Saturday, November 21, 2009

My Facebook Account has been hijacked.

Hi All,

My Facebook account has been hijacked and the hijacker has contacted John and Brigid Rynne and Willie so far. The hijacker is using Facebook chat to contact my friends. He says that I have been mugged in Wales and need help to pay my motel bill.

If you are contacted by anyone pretending to be me while on Facebook please report it immediately to Facebook security. I am trying to contact Facebook to close the account but the hijacker changed my password and I am locked out of Facebook.

Enjoying Life on Purpose !!!

Tony Estes

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

We Lose Another Friend

I am sad to report the death of Mike and Susan Kelm. One of their relatives found a business card of Len Weingarth in Mikes wallet and called him today to let him know of the accident. Len is on the road and asked me to post the information. I found this story of the accident.

Husband, wife killed in motorcycle accident

September 8, 2009 1:48 PM | 83 Comments | UPDATED STORY

A woman was ticketed after her car and a motorcycle collided in an unincorporated area near Palatine Sunday, leaving the biker and his wife dead.

The woman was ticketed for failing to yield from a private drive in a crash that killed Michael and Susan Kelm, of Schaumburg, Lisa Gordon, a Cook County sheriff's police spokeswoman, said today.

Michael Kelm, 65, was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. Sunday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. His 54-year-old wife was pronounced dead at the same hospital at 3:46 p.m. The couple lived in the 100 block of Weymouth Lane in Schaumburg.

The accident happened at about 11:45 a.m. when the car was leaving a gas station on the southwest corner of Quentin and Dundee Roads. The car was traveling south when it collided with the motorcycle at the intersection.

It was not known where the couple were headed, according to Rich Kelm, 45, Michael's younger brother. "I don't know. Possibly just a joyride on a beautiful sunny day."

The deaths are a shock to Michael Kelm's siblings, Rich, and his sister Cindy and to his elderly father, 85 and mother, 81. The family is seeking further details about the collision. "My brother is gone. What happened?," Rich Kelm said. "I will miss him."

He is grieving but also angry. "I think she should have been cited for vehicular manslaughter, not slapped with a $50 ticket. When two people die you should get more than that."

His sister Cindy wants to know about the driver of the car. "Did she see them? Did she just dart out of the gas station?"

Gordon did not how fast the car was driving when it pulled out of the gas station. She also did not know if the couple was wearing helmets or how fast they were riding. The speed limit on that portion of the road is 40 m.p.h., she said.

Family members said the couple's children were their four rescue dogs. They are trying to seek a new home for them. Susan Kelm, who for the past year was battling lung cancer, worked as a commercial collector from her house while Michael was in the maintenance and building department of an apartment complex in Schaumburg.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

" On the Road Again"

I drove up to Kingman today with my

wife (Terri) to take a look at my bike. The bike seems to have come through without any mechanical issues. I spent about thirty minutes talking with the mechanic who inspected it and he said the frame is perfect. The engine, transmission, brakes, forks,shocks, tires and wheels were all in good condition.

The side bags, tour pack and crash bars are in need of repair or replacement.

There are miscellaneous nicks and dings that I can live with. The mechanic had ridden the bike and said he would feel safe riding it back to Phoenix. Terri wasn't about to let me ride it home today so I guess I will drive up early next week and haul the bike back home. I am pretty sure I will buy it back from the insurance company and repair it myself. I'll do a little searching on eBay

to see what parts are available.

After we left the dealership we headed over to Mr D's for lunch. A few minutes after we ordered lunch a couple riding a Goldwing came in. I asked them if they were riding Route 66 and they said they were. I mentioned that I ride it every year with a group that left Chicago on the second Saturday in June. They asked if it was the "Mother Road Rally". I said yes and they asked if I knew a Canadian couple Cris and Flo Sanfilippo. It turns out they are friends with Cris and Flo and ride with them occasionally. Their names are Terry and Marina Christoff and they wanted me to tell Cris and Flo hello.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tony Estes "On the Road Again !!! "

Hello to all of my Mother Road Rally friends. I am kinda, sorta on the road again as long as someone else is driving. Many of you know I was in an accident this year on the road between Oatman and Golden Shores. I suffered a broken wrist, head injury and a bit of road rash.

At the scene of the accident I refused transport to a Kingman hospital and chose to have my wife pick me up and take me to a hospital near our home in Phoenix. I knew surgery was needed on the wrist and that a hospital stay was inevitable. We arrived at the hospitals emergency room about eight hours after the accident. I was able to be seen by a doctor within a few minutes and he ordered xrays of my wrist and a scan of my head. I had both done and was having the debris removed from the road rash on my knees, elbows and forehead when I noticed my doctor was having an animated discussion with the rest of the team that was working on me.

He came over and told me that the head scan showed that I had a subdural hematoma and I was going to be transferred to a level one trauma center about fifteen miles away. I heard them call for a helicopter and knew my injuries more serious than I had first thought. I guess the helicopter was on another call because they came in and told me I was going to be transported by ambulance and Terri would have to drive herself to the new hospital because a doctor would be traveling with the ambulance crew as a "precaution".

On the ride over to the level one trauma unit the doctor told me I was in for a new experience. He said the moment I arrived at the unit I would be having about five or six doctors working on me at the same time. I was the only patient in the trauma unit and there were at least eight doctors around the operating table checking my injuries. I had a doctor on each leg and arm, another was doing an ultra sound on my torso checking each organ for placement and internal bleeding. another was checking the cut on my head and another was checking my eyes and ears and then there was the lead doctor asking questions and giving orders to the whole team. After the initial exam I was sent to have xrays done on my wrist and torso and a MRI on my head. I was then sent to ICU.

I was getting a brain scan every six hours to keep track of the the size of the bleed. The next morning the doctor told me the bleed had not increased in size and that it was only about a teaspoon of blood and it was in the membrane that surrounds the brain and there was nearly no chance of it doing any damage as long as it didn't start bleeding again. I was told the wrist surgery wouldn't be scheduled till they were sure the the bleed was done. They continued the scans all day Saturday and Sunday morning. The doctor came in around 8 AM Sunday and said the blood had been reabsorbed and there was no signs that there had ever been a bleed.

I was released from ICU Monday morning and had my wrist surgery that evening. I was discharged Tuesday at noon.

I have been recuperating at home and everything seems to be fine. The most difficult thing I have had to deal with is the brain concussion. For two weeks it felt like I was sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool. The doctors have told me to expect a full recovery.

Today I went in for xrays on my wrist in preparation for my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. It was really interesting to see the plate and screws they used to reattach the bone to the wrist.

I just had to take some pictures of the xrays and the scar that my forearm. My wife thinks the scar on my forehead adds character. I plan on going to Kingman to take a look at my motorcycle. The insurance company is calling it a total loss and told me I could have it back for about two thousand dollars if I want to repair it myself.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me throughout this ordeal. The cards, calls and prayers have been appreciated.

Enjoying Life on Purpose !!!

Tony Estes

DeerSlayer

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

15th Annual Mother Road Rally "Let The Ride Begin !!!" Day 3

Day 3 started with sunny skies and dispositions. Everyone had rested over night and were ready for another GREAT DAY on Route 66 !!!

They lined up to follow George...

to a section of old route 66 it's amazing to see how narrow the road was.

It went on for miles.

and was in great condition

We parked for a few minutes for some photos of the old road.

Next was the historic....

Pryor Creek Bridge...

that we road across to get to....

Totem Pole Park where Willie and Jim our Harley riders from Ireland became part of the display.

The creator of Totem Pole Park was also a talented wood worker.

Remaining pieces of wooden art and his hand carved fiddles can be seen at the gift shop.

This is one of the taller creations.

another totem with accessories

George led us to the Will Rogers Memorial. Look at the lenght of our line of motorcycles. When we are all together it is nearly 1.5 miles. The headlights can be seen for miles.