Do Something Nice for Mrs. Rice

A fund raiser for a worthy cause is in the works by the team at Rider 88.
On Friday evening I received a visit from a friend that we ride with from time to time. His Name is Berry Rice. I hadn't seen him in a little while as it seems he has really hit a streak of tough luck. He looked as if he had been through the ringer when he pulled into the ranch on that old 1200 Sporty ( Jay Boom Bluhm's old ride) and when I asked if he was alright, he started to explain the shit to me. He told me how he had just come from his fathers grave site . His Dad he had just placed in his grave just one year ago, You know, hoping that it may help shed a little wait off his back. It didn't look like it had provided much relief for the poor guy. I said man you got to come on in and tell me about it brother, I've got broad shoulders, you know that. We sat in the back and that is where he laid it all out for me to hear and It wasn't very pretty. It seems that a couple of days prior Berry sat with his Mom almost a year to the day after she lost her husband and she expressed to her son her despair. She told him she has Leukemia, not just Leukemia but a rare form of it. She has been off work now for some time dew to her struggle with this disease, battling the exhaustion and weakness that she feels and she explained to him that she only had short term disability Insurance coverage at Trinity Lodge where she worked. She had been taking some medication already, however the pills that she was taking at first had made the symptoms of disease only much worse. So she is now taking another drug that seems to give her some relief of the worst of symptoms, however she is still struggling with a few side affects from the medication but it is doing better than the alternative. This medication is purely experimental however and because of that, the drugs are not yet approved by the FDA. (Federal Drug Administration) Thus, her Employers Insurance plan will not pay for the drugs under short term disability. However because of the Huge expense of this medication (almost an incredible cost of $10,000.00, monthly !!!!) she received the first batch of medicine that I might ad, was paid for by an "anonymous" donor, that will cover her for the first three months. Great Eh!, After that her short term disability will run out at work so she will have no income and no coverage for any medication, and with out that medication she will endure great discomfort over time and eventually succumb to the disease. Doesn't paint a lovely picture for this young woman at what I deem as a " young age" .53 and this is no way to be living her dash, is it? I looked at Berry as he was telling me all this and I could tell it was just ripping him apart inside as he told me. Hell, it was ripping me apart for Christ sake. When it was all said and done I said to him "doesn't that just fu..... suck ! and he looked at me with such total despair and said in this pitifully hopeless manner " Ya man, and what can "I" do about it ? As he and his wife are like most other folks right now and working very very hard to just make ends meet. I thought for a moment contemplating what "I"/ and all my GREAT friends of course, could do to help out a buddy here. Then it hit me. It came to me just Like when you hear your bike kick over, on a cold cold morning and start, and I said to him, I know how I can help Bro. We can put a fund raiser togeather, a poker run or something like that and try and come up with some cash to help her out as I have had some experience with doing this sort of thing before for downed bikers or what ever. Berry, Why he just didn't know what to say, he was speechless for the first 5 minutes I swear. But the more I spoke to him, about how I thought we could pull it togeather, how I knew a lot of good people and I am sure that they would help if they could. The more it seemed to give him at least a little relieve sort of thing, you know the feeling that, holy shit man!, perhaps there is help out there. There really are people out there that care. So here we go folks just like starting out on a big v-twin, here starts the process and so starts the planning. So keep your eyes peeled folks, for the postings ahead. As I am sure to write about our plans as they come togeather for this gig. Until that time, when things get you down, please, please try and remember this article, and remember, when you think that you have it bad, you don't have to look to far to find someone else that may have it a hell of a lot tougher than you have it , but, if you really try hard and just pool your resources togeather, that there is hope out there and there is always something that can be done.

Editor From
RIDER 88
Mark T. Davidson
A.K.A Harley