Trapped In Colombia.... Need Forum's Help....

[Tonyducks]

With little more than a promise the members of this forum have been incredibly bighearted to me. Your kindness has thrown fuel on the fire that burns inside. My quest for life has been intensified through your words and support. The rekindled desire and the deepening of my resolve you’ve helped build is the greatest gift I could have imagined.

Everyone, even those who do not agree with the post, have helped me question and ultimately reinforce lessons that I’ve learned as I’ve journeyed.

The money you have sent comes from love and will be spent in love. And so it will carry much further than the things it buys.

I don’t discuss this often, but a big part of my journey is to strengthen my work in the field of hospice. I am a CHHA in California, and it was in this work where I witnessed the tranquility of transition and the importance of seeking “unattainable cliffs”

There are many reasons for the journey, some I can share and others I need to hold close to the chest as to not lose their intensity, and to have something to hold onto on days of disbelief.

This week I will attempt to leave Colombia. I have heard mixed opinions about whether or not the blocks have been lifted. Nobody seems to have a straight answer. If I make it through Colombia I will have only a month to travel to Cusco Peru, where I will attend a 10-day course at a Vipassana Meditation I have been accepted to.

After attending the course, I will then go to Pucallpa Peru where I hope to work at a local farm with the Shipibo-Conibo healers. These are my plans in the near future, but as Tyler says, “best laid plans of mice and men” it will be exciting however it turns out.

(you can see my credentials for my CHHA here just put my name Anthony Santoloci https://www.apps.cdph.ca.gov/cvl/SearchPage.aspx)

 

[majicmaker]

Good luck Tony.
Flame away if you must.

No Flames, Redfish. Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's.

 

[yamafitter]

That's when they sent me to NDI School to become an X-Ray technician. Got out in '84 and been doing that ever since. It's a nice way to make a living. They pay me to travel the world (With 400LBS of equipment). Not complaining! I've had and I'm still having a Blast.

Must be interesting crossing Customs with radiation sources. I worked in the Nuclear Industry for a number of years before retiring for good in 2009. Used to have to work with high rad sources to calibrate some of our gamma radiation detectors.

 

[Fred W]

Here's my way of thinking of it:

If there were a fellow FJR forum member traveling across the continent and he arrived in your area and realized that he had underestimated the trip and the tire that he had set out with wasn't going to make it home, how much time would you spend to help that guy out?

As the old adage goes; Time is Money. Likewise, money is merely a token of your time. It is nothing sacred.

How long will it take me to earn the $15 that I sent Tony to help him on his way? 15 minutes? Maybe half an hour? If I was flipping burgers at McD's it might be a whole hour! Would I spend that same amount of time helping the guy with the bald tire to finish his trip? I know I would, and then some.

It's not like he was asking us in advance to fund his big adventure. He got himself in a jam and is just asking for a little help to get out of it. You can justify being miserly with all sorts of good arguments. But, if money has that much significance to you perhaps a little introspection would be warranted?

I know first hand how generous this forum can be, both monetarily and with their time and assistance. I need only say one word: Isabella. I'm not saying this is the exact same situation, but it may be more similar than not.

 

[beemerdons]

Here's my way of thinking of it:
If there were a fellow FJR forum member traveling across the continent and he arrived in your area and realized that he had underestimated the trip and the tire that he had set out with wasn't going to make it home, how much time would you spend to help that guy out?

As the old adage goes; Time is Money. Likewise, money is merely a token of your time. It is nothing sacred.

How long will it take me to earn the $15 that I sent Tony to help him on his way? 15 minutes? Maybe half an hour? If I was flipping burgers at McD's it might be a whole hour! Would I spend that same amount of time helping the guy with the bald tire to finish his trip? I know I would, and then some.

It's not like he was asking us in advance to fund his big adventure. He got himself in a jam and is just asking for a little help to get out of it. You can justify being miserly with all sorts of good arguments. But, if money has that much significance to you perhaps a little introspection would be warranted?

I know first hand how generous this forum can be, both monetarily and with their time and assistance. I need only say one word: Isabella. I'm not saying this is the exact same situation, but it may be more similar than not.

Very well spoken Fred W, truly Outstanding as a matter of fact! This fully sums up the Spirit and Brotherhood of Motorcycling better than Peter Egan or Clement Salvadori have done in the M/C magazines, I'm going to save this to my Documents for when a newcomer asks me what the Bond of Motorcycling is all about!

 

[majicmaker]

Don/Fred, Couldn't have said it better myself.

Don, Radiation sources were a freaking nightmare to ship and work with in many places. That's why we used electric portable machines like at a doctors office. They don't penetrate anywhere near as much as IR-192 sources will but I wasn't dealing with pipes. I was dealing with thin aluminum sheet metal.

Edit: Oops, the last statement was directed at Yamafitter.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

If there were a fellow FJR forum member traveling across the continent and he arrived in your area and realized that he had underestimated the trip and the tire that he had set out with wasn't going to make it home, how much time would you spend to help that guy out?

Sure I would help that guy. He is trying to make it Home. This guy wants to keep playing. Home was not mentioned.

He got himself in a jam and is just asking for a little help to get out of it.

No he didn't. He asked for help so he could get farther into it.

You can justify being miserly with all sorts of good arguments. But, if money has that much significance to you perhaps a little introspection would be warranted?

Thanks Fred. I'll take time to reflect on it tonight while I am at work. I'll think about my miserly ways while my wife and son sleep at home without me.

I know first hand how generous this forum can be, both monetarily and with their time and assistance. I need only say one word: Isabella. I'm not saying this is the exact same situation, but it may be more similar than not.

A somewhat different but valid comparison. The key difference for me was the WORK that Patriot was doing for the Patriot Guard. Yes, Patriot gets all his enjoyment out of the bike but he also uses it to help others. Other than taking beautiful pics of places I cannot afford to see, I don't see our friend Tony helping others very much.

Fred, my highly respected friend, I have no wish to argue with you. For one thing I never win, for another I rely heavily on your wisdom and intellect. In this case I say that what is right for you is not right for me. If this "quest", this "search for self" calls to you and the other fine members who donate, fine. I admire you all for your generosity. I do not wish to join you.

We all interpret what we read differently. A constant thread in Tony's writing was the generosity of the people he met. Everyone was willing to share, everyone was willing to help. That all sounds wonderful, except that Tony does not seem to be contributing back very much. He seems to thrive by living off people who actually work for a living. He wants to play as much as he can and work when he has to. He sounds like a welfare case to me.

I will say this in his favor. I cannot imagine the emotional strain of being a hospice worker. I have watched people die in those situations. I have been part of the family and I have been there to console the families. Watching a life expire will begin to raise all sorts of questions in the mind. Questions that don't get answered no matter how loud the choir sings on Sunday morning. I can see how a man that young would have to do some soul searching after that early career path.

I do wish him the best. I mean that.

 

[luvtoride]

Ok, my last time visiting this thread. I wish Tony well... I definitely do. He is apparently for real.

I feel this whole thing is one step above the many times a lady (or guy) has walked up to me in some nondescript shopping center parking lot asking for money because her baby is hungry & she needs money to put gas in her car to get food for the baby which she cannot afford... & needs money for that too.

Good luck Tony.

 

[Fred W]

Me thinks thou doth protest too much.

If you do not want to help the guy (for whatever your reasons) that's fine, but I'm not sure what you hope to gain by being negative.

edit - wasn't aimed at Heidi. She just replied faster than me

 

[airboss]

I guess there are many reasons for giving, or not as there are members.

I gave.

Call it a tribute to the days of youth and hair. When planning a motorcycle journey consisted of sticking a toothbrush in your pocket and taking off. When lodging was a starry sky or the underside of a bridge deck if it was raining, and a full meal was cold hot dogs and a loaf of wonder bread.

You go Tony and Good Luck!

 

[beemerdons]

I guess there are many reasons for giving, or not as there are members.
I gave.

Call it a tribute to the days of youth and hair. When planning a motorcycle journey consisted of sticking a toothbrush in your pocket and taking off. When lodging was a starry sky or the underside of a bridge deck if it was raining, and a full meal was cold hot dogs and a loaf of wonder bread.

You go Tony and Good Luck!

Another fantastic response, this gem from airboss Karl! That middle paragraph of AB's is what resonates with me, a tribute to the days of motorcycling youth!

I mustered out of the US Army in Germany and shipped my 1966 BMW R60/2 back home to Fort MacArthur in Long Beach, CA; then immediately went to work.

But that final summer in US Army Europe I had ridden the outer rim edge of Spain, Portugal and France. While in Gibraltar I would stare out at the Atlas Mountains of Africa and told myself I would ride a moto on the Dark Continent some day. I have made three trips back to Spain and Andorra, one was with Stef - Teerex51 chronicled on our Forum under the Europe section. As Stef led us up into the Pyrenees we stopped at a vista where we could see the Atlas Mountain peaks way off across the Sea, my heart did a flip flop as the realization sunk in that I may well die before riding Africa. Would of, could of and should of! Damnit all to Hell!

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Good luck to you Tonyducks.

While in my line of work I'm called on to enter burning buildings, hang from high places off rope, and enter other dangerous places to save life, but I would never have the courage to venture off into the unknown as you have. I, like Redfish Hunter believe in personal responsibility and pulling your own load but realize we don't all march to the same drummer. I'm not sure why but sending a little cash your way.

 

[MCRIDER007]

I would like to thank Tony for starting this thread and generating so many interesting and diverse comments. If this was a debate I would pick RFH as the winner because his comments and logic pretty much mirror the arguments I would make, especially the one about not being on the way home. Are donations going to get Tony out of a jam or help him to get in a worse jam? I hope it is the former because Tony certainly is an unique individual and I think we all admire his courage to attempt what he is doing.

I wish Tony had primed the pump with the Forum during his US travels by posting ride reports and getting to know more members. If his reports (or blog) were as interesting as some that I have read here and other forums, I think he could have found numerous members that would have been willing to make $10-15 monthly contributions in return for weekly trip reports and photos of his South America adventure. There is a couple from Canada on STN that quit their jobs, sold their house and been on the road for a year. I hope they don't ever run out of money because their stories are fantastic.....maybe Tony could do the same thing, he certainly can take pictures.

 

[dcarver]

So, call me the Id-10-T.

I sent TD 50 USD for one reason.

I ain't got the balz to do what he's doing.

Don't care if it's enabling behavior or not.

Don't care if I get a Thank You or not.

Don't care if I download a pix of his or not.

Don't care if he blows it on a hooker or not.

Get the idea?

TD is living a dream,

one that I'm not.

Who is the better man?

Not all that wander are lost.

Most artists don't have a clue.

Unfortunately, I do have a clue...

....and can't draw a straight line with a ruler.

His art, through camera lens, is superior.

So, if someone else can do those things I'm can't, or won't,

I appreciate the diversity and applaud it.

50 USD worth.

So then TondyD...

Ride with the wind my friend.

..and I'll be somewhere, sometime, soon.

 

[bluesdog]

Back in the day, I packed some camping gear and set off with a couple other riders on a cross-Canada tour. My companions turned around and headed back west after encountering one too many difficulties: mechanical, emotional, personal -- whatever. I decided to go on alone, and I've never regretted it.

Along the way I had a few adventures, close calls, mechanical problems, fatigue and illness, but I always seemed to find help where I needed it; usually before I even realized I needed it.

This help always came from strangers, who opened their hearts, and sometimes their homes, without a second thought, and without me asking.

I was raised always believing that if someone helped you; did you a favor, etc., you were under some form of obligation or indebtedness to them. It has taken me a lifetime to realize that when someone offers a hand, they are usually not expecting payment, simply because the simple act of giving, of true generosity, is reward enough for the giver.

I mentioned before I like TD's graphic work. I also said I wouldn't go where he has gone, and would have tried to discourage him from traveling to such places. I also am 'unfond' of his writing -- it reminds me too much of the nonsense I frequently encountered while at University, (sorry Tony, but I'm being candid here). Furthermore, imo a 'search for self' does not really require much more than looking within.

I'm not sure it takes courage, or audacity, to ask for funds to continue his quest, and if it were not for the quality of his photos, and the fact that I well recall the help I received, albeit perhaps on a smaller, less adventurous scale, I wouldn't have donated a dime, much less $42.

... Which is, of course, The Answer

 

[Tyler]

I was raised always believing that if someone helped you; did you a favor, etc., you were under some form of obligation or indebtedness to them. It has taken me a lifetime to realize that when someone offers a hand, they are usually not expecting payment, simply because the simple act of giving, of true generosity, is reward enough for the giver.

Sometimes it is a gift to receive.

 

[yamafitter]

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." - Wimpy

 

[Fred W]

If this was a debate I would pick RFH as the winner because his comments and logic pretty much mirror the arguments I would make, especially the one about not being on the way home.

Debates, (if this were one) are not decided based on whether you are inclined to agree with one of the positions. They are decided based on the validity of the arguments made for each position.

I think that we can all agree that Tonyducks is a real guy, is an artistic eccentric, and has seemed to tell us all the truth that he has been detained on his journey by outside circumstances in Colombia. He has run out of funds to complete his planned journey. Whether he uses the donated money to go "home", wherever that is, or to complete his journey seems of little importance.

He has a set goal of reaching Peru for a ten day meditation class. Maybe he really is on the way "home", in a spiritual sense? Either way, I do not see how the destination matters.

In my prior analogy of the cross country traveler with the worn out tire, would you stipulate that he has to ride straight "home" afterwards before you would find him worthy of your time? Or would you just help him out, and then send him on his way wishing him well?

I apologize for my prior use of the word "miserly" in that analogy post. That word seems to have ruffled some feathers. Reasonable people would conclude that they can't support every "charity" situation that comes along. I personally never give or pledge support to the annual United Way campaigns at work (or other big charity organizations for that matter). There is something that rubs me the wrong way about giving to a charity that is run by people who are making their livings off the donations. I much prefer to donate to someone directly who I believe needs the help, and then wish them well with no further strings attached.

 

[MCRIDER007]

If this was a debate I would pick RFH as the winner because his comments and logic pretty much mirror the arguments I would make, especially the one about not being on the way home.

Debates, (if this were one) are not decided based on whether you are inclined to agree with one of the positions. They are decided based on the validity of the arguments made for each position.

In my prior analogy of the cross country traveler with the worn out tire, would you stipulate that he has to ride straight "home" afterwards before you would find him worthy of your time? Or would you just help him out, and then send him on his way wishing him well?

Debates are decided on the validity of the arguments and I think RFH has made the most valid arguments, I mis-spoke when I said that I thought his arguments were the best because they would mirror my arguments.
I think your analogy of the cross country traveler is mixing apples and oranges. There is a huge difference between helping someone with financial aid so they can get home vs funding the rest of their trip.....but that's only my opinion and its as good or bad as everyone else's who has posted to date......and I have given financial aid a couple of times. Once to a guy in an old van who was stranded in a rest stop about 500 miles from home with 3 small children and was asking for gas money and the other to a young motorcyclist who was 2000 miles from home and had enough money for gas to get home but not enough to eat. He didn't ask for money but I insisted he take it and he paid me back a month later (I thought he needed it more than I did and sent the check back with a note why I didn't cash it).

Posted on my iPad with very clumsy fingers, I am starting Day 2 of a 8 Day trip and waiting for Sunrise so I don't meet Bambi.

 

[08FJR4ME]

If this was a debate I would pick RFH as the winner because his comments and logic pretty much mirror the arguments I would make, especially the one about not being on the way home.

I apologize for my prior use of the word "miserly" in that analogy post. That word seems to have ruffled some feathers. Reasonable people would conclude that they can't support every "charity" situation that comes along. I personally never give or pledge support to the annual United Way campaigns at work (or other big charity organizations for that matter). There is something that rubs me the wrong way about giving to a charity that is run by people who are making their livings off the donations. I much prefer to donate to someone directly who I believe needs the help, and then wish them well with no further strings attached.

While I can somewhat sympathize with your statement highlighted above I also have to disagree as a whole. We give an annual donation to Shriners hospitals mainly because we were a recipient of their impressive care that was given to our youngest son. He spent over 7 weeks getting first class state of the art medical care getting skin grafts on his foot. He had the threat of losing it at the time.

I also witnessed other children who had been severely burned from all over the world getting care also. I never received one bill from them for all the time he spent there. Yes I am sure there are some folks making good money at the higher levels of this establishment but they do what they do with only donations from others. Until it happens to you or your family member I can see why you

have that opinion.

Reformed thinker, Dave