I guess you could say I was born to be wild. In 1966 I purchased my first motorcycle. I was attending Chico State at the time, and for starving student reasons I traded in my rattletrap ‘57 Ford Ranchero for a Honda 90 motorcycle. Honda 90s don’t travel very fast and there is no room for hot chicks on the back, but it was a bike — and I was a biker just the same.
I think it was in about 1972 that I purchased my 1966 Honda 450 motorcycle. Can’t remember what I paid for it, but I purchased it from a tatted-up biker. By extension, that made me a tatted-up biker, as well.
While I scraped up enough cash to buy the bike I somehow never found the cash to purchase a helmet, as in those days helmets were not required and few real bikers would be caught dead (pun intended) wearing one.
I remember riding that bike down Highway 36 above the Paynes Creek Store reaching a speed of 112 mph while wearing Bermuda shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops. I was one bad man – but a bad man without a brain in his head.
I also remember like it was yesterday the day I was riding the Honda full-throttle up Highway 36 with my very good friend Steve Ettles on the back. As we were rounding a curve above the Meadowbrook Ranch, the back tire on the Honda blew up and we began to fishtail all over the road.
Being the badass biker I am, I managed to keep the bike upright for about 50 feet before friend Steve either bailed or fell off. Either way Steve ended up in a heap on the pavement with road rash galore — and more significantly, a half dozen fractured ribs and a punctured lung.
I can remember like it was yesterday the too-long wait for the ambulance to arrive from Red Bluff in order to transfer Steve to the hospital with what at the time were unknown injuries.
I remember directing traffic through the area, and that one of the cars stopped to see if they could help. In the car was a young lady by the name of Carol Beadle who, as did I, rented a room in Gary Allwardt’s highly overpriced house while we were attending Chico State. I hadn’t seen Carol since college, and I haven’t seen her since that day she passed the accident scene. Not particularly important to you, but it is my memory just the same.
As it turns out, Steve survived the crash and fortunately both he and our friendship remain upright and intact to the present day. I just thank the Big Guy above that we were headed up that hill at break neck speed rather than down the hill when that tire blew. If that were the case I am sure the results would have been far worse.
I am not sure what happens at your house, but at my house the little woman actually runs the show. Unfortunately the little woman has never been a fan of motorcycles. After my accident on Meadowbrook Road I parked the motorcycle for about six months while both Billie and I re-evaluated its future — and then I got the itch again.
I remember like it was yesterday the first time after the accident that I talked Billie into hopping on the back for a ride up Highway 36 toward the scene of my crash months earlier. I also remember as we were riding past the Hog Lake area the front tire blew out. It was only due to my exceptional athletic ability and the fact that I am very much afraid of my wife that I was able to bring the fishtailing bike under control without tipping it over. Being of sound mind, when we got home I immediately sold that bike with a pledge to never ride again — and then I got the Harley. To be continued.
….
It is that time of year again and that is a good thing. For the past dozen years every single third-grader in Tehama County has received their very own hardbound dictionary, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Red Bluff, Sunrise Rotary and the Corning Rotary Club. This year 779 third-graders will receive their dictionaries over the next few weeks.
The project is funded primarily by Rotarians, who donate $200 per classroom with a total annual cost of approximately $30,000. Billie and I have participated on several occasions, with special years being when our grand children were in the third grade — Wyatt in 2013, Samantha in 2015, Tait in 2016 and Alix Rose in 2021.
While one might question the value of owning a dictionary in this Google dominated world, one time in a classroom full of third-graders, many of whom have never before owned a book of their own, will tell you that the program is worth more than its weight in words.
As with so many things in this pandemic dominated era, this year Rotarians will not be able to visit classrooms in order to distribute dictionaries and share stories about dictionaries and the value of an education.
I will miss the opportunity to personally present a dictionary to Alix Rose, as I was able to do with Wyatt, Sam and Tait. I can only hope that she will keep it, use it and take a moment once a while to read the label inside that reads “Presented by Bill and Billie Cornelius.” We love you Alix Rose.
….
On a recent trip to town Billie and I drove to River Park for a closer look at the newly constructed boat ramp that extends into the Sacramento River. While I was impressed with its size, its adjacent sidewalks and its overall potential, I am wondering how it will fare if and when global warming ever goes away and that portion of the river is six foot under for much of the winter.
Bill Cornelius is a life long resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill.cornelius@sbcglobal.net.
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I like smoke and lightning, heavy metal thunder - Red Bluff Daily News
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