Please bear with me with what I'm about to share with you...I've had quite an emotional weekend...
On 7/2/05 I had my 30th high school class reunion & it was a great time! Plus it was on the same weekend as our high school's hometown carnival/beer tent festival which most of us attended & continued with our "reunion". In fact everyone there had such a great time that we have decided to get together for mini reunions often rather than wait another five years. We had already planned 10/7 to be our next "reunion" with it being our high school's homecoming football game. Little did we all know that our next reunion would actually be before 10/7. It would be this past weekend for a fellow classmate. We received an email on Labor Day & again on 9/7 from a fellow classmate sharing bad news. One of our classmates was in a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago. They took him off of life support on 9/4 & he passed away on 9/6. I didn't know any details until I went to the visitation on Fri., 9/9, & attended the service on 9/10. Bernie was out riding his Harley a few weeks ago with friends & as they were parting ways taking different roads to head for home & Bernie waved to them, he hit some gravel & tried keeping his bike under control...he rolled with his bike...When Bernie & his bike came to a stop...his bike was on top of him...his head made contact with the handlebars...Someone saw the accident happen & called 911 & Bernie was taken to the closest hospital, which then he was flown by Flight for Life to a Milwaukee hospital. Bernie was in a coma. I made plans on meeting other high school friends at the funeral home around 6 PM Fri. night. What I wasn't expecting when I arrived & trying to find a place to park was the sight before me. What a tribute to Bernie...there were so many motorcycles & other vehicles that I had to park quite a few blocks away. The line of people waiting outside was amazing. The visitation was from 5-8. I got there around 6 PM & I didn't get by his wife until close to 8:30 PM & there was still a crowd waiting behind me. When I got inside the building, there to the left of me was Bernie's high school lettermen's jacket...his class ring pinned onto his jacket...& our 30th high school class reunion booklet...there was a card table with a HD cloth draped over the table for people to sign their names onto. It was filled with names...there was a basket that had patriotic wristbands for all to take in memory of Bernie. Bernie loved the colors of red, white & blue. You always saw him wearing his favorite patriotic tennies, his patriotic headband, & some patriotic t-shirt. There was a notebook with Bernie's photo taped on the outside for all to write in & share...there were pictures everywhere sharing Bernie's life. There was a slideshow of pictures of Bernie being shown on a screen behind him. Flowers & plants all over. His wife was wearing a HD shirt along with other folks. It was open casket. Boy was that hard to take. Found out from his wife that Bernie saved 70 lives due to being a donor. Wow...Bernie continues to live on...Bernie had on a patriotic bandana on his head, because of him being a donor, he had to wear a long sleeve shirt so his wife took one of his favorite patriotic shirts & had it lying on top of him & tucked in around him. He had a can of beer in a holder up in the corner of his casket. His favorite tennies were on the floor by his casket. I noticed a ring that Bernie was wearing on his pinkie. When I was up by his wife & trying to stay strong & not cry, another one of his biker friends had come through a side door & she invited him to join us by Bernie. He also was wearing a ring close to what Bernie's looked like & I got very choked up with what I saw next. This friend put his hand next to Bernie's & touched his ring up to Bernie's. A bond...a brotherhood...The next day I went to the service at 1:30 but figured I should get there earlier after experiencing the night before. Again...so many friends coming to pay their last respects to a dear friend. Bernie's wife, siblings, children, & grandchildren were all wearing matching t-shirts. On the front of the shirt was the all too familiar picture of smiling Bernie wearing his favorite red, white & blues. In print then on each shirt above his picture said either Bernie's brother along with his name or Bernie's sister along with her name & on the back of the shirts had Bernie's favorite saying "Shabootie Bangus". I have no clue what it means but Bernie was known to say it all the time. One of our fellow classmates was asked by Bernie's wife to say a few words after the pastor. The words that the pastor shared were also very touching. He said to all of us...what a tribute to Bernie. Seeing all these people for both days says a lot for the kind of person that Bernie was. He was always smiling except for when he was fishing because then he needed to be serious. Then our friend & fellow classmate got up to say a few words. He's been friends with Bernie since grade school. He asked another classmate beforehand to help him out if he saw that he was having difficulty up there speaking. Jeff was sharing memories from grade school on & also shared about Bernie getting his first bike when he was 18 & it wasn't a Harley - it was a Honda, & then his voice started shaking & he stopped & there was complete silence...We hear from the back...Come on Jeff, you can do it! You're doing a great job here! Jeff looked up & back at our friend & said...no...I can't. So I'm going to close with a poem that I wrote & he read his poem. We all applauded Jeff when he finished & we were all shedding tears. You know how hard that had to have been for Jeff to be up there standing next to our friend who is no longer with us? Then Bernie's wife says that if we'd like to sing along to the song that will soon be playing that we could. One of the staff gets the song going but it's blasting out very loud & they quickly shut it off & Bernie's wife says very loudly, hey, that's ok if it's loud. That's the way Bernie always liked it! I will always think of Bernie now everytime I hear this song being played on the radio. It was one of his favorite songs & he would play it often when he was out. The song was "Spirit in the Sky". We're all trying our best to clap along, to sing along...& we're shedding tears as we're singing...We're all invited to go to a local establishment afterwards for fellowship, a luncheon, free beer. There happened to also be a Blue Grass Festival happening right across the street from this establishment on the Square. Bernie loved Blue Grass music so wasn't that ironic that this was going on this same weekend. The bar was packed with family & friends & we did exactly what Bernie would want us to do. So we shared memories, we laughed, we cried, we toasted to Bernie.
So I guess why I wanted to share this with all of you, my friends, is because one never knows when someone you care about is going to be taken from you. Cherish those that you love & tell them often that you love them, that you care about them, hug them, get in touch with folks that you haven't been in touch with for awhile, if you're not getting along with someone at the moment & you're both too stubborn to make the first move to say I'm sorry? Be the bigger person & say I'm sorry first. We're only here on this Earth for a very short time. I know that Bernie is doing ok though...I feel that he's up there just a smilin away, very touched with the brother/sisterhood that just happened this past weekend for him, that he's riding his Harley down that golden road or maybe even shooting a mean game of pool, hanging with his parents again & others who have passed before him. And one day we'll see him again...
Peace to all of you, my friends here on BK...Hugs...

In Loving Memory of Gregory "Bernie"
Born March 12, 1957
Entered into Eternal Rest September 6, 2005
"Shabootie Bangus Go Pack Go"

Lovetoride...I am so sorry for your loss also...Hugs...Life is so precious & I think we tend to take it for granted sometimes. Then something like this happens where you lose a friend & you step back & think...Thank you, Lovetoride, so much for your heartfelt words...

I feel your pain my friend. I myself just lost a good friend to a motorcycle accident, although the situation was a bit different the outcome was the same. My prayers go out to you. And I agree totally with your post about keeping those you love close and always letting them know how much they are loved. Life is too short and you never know when "today" might be your last day or theirs.

Thank you frthualr...I'm sorry for your loss also back in April...I was just up in Tomahawk, WI this last weekend for their Fall Ride & saw four guys there that I just saw at Bernie's funeral the weekend before. It was comforting just to hang out with them in Tomahawk that night & talk. Thank you again...your words area very heartfelt...

smiles my prayers are with you. my "brother" passed from this world back in april. i know the lonesome feeling that you are feeling. hang in there it gets better

Hugs, Angel...Love you more!!!

C, sis, you don't have to say thank you to me...that's what we, as sisters, do for each other!

Love you much!!!

Thank you so much, Roxie, for your kind & caring words...very heartfelt...you always have such a kind word to say. Yes, I'm trying to get back to "normal" & back to my usual happy self & with my smiles that I'm known for. This past weekend just really made a lot of us think. Bernie will truly be missed by so many but never forgotten.

Thank you, WildSpirit, for your kind & heartfelt words...Yes, all the fellow classmates that I saw this past weekend for Bernie's funeral were all saying the same thing...we're so thankful that we had our 30th class reunion & shared that time together...This past weekend was so difficult for all of us & we formed even a stronger bond with each other with holding each other, hugging, crying, sharing memories...A lot of us even shared email addresses & p*hone numbers so we can make sure that we're going to stay even more connected to each other. Bernie's wife & I are even going to make sure that we stay connected & get together & do things together, which we hadn't in the past. She & the family must have felt just so proud of their Bernie after this last weekend. Quite a tribute...

Smile...Try to do what your screen name says "smile" when you think of him, he sounds awesome.
Sorry for the lose of a great friend

What a AWESOME TRIBUTE to him for the life that he lived to the FULLEST and to the "lifestyle" that he LOVED!!!

~~ Thank You for sharing with us ~~
I know how hard it must've been for you as you typed this ... and I know how "thankful" you must be for the last "Reunion" you shared together.

You're welcome, Rev. Yes, this was very difficult for me to write. In fact? This was my 3rd attempt of writing it because I didn't click on that little box saying to keep me logged in on this computer & with as long as it was, I ran out of time! But I was determined that I was going to write this for all of you...& as I mentioned previously...it was therapeutic to write it down & to share here. Since I've joined BK in 1/05, I've made a lot of new friends & I've learned a lot from reading the forums. When I joined BK I was looking at it as a dating site & I'm pretty new at these dating sites with my 1st one being eHarmony. But what I have found here on BK, as so many of you have written, it's more than a dating site. There is such a bonding of friendship here that is just so awesome & I'm proud to be a part of this family & friendship & I hope to one day meet all of you.
So as so many of us share on here, I felt I needed to share also...
Thank you, Rev, for your kind & most heartfelt words...

Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your memories, your life, and your sorrows, Smile.

Reading your entry that it created a stir of emotions in me, just as I know it had to be difficult for you to type it.

Life is precious and our time is limited.


I thank you so very much for reminding us that life can be taken away so very quickly and we may not have the time to say "I love you" or "I'm sorry" before our time ends.

Bless you for sharing and giving us that reminder.

You're welcome, Char, for sharing...Yes, it really was quite an awesome tribute to Bernie's life. Can you imagine what was going through his wife's mind & his family's minds when they saw all these people coming out to pay their last respects for Bernie? It really says a lot for the kind of person he was...
And you know what Char? I bet that the one day when the good Lord feels it's time for you to come Home? There will be one hellofa huge party thrown for you for all the lives & hearts that you have touched...you are one special woman, Char...Thank you again for caring with your words written here. Very heartfelt...

WOW What an awesome tribute to Bernie's life...Bless his family and friends for honoring him.

When I go I want a celebration also.

My late husband did not want calling hours or a funeral...I respected his wishes.
I do not want them either, but I do want one HellofaPARTY!!!

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you so much, Funchick, for caring. Your thoughts are very heartfelt...I'm sorry also for your losses in your life...Hugs...I remember back also when I was 18 & I had a biker friend who was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was out riding with friends one sunny afternoon when a woman pulled out with her car in front of all of them & Scott was leading the way. Scott was also wearing a helmet. Bernie was not wearing a helmet. I don't like to wear a helmet myself & I get scolded by my friends for not wanting to wear one. They say they want me around for awhile...
I just know that I'm having a very hard time with this past weekend & it was therapeutic for me to share this past weekend with all of you. So thank you...

Thank you JJ...much heartfelt thanks...

Thank you so very much Harleygurl for your kind words & prayers. It was therapeutic for me to write what I did for Bernie, even though none of you know him. Thank you again...very much heartfelt...

Thank you so very much, Mo, & for also sending me an email...that was so very kind of you...

So sorry Smile..