you can watch it by clicking on the title above. Enjoy!
Tom
President’s Points – Reflection

As I sit here writing my last President’s Points article in mid November, We have elected a new slate of
officers. New blood to liven things up a bit. Somehow I managed to not get elected to an office, and I am
glad, because I think I need some rest, at least for a little while. I wouldn’t want too much rest of course,
that leads to other problems, and we don’t want that. So, with this silly introduction, here is my article titled
Reflection:
As we approach Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on the the events
that have come into our lives this past year. There are loved ones that were lost to us, either by passing
away, or by moving away. There are new births to enjoy, I have a new grandson, and I know there are
others here enjoying that as well. There were new friends to meet, and old friends to party with. There were
fewer injuries this year than last, thank God, but another year lays ahead. There were some successes on the
political front, and some disasters. The war just seems to keep going, without any real sign of change. It is a
dangerous world we live in, but it is the only one we have, and I for one am glad to be in it. Reflection
helps to put things into perspective. If I don’t like my job, I still have to acknowledge that it is better than no
job. If I have a lot of arguments in my family, at least I have a family to argue with. If I have a friend that is
always calling me to rescue him, at least I have a friend. Friends aren’t just nice to have, they are a part of
life that makes living worth while.
Janice and I rescued Errol when his bike broke down

Click the title above above to see the video.
Chapter Ride to the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History

in Rosanky Texas
This was a wonderful ride in perfect weather to a great destination. As you can see I have a propensity for
motors, and this museum has lots of clean, detailed motors. They have some great V12s, lots of V8s, and as
you can see from the Stanley Steamer, a great Can. Enjoy!
Chapter Ride to the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History

in Rosanky Texas
This was a wonderful ride in perfect weather to a great destination. As you can see I have a propensity for
motors, and this museum has lots of clean, detailed motors. They have some great V12s, lots of V8s, and as
you can see from the Stanley Steamer, a great Can. Enjoy!
Presidents Points – Bring It On!

Are you ready? Are there things that remain to be done? Well, the obvious answer is that there are always
things that remain to be done, new projects follow old, new challenges come up as current projects come to
completion. But, I’m not talking about that kind of ready, or done. I am talking about the kind of ready that
relates to this world we live in. Earth has always been a dangerous place to live, you can get killed just
trying to cross the street. But today, there is a rising threat that is endangering not only our freedom, but our
very lives. It is not only a threat in other countries, but a threat here at home as well. I am talking about
religious extremism. But I’m not talking about the Bible thumping preacher that pounds on his pulpit and
tells us that we’re going to hell if we don’t straighten up and fly right. I am talking about the kind of
religious extremism we see all around us in the news. I am talking about the kind of religion that teaches
that if you don’t accept their version of the truth, then they will gladly send you to hell today. There is no
personal choice involved, there is only one decision to be made, accept or die… I for one, will be sticking
with the religion I have, a religion that teaches me to love my fellow man, not kill him. Christians may be
narrow minded, and they may, at times, tell you you shouldn’t do this, or you shouldn’t say that, but by
comparison, Christians don’t even know what narrow minded is. At least in Christianity, you get to have a
choice. I have made my choice, and I am ready, Bring it On!
Bringing Home Miracle

Well, it finally came to pass. The Shop where Debbie was building her bike seems to actually be closing, so
we had to go get it today and bring it home to our garage. So close, and yet dso far. Almost done, but not
quite. We aren’t giving up though, we will continue to complete the final details as we can, and as we can
get help when needed.
Note; these pictures are in more or less reverse order, with the shop at the bottom, and home at the top.
Pictures from the JCs Bike Show

I finally got a round tuit, so I could post some of the pictures I took at the JCs Bike Show in J Lorraine
ghost town in Manor Texas last week.
janice had a bit of an accident, trying to drive the rail (6 inch wide board, 20 feet long). She will be find
though, and there was only minor damage to her shiny Sporty.
Also, here is a link to a series of pictures on ShutterFly taken by Paul Schniebs,
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GcOXLRo5ZOE
Video of Janice’s Crash

Video of Randy’s Sermon at JCs Bike Show at J Lorraine

Randy’s sermon at the JCs Bike Show at J Lorraine in Manor Texas
Video of Don’s Music from the JCs Bike Show

Here is don’s singin’ for the Sunday service at J Lorraine in Manor Texa
Video of Drawing the Harley Winner

Drawing for a Harley at the Taylor JCs Bike Show at J Lorraine ghost town in Manor Texas.
This is the first post of several;
Coming Back from Wits End

Hell week lasted, well, about a week, maybe a bit longer. It is amazing to see what stress does to a person,
especially when that person is you (me in this case). It affected all aspects of my life, from my evenings and
an inability to really relax after work, to my relationship to my wife and our having more arguments, to
pretty much everything. Interestingly, one of my defense mechanisms, which is to take a nap when I get
emotionally exhausted, didn’t work very well at all. My brain was so busy, going in tight little circles, it was
hard to go to sleep. I am thinking this kind of stress is a really bad thing, and needs to be limited to very
short periods of time. I really think that if it had gone on much longer, I would have started looking for
another job, which at my age is not something to be done lightly.
Anyway, I thought I would update all of you that read this, so you won’t continue to think I am about to
explode. I am not sure everything is back to normal, but it is much better than it was.
President’s Points – At Wits End

Life has been pretty good for me. I have always been able to do my job, without too much trouble. Sure
there are problems, but solving problems is what I do. I’m a software engineer, Yes, I know it’s a wimpy
job, but it is what I do. Anyway, solving a problem just requires thinking about it for a while, and devising
a plan. I used to solve problems while I sleep. I would wake up in the morning and tell Debbie “I figured it
out!”. This last couple of days though, have been hell for me. I have a new boss, and he is young, smart,
and well trained in all the latest fancy software stuff. As it turns out I am old, sluggish, and trained in all the
old ways of writing software. My new boss is asking, well demanding and expecting really, that I do things
the new ways. Problem is, I don’t know how to do what he is expecting me to do. It got so bad Monday,
that I broke down in my office twice, while I was trying to figure out how to make progress on a seemingly
simple task. I was utterly failing because everything in my head told me that no matter what I did, it
wouldn’t be acceptable to my boss. I was in a classic insoluble situation. Some people, when they encounter
this, quit their job, some people go postal. I broke down and cried. I cried out to God. I told Him I couldn’t
do this. I cried out for help to the only Person I could at that moment. Soon enough He calmed me down
and told me to go to my boss and tell him that I couldn’t do what he wanted. He told me to declare defeat.
That is the last thing I wanted to do, but it was the only thing I could do. I went to my boss, and simply told
him I couldn’t do what he wanted, I didn’t know how. Amazingly my boss understood, and he is actually
going to train me in the new ways. I praise God that He is always there, and he has answers, even when we
don’t.
Tom Zimmer
Installing Stainless Sheetmetal Covers to the Fork Tree

Today Debbie and Ken worked on installing the Stainless covers to the fork trees. She says it was a four
handed job, getting all the parts to be in the right place so you could put the screws in. Then they installed
the touring lights, front turn signals and the floor boards. Lots of progress today! Most of the pictures are of
Ken, but Debbie really did do a lot of the work, Honest.
Click any picture for a larger version.
Parts is Parts, Plus a Seat

Debbie ordered most of the remaining parts she needs to finish her ’73 Shovelhead. She got highway lights,
turn signals, front fork tins, and a bunch of other parts. Oh, yes, and she found a seat for her pogo seat
mount a the “Alley” locally for a really good price, considering it is in great condition, and was only about
60% of retail.
now she just needs to finish putting it all together. The fenders and tanks are off to the painter for a red,
white and blue paint scheme. That would be blue on top, white on the bottom and a red accent stripe
between them around the outside.
By the way, the picture behind Debbie was drawn while we were on an outing in San Francisco on her 23rd
birthday.
Breakfast with Carl

Another breakfast with Carl on Tuesday mornings at 6 AM (Yes!, I said 6 AM) we get together at the
church for breakfast, fellowship, and maybe even some bible talk. Carl almost always cooks, and a great
cook he is. Here is today’s fare. Sausage, baby potatoes and red cabbage, plus an egg and a biscuit. And
yummy it was! carl is the guy about to take the bite out of the cabbage. We do have a lot of fun!
Click on any picture for a larger version.
Ok, It is Starting to Look Like a Motorcycle

Tanks are clean and coated, fender fits, here we are sample checking the position of the tank and fender.
Next for the paint!
Debbie Cleaning out her Gas Tank

Finally getting down to the last few things to be done on Debbie’s 1973 harley FLH, she needs to clean out
the tank halves of rust, and seal the interiors. KREEM is a good product for this job, a whole ‘nother
adventure;
This is a process that took the better part of the weekend to accomplish. Most of the time was spent waiting
for the tanks to etch with the initial acid bath, then cam the solvent wash, and finally the liquid plastic flow
coating on the interior of the tank.
They say you need lots of ventelation to work with this stuff, and it would be good to listen to them. The
fumes are really nasty, and should be used outdoors, with a breeze.
Picking the Paint for Miracle at the Gladwin Paint Store

Ok, Ken finished welding the tank supports, where they mount at the front of the tank. Somehow the
brackets had been cut off, which would have made it hard to mount the tanks to the frame.
Now we are off to the Goodwin Paint Store with our friend and painter, Marty to select the actual paint that
will go on the bike. Debbie has already decided on a paint scheme, which matches the era of Harley that she
is building, and she has decided on the general colors (solid blue top, white bottom and a red stripe). Now
we just have to find the actual paint. (Click any picture for a larger version)
We arrived at the paint store at about 11 AM, and we made it aout just under two hours later with the cans
of paint that we needed. Now that wasn’t too painful.
Tim & Kathy’s Wedding

Click the title to see the video I took at Tim and Kathy’s wedding at IHOP. We all had a great time,
Too Broke for Sturgis Rally in J. Lorraine Ghost Town

Just got back from the Too Broke for Sturgis rally at J. Lorraine Ghost Town in Manor Texas. We had great
food, 15 bands from classic rock to country. the event was put on by Texas Wheels MC, and they did a great
job.
We had the New Life Riders hospitality tent there to provide some shade, ice water, lemonade and coffee.
randy and I setup and worked the tent. janice came in for a while saturday afternoon, and averyone had a
great time.
Oh, did I mention the snake charmers and handlers and the dancing?
naturally we had a Sunday morning worship service. Randy preached, so here is a partial video of the
sermon. I ran out of flash memory while videoing it.
Click here or the title to see the video.
The Presidents Points – End of Days

As we come to the “end of days”, and all eyes watch the unfolding of the conflict between Israel and her
Arab neighbors, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, etc. I find it interesting that peace, even a momentary peace, as we
seem to have today, can be obtained at all. Israel responds to attacks on itself with great force, and Iran
pledges to wipe out all of the Zionists, which is just another name for the Jews. Clearly the Arab hatred for
the Jews exceeds their will for self preservation. Iran builds her first atomic weapons, and can hardly wait to
use them. As Hal Lindsey points out in his weekly report, this is not an ordinary war. This is a war between
the God of the Jews (Yaweh), and the god of the Arabs (Ala). It is also a war predicted by Psalms
83:1-5 in the Bible, which says;
O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God! For lo,
thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads. They
lay crafty plans against thy people; they consult together against thy
protected ones. They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the
name of Israel be remembered no more!” Yea, they conspire with one accord;
Clearly this has been coming for a long time, thousands of years at least. Can the war be stopped? No, I
don’t think so. Can it slowed down? Well, it would appear so, but you can be sure that it won’t be slowed
down any more than God wants it slowed down. You see, I know who is in control. It is Yaweh, the one
and only God. He created the universe, and He maintains it from moment to moment by His will. Do we as
Christians need to be afraid of these coming events? No, God promises that “All things work together for
the good, for those that love the Lord”. So, do you need to be afraid of these coming events, if you are not a
Christian? That is a good question.
Take a moment right now, to accept Jesus as your Saviour. Simply ask Him to be your Saviour. His answer
is always YES!. Eternal security is only a few moments away.
If you did this just now, please take a moment to drop me a note at: tom.zimmer@mac.com , I would like to
help you get started in this great adventure of getting to know your new Saviour.
August 16, 2006 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 8 Comments | Edit
Chaplain’s Message – Power to get things done

Power. We all have power, power in our cars & trucks, power in our bikes, power to get things done. The
power to make choices. Sometimes though we feel like we don’t have any power. If the money runs out
before the end of the month, we don’t have the power to pay our bills. If one of our children falls and gets
hurt, we don’t have the power to fix it. We can only hold them, clean the wound, bandage it up and wait for
it to heal. If we have a motorcycle accident, it is the same way. We can’t fix it, we can only go to a plumber
(otherwise know as a doctor), and get a patch, while we wait for it to heal. But there is someone that does
have power, the power to help us pay our bills. The power to heal our wounds, whether they are physical
scratches, scrapes and breaks, or whether they are emotional. He has the power, and He uses it to heal. Have
you ever been healed?
The President’s Points – Suffering

Well, as I sit here in my shorts in an air conditioned house, while the temperature outside reads 97.3 degrees
at 3:30 in the afternoon, on it’s way to about 99 by 5 PM, I am pondering the Sunday sermon this morning
about suffering. The topic was “Suffering, an Internal Conflict”. You see, the internal suffering we do is
because of the choices we have. We have a choice of whether to say the hurtful things we think, during
intense conversations. We can let out the thoughts that pop into our brains, or we can realize they come
from somewhere that isn’t helpful, and hold those thoughts inside, not letting them out as verbal bullets.
That is the suffering part. Our emotions tell us that we want to say the things that hurt people, and if we
don’t, we suffer from being on the receiving end of such comments. It isn’t a fun thing, but it is the choice
we have. The choice to be like Christ, or to be like the voice in our heads tells us to be. We have a choice, a
simple choice but not an easy choice. Have you ever heard yourself making an argument with your voice,
and part of your brain, while another part of you brain sits around thinking this is stupid, why am I doing
this? I have, and I suspect many of you have as well. I have a choice, a decision to make. The question is
how will I make it?
July 16, 2006 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 6 Comments | Edit

Wells Branch Fireworks Display
Wells Branch has a neighborhood parade each year on the 4th of July, which goes by our house on Water
Well Lane. Our neighbors were in the parade, how fun.
Here is some video of the parade:
Our neighborhood parade,
And of course a couple of pic of our neighbor in the parade and the rest of the family watching;
We also went to the fire works display Tuesday evening in our neighborhood. It started to drizzle before the
fireworks began, and continued throughout the display. We kind of hid under a tree, but many people
brought umbrellas. We had a good time anyway.
Here is the video I took:
part 1 — ~5 minutes,
part 2 — ~5 minutes,
part 3 — Finale – ~48 seconds
Brotherhood Of Bikers 4th of July Blowout at Twisted Tatters

We had a wonderful time at the Blowout. The weather was great, it only got hot for a shor time before the
rain was supposed to hit, but the rain never came, so we just had nice cool overcast skys, great games, great
music, great friends and a great time. Of course with every silver lining, there has to be a bit of a dark
cloud, so we had a flat on the hospitality trailer. fortunately I had a can of flat fix in my bike for such an
occasion and Don found an electric air pump in his trailer, so we just blew it up and went home Sunday
morning after the service. I took a bunch of pictures and some video of the bike games, and the Sunday
service.
Bike Games Video Clips:
Barrel Toss, Slow Race, Barrel Roll

Sunday Service at Tattor’s Park Video:
Don – Train Song

Don – Somebody Is Praying
Randy – Sunday Message
Here are a few pictures from the rally. (Click on a picture for a larger version)
Who do you rely on?

Note: This is a “Chaplain’s Message” presented at the most recent UCOA meeting.
Who do you rely on? Yourself, your family, your club? We all need to have people we can rely on in
difficult situations. If you don’t have anyone you can rely on, except yourself, then life can be very difficult.
For example, it is very valuable to have a brother that will come to your aid if your bike breaks down, out in
the middle of nowhere, or, if you get sick, and can’t work, it is great to have brothers and sisters that will
put together an event to help raise money for your financial needs.
Friends are very valuable indeed, but even brotherhood has it’s limits. You don’t ask your brothers to do
things that will harm them, and you don’t expect a brother to do something that you can do for yourself.
Brotherhood implies a certain level of individual responsibility. I consider all of you friends and brothers
and sisters, some of you are close, and some are not as close.
Those of us here that are Christians also have another brother. That would be Jesus Christ. Jesus is like the
prefect brother. He cares for me, and he is always there when I encounter one of those difficult situations,
and He always does what is best for me. He doesn’t always do what I want, because even I don’t always
know what is best for me, but He does know, and he makes it happen. He does this by using people like me,
and each of you to accomplish what is best, and sometimes we don’t even know he is doing it.
Sometimes it is handy to have another brother.

Ezra Father’s Day Hand Painting

As part of the process of making a Father’s Day present for Chip, Shawna wanted to make some hand prints
of Ezra (2 weeks old), I took this video of the process.
Click on the title above to see the video.
ROT Rally Slideshow

Well the ROT Biker Rally in Austin Texas is over! About 200 of my fellow CMA members worked
Registration for the rally. I also worked registration, but mostly worked our centrally located hospitality tent.
We served up many thousands of cups of ice water, lemonade and coffee during the four days of the rally.
Everyone was very appreciative, and we enjoyed providing a place where everyone could stop, refresh, sit,
talk and rest out of the sun.
UPDATE: I don’t want to forget to extend a BIG thank you to all of you that helped work the tent, making
coffee, lemonade and ice water, and a special thank you to Art and Linda Blaise and Charles and Brenda
Clawson who not only camped at the hospitality tent site, but also provided the early morning and late
evening coverage.
Click on the title above to see the video slideshow of the pictures I took at the ROT Rally in Austin Texas.
Presidents Points – Broken

Do you ever feel like things just don’t work the way they should? I’m talking about people, relationships,
organizations and the like. Have you ever feel like life ought to be easier than it is. I know I have. People
never seem to be as committed as they should be, they don’t always do the right thing, at the fight time, in
the right place, or for the right reason. I know, because I am one of those people, and so are you. You see,
the problem is we are broken. The Bible tells us that we are created with a built in desire to know God, and
to have a relationship with Him. He built us that way, but He doesn’t want a bunch of robots, so he gave us
a choice. We can choose to put God where he belongs, in our hearts, or we can choose to put ourselves
there instead. We don’t fit the throne of our hearts very well, but it kind of sort of works. Anyway, back to
broken. When we are born, we don’t know God, so we go merrily along being king of our own lives,
learning all these bad habits about what belongs to me, what is mine and what I want. Our parents try to
teach us, as best they can, to share our toys and be nice to others, but since I’m the king, I don’t always
listen. I am broken. Fortunately, God has provided a plan to repair what is broken. He sent Jesus to teach us
how life is supposed to work. Jesus was a great teacher. But in fact, Jesus is much more than just a great
teacher. Jesus is like the expert motorcycle mechanic, He looks at the problem, knows what is causing it,
and fixes it in short order. When we put Jesus on the throne of our lives, he fixes us, and he does it
completely. There is however, one little tiny little problem that causes the motorcycle mechanic analogy to
break down. When you repair a bike, it is repaired, and it just works. But when Jesus repairs us, he still
leaves us with the ability to make choices, and we have been well trained to make decisions the way “I”
want. Fortunately, God has a lot of patience, and he keeps working with us as we learn that our own
decisions are not as good as His. It takes time, lots of time. Sometimes I wish God would just take away my
choices and just do things His way, but then He doesn’t want a bunch of robots, He wants us to understand
that His way is the best way, and when I choose His way, I get to see that the results are much better than
when I choose my way. It takes time, lots of time.
Tom Zimmer
First Pictures of my New Grandson Ezra Logan Zimmer

Ezra Logan Zimmer was born at 1:20 AM Tuesday May 23rd, 2006 to my Son Chip and his wife Shawna.
Ezra is 19 inches long, and weights 6 pounds 2 ounces. Mother and Baby are doing fine. This is their first
child, and my third grandchild. I have two granddaughters Chloe 8 and Claire 6 by my daughter Pam and
her husband Eric.
A truly joyous event!!
Mom, Dad and Ezra.

Ezra asleep
Ezra awake
Ezra with Nana and Dad
The Presidents Points – Who Do You Love?

I went to the Memorial event last Saturday for Matt Ogleive, who was killed in a motorcycle accident a few
weeks ago. It was a great event, Matt was well known and he had a lot of friends and family that loved him.
This morning I heard that my New Life Riders chaplain Phil Underwood, who has been in the hospital for
the last week has had a relapse, and may not recover following a heart attack he had after he went in for
surgery on his shoulder. I just got back from visiting Phil, and it hurts to think that he may not be around
much longer to provide the friendship, encouragement and counseling he is so good at. As I was driving
over to the hospital, I had thoughts that I might not get there in time to talk and pray with him. We never
really know when our existence on this Earth will come to and end, and I was afraid I wouldn’t get to
minister to him and enjoy his company at least one more time. As God would have it, I did get to talk and
pray with Phil, and I am going back again, and I will keep praying for him until God either heals him, or
takes him home.
I tell you all of this, because it makes me wonder why we always seem to have to lose someone before we
realize how much they mean to us. I guess taking people for granted is just part of life, part of familiarity. I
don’t know about you, but I have decided to be more active in letting the people I love, know that I love
them, I’m not just going to assume that they know.
Carl’s Breakfast – Ahi Tuna Steaks = WOW!

Well, Carl made tuna steaks for Men’s breakfast this morning. Those of you that have come in the past, but
didn’t come this morning, missed something really special. The sauce was made from garlic, mushrooms,
ginger, celantro, soy sauce and heavy whipping cream, simmered to perfection. I can only say it was
WONDERFUL!!
Of course I should also mention the desert, mango, strawberries, banana and pinapple, all fresh and cut up,
very tasty.
Carl’s Cooking Show Video, Episode One:(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)
Antique Motorcycle Show in Smithville

Here is a very small taste of the motorcycles we saw in Smithville. This is a mid ’60s era Honda 250cc
Dream. just like the one Debbie’s dad had when she was a teenager, except hers was white. She learned
how to ride on it, and when we were dating, Debbie and I were allowed go out early Sunday mornings for a
ride. I rode my Royal Enfield 750. Those were wonderful times. Click each picture for a larger version;
Teresa Easely Injured Biker Event

Teresa had an accident a while back, when someone pulled out in front of her motorcycle. She has been in
Brakenridge since that time, and will be getting out soon, but she has no insurance, and will need financial
assistance for her recovery time, until she can get back on her feet. Her friends are having a fund raiser for
her on May 20th, so please come. Most likely Teresa will be there, and would love to see everyone. Click
the small flyer below for a bigger version of the flyer;
UPDATE: May 20th, 2006 – I attended this charity event for Teresa on May 20th, and there was a pretty
good turnout. Unfortunately while out on the ride, one of my chapter members had mechanical problems, so
we kind of got stranded in Kingsland waiting for a pickup. It worked out ok though, the three of us had lots
of time to fellowship and talk with people passing by. It kind of gives new meaning to motorcycle ministry,
sitting at 7/11 talking with people as they come by for Saturday supplies.
Walking A Wells Branch Dam

Debbie and I went walking, and we ended up walking across this dam in our neighborhood. I went first, and
sort of scurried across not really thinking about debbie behind me, and when I got to the other side, she had
been walking much more slowly and carefully. She mad it ok though. I think it qualified as an adventure.
Don’s New Bike Pictures

CMA Biker Sunday – During Service

CMA Biker Sunday – Outside Before Service

CMA Biker Sunday Pictures – Setting up the Hospitality Tent

CMA Biker Sunday at Leander Assembly of God

We had a CMA Biker Sunday at Randy and Paula’s church Leander Assembly of God. I was assigned to be
photographer, so I have lots of pictures and video to post. Here is a rough cut, with a list of the videos.
Most are hosted on YOUTUBE, but for some, I am trying out VEOH. The title above links to the video for
Don’s first son on guitar and harmonica.
Click here for Don’s second song.
Next is Don’s sermon;
Click here for part one

Click here for part two
Click here for part three
Finally, is a short clip of Don’s new bike, Click HERE
Suzuki RE5 Rotary Engine Motorcycle

I just found this on youtube.com, and I am amazed. I owned a Suzuki three cylinder 75 water cooled “Water
Buffalo”, but I often dreamed of owning the RE5. This is a great promotional video produced by Suzuki.
Give it a look.
Click here for Suzuki RE5 Video Part 1
and;
Click here for Suzuki RE5 Video Part 2
Here is a picture of the RE5, click on the picture to go to a web page specializing in the Suzuki RE5.
Riding the Hill Country on the Killeen Dart Run

This is the beginning of a post including video, and pictures of the Dart Run in Killeen, Texas on April
22nd, 2006.
Click the Title to see the video.
CMA Dart Run in Killeen Texas

The killeen chapter of the CMA had their annual Dart Run. This is an event where you ride around to
different locations, and throw darts to see who can get the best score. Click the title above to view the video
of some dart throwing.
Debbie’s Clutch Adjustment on ’73 Shovelhead FL

Last week, we were up in Liberty Hill, working on Debbie’s ’73 Shovelhead FL, doing some electrical
wiring, and we started looking at the clutch adjustment after installing a new clutch cable. It seems that the
cable needed to be adjusted as far out as it would go, to get the clutch to disengage at all, and in fact the
clutch arm was hitting the transmission case, and was still not fully disengaged.
As you can see from this first picture (sorry for the blurring), there is almost an inch of space between the
starter on the left, and the clutch release arm in the middle (click picture for a larger image). The book says
it should be 1/2 inch when properly adjusted, so we had a problem. We tried playing with the adjustment on
the clutch basket end of the clutch push rod, but to no avail. We decided to shut it down for the day, and
went home to think about what could be wrong. We had purchased what we thought was the correct clutch
push rod length of 14 inches. On further thinking, it appeared that the rod simply had to be too short. We
looked in the catalog, and there was in fact a longer rod available for the 1975 Shovelhead transmission that
was 14 1/8 inches long. We decided to buy that, but when Debbie talked to Ken, he suggested they just
make one out of drill rod. Ok. Anyway, when Debbie went up to the shop today, and they got it all apart,
Ken decided to try to put an 1/8 inch sleeve on the turned down end of the clutch push rod, insted of making
a new rod. they did that, and it almost fixed the problem completely, but it still didn’t seem to be quite long
enough. They decided to use a torch to heat the clutch release arm near the mount end, and bend it just a bit
to give it a little more clearance from hitting the transmission. That fixed it. How do you spell custom?
Here is the “after” picture, where Debbie is using her middle finger (no she isn’t giving it the bird) to show
that there is now about 1/2 inch of space between the starter and the clutch release arm. Piece of cake!
Caldwell Chapter Chartering Event

Some of our New Life Riders CMA chapter members joined our regional coordinator, Johnny Upton, and
our area rep, Don Potter in Caldwell Tuesday evening, where the Caldwell Ride Group became the Caldwell
“Heaven’s Highway Riders” CMA Chapter when they received their Chapter Charter.
Here are a few pictures that Jay took (click a picture for a larger version);
President’s Points, Don’t Give Up!

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living soul. … 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man,
he made into woman, and brought her to the man.
Men and women are different, we all know that. God created Adam out of the dust, and then He created
Eve out of Adam’s rib. I’m not sure whether it is better to be created out of someone’s rib, or out of dirt,
but we are certainly different. One of the differences is, that men tend to be single tasking, that is, we do
one thing at a time. I finish what I am doing and then I go on to the next thing. I don’t do more than one
thing at a time. Women on the other hand tend to be multi-taskers. We have all seen a woman, watching
TV, reading a book, and doing some hand knitting all at the same time. As men, we probably thought they
weren’t really doing all those things at the same time, but they really are. Men and women have different
brains. One type of brain is not better than another, they are just different, although I might get an argument
on that point. The great thing is that God made men and women different for a reason, He made us different
so that we can compliment each other. Women bring lots of things in, so that all the options can be
considered, and men throw things out so they can focus on what is important and make a decision. That
doesn’t mean working together is easy. It is hard for man to see a woman’s point of view, and it is hard for
a woman to see a man’s perspective. It is hard work for everyone, but it is worth it, because things get done
better when all things are considers, and the unimportant things are discarded before making an important
decision. So, my charge to each of you is; Don’t give up, it is worth it.
Howard Lowe memorial Run at the Roadhouse

I went to the Howard Lowe Memorial Run for the Vets at the Roadhouse today. There was a very good
turnout, and most of the clubs were there.
Here is a couple of pictures of the Memorial plaque that Cadillac and and friends had made. It is very nice;
Next, a photo of two pics of Howard messing around;
Finally, the group of guys I rode with on the memorial run. we had a great time, and we even extended the
run to include some additional country milage to get away from the cars for a while.
After the run, I got a burger at the Roadhouse, and there was live music, Justin had karaoke, a raffle, a silent
auction, and a live auction. Lots of fun!
Loading the Moving Truck of a Friend (UCOA Event)

Several of the Clubs from UCOA got together to load a moving truck for the daughter of another MC club
member from Nebraska. We got about a dozen people out to load the truck, and it only took about an hour
and a half, and we had a great time doing it. I didn’t have much time to take pics, but I did take a few. I
apologize for not getting pictures of everyone that came to help, but thank you all!
Capturing Time – April 5th, 2006 @ 01:02:03 AM

Debbie likes to emphasize special things in life, to help her (and us) remember them for the specialness that
they are. This morning marked another of those special events of life. We passed of a point in time when the
clock read 010203040506 or 01:02:03 AM on April 5th, 2006. So Debbie got up before 4 AM to take a
picture of our wall clock as it passed this momentous event! Why 4 AM you ask, and not 1 AM? Well, we
are in Texas, and our Grandchildren are in California, so we set the clock on Pacific time… That and she
got to sleep in a little longer. As for me, I slept through the event. Snore…..
Miracle Lives !
Debbie and I went up to Hill Country Motorcycles in Liberty Hill after Church, and with lots of help from
Ken, we managed to get Miracle started. Miracle as most of you know is Debbie’s 1973 Harley Davidson
FLH, that she has been rebuilding from the ground up for a couple of years now. Anyway, with some scotch
tape, bailing wire, a battery, some jumper cables and a bit of gasoline, we got Miracle to putt putt, which is
a very good sign that she will run when we get everything that remains to be done completed. Click here or
the title to see the video.
Debbie, preparing Miracle for our attempt to start her for the first time since beginning this ground up
rebuild in February of 2004.
Randy’s ’99 FLHT Disassembly

I went over to randy’s house today, and found him disassembling his ’99 Electroglide. Seems it wouldn’t
go. It would run, just not move. He assumed it was a blown transmission, but as the last few pictures show,
it was in fact a stripped final drive sprocket. Much less expensive to repair than a blown transmission.
Enjoy,
Notice the sheared bolt on the final drive locking clip.
This part doesn’t look so good!

But this part looks ok!
NLR Calendar Updated

I have updated the NLR calendar to include several items, specifically the wedding of Bart and Michelle on
Saturday March 25th at 3 PM
Click HERE to link to the calendar.
The President’s Points – Overwhelmed!

Overwhelmed!, I have a new boss at work, and she has a very different style from my old boss. The new
style now involves many meetings, and stacks of schedules. I am having to learn how to use new project
scheduling tools, how to breakdown large projects down into small pieces so that completion times can be
estimated. In essence, I am learning how to actually be a manager. I thought I was a manager before, but
what I really was, was a leader. I would identify the direction things needed to go, consult with my people,
get their agreement on the general way to move forward, and then let them go do it. The people that report
to me are very capable, and I had confidence that they would get the job done, so I didn’t need to be very
concerned, once a general direction was set. Now, things are different. I have lots of new responsibilities,
and the amount of structure has increased enormously. I often feel so overwhelmed with not knowing how
to do a task, and with fear that I will forget something, and with the huge number of things that need to be
done, that I have thoughts of just walking out. “Take this job and shoving it” as the song says. Now I know
I won’t get much sympathy from many of you, because I know that a lot of you have been through, or are
going through a time in your life which is much worse than my little difficulty. But, that frankly is not the
point. It doesn’t matter whether I am justified in my feelings, because feelings are like that. They are what
they are. The real question, is where are the thoughts coming from that lead me to having those feelings.
One thing I can tell you definitively, is that they are not from GOD! You see, God wants me to be at peace
in all circumstances, in times of plenty and times of want, in times of peace, and times of turmoil. So if that
is true, and I believe it is, because the Bible tells me it is, then why do I feel this way? Well the answer is as
always pretty simple. There are really only two reasons why I would have these thoughts and feelings.
Either I am not trusting God to take care of my situation, or Satan is placing lies in my head and I am
listening to him. I think it is probably a little of both. I think I am having trouble trusting God, as that has
always been one of my “problems” that God wants to “repair”, and I also think I have been listening to that
voice in my head that tells me that “I can’t do this” and “I should just walk out”, instead of declaring those
thoughts to be lies and then turning to God who has promised me that “All things work together for the
good, for those that trust the Lord”. Did it really say “All things”? yes it says “ALL THINGS”. I have a
choice, I can trust God in all of my circumstances, or… I can be defeated. Hmmm…, maybe there is really
only one choice.
Tom Zimmer
A Ride to Granger Lake

We had a fellowship rider today out to Granger Lake east of Austin. The weather was wonderful today, it
warmed up nicely, but not too hot to enjoy the ride. We had 8 bikes and 11 people i think. After the ride, we
ended up at Randy & Paula’s house for grilling on the BBQ, burgers and sausage. We got to know some
new people that joined us for the day as well. Seems like spring is here. Below are some pictures, click for
larger view, and click the Title above for a short video.
March 12,
2006
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tomzimmer
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Calendar for February and March

I have just finished updating my calendar of events for February and March.
You can view my calendar by clicking HERE.
Presidents Meeting
We had a great time at the CMA Chapter Presidents meeting today. It all started out kind of iffy, when the
temperature was in the mid 30s, but it stayed there, and didn’t get any colder, so no one had any problem
with ice on the road, and was able to get to my house without any problems. We had a wonderful time of
fellowship before the meeting started, and then the meeting was very productive. Here is a picture of our
presidents, some spouses and a few other officers.
February 18, 2006 Posted by tomzimmer |

The President’s Points

Well, here we are in the middle of February.
CMA Seasons of Refreshing was last week,
and we had a pretty good turnout for the 4
hour drive up to Canton, we had 9 people
from our chapter in attendance. The total
attendance I heard was 382, up from last
year. Since food is an important part of life,
we stopped at the Czech bakery on the way
up to sample their fruit cakes, we had Dairy
Palace’s great burgers Friday night, and
wonderful BBQ Saturday at lunch. The travel was uneventful as far as I heard, which is good, everyone
made it up and back safely with no tickets or accidents. Curtis’ teaching was right on, reminding us that we
are each placed here on a mission, which is not to sit on a church bench and vegetate for our whole life.
Church is great, and necessary, but real life, for most of us, begins outside the church as we follow the
leading that Christ has on each of our lives. Curtis said a couple of times that he thought he was preaching
to the choir, but I think we all need to hear that message at times, to remind us that when we don’t see God
doing anything in our lives, maybe we need to get up and start paying attention to what the Bible teaches
about loving your neighbor more than yourself. In simple terms, maybe I need to quit looking at myself, and
start looking out. This was a message that I definitely needed to hear, even though, or perhaps because, I
was deep into my own pity party through much of the weekend. Anyway, I will close this with a
modification of a saying I have heard several times from an astronomer who said “keep looking up”, which
I will modify to “keep looking out”,
Tom
I have posted a short video of Seasons on YouTube.com, you can watch the video HERE. (you need Flash
to view the video)
And for those of you that don’t have Flash capability, here is a photo of the event;

Alan Babin at
the Roadhouse
Alan is a Gulf war veteran, who was severly
injured in 2003. He has made great strides in
recovery, but still needs our prayers, and
assistance. He was present at the Roadhouse
in Round Rock Texas for a photo shoot for a national magazine, and all the bikers from Vietnam Vets and
UCOA (United Clubs Of Austin), who have been supporting Alan in his recovery journey showed up for
pictures. It was a wonderful event.
Here is a video of a few of the people welcoming Alan:
WATCH VIDEO on youtube.com
Here is a photo for the “Flash” challenged,
Alan and a friend. The t-shirt Alan is

holding was a gift.

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The Church Chili Bowl

We had the Chili Bowl at church during the
Super Bowl. We had lots of chilli and
wonderful snacks, not to mention game play.

Grinding and Torch Cutting

Here is a little video I took today up in Liberty Hill at a motorcycle shop. They were grinding with an air
grinder, and cutting with a cutting torch. There were lots of sparks and stuff. I like sparks and stuff. Click
on the title above or click here to see the video.
January 21, 2006 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
President’s Points
Well 2006 seems to be starting out with a bang… No.. not a literal bang, uh, how about, we had two events
this past weekend. Ok, that is more like it. We had a chapter ride Saturday, Randy our newly elected road
captain took us on some back roads (for what I will forever call the “Chili Run”) to get to the Roadhouse,
where we supported a fundraiser. Next we went to three bike shops dropping off “Ride With Us” flyers, and
having good conversations with folks along the way. Finally, most of us went back to Randy and Paula’s for
Chili dinner and socializing. A good time was had by all, and the chili was pretty spicy (see January 14,
2006 on my blog). Sunday we went to the Roadhouse again after church, to the UCOA meeting. We heard
how successful the food delivery in memory of J.W. Rock was at Christmas time. Our chapter supported
one of the (I think it was) 26 families with a J.W. Rock food basket and some Christmas gifts (see
December 21, 2005 on my blog).
By the time you get this newsletter, CMA Seasons of Refreshing will be upon us. I hope everyone is making
their best effort to go, and please note that Seasons is open to non-CMA members, spouses, pastors, and
pretty much anyone that would like to attend.
Tom Zimmer
My Blog: http://tomzimmer.blogspot.com/
The First (Annual?) Chili Run

Click the title (or click here) for a video discussion at the end of the Chili Run Saturday evening at Randy
and Paula’s. It begins with something like “You Hit a Cow on the Road, it’s Your Fault”. For those of you
“flash” limited, here are some pictures as well;
At the start of the ride, we had a pretty good sized group. Of course getting out of Randy’s was something
of a challenge because of the traffic, but we made it eventually.
Queen Bee on her throne

Two little wooden indians
Wow that chili was gooood!

Bill thought it was this big!
Most of us didn’t care how big it was.

So…, Randy, how big was it?
At the roadhouse Sunday for the UCOA Meeting

My favorite subject, in her favorite pose
Men’s Breakfast at Church

here are some videos I took yesterday, going to, and during Men’s Breakfast at church;
On the way to men’s breakfast, listening to J. Vernon McGee
Preparing breakfast part 1
Preparing breakfast part 2
each of the lines above is a link to a video on youtube.com
Started Updating the Brown Family History Again

I got my scanner working over the holidays, so I have started scanning the remaining pages of the Brown
Family History, instead of typing them in, which became a bit too labor intensive for me. each page has a
small image, which you can click to see a large viewable, readable and printable image of the page.
At this point, I have added scans of the pictures, the large family tree, and several of the small family trees
at the end of the book.
Click the title above to go to The Brown Family History blog.
Rose Bowl 2005 Spectator Video & Pictures

Click the title above to see a 15 minute video of the last minute of the Rose Bowl game between the Texas
Longhorns and USC from the perspective of the television, of the audience at my house. This was a
spactactular game, ant the last minute was incredible. In fact it was a cliff hanger. Watch it and see.
Without Further adu, here are some pictures; Click the image to see a larger version.
Went Skating with the Grandkids

This was taken on Dec 29th, at the local ice rink. Everyone, except me and Eric went ice skating. The kids
had a blast. Click the title above to see the video on youtube.
Posted a new entry on the Olympus IR-500 in my photo blog

Does anyone know what Audiometry is?

A few years ago, I worked on a project to design a new audiometer. An audiometer
is a device that is used for hearing testing. The company I did this work for was
called Tremetrics, and they were a leader in the area of hearing testing. Lots of
people need to get their hearing tested annually, because they work in a job that
subjects them to loud noises, like machine shops, or factories. Anyway, my part in
the project was to select the computer hardware, and write the software that was
used to control the audiometer.
I selected a small computer card based on the

StrongARM processor, and I selected the Java computer
language because it was good at graphics and such.
Anohter person wrote the firmware to actually control
the audiometry test hardware, my job was to create the GUI, handle user input,
monitor test operation, and log results in a small database.
The finished product turned out very nicely, and was

controlled through a touch screen interface with a 10.4
inch full color display. I really enjoyed working on
this project, and I hope the products gets used for
many years.
Here are the pictures of the product brochure, you can

click on them to see a full size page.
December 23, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer |

The President’s Points – Looking

Forward, Looking Back
As I write this, in December, I am look forward to what the future holds for New
Life Riders in 2006. This will be an exciting year for me, we have several new
members, and it is always good to have new blood, kind of like a transfusion, it
puts some new kick in the (old?) mule. Looking back to the events of 2005, some of our members health
problems have been resolved, though not all. We rejoice with Janice that her long ordeal is behind her and
we appreciate the great newsletters she produces. Phil has been doing better recently, the strokes have
subsided for now, as he keeps pressing forward toward the goal. Paula and Randy still struggle with health
and financial issues, but are always generous and supporting, thank God Randy is a good hunter, and thank
you Paula for keeping on top of our email tree and prayer needs. Doug bought a new house and has a new
job that holds the promise of more flexible hours. George’s health is doing much better. Susan has a Trike
now, and if the weather will cooporate, she can get used to riding it. Kelly found and is in contact with her
birth mother, I can hardly imagine how life changing that is. Lin retired, and is still as busy as ever. We had
a great Christmas party in December, and we delivered a huge food basket and some gift cards to a needy
family as part of UCOA (United Clubs Of Austin). I have gone through two re-organizations at work, and I
was asked to hold the position of Chaplain for UCOA. We worked for months to get setup to go into the
Georgetown Teen Dention Center, and that work is paying off, Bill Brunson and Scotty have been trained,
and Scotty and Janice have actually completed their first visit to the facility. More of our members will be
trained in ’06, and will be able to go in as well. It is not a war of flesh and blood we fight, but a spiritual
battle, but we know the Victor and He is able to do more than we can even think or imagine. To Christ be
the Glory, AMEN!
Tom Zimmer
New Life Riders Food Delivery to Family for UCOA

Members of our New Life Riders CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) chapter delivered a Christmas
food basket to a family in Austin today as part of a project organized by the morotcyclist organization
UCOA (United Clubs Of Austin). We had a wonderful time praying and talking with the family. You can
click on any of the pictures below to see a larger version of the picture.
I Created a Metropolis Photo Archive Blog

I created a new blog today, as an archive for photos related to the movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang. You can
CLICK HERE to see it. There are over 200 photos from around the web about Metropolis posted.
Here is a link to my most recent blog entry (on this blog) about Metropolis;
Updated Metropolis Entry
New Life Riders Christmas Party

We had our chapter Christmas party last night at the Millers, with lots of great food and socializing. I took
some video, which as usual isn’t too good, but you can click on the title above to see it. Here are some
pictures Debbie took and one from Paula too. Click on a picture to see a larger version.
Scotty after receiving his HALO hat from Paula
Admiring the ’57 Chevy
Giggling about something. whatever it was, it must have been very funny!
Bill in the middle, looking down, opening his present.
The food and sodas were great. Ho, Ho, Ho! Me in the background with the Santa hat on, and jay on the
right with his Santa hat.
The boys, lined up waiting for the gift exchange.
And finally, last but not least, Janice posing beside the Christmas Tree. She dresses up real nice.
December 11, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Edit
As you can see, We have a New Look Today

I have been toying with some of the blog styles available on Blogger, and found this, which is a modified
version of one of the available styles. It seems that most of the styles are set up to have a fixed width, which
I don’t care for. I want my blog to flow to the full width of the window. So I modified this one to do that.
There are problems, like, I can’t use their background image to show the nice softer edges that you don’t see
on the left and right of this blog, but that doesn’t bother me.
We Bought a New Couch

For the two days after Thanksgiving, we went shopping
for a new couch. We went to four different furniture
stores, and ended up purchasing a nice leather couch
(pictured) at English Furniture. They custom cover
furniture with whatever color of leather you want. We
picked the same color as the showroom floor. It hasn’t
been delivered yet, but it is supposed to arrive next
monday. It has two recliners, one at each end, and it
should be long enough for three people to sit
comfortably.
I am sure this is much more than you wanted to know

about couches.
December 7, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized

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Leaving Beverly’s Bar for Toy Run

A group of six our New Life Riders (CMA) chapter members went to the Austin Toy Run Sunday
December 4th, we left Beverlys at 12:00 noon. The Toy run was to benefit the Helping Hand Home for
Children. We each brought an unwrapped toy. There was a BBQ afterwords at Beverlys and music. The ride
went to the childrens home on 38th 1/2 st.
Everyone is heading out to the children’s home carrying toys for the kids to the downtown location. We
were part of a very large group, and the ride was very exciting. Of course the kids were happy to see us as
well. CLICK the title to watch the video, or click HERE.
Short clips of Chi, a biker friend that passed away last year
Here are two short videos of Chi, taken a couple of years ago. The first is “Chi Be Positive“, and the second
is “Chi Dancing“. Chi was a pretty neat guy, he had his problems like we all do, but he was a very
interesting person to know.
Debbie & Pam ride the roller coaster at California Venture

in Disneyland
The title pretty much says it all. This is a one minute video and if you blow it up to full screen, it is pretty
exciting, though it will be blocky as well.
Debbie doesn’t like to have her picture taken

Debbie is one of my favorite subjects, but she is shy. Now you might not think that from these pictures, but
she is. She doesn’t like to have the world focusing on her, and so I have labeled these appropriately. Click
on a picture for a larger view.
We are playing the “popup game”, where I try to take her picture while
she pops up for a short time from behind the motorcycle seat.
Here she is just trying to get away from

me, and just couldn’t quite seem to do
it. She started laughing.
She
was
getting tired of the game, so she stuck

her tongue out at me. That’s my Debbie.
This is
the traditional “deer in the headlights” photo.
And of course a repeat of the previous

posts “look I have dirty hands” picture.
November 23, 2005 Posted by

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Debbie Helps Ken with an Oil Change
Went out to Liberty

Hill Motorcycles
Saturday to visit Ken,
and Debbie got to get
her hands dirty helping
Him do a service on a
Sportster. To watch the
video, Click HERE.
The video is actually of
Ken checking and
adjusting the Primary
chain tention.
Click Picture for a

larger view.
Then we went out to Tina & Lisa’s house to see the

new garage they are building. The building is up, and it
is rugged indeed. All welded construction with 2 inch
square framing members, all wleded to steel embedded
into the concrete slab. John is helping with the
electrical. To watch the video, Click HERE
Click picture for a larger view.
After you watch the videos, you will realize my video

technique will never win me any awards, but I do have
fun taking them.
November 21, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer |

My Favorite Video of Debbie Parking Her ’91 FXRP

I don’t know what it is about this video, but it is one of my favorite videos of Debbie. It is only about 45
seconds long, but it so clearly shows her energy and love for motorcycling. what else can I say? Click the
title to see the video, or CLICK HERE. You need Flash to view it.
More on the Texas FallOut Rally

This year, True Few President Casey (he is also UCOA chairman), Bandido OneWire (President of the J.
W. Rock Foundation), and BAM BAM (VP of True Few) were interviewed by FOX news Wednesday
morning at 6:45 AM. I recorded it and made a video, but I wasn’t given permission to put the video on the
web, so I can’t show it to you. The good news though, is that I got video of some of the events at the rally
and I have put that up on YouTube.com. Here are the links for the videos I took at the rally;
Loud Yelling Contest, you can guess what that was about.
Miss UCOA Dressing, more harmless than you might think, the ladies had to put on chaps, leather jacket
and helmets, then mount their horse which was a wooden sawhorse.
And finally, Barrel Racing, where you had to ride your bike in a figure eight patern around barrels as fast as
you can and get back to the starting line.
They were all fun to watch. The audio on the Barrel Racing video is not good, my camera has too much
sensitivity on the audio, and gets easily overloaded, so it’s pretty garbled.
For those of you that can’t view the videos, here is a sampling of photos from the FallOut 2005.
Here, Debbie is posing beside our camp site. We are camped behind the
ghost town, and notice that there isn’t much around. That’s because there
was only one other tent out there that weekend. Everyone else either
camped in a building, or went home in the evening.
Here we have the beginning of a slow race.
Jay and
Kelly
playing the
ball drop
game.
Jay racing
around a
cone, as
fast as he can. Harleys don’t turn that well, especially on dirt.
Me out in front of the men’s out house.
The food
was great!
The
dressing
contest
was lots of
fun.
And the
yelling contest was LOUD!

The President’s Points

Debbie and I went to the Texas FallOut
Rally Saturday put on by True Few MC as a fund raiser for the J. W. Rock foundation that raises money to
buy food baskets for needy families at Christmas each year. Anyway, we all had a pretty good time,
especially in the games. There was the slow race naturally, a Loud Yelling Contest, you can guess what that
was about, a Miss UCOA contest that in part consisted the ladies racing to put on chaps, leather jacket and
helmets, then mount their horse which was a wooden sawhorse. And finally, Barrel Racing, where you had
to ride your bike in a figure eight pattern around barrels as fast as you can and get back to the starting line.
There was lots of camping space available, but very few of us took advantage of it. I only counted two tents
up and one flat on the ground, counting ours. I am sure there were others camping in the town buildings, but
I guess, since J. Lorraine is so close to town that most people just went home late Saturday evening.
Hopefully lots of money was raised to buy food baskets. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and
have a Blessed Christmas.
Tom Zimmer
I Started a new blog today on Digital Cameras.

I have had friends tell me that I should get a job helping people pick out cameras, since I spend so much
time looking at and buying cameras. I guess it is a wastefull hobby, but I just keep looking for the perfect
camera. I haven’t found it yet, and I probably won’t for a while. In the mean time, I have started a blog to
share my experiences with the low cost digital video cameras I have acquired. Click the title to go over and
take a look.
PS: I added an overview of what I am looking for in a digital camera today.
Slide Show Video of the building of Our New Deck
Don & Susan built us a new deck a few weeks ago.

Debbie took some pictures while it was being built, but I
forgot to load the pictures from her camera into the
computer. When I remembered, and loaded them in, I
realized they would make a good slide show. So here
below is the video I made of the building of our new
deck, but first the picture to the right was too good to
miss. Click for larger image.
By the way, the accompanying soloist is Chip our son,

when he was about 6 years old. He is now 30. Sorry chip,
but it is a very cute song.
Love Dad.
Halloween at Our House

Here are a couple of pics we took before turning off the
light. This first one is kind of neat, it has a flame kind of
look.
The
second shows my transparent arm.
Click on either picture for a larger view.

Here is More of Debbie and Her Rebuild

This first picture is one of Debbie holding her Motor, or at least the
bottom half of it. She had the engine balanced by Tom Elrod, a well
known racer and engine tuner in the Austin Area.
She had just finished the painting the two halves of the cases black.
Naturally this is a pretty old picture, she has finished rebuilding the
motor now, and it is in the frame.
The second picture

is her brand new
chrome spoked rear
wheel. It is a bit
heavy, but she is a
proud owner.
October 28, 2005

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More Newsletter
Articles Published
I have added several more newsletter articles to the list in the blog. Some for December and January 2003,
and even a few from Debbie when she was VP. Look for Veep’s Peeps, which was debbie’s article title.
Also added June 2004, and June 2005.
Started the Transcription of Brown Family History

While Debbie and I were cleaning the garage yesterday, we came across a box of old pictures and photo
albums from our early years. I put it aside, and then yesterday evening I went through it. It was fun looking
at old pictures, and reading letters that Debbie wrote me shortly before I came home from my term of
service in the AirForce in Turkey. I also ran across a bag that had some of my uncle Bob’s (Robert
Cochran) photo albums and a book. On closer examination, the book turns out to be the family History of
the Brown family as written by Oral Carl Brown a great-uncle (my grandmothers brother). I started to read
it, and I found it very interesting. Oral was a preacher from about 1910 until his death around 1965. He was
quite an evangelist, and clearly understood that God’s work is done by God Himself doing it through us, not
by us doing God’s work for Him. Anyway, I have decided to transcribe it onto it’s own blog at: Brown
Family History
If you are a Brown, a Cochran, or a Zimmer, or related to any of the other last names mentioned in the
book, you might find it worth a look. I have to warn you that this book is over a 100 pages in length, and it
will take me several weeks if not months to transcribe it. Apparently 50 copies of the book were printed and
distributed to relatives, so if you happen to have a copy of it, and want to participate in this project, you are
welcome to contact me and volunteer to type in some of the chapters. You can then email them to me for
posting.
Cleaning Day in the Zimmer’s Garage – Miracle is Coming

Well, we just completed almost a whole day of cleaning
the garage, for the first time since we moved into the
house about 10 years ago. We wouldn’t have done it
now, except we need to make room for Miracle, Debbie’s
’73 FLH Harley Davidson. I know it doesn’t look like we
cleaned, but we had to stack all the trash in the open
space while we wait for trash pickup day, then there will
be a noce open space for miracle.
The shop where Debbie has been working on Miracle is

now closed, and Miracle is sitting in a friends garage up
in Liberty Hill, waiting for someone to give her some
attention. So, we are clearing out a place for Miracle, so
we can start to make some progress on the remaining
things that need to be done.
What needs to be done, is as follows;
1. Wiring harness needs to be built or bought.

2. Buy and install the rear hydrolic lifter in the rear cylinder. We have one, but it doesn’t fit,. It is a long
story.
3. Fix the front left fork tube seal so it doesn’t leak.
4. Get the sheet metal painted. Debbie will have to pick a color scheme as well.
5. Get Miracle registered. hopefully this won’t be a problem, but since the frame ID tag is partially
obliterated, it might be.
There really isn’t much left, we just need to get to it.
Cleaning Day in the Zimmer’s Garage – Miracle is Coming

Well, we just completed almost a whole day of cleaning the garage, for the first time since we moved into
the house about 10 years ago. We wouldn’t have done it now, except we need to make room for Miracle,
Debbie’s ’73 FLH Harley Davidson. I know it doesn’t look like we cleaned, but we had to stack all the trash
in the open space while we wait for trash pickup day, then there will be a noce open space for miracle.
The shop where Debbie has been working on Miracle is now closed, and Miracle is sitting in a friends
garage up in Liberty Hill, waiting for someone to give her some attention. So, we are clearing out a place for
Miracle, so we can start to make some progress on the remaining things that need to be done.
What needs to be done, is as follows;
1. Wiring harness needs to be built or bought.

2. Buy and install the rear hydrolic lifter in the rear cylinder. We have one, but it doesn’t fit,. It is a long
story.
3. Fix the front left fork tube seal so it doesn’t leak.
4. Get the sheet metal painted. Debbie will have to pick a color scheme as well.
5. Get Miracle registered. hopefully this won’t be a problem, but since the frame ID tag is partially
obliterated, it might be.
There really isn’t much left, we just need to get to it.
The President’s Specifics, The Fanatic

Do you think of yourself as a fanatic? Most of us, when we think of a fanatic, think of someone that is way
over obsessed with something to the point of going overboard. Many of you know me, and I wonder if you
think of me as a fanatic? I guess I ask the question because I am coming to think of myself more as a
fanatic that I used to. I am hoping that my saying this doesn’t scare anybody. I guess if I say what I am a
fanatic about, then it may make more sense. You see, the longer I live, the more I am becoming a “Fanatic
for Christ”. Now, I am not talking about fanatacism in the sense of being dangerous, and I am not talking
about fanatacism in the sense of stalking abortion clinics or anything like that. I am talking about the kind of
fanatacism that the Apostle Paul had in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, here are those verses;
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as
possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like
one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To
those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law
but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to
win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I
do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 19 Though I am free and belong
to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became
like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself
am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like
one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win
those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to
all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that
I may share in its blessings.
Paul was a true fanatic, he did not let anything stand in his way of persuing the mission Christ gave him.
Am I saying I am there? No, but I am on the way. I think that God will use you, and me if we really want it.
I mean REALLY want it, not like I might want an pizza, or a bowl of ice cream, I mean want it like I can’t
breath, or want it so much that my hands shake just thinking about it. I am talking true fanaticism, I want to
know and to be used by God like there is no other thing in this world that is more important, because there
isn’t!
Stand For Something

Debbie says she is quoting someone but she doesn’t
know who;
Those who refuse to stand for something will fall for

anything!
Or something like that. I think that is very profound, even

if I don’t know who first said it.
October 16, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized |

Leave a Comment | Edit
God Loves Freaks Like Me

Eric has another post today, which you can read by clicking on the title above.
Here is my commentary on his post. You can read it here, or over on Eric’s blog.
There are a lot of interesting things to think about in this post. Perhaps the most obvious is that you feel
insecure. Now I am not saying you are unusual in that, we all feel inscure, some of us allt he time, some of
us part of the time, and some of us occasionally. It is also clear that you have a good intelectual
understanding of the grace of God. That is good. God’s grace does cover all sin, and it also covers every
other aspect of who we are. I think the challenge for you, me and every other Christian out there is that we
have trouble believing that we have a good heart and that we are fully justified in Christ, when we see
ourselves both sinning, and being tempted to sin. There are a couple of points here. First, it is very
important to understand that temptation is not sin. When you have feelings that desire to lead you into sin,
that is not sin, that is satan trying to get you to sin. So right up front, deny the temptation. Now I am not
saying that this is easy, I have my own issues to deal with, with respect to temptation, but the truth is we
must deny the lie that we want the temptation, and then immediately look to Christ for the power to resist.
As you no doubt know, you can’t resist temptation on your own, that can only be done through Jesus’
power. Second, we need to come to a full understanding both in our mind and in our heart that we are good.
Having accepted Jesus as my saviour, my heart is good. REALLY! I know that temptation and sin make me
want to think I am not good, but the war I fight, or more accurrately that Jesus fights for me is spiritual, and
being fought by the only One who can and will win. Finally, I believe you need to stop thinking of yourself
as a gay man. Now I am not syaing you are not gay, what I am saying is that you need to think of yourself
as who you really are, a Christian who has a personal relationship with the one and only God of the
universe. A God who made you the way you are, but who loves you too much to leave you or me the way
we are. I praise God for a Saviour that not only cares for us but has the power to heal all our hurts, and who
WILL!
October 14, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
Our New Deck
Well, I guess it had to happen eventually.

Our old deck (20 years old) wore out, and a
good friend volunteered to build me a new
deck. It turns out he was too busy for several
months, but this past weekend, he ran out of
jobs, and came over to work on my deck. It
is framed out of pressure treated pine I think,
and the deck itself is “Ipe”, (pronounced
epay) a really hard wood imported from
Brazil that is so hard that you have to drill all
the hole before trying to screw it down.
Anyway it is mostely finished, all except for
deciding how to finish out the right edge as
shown in the picture. We had him (and his
wife worked on it too) put steps on two side,
and I think we may get a bench along the
final edge to finish it out, but we haven’t
decided yet. By the way, the picture has been touched up a bit, not the deck part, but the house and yard to
make it look more appealing.
I Read a Blog by a Gay Man Today

Blogger has an interesting feature. If you go to Blogger.com, you get to see a list three item list of recently
posted blog entry names scroll by. I happened to be about to log in, and I saw something interesting go by in
the list. I wasn’t fast enough to click on it, but on doing a blog search, I happened to run across the above
blog called “Two World Collision“. It is very interesting, in that it is written by a gay man that professes to
be a Christian. Now I am not saying I doubt him, in fact on reading some of his entries, it seems clear he is
a Christian. His blog is an attempt to document his journey of discovery as he tries to resolve the apparent
conflict between being Christian and gay at the same time. Surely a laudable goal, and interesting reading
besides.
I don’t happen to believe in coincidences, so I believe God led me to his blog for a reason. As some of you
know, our church (Faith Church in Austin Texas) has been learning about how we can live as a branch in
the vine of Christ for the past several years. It is a wonderful teaching about how we can’t live the abundant
live and we are not expected to, but we can allow Christ to live out His abundant life through us. The entire
audio program is now available on the web at: http://www.fefc.us , look at the Radio page.
I sent “Two Worlds Collision” a message to encourage him and to suggest he investigate the Instant Access
program, and I truely hope he does. You see, as the Apostle Paul said we live in a “body of death”.
Literally he meant that even though we as Christian have already accepted Jesus as our Saviour, and
therefore we have been forgiven and fully justified by faith, we still have to deal with this body of death
that we live in that has been so well trained to sin. Whether you are like me, and sometimes lust after a
woman, or like “Two Worlds Collision” and sometimes lust after a man, the problem is lust, not the gender
of the person you are lusting after. Jesus teaches that he has removed our heart of stone and given us a heart
of flesh. Our big problem is remembering (and trusting) that, and not falling back on our old ways when
depression or boredom tells me I am not happy. The good news is that we don’t have to live in Romans 7,
because Paul goes on in Romans 8 to show that there is victory over sin. Victory comes not by my effort,
but by my allowing Jesus to win the war for me by living His life out through me moment by moment.
Updated my Metropolis Entry

I have updated my entry on the movie Metropolis (by Fritz Lang), to include an offer to setup private
showings of the Moroder version of the film. If you don’t know about Metropolis, here are some links to
information on the web;
Metropolis on IMDb
A fairly complete site on all the versions of Metropolis
Same as above, but direct link to the Moroder information My favorite version of Metropolis
A comparison of the various versions of Metropolis
And finally a Google search for Metropolis
Metropolis is a silent film made in 1926. It is readily available at your local video store in various version
with a sound track that doesn’t really go with the film very well. many people find it boring to watch, and
unwatchable. I don’t blame them, if they haven’t seen the Georgio Moroder version. It is very sad that this
version of Metropolis is not in distribution. Moroder worked with several modern (80ʹ′s eara) rock musicians
to create and perform a score for Metropolis that would help to communicate the range of emotion that he
felt Fritz Lang intended. Most of the people I have shown the Moroder’s version to agree that this version
of Metropolis is night and day different from the other silent versions.
To be fair, I should also mention the Kino version of Metropolis, which is a true restoration.
The KINO International Restoration
Kino in association with the F.W. Murnau Foundation, completed a restoration a couple of years ago that
used the original score to create a sound track for Metropolis that is clearly very good. The music in this
version also matches the file very well. I can only say that I prefer the Moroder versioin, even though it is
considered an adaptation by many people.
Which ever version you prefer, your time is well spent in learning more about Metropolis.
Here is a link to my Original metropolis entry.
A Message for Debbie After Soccer

While on a business trip to California, I had time to visit some of my relateives in the Bay area. My
daughter Pam and husband Eric, and my son Chip and wife Shawna live there. Pam and Eric have two
wonderful girls Chloe seven almost eight and Claire just turned six. I flew in friday evening so I could go to
their Soccer games Saturday morning. After the games, we went to Flames for lunch. While we were there
we recorded a short message for Debbie, back in Austin Texas, as an audio blog entry;
Pastor Tom’s Intro to Ecclesiastes on Video

Pastor Tom Schoeneck is looking for additional means of income, since we are so small that we are having
trouble paying his salary, and he asked me to make a video of his sermon last Sunday. The sermon topic
was an “Introduction to Ecclesiastes”. The sermon was about 27 minutes long, and I recorded it with my
trusty Canon DV camera. I took it home and imported it into my Mac mini using iMovie. After it imported,
I watched some of it (and yes I have the lastest version of iMovie installed), and I noticed that occasionally
it would drop some frames. I had imported the video to my external firewire 400GB hard drive, so it should
have been fast enough. Anyway, since I have a Quicktime Pro license, I tried it again in Quicktime.
Quicktime now has a video import function. Anyway it worked fine, so I changed the file extention from
.MOV to .DV and moved it into the media folder inside the iMovie video project. When I started up iMovie
it automatically recognized new clip and asks if you want to delete it or use it. I driopped the new clip onto
my timeline. This previous part is important because it avoids the very time consuming import copy
process that iMovie would have gone through if I had just imported the video normally. So now I had
the 27 minute DV clip in iMovie and I split it into two parts, the introduction (about 4.5 minutes), and the
main part of the sermon (22 minutes or so).
Ecclesiastes Intro Part 1
Ecclesiastes Intro Part 2
I think they look pretty good. I exported them as described below using iMovie expert setting to H264. I had
tried several other encodings, but they ended up with files that were too large to be usable on the web, and
while 40MB or so is very large for a web movie, it is 26.5 minutes, so I don’t feel bad.
The specs on the video are as follows (for you nerdi types);
Data Rate: about 210 kbits/sec
Video: H264, 320 x 240, Millions of colors, 15 FPS
Audio: AAC, Mono, 16kHz
Editor’s Note: The videos above have been modified by youtube.com to work with their video display
software, so they may not have the same visual quality they did when I was hosting them on my own
web server as Quicktime H264 files. Flash is required to play these videos.
My Motorcycle History Part 2
Ok, we are setting the way-back machine to around 1966. I was in High
School, and my first bike was a Vespa 150 Red, hand painted by me I
think. It ran pretty darn good for a scooter. 150cc’s is a lot for a small
vehicle. I bombed around a lot with it, I don’t remember how or where I
got rid of it, but it was fun.
My second most
memorable bike was
a 1964 Suzuki X6
Hustler. The Hustler
was one of the first
250cc bikes that was
able to exceed
100mph. It was a 2
stroke of course, and
literally ran like a
Banshee. I don’t think I ever tried to get it up to
100mph, but I drove plenty fast in those days.
Next on the list of favorite bikes is the Honda CL72

250 Scramber 1964. This was a great motorcycle. I
bought it used from a dealer who told me it had been
bored out to 305cc, but he had to sell it to me as a 250
because that was the model it was. Fine with me, it ran
good, and who ever bored it out, did a good job,
because I never had any trouble with it, and I put a lot
of miles on it.
Three motorcycles remain in this chapter of history.

The next bike I bought was a Suzuki 380cc 3 cylinder
air cooled two stroke. These early bikes used oil
injection, so they didn’t smoke as much as earlier two
strokes, and they were very good at limiting oil usage, I
think I only had to add oil to the oil injection tank about
once every 1000 miles. Now I am not trying to say they
don’t smoke, cause they do. It didn’t bother me, but I
have been asked to ride in the back of the group, so
there won’t be other riders behind me that have to smell
all the smoke. I didn’t mind, it produced a lot of power
for its size, and it was very smooth. It used a 120
degree crank, that is three power pulses per engine
revolution. Hard to beat that with any engine.
My next bike was also a two stroke, the biggest two

stroke motorcycle ever made. It is the Suzuki 750 three
cylinder water cooled two stroke “water buffalo” as it
was called. Big torque, big power, very smooth. I did
have it over 100mph at least once. It was very much my
first touring motorcycle, and it was very happy two up.
Debbie and I rode it lots of place.
The final bike in this set actually occurred earlier. It

was a Royal Enfield 750 Interceptor. A kick start
battery-less twin with magneto ignition. If you didn’t
set everything right, you would never be able to start it.
Once it was running, it was amazing to ride. There
really is something about those British twins. It
definitely had more torque than any of the two strokes I ever owned. The royal Enfield wasn’t completely
trouble free, but I think it was my first taste of the motorcyling mystique that motorcycles are more than the
sum of their parts, and some lack of reliability is not necessarily a detriment to the fun of ownership and
operation.
My Motorcycle History Part 1
Ok, This history covers the period from about 1994

through 1998. This span of time begins when I did not
own a motorcycle, and had not owned one for about 10
years. I was sitting on the couch, being a potato, and
Debbie walks up to me and sais point blank “I have
decided to get a motorcycle again, whether you do or
not”. I blinked a couple of times, and immediately replied
“Over my dead…”, No I really said “I guess we are
getting motorcycles”. I had been out of motorcycling
since the mid 80s, when I had crashed my Gold Suzuki
GT-750 Water Buffalo in a hairpin turn in the hills
behind Milpitas California where we were living. I gave
it up, thinking this just wasn’t fun any more, since I
dislocated my right shoulder in the process, and it took almost a year to heal. Anyway, we proceeded to
look for Motorcycles, debbie bought a Black 1985 Honda Shadow 250, which lasted her about 3 months,
since it was so small. I bought a Red 1982 Yamaha Virago 920 (no picture), which I loved, except it had a
few problems, like it had sit for a year in someone’s garage. Truely a bad thing to do to a Yamaha, they get
all gunked up. So, while I was having problems with the Yamaha, I found a really good deal on a Black
1985 Honda Shadow 700 with very low miles (3000 miles?). I snapped it up. Then I discovered why it had
such low miles. It ran great, it was very reliable, had lots of power, but it had an exhaust note that would
drive almost anyone crazy. It sounded like it had no mufflers, though it a had factory exhaust system. I
eventually changed it out for an after market exhaust system that improved the tone somewhat, but I never
really learned to like the Shadow 700. I eventually sold it for a bit more than i originally paid for it.
My next purchase occured around 1994. I bought a

Suzuki GSX1100G. Basically your 1100cc road rocket. I
should have known when I bought it that any motorcycle
with a name like GSX1100 would be a hotrod. I knew it
had a heritage from the Suzuki road racers with the same
engine, but somehow I thought I would be able to handl
it. fool that I was. I don’t think I ever got a ticket on it,
but I can’t imagine why. It just wasn’t happy below
70mph, and I really wasn’t happy above 70mph. One
day, Debbie and I were going to go out for a ride
together on it, I warmed it up but left the
choke/enrichener on a bit too long, and it loaded up. We
got on, and sputtered along until we got to the freeway in california, and i decided to open it up to clean it
out. So as we accellerated onto the freeway, giving it full throttle two up, we accellerated until it cleared out.
It only took a few seconds, but then I looked down at the speedometer, and it read 90+mph, and I think I
was still in 3rd. Needless to say, I turned white as a sheet while I looked around for police cars. fortunately
none wre around, so I slowed down for the rest of the ride. I don’t thihnk Debbie knew how fast we were
going, until later, when she beat me up.
Within a few months, we moved to Texas, and I sold the

Suzuki and bought a brand new Yamaha Virago Black
and Cream 1100 Special. It was really a pretty bike. It
handled well, was fund to drive, and it was happy below
70mph. In fact it didn’t really like going a lot faster than
that, but I didn’t care, I was now a cruiser. I rode the
yamaha for a couple of years, to lots of rallies, until we
sold our house in California and became momentarilly
rich enough to buy Harleys.
September 16, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer |

Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit
The Presidents Specifics,

Pig Headed!
As Paula pointed out in an email this morning, there have been at least 7 accidents, injuries, or surgeries in
the first two weeks of September. That is after what seemed like several months of no more than one
accident a month. It’s not like there have been a lot more activities lately, in fact the whole summer has
been almost crazy busy, events coming and going sometimes two to a weekend. I guess God is trying to
make sure I don’t get bored. Well, it is working. I hardly have time to sit down anymore it seems, but I do
trust that God is in control. I feel like I am in the midst of a hurricane, and I’m constantly trying to find the
eye of the storm. I find my emotional state moving in and out of peace and distress like a yoyo. I feel like I
need to constantly be reminded that I don’t have to handle all this because I can’t, and I don’t have to. God
will handle everything, and HE IS HANDLING EVERYTHING! Last week, I was able to visit people in
the hospital three or four times, but this week, I couldn’t do that because priorities at work and evening
activities prevented me. Fortunately other people picked up the ball, and they went. I didn’t ask them to go,
they didn’t even know I couldn’t go, God just took care of the need by prompting them himself. I find that
amazing, even though I shouldn’t, He is after all God! Why is it so hard to trust that God will take care of
our needs, when we see it all the time? I guess I don’t have an answer, unless I am just too pig headed.
Yah! That must be It!
’73 Harley FLH In Stages

Here are three pictures of Debbie’s 1973 Shovelhead Electroglide “Miracle”. I think the name came because
Debbie found a sticker on the front end that said “Expect a Miracle”, so it stuck. Of course we knew that it
would actually be a miracle if Debbie actually managed to turn it into a drivable motorcycle.
This first picture shows “Miracle” as we received it (him, her?),

basically a basket case, or bike in a box. It was pretty complete, but
the motor had a broken jack shaft. I think that is something to do
with the cam, down in the bottom end. Anyway, it didn’t look like
much to start with.
This second
picture shows
the frame after
she had it
powder coated,
totally bare.
Nice and shiny.
in the
background you
can see some of
her other parts
that have been
powder coated,
sitting on the
shelf.
The last photo shows one of the rare moments when I

got to actually work on Miracle. We are working on
installing the oil hoses. As you can see, Miracle has
mad a lot of progress since we bought it in January
2004. We are actually pretty close to being able to start
the engine. Debbie needs to get the wiring done before
we can do that, and then all that is left is painting the
sheet metal. And purchasing a few more chromy pieces
of course. She is still pondering what color scheme to
use, but we already know it will be something simple,
no fancy multi-hue color changing paint for Miracle.
This is a ’73 FLH rebuild, not a chopper.
Biker Chicks
Here are two Biker Chicks, in their getups. Debbie and

Chloe.
Chloe got to fly to Texas from California all by herself.

What an adventure for her and a wonderful time for us.
We all had lots of fun.

Debbie’s ’91 FXRP After Paint Job
Here
is a
picture of Debbie and her FXR after we had it repainted. It looks pretty nice I think. The leather bags came
from a swap at South Padre Island rally, for $25, of course the frames to which they are attached cost over a
$100, and then they had to be custom modified to fit, but it was worth it.
My 1996 Virago
Here is an early picture of my 1996 Virago Special. It

was really a fun bike. I bought it new, and eventually
sold it some time in 1999, after I got the Road King. I
just couldn’t keep the Virago, because Yamaha’s don’t
like to site, they tend to gum up their carburetor if you
don’t drive them regularly. I couldn’t see my self riding
it very much, I liked the Road King too much. So I sold it
to a lady from Houston who was very glad to get it. She
drove up by her self pulling a trailer, so she could get it
home. I like to think of the Virago as good training for a
future Harley owner, because Virago’s have a lot of
personality, not as much as Harleys, but more than
Hondas. I don’t think I would have been happy with a Harley if I hadn’t own a Virago first. There would
have been just too many idiosyncracies to get used to.
Debbie’s Dad’s Flat Head Harley
This is a picture of Debbie’s Dad, Doran with one of his

Harleys, it could be his first. It is a Flat Head, we think it
is a 1929. Doran is no longer with us, but it is clear that
Debbie caught her dad’s love of motorcycling. Doran
was an auto mechanic, and Debbie used to help him by
cleaning carburators in the shop where he worked. She
just loved to get dirty. For the last couple of years, she
has been learning to be a Harley mechanic. Not
perfessional of course, but she has learned a lot. She is
building her second Harley, a 1973 Shovelhead
Electroglide. She has stripped it all the way down to a
bare frame, and had the frame powder coated. She built it
all the way back up to the point it is almost complete, in
ony a year and a half. I will post a picture of is later as
well.

Debbie’s First Harley
This is Debbie’s first Harley, a 1991 FXRP, P for Police.

It has the 80 CI motor, and a fairly nice paint job, sort of
gold and black. We eventually had it repainted to red,
after I kind of dented the rear fender, but that is another
story. She was mighty proud to own a Harley. When we
wnt looking at Harley’s, i looked for one that didn’t leak.
It was a challenge to find one that didn’t leak, but we
did, so we bought it. Come to find out that almost all
harleys leak, I thinkwe got an especially good one. It had
around 48,000 miles on it when we got it, and it has
around 78,500 now. It was rebuilt at around 65,000, to fix
a base gasket leak, which it fairly common, so she had it
bored 10 thousands over, and put new pistons and rings in. I will find a newer picture later and post that.

Posted Newsletter Articles for 2003, 2004, 2005
For any of you that might be interested, I have posted all of my previous New Life Riders newsletter
articles that I had available. Lots of them are missing, but I may find a few later to add at the appropriate
places in the list. Normally I only write one newsletter article a month, so new articles will get interspersed
with my regular blog postings as they happen. I hope you find these historical articles as interesting to read
as they were exciting for me to write.
This is my first audio post, and it is very boring!
My ’99 Harley Davidson RoadKing

Here is a picture of my 1999 Harley Davidson
RoadKing. It is a first year Twincam, and it has over
50,000 miles on it now. Like many of the early
Twincams, it had the Cam Bearing failure, mine occured
at about 46,000 miles, and two months under the 5 year
automatically extended cam bearing warranty harley gave
all the early owners. Naturally while having it repaired
under warranty, I spent an extra couple of grand on the
95 ci Stage II upgrade with touring (mid-range tourque)
cam. I have been very pleased with the very noticable
increase in performance. I had the factory oil cooler
installed near the beginning of it’s life, it gets very hot
down here in Texas, and I didn’t want it getting
overheated. I have averaged between 8k and 9k miles a
year. I am a member of the New Life riders CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) chapter, we attend
lots of rallies each year. Summers last from April to about November each year, and Winter seems like it is
only about 2 weeks long, so we have lots of riding time here. One of these days I will tell you how I ended
up with a Harley, and I will fill in the blanks on all my other motorcycles, from Vespas to Yamahas, to
Royal Enfields.
Metropolis 1984 Georgio Moroder Version

This is a reminder of my favorite movie of all time. Yes
it is Metropolis, but not just any version of Metropolis, it
has to be the Georgio Moroder 1984 Laser Disk version.
Various version of the movie are available, but this one
is not easily available anywhere. I personally own the
Vestron Laser Disk, and the Moroder audio CD of the
movie, and I have personally converted it to DVD, using
my macintosh computer. I would also like to obtain
another copy of this version, if you want to sell yours.
There is a lot you can say about this movie, but it has
been said already many times, I can only say it is
amazing, and if you ever have the opportunity to see it,
then do it. You won’t regret it.
Oh by the way, while I don’t feel like I can loan this

movie out, I am more than willing to setup a showing. If
you would like to see Metropolis for the first time, or are
already a fan of the Moroder version, email me and we
will setup a viewing. We can make popcorn and
everything. My email address is available on my profile page.
September 9, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Edit
Apple iPod nano Released
As almost everyone knows by now, Apple released the iPod nano to the world yesterday. I
have been waiting for the release of a iPod mini with a color display, and this is certainly it.
I almost bought one yesterday on hearing about it, but when I found out that it had only half
the storage of the mini, I paused. I am sure you know what happens when you pause, it
become real hard to hit play again. Anyway, I still think it is very nice, and a worthy
replacement for the mini, but I think I will wait a while.
New Life Riders
I am the current serving President of New Life Riders, a chapter of the CMA
(Christian Motorcyclists Association). CMA is an international organization that
seeks to share the good news about Jesus Christ on the highways and byways. I was
recently appointed the Chaplain of UCOA.
UCOCT
A link to the United Clubs Of Central Texas, where you

can find a link to the United Clubs of Austin web page.
UCOCT and UCOA are organizations that are focused on
bringing together the many traditional patch wearing
motorcycle clubs in the greater Austin and Waco areas to
provide good communications, information distribution
on club events and cooperation between clubs on fund
raiser for worth charities.
September 7, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized
| Leave a Comment | Edit
Daily Posts (More or less)

Wow, is this a picture of a mean biker or what? Our
church was at a local (Georgetown Texas) park. Do you
think I have enough coals going to cook those six hot
dogs?
Till next time.
September 7, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized

| 1 Comment | Edit
President’s Specifics, Up To HERE!

Begin Rant.
We seem to be in an unhappy time of life. Everyone I know is either sick, tired, afraid they are about to lose
their job, overloaded with work, miserable in their job, or stressed to the point of breaking. Our computers
don’t work, our cars don’t work, our bikes are broken. Families are always having arguments, or if they
don’t have a family, they want to kick the dog into the next county. I’ve had it up to here, you have had it
up to here, we have all had it up to HHHEEEEERRREEE…..
End Rant.
Wow, I am sure glad I got that out of my system. I’m not even sure where it came from. I’m not really that
miserable, in fact I’m not even unhappy. My job’s not that bad, it’s actually pretty good. Some of my
friends are sick, but they are in God’s hands and they know it. In fact most of them are recovering from
whatever they have. I am kind of tired, but I suppose if I got some rest, by perhaps going to bed a little
earlier than I usually do, I might get caught up on my sleep. Families do have arguments, but we love them
anyway, I just need to remember that sometimes. The computers are broken, but they are always broken, so
I might as well get used to that. The cars and the bikes can be fixed, and we will fix them, cause I can’t be
stuck at home too long, I might start getting depressed and we don’t want that. I do need to remember that
God is in control, not me, because when I try to be in control I always get in big trouble, and I start to get
depressed. And, we don’t want that!
Presidents Points, Going REALLY!

Being a Christian and all, I tend to read a lot of Devotional books. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. I
guess I should say I tend to read a devotional book once in a while. Lately, I have been reading “My
Utmost for His Highest”. For me, “lately” is the last year. At this point I am a little more than half way
through the 365 single page studies, so as you can see, I keep my own pace. Anyway, today’s single page
devotional was titled “The Go of Reunification”. The concept goes something like this, We have things
about us that need to be removed so they can be replaced with those things that God wants to use in us, so
we can more fully be “unified” with God. The text follows the concept of “If I know how to handle this,
then I will probably screw it up”. The implication being that I need to let God handle things, and quit trying
to handle so much myself. It makes a lot of sense to me, I have certainly seen the results of my screw-ups
when I do things my way. Anyhow, it finishes up with another thought along the same line. “Luke 9:61. The
person who says, “Lord, I will follow you but…,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never
goes.” I think the author finishes with an important point. If we are excited about going out and allowing
God to work through us on the highways and byways, but we always seem to find something else we need
to do that seems more important, It might be useful to do a little searching to make sure we aren’t just
making up excuses for our own fears about what will happen when we go. Now I’m not trying to lay a guilt
trip on anyone, I know that everyone has times in their life when physical, emotional or financial
considerations keep us from doing what we would like to do. What I am really talking about is those times
when you and I clearly sense that God is telling us to do something, but we just somehow don’t want to do
it, and so we make excuses. Remember the problem with excuses, is not that they don’t work with people, it
is that they don’t work with God. God does have a lot of patience, and He will give us a second or maybe
even 70 times 7 chances. He loves us that much, and He loves us so much, he can’t leave us the way we are.
President & Personal, ROT Over, Debbie Going To Russia

ROT is over! While working registration, we ministered to over 30,000 people. I organized pre-registration,
sharing the job with Harvey Keil. We swapped off, working half days each, then I went home at night to my
own bed, and slept very well in preparation for the next day’s events. I can only tell you that it went very
well, and I especially appreciated the attitude of all you workers. Everyone was willing to do whatever I
needed done. So, I thank you “good and faithful servants”.
Debbie headed off to California the day after the ROT rally ended, so as you might guess, it is rather lonely
around my house. She usually goes to visit our children and grand-children several times a year. This time,
she has been given the opportunity to extend her trip to go on a two week mission trip to Russia with a
group from our previous church in California (before we moved to Texas). The team will be putting on a
VBS (Vacation Bible School) while in Russia, and Debbie will be responsible for several of the lessons. She
has a big heart for missions, and for children especially, so my sacrifice of letting her go for a total of six
weeks is the least I can do. We would appreciate your prayers for my sanity while she is gone, and for her
safety traveling, and for a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit while the team is in Russia.
You can click the title above to go over to the blog I put up that has infrmation on the Russia mission trip.
The President’s Pedagogics – June 2005

Here is my Jun 2005 article, I could only find it in PDF format, so it is presented as a picture file. Click for
a larger version.
June 3, 2005 Posted by tomzimmer |

President’s Points,
Ultimate Desire
Anger. It comes from lots of places, it is
caused by lots of things. People do things I
don’t like, they say things I don’t like, They
look at me in ways I don’t like. They drive
their cars behind me, in front of me, and
around me, and then they try to drive through
me. I am not appreciated, I am too fat, I can’t
do anything right. My computer doesn’t
work right, it crashes all the time, it has
viruses that I can’t get rid of, it is only a
years old, and it is too slow. I am angry at
myself, and everyone else. Sometimes I think
the world would be a better place if I put
everyone else out of my misery. Then I could
be alone in my self pity…. Does any of this sound familiar? I know we remind ourselves that God is in
control, and everything happens for a reason, but do I really believe that? Is He really in control, can all this
stuff happen to me and around me, and yet God is in control? Why can’t God just snap His fingers and put
a stop to some of this? Why can’t He just make everything right? Well…., there is an answer. Let me see if
I can get my brain around this. 1. GOD IS IN CONTROL! Yes, He really is, and everything He does is in
my best interest. As a child of God, the bible tells me that He work out everything for my good. So why
would he put me through all this, and how can it be for my good? I believe the answer is pretty simple.
God’s ultimate desire for me and you, is that we trust Him. Now I’m not talking about a casual trust, like
the guy in the next lane of the freeway will stay in his lane, I am talking about the big trust. A trust that He
cares for me, and He will take care of me, no matter what. I have problems with that, and I know you do
too. So why does he do it this way, and not with a snap of His fingers. I believe the answer is choice. He
has given us a choice. We can choose to trust Him, or we can choose to not trust Him. If we choose not to
trust, and I some times do, I get to experience the results of my choice. Things don’t always work out so
well when I rely on my own knowledge and experience instead of God’s. You see, our ability to choose
requires that God train us to trust Him. He does that by teaching us that our own skills are not sufficient to
handle all of our problems. We learn, slowly that God’s way is the best, and my way is not. God could have
made us without giving us a choice, but then we would be a bunch of programmed robots. I think God’s
way is better, it just isn’t as easy for me, or for God. You see He has to watch all my foolish self
sufficiency, which results in lots of bad decisions along the path as I learn to trust Him. Do you think God’s
way is the best way, or would you rather be a robot?
President’s Points, Filled With Excitement

I do believe the rally season is beginning in earnest. The rain finally subsided (mostly) in mid-March and
the Brotherhood of Bikers had their second St. Patrick’s Day Rally to benefit the Texas Baptist Children’s
Home. If you didn’t go, they you really missed it, ‘cause it was great! They held it out near Pace Bend Park
at Moon River Bar and Grill and they had all the usual rally features: fun, fellowship, poker run, bike show,
door prizes, vendors, camping and a blowup moon walk for the kids. There was one other feature that really
made it special — they had music, and I am not talking about one band. Since this was SXSW weekend,
and there happened to be 600 bands in town, they got six bands to perform as a benefit for the charity. Oh,
did I mention that the entry fee to this rally was only $10? The music was amazing, all the bands were great,
and I’m sure everyone had their favorite. Mine was one of the bands that performed Friday night called
Dawn Maracle. They played blues/rock with fantastic guitar and harmonica. Overall, I give this rally an
A+ and I think it is likely to be much bigger next year.
On a second note, this past weekend, Debbie and I were on our way back home, tired after working on
Debbie’s bike all day at Hill Country Motorcycles in Liberty Hill. As we were going along on Hwy 29, I
looked over to the right and saw this lady standing next to her car and she was jumping up and down
waving at us. Now, we get a lot of people waving at us but she didn’t look familiar and I couldn’t figure
out why she was so enthusiastic. She didn’t really look like she was having car trouble and I really thought
about just continuing on. But that little voice in my head told me I should go back. So after carefully
checking my mirrors to make sure it was safe, we moved to the center median and made a uturn back to her
car. As we pulled up next to her, she said she, her husband, and son had run out of gas and someone had
stopped to help and given her husband a ride to a gas station a few miles up the road. Unfortunately, he had
been gone for longer than she expected and she was about at wits end, worried he might have gotten
mugged instead of helped by the other person that stopped. I listened to her story and then I asked if he had
a cell phone. She said yes and that her husband had taken it with him. I pulled my phone out and said
“Would you like to call him?” She took the phone and dialed him up. Everything was fine and he would be
back in a few minutes. Her stress level dropped like a rock and she expressed her thanks for our assistance.
I said I was glad that everything was okay and we talked for a couple of minutes, then Debbie and I headed
off down the road again, filled with excitement that God had used us to bless someone. It is such a
simple act. Listen to the “still small voice” and do what it says. Be blessed and become a blessing. It
couldn’t be easier.
President’s Portion, Golden Truth

I just got back from Seasons of Refreshing 2005 in Canton. As usual, Curtis Clements, our Regional
Evangelist, was teaching and I can only say “It was wonderful.” (Curtis, if you are reading this, I am not
just saying that.) The topic was “Little Is Much”, that is, “little is much in the hands of God”. Now in all
fairness to the topic, I can’t really do it justice in a newsletter article but Curtis did provide the essence on
the cover of the handout we received for note taking.
Here are the bullet points for the “golden truth”:
1) God has a ministry for you!
My commentary: Reading the Bible and going to church is great but God’s plan for your life doesn’t stop
there, in fact, it only starts there. In Exodus 4, God really wanted to use Moses to speak to Pharaoh but
Moses’ refusal ultimately led God to use Aaron as Moses’ voice. God wasn’t happy about having to do that
but the truth is, God will only use us to the extent we allow him.
2) God chooses to use what we have “in our hands”, no matter how little or insignificant, to accomplish the
miraculous.
My commentary: God works the miracles but He always uses us and whatever we have at hand to complete
the process. 2 Kings 4 is the amazing story of the widow that wanted her children saved from slavery. God
worked a miracle but she had to participate in it.
3) God is not interested in our wisdom and abilities but is asking that we surrender our will to him.
My commentary: The problem with our wisdom and abilities is they get in the way of our letting God solve
the real problem. In 1 Samuel 17, David faces the Philistine Goliath without any training in warfare. David
trusted God to help him but he did take five stones with him to use against Goliath but God only needed
one.
4) When we place our lives in the hands of God, we can depend on His strength and ability rather than our
own.
My commentary: In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are unjustly beaten and imprisoned but they trust in God. So
they start singing songs in their jail cell. God brings an earthquake and not only gets them out of prison but
saves the jailer and his family as well. Oh, yes, and an apology from the governor as well.
Seasons was truly a blessing
Presidents Placard, My Attention

Here we are, in the dead of winter, or at least as dead as the winter ever gets in central Texas. I hear it is
expected to get down to freezing the weekend of January 22-23 – so I guess I’m glad there weren’t any
actual chapter activities scheduled. Of course, not everyone had the weekend off. Debbie is going to prison,
with Bill Glass, but I have chosen not to participate this year. Not sure why, perhaps it will become clear
later. I do know that I want to be used of God for whatever purpose He has for me. It just isn’t to go to
prison. Sounds kind of odd when I say it. I know there is a need, I just didn’t feel that pull to go this year. I
guess I will just have to wait expectantly for God’s plan to unfold and keep paying attention while I wait.
That is the hard part, keeping focused and listening while I wait for God to prompt me. It is so easy to get
dragged off into doing something that isn’t bad in itself, it’s just distracting and absorbing and time wasting.
Ok God, if I start to get distracted, could you speak up, nice and loud, so as to get my attention? Hmmm…,
yes, I think God knows how to get my attention! How about you?
State Of The Chapter

Welcome to the new year. We have new officers, new rallies, new experiences and new challenges. Our
officers for 2005 will be myself (Tom Zimmer) as President; Doug Mullis, Vice President; and returning
officers are Phil Underwood, Chaplain; Susan Potter, Treasurer; and Janice Walsh as Secretary and
Newsletter Editor (when she gets her computer fixed). The Road Captain position remains unfilled at the
present. A big thank you goes to the outgoing officers for a great job done in 2004.
We had a wonderful Christmas Party and I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Whew! I’m exhausted
from all that relaxing over the holidays.
The Officers Training is this month and Seasons of Refreshing is next month, so please plan to attend those
events. Training is especially important for those of us new to our offices and everyone needs a refresher to
keep on top of the latest info from CMA headquarters. Seasons is a great time of fellowship and is open to
all CMA members, prospective members, and friends.
As we move into the new year, the rallies will begin slowly and pick up as the weather improves. There will
be new challenges this year because of all the possible rallies and events we can attend. We will each need
to make choices about which ones to attend and which ones to skip. Don’t forget to consult God in prayer
BEFORE planning to attend an event. There is no point in attending a rally in one place when God wants
you somewhere else.
While I’m on the subject, let’s try to not beat ourselves up so much this year. We all make mistakes,
sometimes accidental, sometimes willful. When that happens, God shows us that we have made an error and
then we can get back on the right road. Let’s resolve to pay attention to God’s prompting and when He
shows us our error, then let’s get on the road and move on. Then, turn off the guilt trip that always follows a
direction correction. That guilt we feel after turning back to the truth isn’t from God. He has already
forgiven us, so let it drop off on the road behind you and ride on into the light of God’s next adventure.
This is going to be a great year. The more we each travel the highways and byways, the more opportunities
God will give us to bless and be blessed with His presence and power.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, A Good Year

Well, here we are in December as I write my last Verisimilitudes article. Yes, that’s right, I won’t be VP
next year, y’all elected me President. Randy is taking a break from officer ship, and I think we all owe him
a big thank you for the job he has done these past five years. It is kind of hard to believe it has been five
years, a lot has happened, but the chapter has run pretty smoothly. If I were to tally our chapter’s results
during these years, I know I have personally seen several people come to Christ and the number of people
we as a chapter have seen accept Christ, I believe, measures in the dozens. I am not one to keep track of
numbers, but people do count to God, and I find that very encouraging. This must be about the fifth year we
participated in the ROT rally as well, with Randy’s leadership for the years we worked registration. It has
grown, and the CMA’s participation in it has grown, due at least in part to all our efforts. Many thousands
of people are touched in a multitude of ways during that week in May. I have seen some pretty exciting
things happen around my house as well. Debbie has been working part time at Hill Country Hawgz, now
renamed Hill Country Motorcycles, for over a year now, and she is about 70% of the way to finishing a
complete ground up rebuild of a 1973 Shovelhead FL. It has gone from “Bike in a Box”, to bare frame, and
back to rolling chassis with bottom end and transmission installed. It has been cleaned, balanced, powder
coated and painted. Not bad progress for a year of learning, building, buying parts and oh yes, changing lots
of tires and painting lots of cylinders and all the other things the “new-be” does at a motorcycle shop. Did I
mention run for lunch? It has been a good year in so many ways, I can’t even include them all here, but I
think you get the idea. I look forward to this coming year, more poker runs, more rallies, more new friends,
more motorcycle building. I am truly thankful for the blessings God has poured out upon us, how about
you?
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Lessons Learned

Lessons learned. Learning lessons is no fun, frankly I hate it, or at least strongly dislike learning lessons. I
am a manager and an engineer by trade, and I am used to having people listen to me when I talk. Now I’m
not saying I run over people, I do try to be considerate when I recommend a solution to a problem. I also try
to give the person solving the problem ownership in the solution, so they can feel like it was their solution,
not just something they had to do. Some people might call this manipulation, but I think of it as consensus
problem solving, where everyone involved gets to participate in devising the solution. Everyone gets to do
things their way, because everyone had a say in how it should be done. It doesn’t always work, but it
usually works. Anyway, back to my lesson. I have heard some people complain about how they are treated
by some mechanics, kind of a “you drive it, and I fix it” attitude. It can make you quite angry to be treated
in a condescending way. I haven’t had this problem personally, but I guess God decided I needed a lesson,
so I could learn how it feels. Anyway, I went to an outdoor concert recently, and while testing the sound
system, the sound man was running the sound levels so loud, It seemed to me that a lot of people were
going to get damaged hearing. This was not a rock concert mind you. Anyway, I was experiencing some
pain in the ears, so I went over to the sound man to let him know what was happening. He basically blew
me off, saying he had to do what he was doing to test the system. Needless to say, I went away REALLY
angry. So angry in fact, I contemplated shutting down the entire sound system’s power. Fortunately clearer
heads prevailed, and I cooled off and talked to one of the organizers instead. He at least knew that he
needed to listen and offered to look into it. So, what did I learn from this? Well, first it is no fun being the
butt end of someone else’s condescension. I can only suppose that I needed to learn this because I have
done that to someone else, and I need to be more considerate. I will be, I can tell you. Second, it is very
humbling to be the boss, and suddenly find yourself not the boss. And my recommendation to you is that
you don’t assume that the person you are talking to about a technical subject you know well knows nothing
about that subject. Whether the person you are talking to is a he or a she, and the subject is motorcycles,
engines, racing, sound systems, computers or whatever.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Remind Me

Well it is that time again, summer is mostly over, and things should (SHOULD) start to cool off some. Of
course, as I write this in mid September, it hasn’t cooled off any, but I have faith that it will. Faith is an
interesting thing, defined as “belief in something unseen”. Faith allows us to drive to work, believing among
other things that we won’t run out of gas, or get into an accident. Now, I know, you are saying to yourself, I
don’t need faith, to know I won’t run out of gas, I can look at my gas gauge. But, you really do have to
have faith, since you trust the gauge to tell you the truth about how much gas is in the tank. You don’t after
all; stop at every station along the way, to keep the tank as full as possible, because, you have built up trust
in the gauge, that it will warn you when you are low on gas. So, faith is no big deal, it simply relies on trust,
and trust simply relies on faithful, repeatable actions occurring under known conditions. So, why do I often
seem to have trouble having Faith that God has things under control. Take this morning as an example. I
woke up and felt overwhelmed by the thought in my head about all the things going on, and the part I am
“supposed” to play in them. I think I stayed there for over half an hour, in my pity party, wishing things
weren’t the way they are. Now, remember, I am complaining about my own life, not yours. I know many of
you have bigger troubles/ challenges in your lives than I do, but at least this morning, mine seemed pretty
big. Fortunately, I had someone right there with me to remind me that God is in control, not me, so what am
I worried about. And, the amazing thing is that it is true. As soon as I turned all that stuff over to God, I
could stop worrying about it. Like I said, trust is built up over a period of time, a time during which, God
has shown Himself to be faithful to His word, and faithful to provide for my needs. I do wonder why I keep
forgetting that God is faithful, but fortunately He is always around to remind me.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Pity Party

How do you feel right now? I have been pretty conscious of my level of stress lately, and it has been fairly
high. The funny thing is, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with how busy I am, unless I am more
stressed when I am not very busy. Lets look at some feelings, and see which category you “feel” like you
fall into;
Response Category 1 —————- Response Category 2

I can’t do this anymore. ———– God, it’s your turn to take over.
No body understands me. ———— I wonder how Bob/Bill/Joe is doing.
Everybody is always picking on me. – Maybe he/she had a bad day.
You idiot, get off the road. ——- They must be in a hurry.
I’m bored, what’s on TV. ———– Ok, Lord, what do You want to do now?
I’m bored, let’s go shopping. —— “”
I’m bored, let’s go to Fry’s. —— “” (my particular favorite)
I’m bored, let’s browse the web. — “” (another favorite)
I’m bored, what’s in the fridge. — “” (uh, oh, these are all favorites)
Now I happen to have problems with boredom, so this list is particularly slanted in that direction, you
probably have other issues. Please notice, that I’m not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone, least of all
myself, but if you, like me, find you fall into Category 1 more than Category 2, then here are some words we
can note together. Category 1, is primarily inward focused, that is “Me” focused. Category 2 is outward
focused. Inward focuses on why I am not happy. It makes for a great pity party, but tends to be very circular
in nature, leading to depression. And, depression as most anyone will tell you is no fun at all. So, is there a
way out of this rat race? Well, yes there is. First, we need to recognize where we are, and where we are
going (am I focusing on me?). Next, we need to recognize we can’t solve this problem ourselves (inward
focus is self perpetuating). Finally, we need to ask for help (God, show me your will in this situation). God
is able to help, but for His own reasons, He has made us self capable beings that can solve lots of problems.
We just can’t solve all of them ourselves. Fortunately He did give us the ability to know when it’s time to
call for help. Is it time to for you to call for help? Are you at the end of your rope? Don’t let go, reach out
and grab the hand that is always waiting to lift you up! Even so, come Lord Jesus.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Nice Thoughts

I have been learning a lot lately about Grace, or maybe I haven’t been learning a lot. I’m not sure, but I do
know I should be. Sure that is. I know I sound very confused, but I’m not really. You see, I have all these
thoughts, thoughts that aren’t very, uh, well, not very nice thoughts. They happen at various time, in various
circumstances, always when I’m having some sort of discussion or minor disagreement with someone else.
What about, you might ask? Well it doesn’t really matter. The point is, these thoughts tell me that nobody
understands me, and nobody really cares about me. They are stupid thoughts really, and I know they are not
true. The amazing things is, that it is so hard to deny those thoughts and declare the truth, even thought I
know what the truth is. Ok, here is a little bit of background. I have been under the apparent misconception
that the thoughts in my head come from three different places. The three places are myself, God and satan.
You see, satan, being the father of lies doesn’t want me to know the truth, so he speaks lies to me. God is
truth, so He tells me what is true, and I thought I also needed to identify my own thoughts in all this. It was
kind of confusing. You might be saying to yourself, that sounds right. But what I have been learning is that,
when I accept Jesus as my saviour, I receive not only salvation, but I am completely changed at that
moment, (including my mind) to be in perfect alignment with Christ. So there really doesn’t ever need to be
any confusion. I am in Christ, and while satan is still allowed to lie to me, I don’t have to listen. I am
finding that It isn’t really that hard to identify which thoughts come from where, the hard part is denying the
lie and holding on to the truth. The Bible says “the truth will set you free”. I believe that, and God is helping
me understand “Him” more clearly every day. I pray that God will show me the truth, so I can get out of the
way, and He can live out His truth through me every day. I know “I” can’t do it, but “He” can. Won’t you
pray this prayer with me?
VPs Verisimilitudes, Yes I Think So

We just got back from the Austin Roller fund raiser in Liberty Hill, held at Mike’s Barnyard BBQ on 29. It
was a small event, including a ride through the Hill Country, an auction and live music. Overall, pretty well
organized, and it raised about $3000 for the Roller family to help with expenses. We were asked to have a
Bike Blessing at the end, and we had a dozen or so bikes and riders stick around through the 95 degree
temperatures to get their bikes blessed. All in all, a good time had by everyone. Oh, yes, and the food was
good to. Debbie and I spend most of the day at the first poker run stop, Hill Country Hawg, talking to riders
as they came through, and handing out bottles of cold water, compliments of the shop. Whenever I
participate in a Bike Blessing, I always ask the rider if they have accepted Jesus as their saviour. I find it
interesting that as often as not, the response is “yes, I think so”. That seems good on the surface, but it tells
me that they aren’t sure. I usually ask more questions, to find out if they have actually asked Jesus to come
into their lives, and usually they have. The thing is, I always wonder why people seem unsure. It appears
that many people believe that if we wander away from Christ, he will somehow change his mind about
saving us. That is NOT true. Jesus won’t change His mind. He promised us that if we ask for forgiveness,
He will be faithful to forgive our sins. Now many people believe that if they were to somehow die, before
asking for forgiveness for their last sins, that they would be excluded from heaven, but we need to
remember that Jesus died only once, 2000 years ago, and then He was resurrected once, never to die again.
When Christ died, he died for ALL my (and your) sins, past, present, and future. Once we have accepted
him as saviour, we have accepted his forgiveness for all our sins, not just the ones we specifically asked for
forgiveness for. Now does that mean we don’t need to ask for forgiveness anymore? Well, when I ask for
forgiveness for my sins, I am agreeing with God that I wandered away from Him, and tried to handle things
on my own. When I do that, I think it is useful in my training (God’s training of me) to acknowledge that I
did a foolish thing, and I should have let Him handle my life. When we wander away from God, he waits
patiently for us to realize we are doing something silly, and then accepts us back into His arms the moment
we realize we made a mistake. Let us agree right now, that when we wander away, and come to realize we
made a mistake, we will not delay acknowledging our mistake to God and just accept his loving arms
waiting for us, even at this moment.
VP’s Verisimilitudes – June 2004

As many of you know, Debbie is in the midst of the “Learning To Be A Mechanic” journey. This has been
going on for a while, about a year I guess. One of the exciting things for me, is having my own mechanic to
do the services on my Road King. They still aren’t free of course, someone has to watch over her, and make
sure she does it right. Another neat thing, is that we happened to come across a ’74 Shovelhead basket case
inexpensively, which she is rebuilding from the ground up. A fare amount of progress has occurred,
everything was disassembled, the frame was then stripped and painted, we bought a new (to us) FL front
end for a reasonable price. The engine bottom end was sent out a while back to Tom Elrod for rebuilding
and balancing. It has just come back, so she is just about ready to start assembly. It will be very exciting to
see it start to come together into an actual motorcycle. During this year, we have probably missed a few
rallies, but we have gained a group of good friends at “the shop”. I’m describing Hill Country Hawgz of
course. There’s Lisa, Tina, Ken, Billy, Gary, John, Chuck, Diane, and of course Gracy, Diane’s 2 year old
daughter. We have met many others as well, too many to count or name, especially considering my inability
to remember names. It has been a good year. It’s been a very good year. It has been a year when I learned a
lot about God’s grace, and I am still learning. How about you?
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Complaining to God

I have just been watching an HBO special titled “Dwarfs: Not A Fairy Tale”. I don’t know if you have seen
it or not, but it was very interesting, for several reasons. “Small People” are the size they are because they
are born that way and they don’t have any choice in the matter, they can only respond to the situation and
make a life for themselves that suits their size. Seems pretty obvious, how could they do anything else. An
interesting thing though, is that all the small people HBO interviewed, appeared to me to have very strong
personalities. Personalities that were not easily defeated or oppressed. Again, you might say, “that seems
obvious”. They are required to overcome greater obstacles that “normal” people, and so they naturally get
good at it, developing a strong drive to succeed. I guess that would be right, but I wonder how many of us,
given that we don’t have to overcome those extreme obstacles, don’t really develop that drive to succeed.
Maybe we just complain about the obstacles we do encounter. You know, one of the things I am learning as
a Christian is that God doesn’t ask me my opinion before giving me an obstacle to overcome. Now I’m not
saying God is out to get me, I fully believe that god only puts me into situations that will benefit me and
mature me. What I am saying, is that God knows what I need to trust him more, and to trust me less, and He
will accomplish his goal, which is to bring me to complete reliance on him. I guess my point is, that there
isn’t much (any?) point in complaining about the situation we find ourselves in, because if God didn’t want
me to be where I am now, He wouldn’t have allowed me to be here in the first place.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Vicki Wadding

I went to the CMA Seasons of Refreshing in Canton last month, and while I was there, we were shown a
video on Evangelism training by Vicki Wadding. Vicki is the wife of Gary Wadding, a CMA Evangelist. I
was so impressed with her testimony, that I ordered three copies of the Vicki Wadding Evangelism Training
tape to share with my church and other members of our CMA chapter. Now it is probably obvious that Gary
has to have the gift of Evangelism if he is going to be a CMA Evangelist. What is not so obvious, is that by
her own admission Vicki doesn’t have that gift. Now you might say to yourself, well, that’s ok, she doesn’t
really need to have that gift, she just needs to be willing to go with Gary where he is called. And that is
exactly right. But the whole point of the training, is that Vicki learned, and we all need to learn as well, that
just being willing to go is not all there is to it. We do need to be willing to go, we also need to actually go,
and we need to keep our eyes, ears and heart open to God as we go, to see how he want to use us.
Accomplishing these three things is not going to be possible under our own strength, so Vicki points out
another crucial element of the process. We need to pray and ask God for big results. Maybe sometime in the
past you have prayed and asked God to just give you one person to minister to, well, try increasing that
number a couple of orders of magnitude, and see if God doesn’t honor your prayer with amazing results. It
is a scary thing to pray for and I cannot possibly explain it as well as Vicki did in the training tape, so I
encourage you to order your own copy today. It is available from the CMA for only $10, and it is worth
every penny. Share it with your chapter, your church and your friends.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, A New Season

Well, I rode my bike today, for the first time in a while. I missed the St. Valentines Massacre last weekend,
the poor weather gave me an excuse to wimp out, that and the fact that no one else from our chapter was
going. I heard that attendance was down, but I still missed it and not just that I didn’t go, I missed the
experience. I really like the Massacre, people are friendly, there are lots of bikes and lots of vendors, and
where else can you camp in 30 degree weather in February. Oh well, I’ll have to try it again next year, and
next time I won’t let a little weather stop me. It was really nice to have good weather today, it got up to
almost 70. Hopefully today is a sign of things to come, fair weather and fun riding. If you haven’t pulled the
tarp off your bike yet, then this is the time to do it. Get it into the shop and change those fluids, adjust those
cables, pump up the tires and get ready to ride. Spring is nearly here, and the calendar is already filling up.
Don’t get left behind. See you on the highways and byways.
VP’s Verisimilitudes, Financial Difficulties

Financial difficulties. You know. The kind where there isn’t enough green to go around. It leads to
impatience, anxiety, and frustration. You know the drill, we have all felt it and we have all wished that it
wasn’t so. But it is. Sometimes there isn’t enough to go around, and sometimes we just have to endure it.
Words like tighten the belt come to mind, cut out optional expenses, and on and on. Those are not easy
times, those are not times we look back on and enjoy thinking about, or do we? Seems to me, I remember a
time when I was in the military, back in ‘70 (or whenever it was), we didn’t have a lot to spend, but being
just married, we had each other, and somehow that was enough. I guess attitude does play an important part.
The church Debbie and I are members of is having some fairly serious cash flow problems. We have had
them for several years now, and even though everyone that attends our church will tell you that they know
God is working there, somehow we just keep shrinking, and the money keeps shrinking along with our size.
Lots of times, in the past couple of years, God has caused something to happen to carry us through a
specific money problem and I’m sure He can do it again, as many times as he wants to. Thing is, we have
never been “this” close to insolvency, and people are starting to get pretty worried. I often wonder why God
chooses to use the methods He does. God always seems to use a particular technique to stretch us in an area
we don’t want to be stretched. So if we are worried about our health, sometimes we have to get sick to learn
that God will provide the health we need. If we are worried about money, then sometimes God has to take
away our money to get us to rely on Him. You see, it is not about worrying, it is about “not worrying” and
placing our trust in the One who can and will provide just what we need, just when we need it. It is not
easy, I know I don’t like it, and you probably don’t either, but God didn’t design His plan to make us
comfortable, He designed it to make us trust him
Vertical Perfection – January
Why does God bother? I mean, if each of us “Christians” are His tool to bring His message of love to the
world, why does God bother with ME? There must be other people out there that are better suited to God’s
task than me. I know, I am willfully disobedient in lots of areas, lazy, self centered…did I mention lazy.
Hmmm…, it is hard to understand why God chooses to use such and ordinary tool as I am. The really scary
part is that there is no doubt in my mind that he does use me, sometimes just moments after I have been
willfully disobedient. Dies His grace really extend that far? I think it does…I KNOW it does! Long after my
own mercy has given out, God’s grace is just beginning. We forget (I forget), that God’s perfect plan
includes the use of imperfect people (tools), to accomplish His perfect purpose. Of course not all of God’s
tools are imperfect. Jesus wasn’t imperfect. Jesus was and is perfect, and is the perfect reflection of God in
the world (yes, I know he is God), the perfect example for us to follow. At this special time of the year,
when we celebrate the birth of our savior, and then make plans to “do better” in the new year, let us all
agree, “we can’t do better”, that’s right, we can’t, because we are imperfect people trying to complete a
perfect plan. It just isn’t going to happen that way. You see, God’s use of imperfect tools only works if we
let Him do the work. We are (I am) just a tool. In and of myself I cannot accomplish anything that will be of
any use to God. But if I (we) let Jesus be the worker, the artist, the servant, the engineer, the home maker,
working through our hands, thoughts and speech, then God’s plan will be completed perfectly in His perfect
way and in His perfect time. Why should I waste time solving God’s problems for Him, when He is so
much better at doing that himself. Jesus, help me to let go, and just be, and available and a willing tool in
your grace filled hands.
Tom Zimmer, VP

Only the Truth – December, Chaplain Tom
Does God punish Christians for their sins? After all, we do still sin after we become Christians. So does God
punish us for these sins we purposefully commit after we are Christians? I know that sin can and does have
consequences here on earth, in the form of penalties for breaking the rule of law. For example, speeding,
drunk driving, etc. All these have consequences, since they are breaking man’s law, not to mention God’s
law. So, what about sins that break God’s law, but don’t break man’s law. Are there consequences for
those? Sins like lying to make a sale, or bending the truth to get a better deal. Hmm, I wonder…No I don’t
think God punishes us for our sins. The Bible tells us that Jesus died for the sins of the world. Jesus died for
the sins of the WHOLE world, including mine, yours, and everyone else’s too. As a Christian, I have
accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as a gift. I have opened the present of eternal life. I have crossed over from death
unto life, but somehow…I still sin. St. Paul said; “the sin I commit comes from this body of death.” What
Paul is saying, is that when he sins, it is not him sinning, but it is his well trained body that knows very well
how to sin. You see, we have been changed on the inside, but we still live in this body that has been well
trained to be selfish, arrogant, spiteful, lustful, etc. We still need to allow God to re-train our mind and body
into a set of tools that will glorify Him. I don’t know about you , but before I accepted Christ as my savior, I
got kind of tired of having to do it all myself, and take care of everything that needed to be taken care of.
Now that I have Jesus, it is Kind of nice to have someone to lean on when I feel weak, because I know He is
Strong!
Chaplain, Tom
Veep’s Peeps – What’s In A Name?

How many of you got to choose your name? It was most likely given to you. We often name our children
according to meanings we find in baby books and elsewhere, desiring that character trait to be exhibited in
them. Maybe they are named for a special friend or family member that we admire. I’ve always thought it
would be neat to have a nickname. It is usually given to you by someone who’s sees something in your
character or personality that deserves recognition. Like our given name, it’s not necessarily one we would
choose for ourselves. To my aerobics instructor , I’m the Debster, which she uses particularly when she’s
trying to encourage me to keep going. I kinda like the sound of that and it always makes me smile when she
calls me that. There is another one, however, that in a certain place, has seemed to attach itself to me. On
Wednesdays I go up to Hill Country Hawgs to learn how to work on motorcycles. At the end of the day, I
am the one with the most dirt and grease all over me. Lisa said; I sure was a Dirty Debbie. Well, someone
else shortened that to D.D. and it’s beginning to stick. Like I said; we usually don’t get to choose, but
because it was chosen by friends, and you can’t say it doesn’t have meaning…………well, I’m getting used
to it. Thinking about this time of year, there is another name that was given that has special meaning. “And
she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matt. 1:21 “…and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God is with Us” Matt. 1:23
A Joyous Christmas to you all!
Your Outgoing Vice President
Debbie Zimmer

Only The Truth, November 2003
God knows our weaknesses, and our fears, and He not only takes them into consideration, but He plans
things so we will grow to trust him more and more each day. This is a statement of fact. If you have any
doubts, let me refer you to Exodus 14:11, God’s people escaping from Egypt, and Pharaoh was about to
attach them in the desert”, it says: “They said to Moses “Was it because there are no graves in Egypt that
you brought us to the desert to die?”". The people didn’t think God cared about them, and they thought they
were about to be killed, but in Exodus 13:17 it says: “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead
them on the road through to Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “if they face war, then
might change their minds and return to Egypt.”. You see, God had this all planned out, for their best, and
for His glory. Notice, that God didn’t tell them what He was doing. I will say that again, God had a plan,
but it was His plan, and they only needed to trust Him to complete it. Of course that doesn’t make the
people feel any better, so when they started complaining to Moses, God provides an answer in Exodus
14:13,14. Moses said” Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you
today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be
still.”. God didn’t reveal his plan, but he didn’t leave them in fear either. He said trust me, be still, and wait.
Later, God does reward their trust, by saving them from the Pharaoh and his army in a powerful and
miraculous way. The people didn’t need to worry, God had everything under control, His control, as the
only one who can control everything. How often do we find ourselves worrying over things we cannot
control or change? How often do we try to get God to do things our way, when we know that His way is
better? I know I do these things all the time. I’m not perfect, and thank God I don’t need to be perfect. I
only need to trust in the One who is perfect, and who will provide for my every need, and who cares about
me even more than I care about myself.
Only The Truth – September 2003

For the last few days, I have been working on the second lesson in the CMA Bible Study. Yesterday, I came
across a question I had trouble answering. The question went something like this; “List the eternal
consequences of prioritizing God’s Word.”. It isn’t an exact quote, but it is close. I couldn’t figure out what
the writer meant by “prioritizing”. Following that question, there was a similar question about prioritizing
other things in life, that weren’t eternal, and there were some bible references. So, I looked them up, and I
think what they are talking about, was prioritizing, in the sense of “placing a high priority”. Now it starts to
make sense. What are the eternal consequences of placing a high priority on God’s Word? This is a question
I can answer. Here are some things I thought of, you can probably think of more;
1. Reading God’s word, leads to better understanding and a closer walk with Christ.
2. Sharing God’s word with others, results in salvations, and edifying other believers.
3. Reading God’s word also provides protection from being led astray by false doctrine.
4. Understanding God’s word helps me remember that God will handle the various problems in my life that
need to be handled, and to let go of problems that don’t need to handled.
5. Understanding God’s word enables me to connect with the source of power I need to accomplish every
task God gives me.
You could say, that God’s Word is Priority One. Everything I think, say, do, read or experience is validated
or invalidated by God’s word. The Bible is the first and the last reference. All others information sources
play “also ran” to the truth that the Bible provides. Are there things I don’t understand? Of course, but if I
focus on the parts I do understand, then Jesus will answer any remaining questions I have in His time.
Chapter Devotional, Let Go of Your Burdens

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I have been noticing lately, in myself, and in most other people around me, that we each carry around a lot
of heavy burdens. Sometimes we call them stresses, like: work stresses, marriage stresses, family stresses,
responsibility stresses. We are all tempted to take on these various sources of stress, and say something like
“I can get through this”, or maybe even “Jesus, help me get through this”. Now that last part, “Jesus, help
me get through this”, might seem ok, but think about what we might really be saying. Aren’t we really
saying: “I can almost handle this, Jesus, just give me enough of you to finish the task”. Aren’t we really still
hanging on to the burden, and just asking for a little help lifting it. Let me read the verse again:
You have all heard this before, but just to refresh your memory, what is Jesus saying? Isn’t he saying: “put
down your burden at my feet, where I will take care of it for you, and pick up my burden, so you will “find
rest for your soul”. Isn’t that what we want? Do we really want just a little help bearing the load? Wouldn’t
it be easier, calmer, more peaceful, more joyful, to let Jesus carry our stresses, our burdens.
When those stresses strike, why not make your prayer something like “Jesus I give this to you. I know you
can and will handle it. Please give me your rest, so I can be a blessing to everyone I encounter, amen”.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you
as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not
be afraid.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Only the Truth!, June 2003

Is God slow to act? Does God procrastinate? Is He lazy? In II Peter 3:8,9 it says “… With the Lord a day is
like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.”. It seems to me, that slowness, or patience is a tool God uses. After all, God created the earth in
seven day, so he is obviously familiar with getting a lot done quickly. So, why does God appear to act
slowly sometimes? Why doesn’t he just heal my health problems, or fix me so I won’t want to sin any
more? The answer to these questions, is as usual simple, but it is not an answer that we particularly want to
hear. God allows us to remain unhealed, and he allows us to continue to desire the things of the flesh for
our own good. “All things work together for the good of those who love Him (Jesus)”. It doesn’t say “most
things”, or “some things”, it says “all things”. It says that everything that happens to us, though us, and
around us, is for our good. God’s definition of good for me, must be different than mine, and it is. God is
patient, because he wants us to learn that we don’t need to handle life’s difficulties on our own. Not only do
I not need to handle problems myself, but I shouldn’t even try, because only God can provide the correct
solution, and the power to accomplish that solution. A little later in the II Peter 3:15 God provides an
additional encouragement: “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation…”. Some people think
that verse means God is waiting for all of the elect to be saved, but in this context I believe it has an
additional meaning for those of us that are already Christians. It tells us that God is patiently waiting for us
to learn to place our trust in him, through all the difficulties, and all the health problems we encounter. God
will wait…. until we “Get it”, until we give up the things of this world and focus on the One that will still
be here when everything else has passed away. Jesus!
Only The Truth, April 2003

** HEAVY TOPIC WARNING **
Today is Day two of the War. What a strange war we wage. Precision bombing, trying to minimize any
collateral damage to the Iraqi people, and their natural resources. Highly focuses, and yet broadly covering
the Iraq landscape. War is such a strange thing. I just saw an actor wearing a tea-shirt that had the statement
“What Would Jesus Bomb?” emblazoned on the front. I suppose he was trying to communicate that Jesus is
love, and peace, and wouldn’t bomb anyone, but there is a little problem with that. You see, I have been
reading in Jeremiah lately, about the destruction that God brought on Babylon. Now, follow my logic here,
If Jesus is God, and God caused Babylon to be destroyed, then Jesus caused babylon to be destroyed. Not a
pretty thought perhaps, but true none the less. I sometimes wonder why people think Jesus is “only” love,
and not any of his other attributes. I guess it must be wishful thinking, and I confess, I have done it myself.
You see, Jesus is more than Love and Peace, He is also Justice. He has other names too, Defender, and
Protector are two I especially like, and then there’s Encourager, Healer, Finisher, Provider, Holy One,
Councilor, and many more. Of course there are also names that he does not have, like Evil one, and
Deceiver. Those names are reserved for someone special, someone not entirely unlike you and I, at least
sometimes. Those names are reserved for the one that has enough pride to think he can be like God. I thank
Jesus that he forgives my pride, I only need to confess it to Him. Too bad the evil one can’t open his eyes
and see the truth. The deceiver has become the most deceived of all.
Veeps Peeps – The View From the Back

Last month I wrote about stepping out of your “comfort zone” to get a different perspective on things. Well,
as what usually happens when you give advice about something, God gives you opportunity to try it
yourself. As some of you know, my bike has been in the shop for about 3 weeks now and I have had a few
“opportunities” to be a passenger for a change. Now this isn’t out of my ‘comfort’ zone, but it is out of my
‘preferred’ zone. At first, I thought it would be good to just sit and relax, enjoying the scenery. Well, much
of the scenery in front of me was obscured by “The Big Blue Helmet”. And sitting and relaxing soon turned
into “how many different faces can I make in “Big Blue”? or what are some creative ways to make hand
signals? But by the third ‘view from the back’, I was actually beginning to enjoy it. It is kinda nice to ride
with my arms around Tom, although the bonking of our helmets is a little annoying. And it’s easier to
communicate when we’re on the same bike. I have also learned that even though it is windy, I don’t have to
yell into his ear. So I have gained an appreciation for all those who take the back seat. I think Lin sent an
email once about the benefits of riding double. One of which is going down the road together as “one”
instead of each being in charge of their own little domain. He might still have the article if you’re interested
in reading it. If all goes right, I should be back on the road by next weekend, although still in the ‘break in’
period, I may have more opportunities to get a “view from the back”.
till next month,
Debbie
Only the Truth, March 2003

Stuff. I have a lot of stuff. house, kitchen utensils, furniture, cars, motorcycles, etc. Lots and lots of stuff. I mean,
I have the stuff disease as bad or worse than anyone else. You know, go to the store, buy something, bring it
home, hook it up, and after a short time, become dissatisfied with it. What is the point? Am I any happier
because I have all this stuff? Well, I suppose there is some level of comfort that is afforded by having a place to
live, and food to eat, but what I am talking about is far, far beyond that. So, I think the answer is no, I am not
happier because I own all this stuff. In fact, I am pretty sure that a lot of this stuff just increases my frustration
level. Take a computer for example, like the one I am typing on here, it is a wonderful high end computer
purchased by my employer, and it is working fine at the moment, but if I remember right, the last two months
when I got ready to send this email with my newsletter article in it, my computer crashed both times. I can
hardly wait to find out if this month will make three in a row. Of course I could blame the computer
manufacturer, or the software supplier, or maybe it is demonic, but it doesn’t really matter. This stuff, as useful
as it is sometimes, is frustrating at other times, and I still put up with it. I think what I need to do, is remember
that stuff is just a tool, and God gave it to me for a reason, and therefore God owns it, and not me, so this stuff
shouldn’t control me, it is just a resource to be used. Our beloved motorcycles are the same way. We wash
them (once in a while), we ride them, and we fix them when needed, but their value is not in our owning them,
but in what God can do through us when we dedicate them to His use. I just got back from the Gypsy Massacre
in Bourne, and my bike got me there, and it got me back, but while I was there, it mostly just sat at the camp
site. The Bike provides sort of an entrance fee, but then God’s work transfers to working though myself and
others as we shine God’s light walking around, and talking to people. The same thing is true, wherever we go,
on a bike, in a car, or on foot. God wants to use me, He provides the entrance fee, and I only need to provide
my willingness to be used when he prompts. It really isn’t that hard, in fact when Jesus said;
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
He really means it. It is not you doing for Jesus, it is not me doing for Jesus, it is Only Jesus doing through us
that is important.
Oh Lord, help me to hear your voice through the noise of my own thoughts.
Veep’s Peeps by Debbie Zimmer

No, not the marsh mellow kind. (although I do like those);-) Reminder to myself: be careful what you ask
for. I thought it was kinda funny (actually I was flattered) that someone thought I would make a good V.P.
Considering who I would be running against, I accepted the nomination, just to make things interesting. I
wouldn’t really be elected, I mean, “—-” was the obvious choice. Well, guess who the new VP is?! After
the excitement of actually winning abated, the panic set in. I’m responsible for what and a newsletter article
too? I found out the Biblical example of a VP, is Joshua, a “jack of all trades” leadership type guy. Ready to
step in where ever needed with confidence. One of my spiritual gifts is in the helps area, so I guess that’s a
pretty good fit. But I am not so sure about the leadership part. So as I’m thinking “What have I gotten
myself into?” this conversation starts taking place in my head. (I’ll quote God’s part.) “So don’t you think I
had anything to do with this?” Yeah, but I’m a behind the scenes kind of person and some of this i won’t be
good at. “And what about the secretary position you had for the last couple of years. Were you suited for
that?” Well, considering my organizational skills, NO, but they needed someone to help. “And you did ok,
even enjoyed most of it.” Yes, I’m amazed. “Well, that’s what i want to do for you this time too. I gave you
the desire to help out and I’ll give you the means to do it.” End of conversation! So here I am. Your Vice
President. Ready to help out where ever needed. waiting to watch God work through me. But, I don’t do
windows (unless, of course you really need me to).
P.S. Riding tip I learned on our last outing: Lift face shield before sneezing.
Your Vice President
Debbie Zimmer
Only the Truth by Chaplain Tom

We all know what fasting is, and I’m not talking about going zoom zoom fast on your bike. I mean the kind
of fasting that you have to do before going to the doctor for some kind of strange test. You know, the kind
of fasting where you don’t eat! I think most of us (if we are honest with ourselves) think unhappy thoughts
when fasting is mentioned. Well, I want to point out that there is anohter kind of fasting that God approves
of, that is nothing like what you may be thinking, in fact it has almost nothing to do with food. In Isaiah 58,
the first five verses talk about the kind of fasting God doesn’t want. I will leave that for you to look up if
you are interested, but in verse six, fasting that God has chosen is defined in a whole new light. I will
paraphrase it for you; “Fasting is: to loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, share your food
with the hungry, provide shelter for the wanderer, to clothe the naked, and to help your own flesh and
blood”. Wow, now that is the kind of fasting I can agree with. Best of all, immediately following that
definition, the results of this kind of fasting are laid out as follows; “Then your light will break forth like the
dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of
the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He
will say; Here am I” I don’t know about you, but I know I want God for my rear guard, and I would
certainly like Him to answer when I call!
Christ livin’ through me,
Tom
V.P.’s Verisimilitudes – Family

Clubs are like family. We all have a desire to be part of a family. Some of us have good families, and some
of us have not. Some of us join a club to fill a need to belong to a family, and some of us join clubs to
enhance a family we already have. We all want to connect with other people that understand our love of this
activity called motorcycling, and clubs are a good way to do that. We get to enjoy common activities, like
riding, eating, rallies, riding, eating, riding, and don’t forget our love for camping. There’s nothing like
laying in your tent on the ground at a rally, sweating through 90 degree summer nights, or shivering through
35 degree winter nights. Truly an experience not to be forgotten. Then of course there’s the joy of being run
off the road by an inattentive driver. yes, being a biker is quite an experience. We are misunderstood,
ignored, and sometimes disliked. I think I love it. I know I love it. Well, anyway, here we sit in the dead of
a Texas winder, I haven’t been on my bike in two days (I was too lazy to ride yesterday), and the expected
high today will only reach 70 degrees. Yes it’s tough being a biker in Texas during the winter, with a riding
season that only lasts 11 months and 2 weeks a year. Lets see, if I sit here long enough, I’m sure I can think
of a reason not to ride for at least one more day, lets see. It’s too cold, no. It’s too hot, no. It’s so much
trouble putting on my (light) jacket, no. It’s too hard to get the bike out of the garage after the winter thaw,
nope, haven’t had any snow. I know, I need to take a nap! yah, that’s it. Night Y’all! Enjoy it while you
can,
Tom Zimmer V.P.
The VP.s Verisimilitudes, November 2002

By the time you get this article, we will have new slate of chapter officer, and since I am writing this before
the vote, I don’t know if I am still an officer or not, but I would like to thank everyone for electing me as
VP this past few years (I’m running for Chaplin this year against some tough competition), it has been
challenging and exciting. The position of VP is not a particularly hard job, I had very little actual assigned
duties, mostly I was just needed to fill in for any other officer that couldn’t perform their duties (out of
town, or sick, or whatever). It has been quite an adventure though, I needed to be ready on a moments
notice to wing-it as required. It has also been a blessing. When I made myself available, God did the work, I
just had to show up. That is after all what it is all about, being available, and showing up. I ride my bike to
rallys, for lots of reasons, some of them selfish (I like to buy stuff from the vendors), but …, well, now that I
think about it, all my reasons are selfish. You see, I also go because of the joy I receive from seeing God
work at the rallies, and on the hyways and byways. I truely do get a kick out of seeing miraculous things
happen in ordinary situations. Whether it is sharing the gospel, encouraging someone, or working rally
registration. When God is in control, exciting things happen. So, if you are having trouble getting motivated
to get up and get out there, understand the war for what it is. Acknowledge the truth, God wants you out
there so he can use you. Get up and get going, the rewards far exceed cost.
About Tom Zimmer (Edit)

I am a Christian, Debbie is my wonderful wife, I have two adult children Pam & Chip, I have four
wonderful grandchildren, granddaughters Chloe & Claire, and grandsons Ezra and Corbin. I am a Biker, I
drive a 1999 Harley Davidson Road King, I am a member of the New Life Riders (Austin, TX) chapter of
the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA), I am Chaplain of the United Clubs Of Austin (UCOA), I
am an Elder and Member of Faith Evangelical Free Church in Round Rock, TX, I am the Author or Co-
Author of several Forth computer language development systems including VIC-Forth, ColorForth (for the
Radio Shack Color COmputer), 64Forth (for the Commodore 64), F-PC (for DOS), Win32Forth (for
Windows) and TCOM (a native DOS compiler), I am a Software Engineer for Thermo Fisher Scientific in
Austin, TX, where I develop Windows C# applications for analytical instrument data processing and
reporting.
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Living life to the fullest while abiding in Christ

Latin Steel Benefit for a club member

Decisions – Chaplains Moment for August

August 18, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Randy and Paulas 40th Anniversary Party at Leander Assembly

As usual, click any picture for a larger version.

August 14, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Chapter Run to Amy’s Ice Cream

Benefit for Ashley

The Summer Sizzle at C-Hunts

Grace, Grace, More Grace!

July 25, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

I decided to get a toupee

The mounted fish display and Debbie and Linda clipping

Lowell is famous world wide

July 23, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Visiting Lowell’s Barber Shop

July 23, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Day Two – Mostly Kansas

Vacation First Day

The Memorial for Sputnik at the Texas State Capital

Dinner and Fireworks at Gary and Sharon’s

July 5, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

New Life Riders Chapter Meeting

July 2, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Sputnik Tribute – The Fallen Warrior

Farwell Sputnik, you will be missed.

June 29, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Edit

Chapter ride to Oatmeal and then lunch at Cooper’s BBQ

I think it is time to start planning the next ride to Cooper’s!

Call Me Wacko! – Chaplains Moment for June 17th 2010

Final Set from the ROT Rally

The Rush of Registration at the ROT Rally

June 13, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Preparing for the ROT Rally

ROT Rally Sunset HDRs

Friends at the ROT Rally

CMA Chapter Meeting at IHOP – Come Follow Me

“Come follow Me.”

Have I come to Jesus?

Can I hear an AMEN!

Oops, I went all Baptist on ya.

Praise the Lord!

June 4, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Two Bikes, Hot Sun, Cool Iced Tea in Bertram

May 31, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

May 23, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Weren’t we meeting at IHOP?

Click for a larger version.

May 22, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

May 22, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

A Time for Everything – UCOA Moment for May 2010

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14, one of the writings of Solomon;

What could I add, but WOW!

May 19, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Bandido Santos Benefit at Lone Star Bar in Jonestown

Run For The Son 2010

UCOA Meeting At VFW Post 8787

VFW Post 8787

April 24, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit

Slave or Free – UCOA Moment for April 21st, 2010

Only – UCOA Moment for March 17th, 2010

March 17, 2010 Posted by tomzimmer | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment | Edit