Tail Lights

Tail Lights: Ten Years Gone

2011-09-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ten Years Gone

2011-09-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Ten Years Gone

The wrist band bracelet from the Wauwatosa Fire Dept said, “Never Forget 9- 11-01.”

I don’t there has been one day since 9/11 that I don’t think about the day our Twin Towers fell.

That day, as I was driving between different branches of my employer, I couldn’t believe the quiet and stillness all around. It was a gorgeous day; the sun was shining and the road was wide open. I was the only car on the road. There were no airplanes in the sky. Just the drone of my Mustang‘s engine. The stillness was disturbing. As I slowly coasted to a stop sign at the end of an off ramp, I said to myself, “ It’s all different now. ” and it was…

Every time I see a Jumbo Jet in the sky or the numbers 9-1-1. I remember that day. The small rock in the pit of stomach has never completely gone away. Like most people, the events of 9-11 changed me personally like it changed the rest of the country. Originally this narrative was going to be about those changes, and why I thought it mattered, but I scraped it. I watched Paul Simon sing “the Sounds of Silence.” at Ground Zero, (one of my favorite songs), then I went for a long motorcycle ride.

Traffic was light as I headed out of Milwaukee on my ride of reflection. I gathered my thought about what I wanted to say. As I rode my thought came to me.

In the general scheme of things America is a young country. People smarter than me compare the USA to a teenager. I would say that they are correct. Our country is like an impulsive teenager, who has had to grow up to fast because of a traumatic event. This would explain our actions over the last decade. It really has been a turbulent ten years. For a few months after 9-11 were united in a quest for our new normal. Resilient and determined, we started to rebuild. This, however didn’t last long. As a country, we first went on a reckless spending spree from 2003 through 2007. Surprisingly, the most popular fashion purchased was Political Partisanship. Not even the badly handled Hurricane Katrina could slow us down on our shopping trip. The two front War on Terror rages on 10 years later and our middle class wallets still say ”the economy ain’t so good” after we’ve maxed out the credit card in 2008.

On this day, ten years later we are more divided and confused then we have been since the Civil War. As we mourn the 2977 victims that died in New York on that horrible day, there is still hope. There is hope because a lot of people remember how united we were in the days and months after 9-11. There is hope because teenagers that grow up fast; still grow up. I should know…

G. Andrew Epperly

The Milwaukee Kidd

Tail Lights: Retro Man Part 1

2011-04-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

Tail Lights: Retro Man Part 1

Retro Man Part 1

2011-04-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

    God help me, but I'm a throwback to the late decades of the 20th Century. My symptoms have gotten worse as I stuggled through the never ending winter of 2011.
    Sometime this winter I started collecting my music on Vinyl again and taking the time to listen to it. It's still better, and each album is like an event on to it's self. In the '80s there was nothing I liked more then going to a record store (a dying business) getting a new record, checking out the album art, reading the liner notes and putting needle to vinyl. I remember bringing Rush's "Moving Pictures" home and, dropping it on my Gerard turntable. It just blew me to another world. CD's and MP 3s never did that for me.
   I have a passion for car racing. but I don't like all the electronic controls that take the fun out of driving. I wish car companies would have stopped at Electronic Fuel Injection. Stability Control, Anti-lock and Traction Control take the fun out it for me. The car that I raced last year had none of that, then again I haven't won much either. Motorcycles are still pure, although they also, are getting more technical. But I only ride those, not race them.
    I haven't written on this blog for a long time because I have had a hard time with how much I want of "me" drifting around the internet.
     In the past writers would query editors to get their words out. If it was good , they'ed get published. Now there are millions of writers out in Cyber World. It is a million times harder to get noticed. It's the same with struggling starting rock bands. They used to tour and submit tapes to record producers. It was never easy, but now anybody can put a video on the internet. It's hard to get noticed with the millions of trash that's out there. It's just harder to find .... quality.
    So, I'm really just and ex street racer from the '80s trying to stay legit in the new century.   My next blogs will probably be about trying to find my way through the brave new world.   Today I will end with a question. Whats better, personally running into a long lost friend, or getting a friend request on Facebook?                                                                                                       TMK

United We Stand

2010-09-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

    It doesn't seem like 9-11 was nine years ago. I remember every minute off the that day from the moment all radio stations went live, to one plane hitting a tower, then another, to the towers crumbling. At One-Thirty in the afternoon I found myself driving from West Bend to Menomonee Falls for my job. My faithful Mustang was the only car on the road. It was a sunny day, an awesome day and nobody was on the road . There were no planes in the air. Just me and the sound of my engine droning along in fifth gear. It reminded my of the movie "The Day After" minus the mushroom cloud. I got to the end of the Main Street off ramp and stopped to check traffic ( there was none) . It was at that very surreal moment , I realised my world, my country, had changed.
     For a few months after that day, we were united as a country. The most popular bumper sticker, "United We Stand." Then suddenly or so it seemed,we kicked into party mode. People started buying. The bigger the better, big SUVs, bigger houses, better computers, all on credit. Go big or go home. Politicians become more partisan  and defined and by the Internet and the Internet defined them. We went in Afghanistan and then put it on the the back burner. We went into Iraq and now have drawn down, and again we are focused on Afghanistan. Our Politicians are more partisan then ever before, and can't think past the next election. The country is broke and more divided then ever. It's know wonder I liked the 20th Century better.
    There were aspects of my childhood that made no sense. In short, my parents, home life and the neighborhood were I grew up was heaven. The pretentious parochial grade school I went to from First
to Eighth grade was  hell and the place that made no sense. I left there with three things. First, a resistance to authority. Second a desperate need to find the truth . and third a major aversion to large organizations. I've never voted a straight ticket but instead voted for the politician most likely to do the right and logical thing. Of course I've been disappointed a lot, especially in the last decade.. I'm not a follower and actually have a low tolerance for any devout conservative or devout liberal. I don't call myself an Independent, and as far as the Tea Party is concerned I prefer to get jacked up on coffee.
    I am writing this for three reasons. First, today is 9-11 and for the first few years it was called Remembrance Day. (It's now called Patriot Day). and it is a day I can't forget. Second, I was talking to a 30 something acquaintance with whom 9-11 held now real significance, and didn't know the difference between Afghanistan and Iraq. Sadly, complacency. selfishness , and personal agendas are in style in the new century, along with an ability to tune the bad stuff out.  My third reason is because of PFC Chad Coleman.
     Chad was my wife's Godfather's Grandson, and was killed in Afghanistan. Chad was a highly decorated 20-year-old, (US Army 101st Airborne) and his parents only child.  After going to the funeral, and hearing his story of determination and bravery I will never forget him. All veterans should be remembered. and taken care of, I might add,  when they get home. I've never thought war was a good thing, but the men and women that have fought them deserve our deepest respect.
     I'm an American, not a Republican or a Democrat. I loath labels and refuse to be a member of either club. As an American, I'm highly concerned about our differences. On this day and every day people need to remember; the other half of " United We Stand" is "Divided we Fall."

TMK

Specialist Chad Derek Coleman

101st Airborne-Screaming Eagles

1990 - 2010

Generational Studies Part 1

2010-07-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

I recently read that people of my generation (Born between 1965 and 1979 and known as Generation X), are alienated and cynical while the 30 and under crowd (Millennials) are witnessing and creating great change, not to mention to dealing with the worst recession in decades. Millennials are supposedly more technically savvy, can be more positive in attitude, and definitely know how to manipulate the highly technical media.

Okay, this is probably true. For the moment, however, I will put aside my cynicism and let Generation Next know how it is from the lost middle of the road world of Gen X. I will also dangerously offer a little advice….

1. Like the credit boom of the last decade, the media in all it’s forms like talk radio, cable news and Infotainment web sites has gotten fat, greedy and stupid. It’s past the point of usefulness.

2. Our selfish opinions and grandstanding personal agendas only add up to a divided nation.

Now for the advice, this goes out first and most importantly to my children. Second it goes out to all my Baby Boomer friends, even though you guys still get all the attention and you’ll probably get the last of the Social Security too. Enjoy! Lastly it goes out to My Generation, who as the middle kids in this deal, could use a little kick in the ass.

A. Try very hard to do the right and logical thing.

B. Stop being so Politically Correct, follow the first step and the rest will fall into place.

C. Quit living life through the computer and go outside. Turn off the PC, turn off the BlackBerry, stop texting and Tweeting, and call or visit someone. Turn off the incessant BS of Talk Radio and crank up the Rock and Roll. Drive racecars, climb mountains, stop the oil spills, strive for peace, support a veteran. Live, laugh and experience.

Try hard to do that and I will get out of my alienated funk and help you out.

T M K

2010-01-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

An End to Cynicism and an Answer to the Questions, Why Racing and Why Cars?

      "Please do not be cynical. For the record it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't get anybody anywhere. Nobody in life knows what they're going to get. But, If you're kind and you work really really hard, amazing things will happen."
      Conan O'Brien said this on his last night on the Tonight Show. It really gave me pause, probably because I'm closing in on my 45th birthday.   Five years ago at 40 I heard an interview with open wheel champion Michael Andretti. He said he'd probably had won a lot more races if he just kept a positive attitude. So as I turned 40, I decided to work on a positive attitude. After all, it coudn't hurt. Five years later I'm still working on this, but life is a learning process.   I agree with Conan, cynicism will get you nowhere. After the earthquake in Haiti there has been stories everyday about hero rescues and hard working resilent people that will carry on. These people are far from cynics. They can't be, in the midst of tragedy, this would not solve anything.
      A few blogs back, I was grousing about the high cost of grassroots racing and contemplating sitting on the bench this year.  But, I got out of my funk and remembered my project car sleeping in the garage. It's a 1989 Mustang 5.0 LX that my friends Jerry and Linda Hansen dropped off at my garage (Nicknamed the Mustang Ranch Midwest, or Andy and Diana's home for wayward Mustangs, take your pick ). I call it the LX-RRR.   For Rat Rod Racer.  RRR also stands for Responsibility, Recession and Racing.
       In my late 20s and 30s I'm guilty of putting more time into internal combustion and racing then I did for my family.  I've tried to make changes in this over the past decade and hopefully I have, but 18 months ago I saw just what I stand to lose. My daughter Marissa was diagonosed with what can best be described as childhhood arthritis.   It was stressfull and expensive time and it got worse around Thanksgiving when Marissa had a severe reaction to a new prescription. It almost proved fatal, and it was the worst thing my wife and I ever went through as parents. Fortunately, with prayers from everybody from her teachers and our friends and family, she got better by Christmas. While my restless soul sometimes tempts me to run from responsibilities, my family is one I never want to lose, or run from or be cynical about.
    The Great Recession has not been kind to our little hobby of grassroots motorsports. All hobbies took a hit for that matter, at least if you are an average American. So for 2010, I don't see myself buying a brand new car with 19" wheels and big brakes. No, a 21 year old Mustang, safe and mechanically sound, with lots of patina will have to do.
     Recently, I've been reading a biography about the late Paul Newman. The author is not really to kind to Mr. Newman, espeically when it comes to the racing exploits he started ironically at he age of 45.  The author constantly asks why cars? Why racing ?
     Here's why...Last year wasn't all bad. In October I was asked to instruct at a charity track day at Road America in my favorite place in the world, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. I got track time in my aging '95 Mustang in exchange. It was a cold rainy day mixed with sleet and snow flurries. Here I am screaming from turns 3 to 5, foot buried in the carpet, windsheild wipers dancing in the wind, and it feels like the safest most comfortable place on earth. I can't speak for Paul Newman the race car driver, for me its, a huge break from the daily slog of life.   I'm willing to bet the P.L. Newman the driver was getting away from Paul Newman the actor. I tried many different hobbies, hunting, fishing, golf.  Cars, racing and also riding motorcycles, are the only sports I've found where you can de-stress from the recent past while chasing your immediate future all at the same time.
      So, while keeping my priorities in order, I will be clipping cones at Miller Park, clipping apexs at Road America and Blackhawk and maybe even speed shifting at Great Lakes Dragaway. Of course I need to try to be less cynical, that would lead me nowhere....
                                                                          The Milwaukee Kidd

Never Lift II

2010-01-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

On this day 10 years ago, the world lost an everyday hero. My friend and SCCA Co-driver Peter "Pete" Burany, lost his life in a traffic accident. After his death I wrote an essay called "Never Lift" in a racing Newsletter (they still had those 10 years ago) and I ended with "Peter Burany never lifted from being a good guy." And Pete didn't. He took good care of his Mom. He worked three jobs and In the year 2000, he was graduating from Marquette University with a business degree. To this day I still find it unfair that he died right as he was realizing his dreams.

I met Pete in 1995 and we immediately become partners in crime. We became Co drivers in an Autocross series then known as the BF Goodrich Central Divison Solo II series. We barnstormed the Midwest like Gypsies, drove each others cars and generally had a good time.

     In the '90s I was focused on moving forward in racing. I had little time for anything and little understanding for non-racers. I followed Steve McQueen's philosophy that "Racing is life, everything in between is just waiting." Pete was an incredibly supportive friend but he'd usually bring me back down from the clouds and remind what a great wife and family I had.
     In the past when I lost something or somebody important I'd bury things for about a year . After Pete's
death I raced my Porsche 914 in every Auto X club in Wisconsin. I literally drove the wheels of it. I broke it in early '01 and ended up selling it for parts. I took a little time out on the motorsports Pretty much had too.  Of course I also had to deal with Pete's death.
      I never did make sense of it. I did however, make changes. First, I put my family first, second, I gave up on the idea that racing was my destiny, and third I still pursued my passions. My family will tell you I had many false starts and set backs in trying those three things. My dirty little secret is I have a huge attention seeking ego that I need reign in every once and a while.
      Pete and I used to say the YOUNG GUNS line from Billy the Kid, "Gonna make ya famous." with each
other. Neither one of us become famous. One of us, though, was a hero. Rest in peace Pete.
                                                                                                                   The Milwaukee Kidd

2010-01-13T18:46:00.001-08:00

The 19 Inch Wheel and Tire Blues

2010-01-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

Like Harley, NASCAR and real estate, Grassroots Racing hit it's peak and grew too big for itself during the last decade. So much so, it's not really grassroots anymore.

For last 17 years I have been in Parking lot Autocross ( Miller Park), Drag Racing (Great Lakes Dragaway), and Time Attack Track days at places like Blackhawk and Road America. It's always been a low budget operation. If I didn't drive someone elses car I drove my low option '95 V-6 Mustang or older 914 and 924 Porsche. From '99 to 2001 I drove a 1973 stock class 914 that I got complete with 2 sets of race tires for under 2 grand. (Stock class cars run DOT race tires in the SCCA and other clubs, something that's expensive and hard to explain to newbies). I did very well even though my competition was new Miatas. For the rest of the decade I drove in the locally popular Street Tire classes in a 924, a Ford Probe and a variety of Mustangs. Accept street tires are not really street tires since the Falcon Azenis came out 10 years ago. Of course everybody that was competitive had these tires and the other companies followed suit. This tire's extreme performance soft compound is barely street legal, and although less expensive than an r-compound, more expensive than the orignal gummies the car comes with.

In looking into what I can or can't do in racing this year, I noticed that most of 13 to16 inch tire sizes that fits on the ageing junk I run, has been discontinued. In 2009, I threw 17" wheels on my old Mustang and beat the poor thing halfway to the glue factory. It moved me into another class and most days I came in last. (They shoot old horses don't they?) So, going back to Street Tires is really not an option. Race tires are still made, but they've gone up nearly 30%.

Because I have Terminal Gearhead Disease (TGD), and I have whimsically looked at the new stuff out there. It is an exciting time to be a gearhead with money. I've checked and even test drove the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mustang GT, both w /Track Pak options. Mini Coopers/ Challenger R/T and the New Camaro V-6. (304 HP!) But, even the Mini has 17" wheels. The above Pony cars have 18 to 22" wheels. Apparently nobody told the car manufactures that we are in a recession, net incomes of the middle class is way down and disposable income is going out of style like a CD boombox. Case in point. The Hyundai and the Mustangs 19" wheels take $385.00 street tire and race rubber is well over $400.00 each. Another negative about new cars. All of them, from economy cars to the muscle cars are too heavy. Reality is, I can't swing car payments for anything newer. If I could , I couldn't afford the rubber. So, after 17 years of banging gears and clipping apexs, it looks like I may be reduced to spectator for 2010. I'll be easy to find though, I'll be the one peering through the fence, just like I did when I really was The Milwaukee Kidd.....

2009-12-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

The Non Legend of the Milwaukee Kidd

In this blog, I will write about my family life in and out of amateur motor sports, History, Milwaukee, cars and motorcycles. If you're looking for Grandstanding Political Commentary, you're in the wrong place....
I call myself the "Milwaukee Kidd" for these reasons:
A. I've lived in Milwaukee County my whole life and love everything about it, 'cept the winters.
B. It was my CB handle back in 1982. Back then, the Hwy 100 Cruisers and stop light Gran Prix connoisseurs like myself were still in the throws of SMOKY AND THE BANDIT. I wanted my name to be "Freebird "or "White Lightning" but the many others with these handles protested, and I picked the "Milwaukee Kid" (one d) by default. TV Freaks from the '70s will recognize that as actor Greg Evigan's handle in the fondly remembered but long lost TV show BJ AND THE BEAR.
C. I still play with cars and act like a kid sometimes, but I was 17 in '82 and lets face it sports fans, I ain't no kid anymore.

The Decade of my Discontent....

I'm not going to comment on the passing of the the 2000s, except to say it had an OK beat but I really couldn't dance to it. So, to everyone. Happy New Decade, may greed, stupidity and complacency go out of style....
The Milwaukee Kidd

The Perfect Short Ride....

2009-12-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

October was cold and rainy, so my friends and I missed our yearly Misfits and Drifters Motorcycle Rally (all brands welcome). Today is November 8th and Milwaukee is blessed with a late Indian summer day. It was the perfect opportunity for a ride, so that’s what I did. It was ride into my past, a past only one person really knows about, that would be Diana, my wife of 18 years.
In the ‘8os I had two lives. In the spring and summer I was a Hwy 100 Street Racer who mostly read car magazines. In the fall and winter I was a Mass Comm/English who wrote poetry and hung out in smoky bars and coffee houses. I never knew where my life was going because my interests were so diverse. It was a fun, confusing, Bohemian and sometimes heartbreaking time in my life.
This day, Sunday 10 Ayem:. I Pushed my red Ninja out of the garage. Put on my leathers and helmet and fired up the bikes high strung little 250cc engine. After a sufficient warm-up, I was off through Wauwatosa into Milwaukee. I rode down Highland and the Harley Davidson Plant where 21 years ago I interviewed for a job in the Technical Writing Department. I blasted the Ninja up two 11 thousand RPM to show my displeasure with my not getting the job and their recent dismissal of Buell. I continued through very light traffic for such a nice day, to Lake drive where I used to ride at top speed my friend Steve’s Honda Hurricane, my friend Paul’s Yamaha XT 500, and my own rag tag Suzuki GS550. (In my old age, I graduated to a smaller more nervous bike, while my friends all ride big twins. I’m always the misfit.) I rode past a place on the Lake front were I went for a walk with my girlfriend Diana, A walk which subsequently changed my rambling ways. I rode around the UWM compass, which seemed so familiar even though I’m 20 years gone from there (20 years!!!). I rode from Oakland to Locusts street here I screwed it on over the river bridge just to hear the pipes sing. I turned left at The Tracks, my favorite bar, in which I spent so many blurry nights and I’d crash at my friends and Chief Misfit and Drifter Paul E. Martin’s basement apartment. A friend with a motorcycle and a convertible, 2 blocks away from my favorite bar, is a good friend to have.
The memories where hitting me hard as I rode through Riverwest. I stopped at The Fuel Café, perhaps the last real coffee shop of the 21st Century, to warm up and soak in the atmosphere. Fuel is in an ancient East side storefront. It’s decorated with Motorcycle pictures and Punk Rock Graffiti. The patrons dress in the same ‘80s New Wave vibe they did in my Smoky bar and coffee shop days. Milwaukee’s best artists, writers, café racers, dreamers and misfits converge. Naturally I felt right at home.
I rode home as briskly as 44-year -old wisdom would allow. I pulled into the driveway of my drafty old barn of a house and shut down the motor. I realized that this was probably the last ride of 2009. 2009 was a most challenging year, but I was thankful. Thankful I still had a motorcycle. Thankful it was a vehicle I could ride into my past and then come home and dream of the future with my family.
The Milwaukee Kidd