Part One
I had been visiting my friend, Doug, east of Birmingham, Alabama. See, I was working on the Olmsted Dam project on the Ohio River just outside of Paducah, Kentucky. It was an ongoing project that I had been involved with for several years. We routinely got Weekends and Holidays off. I liked having my Bike with me so I could go for rides during my off time. Also, I’d rather drive to work than fly when I work out of town. I like to see where I am going. You know, Motorcyclist, “getting there is half the fun.” Plus I could do more traveling from there when my hitch was up (typically four weeks on, four weeks off). It’s roughly seventeen hundred miles from my house in Helena, Montana to Paducah. I would usually take just over a day to make that trip, spending the night in Iowa somewhere.
Anyway, I had been in Paducah about a week, maybe two, into this hitch and we got Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to see Doug. I texted him and asked what he was up to for the weekend and he said a little town near him was having “Burger Wars” that weekend and there would be lots of good Burgers, Beer, and other Adult Beverages. Sounds like a Blast to me! I’m in. Doug was gracious enough to let me crash at his place, so I beat feet down to southeastern Alabama Friday morning. Of course I had to take a few Foto Ops along the way!
If you want to know What the HELL Happened to Me, you can find out by reading my book. It is available right now on Amazon as an E-Book by Kindle. It is also published in Paperback. Buy my book here:
https://shop.aer.io/sidecarsamdotcom
Below you will find a few excerpts from my book. Please enjoy.
Thank you for your interest.
sidecarsam humphrey
* * *
A little ways down the road, I have Zero recollection of how far, I saw a pile of vintage Hearses and Ambulances off to the left. I pulled over. I LOVE vintage Hearses and Ambulances. I used to own a 1962 Cadillac Ambulance. Of course I had to take a Foto or five of my Bike next to this pile of vintage rigs too.
The Haunted Chicken House! WHAT?! That is so Awesome! I had to visit it and see what it was all about.
* * *
Then I heard another voice. “Hi Sam, you are Sam Humphrey aren’t you?” I replied that I was indeed sam humphrey. “I am Deputy Sheriff (I don;t remember his name) and I have your phone here.”
“Do I have all my Teeth?” I asked. “Are my teeth still in my mouth?”
“Yes your teeth look fine,” he responded. “I see a phone number for a Cindy Lou Humphrey in your phone. Is that your wife?” He asked. I told him it was. He asked if it was okay to giver her a call and let her know what had happened. I told him that would be great. She would probably want to know how I was and where I was. He said he’d call her then. I didn’t hear him call her. Everything was still Black. I felt the paramedics lift me into the ambulance and click me into place. They were talking but I don;t remember what they said. I asked if there was something I could hold on to with my right hand to keep it elevated. They said there wasn’t. I just kept my arm raised. I don’t know how long I was in the ambulance for. I felt it stop and I heard a helicopter outside the van. I heard the doors open and heard them unhook the gurney. I heard the paramedics talking to the helicopter crew. They asked why my arm was raised. I told them it was more comfortable for me. They asked me to lower to my side while they transferred me into the helicopter. I complied. Black, everything was still Black. I’m pretty sure my eyes were open. I felt them jostle me around and lean me almost ninety degrees to the left. I must have been strapped in. I envisioned myself strapped into a Stokes Litter and being carried around. I had put enough people into Stokes doing rescue training for my dive jobs. I had never been in one before though. A new experience! Yay! Not really. They got me into the helicopter and I heard the door close. I asked if I could raise my right arm again. They asked why and I told them my chest felt better when it was raised. They told me it would be okay as long as I didn’t grab onto anything. I promised I wouldn’t. Everything was still Black, Black, Black. I felt and heard the helicopter take off. That is the last thing I remember until I saw Cindy staring at me with a worried look on her face.
* * *
That’s it. That’s All I know. Now you know what the HELL happened to me and I can finally talk about it. That is one chapter in my life and, even though I hadn’t been for the past four years, I am now looking forward to the next chapter of my life, thanks to the people of Empower SCI for getting me where I am now. That experience liberated me and freed me from some of the demons that I developed after my accident. I hope my future still involves Motorcycles and Sidecars. I am sure it will.
Happy riding! Keep the Shiny side up and the rubber side down if you can help it.
You can buy my book here: