Yesterday evening, the BYM and I learned that Jack Tollett, a friend in Ft. Worth, had passed away earlier in the day. Jack was a darling man who ran the Waltz Across Texas motorcycle rallies for a number of years, raising a fair amount of cash for the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. He was one of the Chatty Morons (a group of long-distance riders -- long story) who gleefully kept me updated on the BYM's whereabouts during the 2001 Iron Butt Rally in exchange for kisses. He called himself a LBJ Democrat -- something that's come to my mind several times when putting Lady Bird stamps onto letters and packages this past winter and spring. (I associate Texas wildflowers with motorcycles anyhow, what with seeing and smelling them during various rides on the back of a Kawasaki.)

Hadn't seen him in years, but I'm gonna miss that man anyway. At some point this weekend, I'll raise a bottle of Shiner Bock heaven-ward.