Mollie Jo Ragonesi

[ga_max]

Peace be with you.

 

[silverado6x6]

An update

Dec 20 2015

Been in Australia since dec 5th, Mollies birthday.

It was a shared dream to visit Oz, to ride around, possibly start a business there. Getting here meant i had to sacrifice items back home, its a long way from Wasilla Alaska to Adelaide South Australia, i had to sell my 1985 VMax, i will miss it.

Mollie would have enjoyed it here very much, the food is far better than the bleached gruel in America, eggs are real eggs, the yolk is almost red, the milk has more protein, common hamburger meat better than steak, even what they call catsup is fantastic, but the vegemite still tastes like crap.

Mollie loved to cook, second to just riding around as my back seat partner. Big bikes here get attention in this fuel starved nation, you just mention either Ice Road Truckers or V8 engines you get an attentive crowd.
Though utilities come at a price food is pretty cheap, forget smoking, a single pack can cost you $40.
And the free tv is nearly nothing but 90's era tv, cooking shows and Thunderbirds. Very sanitized yet at the same time commercials are more full of exposed flesh, suggestive themes or plain stupidity.

But i came here because i told Mollie i would, i would like to have in my final years a remembrance of keeping my promises.

This trip was for her, because i had a dream i was walking down a giant staircase, my son looked much older as he said goodbye to me, I crossed a wide city street, entered a cafe where her much younger self was there waiting, she said, "Its about time!" Like a scene from the ending of Titanic.

That dream led me to a place called Port Noarlunga, just a couple of miles from where i am now south of Adelaide, though it was different there was definitely a spiritual presence there.

 

[Rollie]

Good to hear from you , now in OZ . I'm a Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird owner ( x 2 ) and some of the members of the Blackbird forum are also located in OZ and New Zealand. They love the Bird for it's reliability , awesome speed rush , excellent touring capabilities ( Big Country down there ) and relatively still low entry fee for a well preserved example. Honda quit making them for the states in '03 , but continued in Europe until '07. I assume you didn't bring your list of bikes with you . Just a suggestion of course , and different strokes for different folks. The " blokes " I've met through the forum are stand up guys ( like the Vmax crowd ) , and you could do worse than test ride one for yourself. Congrats on the move and may Molly R.I.P.

www.cbrxx.com

 

[blaxmax]

Good story in the land of Vauxhalls!!!Sorry 'bout the '85.

 

[scuff]

An update

Dec 20 2015

Been in Australia since dec 5th, Mollies birthday.

It was a shared dream to visit Oz, to ride around, possibly start a business there. Getting here meant i had to sacrifice items back home, its a long way from Wasilla Alaska to Adelaide South Australia, i had to sell my 1985 VMax, i will miss it.

Mollie would have enjoyed it here very much, the food is far better than the bleached gruel in America, eggs are real eggs, the yolk is almost red, the milk has more protein, common hamburger meat better than steak, even what they call catsup is fantastic, but the vegemite still tastes like crap.

Mollie loved to cook, second to just riding around as my back seat partner. Big bikes here get attention in this fuel starved nation, you just mention either Ice Road Truckers or V8 engines you get an attentive crowd.
Though utilities come at a price food is pretty cheap, forget smoking, a single pack can cost you $40.
And the free tv is nearly nothing but 90's era tv, cooking shows and Thunderbirds. Very sanitized yet at the same time commercials are more full of exposed flesh, suggestive themes or plain stupidity.

But i came here because i told Mollie i would, i would like to have in my final years a remembrance of keeping my promises.

This trip was for her, because i had a dream i was walking down a giant staircase, my son looked much older as he said goodbye to me, I crossed a wide city street, entered a cafe where her much younger self was there waiting, she said, "Its about time!" Like a scene from the ending of Titanic.

That dream led me to a place called Port Noarlunga, just a couple of miles from where i am now south of Adelaide, though it was different there was definitely a spiritual presence there.

Congrats on the move hope you find a happy place down under lord knows you deserve it. I read your post on the GW website about the incident with Molly. I thought I was reading something out of a Stephan King novel amazing you survived. Unfortunately you lost someone near and dear to your heart. Glad to see you have found the strength to go on God Bless you bud and good luck keep us posted. R.I.P Molly

 

[silverado6x6]

An update, returned from Oz middle of jan, back to Alaska, sat on my butt until my seasonal job at the concrete batch plant started up, got a pay raise, that helped. But most of all my peace of mind settled in from that trip, i no longer cry myself asleep every night i'm afraid to admit now. And physically its not so hard now to put in a full days work be it changing oil on a concrete mixer, repairing whatever ails them..or driving them.

My 2002 Silverado dually is showing its age, starting to crop up multiple issues from worn tires because it needs an alignment to oil cooler lines that are leaking, it has the 8.1 engine, hard to get any decent fuel mileage with it.

Mollie and i discussed back in 2014 a more suited vehicle, does not need to be a pickup, must be able to handle an Alaska winter plus our rough roads, but i wanted something with style. Must have enough engine to tow at least a motorcycle trailer. I own a 2012 Equinox but its not big enough.

Jump ahead to the now, saw a listing for a 2008 Escalade st $22,000 at the local GMC dealership, has the 6.2 variable cam timing, 403 hp. Did have 113,000 miles though...

I head over this saturday the 14th, turns out its in the shop getting the tranny fixed, an omen right there, i leave them my cell number, call me when its done. I leave and on a whim and an impulse i drive down the street to the Chevy dealer, i mention that i'm looking for a used SUV and mentioned that i was hoping to buy one at the other dealership but it wasn't available, told the guy the poor salesgirl tried so very hard to sell me a new Denali Yukon, too blah for my taste and they are supposed to be top of the line at around $70,000.

I had bought the Equinox here in 2013, not a single problem with it, great gas mileage, but like i said it lacks size inside and out, Mollie thought the Cadillac version would be a better SUV.


So getting back to here and now, the next sales guy at the Chevy place says they just got a 2014 Escalade as a trade in, Raven Black and black interior. 37,000 miles, no damage, excellant shape, just waiting for a new passenger headlamp housing to be shipped in, not even in their inventory. Its the middle of the line, the performance one, has the 22' rims, NOT the Platinum either, but still its incredibly packed with features, rides like a hoverboard!

Plenty of grunt in the motor, sounds like a Corvette. I bought it.

A little under Blue Book, good warranty and all, first chance i get i'm getting a set of decals, "In memory of" for Mollie. She would have fought me day and night to drive it i'm sure, she loved trucks. I'm not going to mutilate it with bling.

And here is it at home polished up.

 

[tothemax93]

Looks beautiful.

 

[ga_max]

Nice.

 

[Foxviewnet]

My condolences and prayers for you and your family.