SMOG DEVELOPMENTS AND OTHER PASSIONS
I will stray from SMOG business first and share about two other passions I have - family and woodworking. If you want to skip the digressions, skip to the “Enough digression . . .” Section.
Terry and I are visiting middle daughter Katherine and her family in Elon, NC, where her husband Marc is an Air Force recruiter working to conclude a career in the service as an aircraft mechanic and team supervisor (for a very specific badass aircraft) with a high security clearance which is required just to have hands on the equipment he services. Katherine is a trial lawyer (just like Daddy) representing those injured and the families of those killed due to the negligence of others. They are in a new house we helped out with and I brought down a couple woodcraft projects I recently completed to add to their home. Grandson Corbin and I assembled and finished a separate table yesterday - final coat of clear going on today. This group visited with us this past season in Turks and Caicos and Bahamas and the prior season in Martinique.
The first project is a black walnut mantel I made from a slab of wood from a tree that a friend and I felled near our home in Virginia, took to the Amish folks who run a nearby mill, and had boards milled. I selected the best live edge piece I could find and carefully crafted a mantel displaying the live edge, sap wood, heart wood and knot holes (filled with black epoxy), which we installed above their fireplace this weekend. The second project is a black walnut display slab from a similar tree, a piece of driftwood from NC which we picked up on our way up the ICW in May, and a blown glass orb that was, when still soft from the kiln, laid onto the driftwood to conform to its shape when lowered onto the driftwood. The glass orb is filled with sea glass and broken pottery from Saint Pierre on Martinique, once called the Paris of the Caribbean. There, on May 8, 1902 at 8:02 a.m., a massive volcanic explosion of Mount Pelee instantly killed over 29,000 people with a 3,000 degree avalanche of ash which roared down the mountain at 300 miles per hour, blowing most of the town into the sea. There were two survivors, a cobbler working in his basement and a prisoner in a stone cell, Cyparis, who later went on to be a circus attraction working with a fellow named P.T. Barnum, becoming somewhat of an early 20th-century celebrity. 15 or more ships in the harbor either burned or were capsized by the volcanic explosion. We first visited Saint Pierre on May 8, 2022, the 120th anniversary of the explosion. We fell in love with the place, snorkeled to retrieve pounds of the 120 year old sea glass which had been blown into the sea and which still covers the bottom near the beach, and scuba dove the remnants of the wrecks. See photos 1-3 for the mantel, 4 for the display slab and sea glass orb, and 5 for the table Corbin and I built.
And by the way, these Selene yachts we operate are well received in the Leewards, Windwards and South America. Sort of a novelty when most of what one sees there are sailing and power catamarans, some sail and power mono hulls, cruise ships and windjammers, and many super yachts. Untie your dock lines and go there!
Enough digression; on to SMOG business.
We are well represented among Selene owners and our future is bright. I foresee many thrilling rides in exciting places and can’t wait to offload on a dock to explore some foreign land. Folks who have expressed interest so far, based on replies to this thread, include the following:
Roger Nowakowski - Speed freak, scary nice guy, quiet like me (LOL), and he is definitely gonna do it.
Brian Calvert - International boater, globally aware biker and beach bum we hope we can ride with some day.
Ryan Gist - Husqvarna passionista and details to follow when he shares (being discreet).
John Midlige - Technical specialist, Super Vespa passionista and source of many creative ideas.
Steve Covington - Owner of 2nd best 53 in the fleet, might be in if Admiral grants permission, techie type.
Richard Nye - Ebiker who just might put the first self driving Tesla cycle on a Selene.
Steve Kent - Mystery Moto Man (being discreet).
Silvio Gentile - Sounds like he could be tempted, but who knows? So far only guilty by association.
Howard Chen - Logo co-designer for our patch, says he wants to ride two up with me if I behave.
Jack Burgess - Originator of SMOG, grizzled old biker, proudly Fahrenheit 451’d numerous times, patch man.
The above folks are recognized as the potential Founding Fathers (FF) of SMOG, if desired. Please respond and let us know if you are in or out. At this stage, membership requires pas, present or future planned ownership of a motorcycle to be on board a Selene yacht, past, present or future (in build) ownership of a Selene yacht and attitude. If others wish to be a FF, please respond and confirm your interest. To all, there is risk involved in joining a Motorcycle Club (MC). You can save yourself if you wish and withdraw now or just stay silent if you are not already associated.
But please understand, this is a MC, once you are in - you are in. The FF will patch in together. Future members will need to patch in through traditional MC methods. We are working on the patch and have made progress. Once I finish what may be the final design I will share it with the FF for approval. Once approved, Howard Chen will have patches embroidered for us in China and send them to me for distribution. Patches will be distributed in traditional MC ceremonial fashion.
We will soon be flying colors together brothers!
Easy Ridin' Jack
Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388 and 6047