Forever Gypsy - Life in the Gypsy Motorcycle Club

2009/08/22 15:23 Filed in: Personal & Philosophy
During the last three months I’ve done quite a bit of writing. Since I’m laid up waiting on a broken leg to mend I’ve got to do something to keep from going crazy. Even when I’m fully functional I’m prone to designing projects that result in a product; something that makes a contribution, gives me reinforcement and self-worth. I’d wanted to build a new web site for the Houston chapter for sometime so I did that first. After going public with the new site in mid-July I focused my attention on completing a document that describes the Gypsy Motorcycle Club … how we’re structured, our culture, traditions and brief descriptions of some of our annual events.

I worked on this document, calling it “Forever Gypsy – Life in the Gypsy Motorcycle Club”, until I had it in pretty good shape. I sent a copy to our International President and he gave it his blessing; he wrote a “foreword” to the document and put his signature on it. I had a green light to distribute the document but I wanted to send a few preview copies out to our members to get their feedback before I did the final distribution. It was from this point forward that I learned a great deal about the importance of having a “review panel”. If a writer creates a document, gives it to fifty people and asks for their comments he’ll get responses that fall into several categories. Some people probably won’t even read the document, others will read it and reply that they enjoyed it and keep up the good work. A small percentage of readers will give feedback that can enhance the quality of the end result. This last category contains the people that I’ll call upon in my review panel for any future efforts.

My essay has gone through a pretty thorough review; revisions have been made and it’s been distributed to our International Officers and Chapter Presidents. The current revision has “August 17, 2009” printed on the cover sheet. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from our members; from the comments I’ve received I think the most valuable use for the document will be as an orientation tool for newer members. I’m hoping that Chapter Presidents will forward the document to their members. The document is intended for Gypsy MC members and prospects and will, hopefully, not be distributed outside the Club. If you are a member and you haven’t received a copy, send me an email and I’ll send you the current version. See the bottom of this page for a link to my email address.

I’m encouraged with the response I’ve gotten from this document and have got some ideas for other topics that should be of interest to our members. Retirement is great and I can’t wait to get well enough to get back out on my bike and run the highways. I know it’ll cut into my writing time but it’ll give me more food for thought and a better perspective on future projects.

Raoul