It seems fitting to me that as Spring awakes in earnest and we get ready for the adventures of Summer that we take a moment to remember the friends and family that we have lost. To that end the 1st of May shall not only be Cookie's Day, but a day to take a moment and reflect on some of the good times with friends that are no longer around to share with us.

The 1st of May 2011 was a terribly sad day for many of us here as our very dear Friend Cookie lost his battle with Cancer. For those that are new here Cookie (Richard Cook) was a very special part of NGW. He had been a member since 07 and in that time he had shared his infectious good nature with all of us.

Cookie was a giving man that was involved with local Charities and had a passion for older bikes. Among his collection were several GL1000's and Changs and some other wild stuff! I think his Stable was at 9 bikes when he got sick and started thinning it out. A Gifted mechanic that always had a warm welcome for new members and very sound advice for fixing bikes.

In the short 3 years Cookie was active here he became our “Top Poster” as he amassed over 15,000 posts!! Many of his posts were in the Welcome Forum where he shared his warmth and good will trying the make the newcomers feel welcome. A Very Special guy with a great heart.

Here is a link to the now infamous “So this guy walks into a chat room” thread
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8870

And a couple of my Favorite pics



One of Cookie's other passions was trains.




There are several threads regarding Cookie in the Memorial Forum here: viewforum.php?f=28

Gone but not forgotten

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"I prefer the abstract concept of incoherence in the face of great feeling to beautiful, full sentences that convey little emotion." DDL
1978/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Steve, I just read the first 2 pages of Cookies thread for the first time. CLASSIC! Gone too soon!

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Hope for the best, expect the worst and take what comes!

1977 Candy Sirus Blue Wing (gone but not forgotten!): Ernie's 77 Resto
1998 Yellow/Creme Valkyrie: Valk Redo
1976 Sulfur Yellow Wing (sold): Melloyellow to live again
1976 LTD #1353 (my new love!): And away we go . . . . LTD style
1970 CT90: Had too much time on my hands so . . .
1/4 of 1975 Wing #898: Team 898 - raised from the ashes

As the lucky owner of one of Cookies LTDs, I am reminded of the memorial ride we did last year up to Alice's one of Cookies favorite places to ride. I bought a t-shirt there that I will wear on the 1st. I am also reminded of the Great LTD Migration where I moved the bikes from CA east.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=34886&hilit=The+Great+LTD+Migration

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Steve Tarket
1975 GL1000 Restoration
1976 GL1000 LTD
1976 GL1000 - Jigsaw +
Proud Member of the NGW Cartel

Now where is that "Like" button.

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Proud member of the NGW Cartel
1977 GL1000 BAD DOG - Bring Along Deb, Decades Old Goldwing (April BOTM)
Motorcycle restoration is our hobby and we pay for that. But in the end of wrenching, the bikes are free!

I wish I could take the time today to go for a ride for my lost friends, but I am in the middle of losing a great friend to brain cancer right now and running around like a chicken with my head cut off making things right for all affected in his absence... So today is for not only the ones we have lost, but for the ones we will never get back...

Tom Nelson 60 Years Young And Far To Good A Man To Deserve Brain Cancer...

For Cookie... The Head Of The Welcoming Comity...

For CDN Bear... The Life Of The Party....

For Andrew... What A Pain In The A$$, But Well Worth Our Time....

And For All Our Friends That Have Blessed Our Lives And Moved On To Other Things... Their Unforgettable

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If You Didn't Build It, Customize It, And/Or Modify It, Then It Truly Isn't Yours. Rebel Rouser

Well I just snuck out for a short ride and found a few minutes to reflect. Cookie and a few other Dear departed friends popped into my head for a visit. Here are a couple of them.


Dave the "Monster" sitting next to me took his first ever Deer that day and I felt extremely privileged to be hunting with him. I will never forget this 6'5" man bouncing around and giddy like a school girl. He insisted that we carry the deer out like Vikings on a pole. Well a pole going from his 6' 5" frame going down to my 5' 5" frame and you can imagine who got the raw end of that deal!!! My Shoulder hurt for a damn week!!! We had many many great times together in the woods and at bars and camping and at work. He passed at 31 years old from a sudden heart attack. He left a beautiful wife and 3 babies. It was horrible loss but his Family survived and are all doing very well. And yes I was a "young man" back then!



And Miss Wendy Tollison, my best Friends Wife. She also left us unexpectedly from a heart problem. Over the 20 years I knew her we had some fantastic times together. She passed from a Birth defect in her heart at the age of 56. The Doc that did the Autopsy said it was amazing she lived to see 20. So she lived on borrowed time for 36 years and never knew it. I miss her greatly and going to my Buds place in SC will never be the same, but I also remember the good times and there were lots of those. She pulled that Pike up through a hole in the ice!! An adventurous Lady that is greatly missed!!

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"I prefer the abstract concept of incoherence in the face of great feeling to beautiful, full sentences that convey little emotion." DDL
1978/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

we went for a short ride up into the reserve yesterday after work (I was "on call") I rode "cookies" ltd. Teh trip out had a "little delay" becuase of some obstrctions in the road

Having been first a pastor, and now in family practice. I have lots of memories of lives shared. However, three personal memories come to mind.

In 1978 Beths' parents were up visiting us in Gold Beach Oregon. My Father in law, Harry LaMont absolutley wanted ride on our new "huge" wing. So here was this 25 yo kid with his father-in-law behind zipping along part of the coast highway. Harry always had an infectious smile! We lost him in 2004. Beth holding his hand as he toke his last breath.

In 1980 we were in LA to add a Califonia sidecar to provide for the new baby we were expecting. My mother-in-law Ann LaMont insisted on the first ride in the hack as I brought it home from the dealer. We lost Ann in 2003.

At the end of high school I became good friends with Mike Hess, and we stayed good friends from then onward. We were truely "mutt aand Jeff" me 110# (wet) and Mike... well.... more. Mike lost his struggle with depression in 1990.

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-Rodger-
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
78 wing we have had since.... well.... 78, been in nearly every state, 76 Ltd "cookies bike" up and running, still needs some work, 79 project, back in pieces while I move, '86 1200 (Beth's) with motrvation sidecar, 05 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's). I guess you can say we have MBS
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=27685
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=35846

Thanks Rodger. BTW friends, those Obstacles are full grown American Bison and they would not leave the road, weaving back and forth across it for a good half hour. One SUV did offer to drive between us and the beasties, but since they were on both side of the road, we just waited.

I also want to remember two people who meant a lot to me. We got into sidecaring as Rodger said back, when I was pregers with the first child. We went to the national sidecar rally the after the second child was born and were sort of adopted by an older couple there. We saw them every year at the rally and they watched the kids grow up. When they were in their nineties, he was returning from a sidecar rally on his rig and was hit by a car (not his fault) and died. I miss him and think of him every time I get the sidecar bike out.

My mother-in-law was NOT a biker, but she loved us and was always delighted to see us drive up with her two grandchildren on the bikes and sidecar. She left us in 2005.

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Redwood

Two amazing Grandsons, four great kids, two crazy cats, a husband who is fun to have around and two great motorcycles, one is an 1200 Interstate with a sidecar that is in Oklahoma and another in PA