Heard the News today... oh boy...

Son of good friend

Former Racer Fritz Kling Diagnosed With Terminal Brain Cancer, Benefit Scheduled

A bank account (#4532119619 at Citizens Bank, 3015 East Saginaw Street, Lansing, Michigan 48912) and a Paypal account (fruitflies3@aol.com) have been set-up to receive donations to the Kling family.


Flashbacks

First real memory of Fritz was mid 70’s, and visiting his Dad, Fred, at their place on Dawn Ave. in East Lansing. They had a nice shop, seems it was almost as big as the house and a bit of a hangout for motorcyclists.
Note that these were motocrossers and road racers, not “1 percenters”
Fred rode big Macao’s (Motocross) and Honda 750 Four (Road racing)

Well, here was young Fritz, about 5yrs old, on a Honda Q50 minibike
He’d hold the throttle wide open then jam it in gear, doing little wheelies.
I commented that he was likely to break the gearbox, to which he replied, “It’s OK, my Dad’s a mechanic.”

Note: maybe 20 years later, taking a friend to a local road race, Fritz was by now an established racer and I told my friend the story. Fritz was standing nearby, and said, “I still say that…”

So I watched this kid grow up, become an awesome racer, esp. considering his size; he must have been 6’4” and over 200 lbs… not a jockey.

I was never much into Motocross, don’t think I ever saw him race there.
But Fritz was a constant presence when we went road racing as GTRacing.
Endurance (everything from 3hour races to full 24hours), and some sprints too.

I recall as a growing teen, his mom Carol would pack two large Igloo coolers, one for Fred and me, one just for Fritz.

When I’d take my daughters to the races, and before Fritz was racing, he was enamored with the kids. He’s probably about 8 years older than my eldest.

I’ll have to fill in with some racing memories.

For now, here’s a vignette

Sometime early 90’s at Daytona
Watching from the infield, at our favorite spot inside the “hook”
We were there with Malcolm another racing buddy (rode Endurance races with Fred). During warm-ups he commented that Fritz wasn’t really going, that he could come through the hook a full gear up.
A bit later, it was the race (or maybe it was qualifying?) , and Fritz came through flying… Malcolm turned too me and simply said, “never mind”

During the era of the F-USA series, one where the rules were essentially “anything goes” and Fritz was riding what came to be know as the YamaMonster (need to check on size squeezed into a 750 frame I think).
Anyway, for a couple of years, Fritz’s record was 75% wins of the races he showed up for.

I recall that he had played Hockey, as did his dad.
This helped.
When riders tried to bump or move him around on the track, his combination of size and style he would simply look like … “bring it on” and bump and shove right back… well over 100 MPH.

Fritz was strong, one of those who could and did use his knee pucks
I recall him loosing the front end, putting weight on his knee and tucking the front back in.

Daytona, must have been ‘90
His wife Tina was VERY pregnant and back home.
Well, she made arrangements to fly down
I picked her up at the airport, and had her waiting at the motel when he got home from the races … he was near speechless.

'95
Fritz was winning races, but would have recurring numbness and concentration problems
Doctors didn't have a good answer
Seems he finally got a scan... brain tumor
Well, he went and had the operation delayed, until he could go to the fall races at Daytona.
Won.
I seem to recall that in recovery, Doctor showed him the local paper with (very rare) sport section coverage of his win..."so this is why you put it off"

The above are memories, subject to error
Will post more later

Other's here: fritz kling benefit

Prior Post

Heard the News today... oh boy...

Spent a good bit of the afternoon with Fritz and his lovely wife Tina.

Missed the benefit: Fritz Friends

Guess there were a bunch of folks there
Raised some good money, but not enough

Glad I could spend some "one on one" time with Fritz
Small talk, but also dug into some of the creditor issues

There are some "hard assed" lawyers that deserve a real good butt-kicking
We'll have to see what can be done.

I recalled another scene from past times.

I'd had a rather "uncomfortable" crash
In short, not wearing leathers, riding a friends Kawasaki H2
750 2stroke Triple - real fast, but big time shake machine, at about a hundred the bars buzzed enough to be about 3inched in diameter.
Long story short, the front fender came off (likely the vibration) and grabbed the front tire - bam, on the pavement.
Nothing broken (bones that is) but nasty abrasions ... both palms gone, most of a forearm etc.

Well, Fritz had seen me bandaged up (not too pretty)

About this time, maybe a year or so later, he must have been early teens and was growing and feeling his "oats"

I was visiting the bike shop (his dad Fred worked there)
Fritz jumped me from behind and we did a bit of 'rassel'
Broke off and I walked over to Fred, asked if I could rip into the "kid"
"Go for it"

Went back to Fritz, and calmly mentioned that he must know that I really didn't mind pain and we could 'get serious'

Well ... nothing further happened and all was well.

Just a little message.

Haven't seen as much of Fritz in the last few years, we live north, he's been raising his own family.

My thoughts and prayers are with him and Tina.

While the doctors are amazed that he's still with us, I believe that there is good in being a good person, having positive attitude and taking life as it comes.

Hard to find a better person, loving husband and father.

Pulling for you Fritz

Saw the news today ... oh boy

Spent part of the afternoon with Fritz
In Lansing for weekend, and got this just before coming downstate

"At Fritz' doctor appointment yesterday, he was told there is nothing more they can do and there is no need for him to return to the doctor. Fritz and Tina are working with Hospice (for approx. 1-1/2 weeks) and they have distributed morphine. Fritz is loosing significant control of his left side and is struggling with his fear and feelings at this time."


In short - DAMNIT
Good "kid" (Ok so he's 41 or so, I've know hinm since he was about 5)
Sometimes "the son I never had" but only sometimes

All I can say is the he knows (approximate) time, most of the rest of us don't

Cool thing : family polished up one of the racers, and it sits in the living room (my girls might recall that I did same with one back in the early 70's)

Waves of remorse
Sadness

Life goes on

Weed Wacker

I happen to like bike racing, esp. "Big Bikes."
Ben has been quoted as having Fritz Kling as one of his "hero's" as he came up through the ranks.

Fritz has a similar build (tall for a racer) and style, as well as a great winning record. Fritz also is the son of my good friend, partner, and lead rider when we won a National Championship back in mid 70's.

This shot is from Superbike practice, Fontana, CA. superbikeplanet.com.
Copyright Tim Huntington.

Follow-up
Last week Ben won both Sat and Sun Superbike races
did it again this weekend.
Kid's on a roll...

Closing of a chapter

Remembering Fritz who passed away early yesterday.

Fine young man.
Accomplishments speak for themselves
Such as here: Cycle News

Growing guestbook here: Guest Book - Fritz Jon Kling

Some "names" in racing visiting

Perspectives

Busy few weeks
Got back from Fritz's funeral, and headed to

Michigan's Future: Energy, Economy, Environment

2.5 Day event - I skipped Sunday

Richard Heinberg was keynote speaker and panelist.

While I don't buy into all the "Peak Oil" he has some interesting perspectives
Esp. that it isn't the end of oil, just changing cost structure(s)

On the other end of the spectrum (but trying to play off the topic) we had Ellen Brown, with Web of Debt - THE COLLAPSE OF A 300 YEAR PONZI SCHEME: THE REAL DEBATE IS CRONY SOCIALISM OR FINANCIAL SOVEREIGNTY:

In between, good stuff on Wind (same plant as Boone Pickens, place in Lake Michigan, could generate 50% more electricity) and Nukes (head of DTE on why we have to build new).
Some discussion of new law on "net metering" to the advantage of "alternative" sources of electricity

Side topics on local sourcing, from energy to food, and such topics as permaculture.

Quick notes from The Valley

Some brief notes/links while out here visiting daughter and family.

Doc had musing on blogging
Doc Searls Weblog � What comes after blogging


My response


"How about multi layer, multi participant, multi faceted, not “always on”, non spatial, non or quasi-temporal conversation(s)

I don’t begrudge floggers (those selling product/services)
Read them once and move on
Incremental cost is near zero, other than my time.

Therefore add self selective to the above “conversation”

The beauty is ability to connect where you might not otherwise, pick up snippets of knowledge and insight that might not be available otherwise. The obverse as well, pass along information (not always knowledge or insight, that’s too presumptuous on my part)

Ciao on a Sunday Morn from SiValley"


I've been trying to help build some buzz to help a young man I've know since he was about 5.
Former Racer Fritz Kling Diagnosed With Terminal Brain Cancer, Benefit Scheduled News Article // RoadracingWorld.com

So I tried to learn digg, reddit, facebook etc.

Had waiting for me a copy of Clay 's book with fits all of these issues
Here Comes Everybody
(link to his blog on the topic)
"Clay Shirky has long been one of my favorite thinkers on all things internet-not only is he smart and articulate, but he's one of those people who is able to crystallize the half-formed ideas (the ones I've been trying to piece together) into glittering, brilliant insights that make me think, Yes, of course, that's how it all works" - Cory Doctrow
Amen
Just about every page has a nugget - just get it and read it.

Very brief summary of some ideas here
Running an Office by Wiki and E-Mail

Again - get it, read it, understand it, use it.

Our daughter belongs to a loose Mom's network of about 2,000 out here in The Valley and uses it to seek advice, buy used toys etc.
Craigs list for mom's?

"Some groups we expect to be technology-obsessed, maleness, singleness, and youth all correlate with technophilia, while femaleness, age, and family life don't. So when a group of mothers adopts a piece of technology, it indicates an expression of preference far more serious than seeing a thirteen-year-old boy go wild over an Xbox" - Clay

Spot on

Sent her this yesterday, turns out she reads it daily:
Blogger Mom from the WSJournal (and one of the most popular articles)

Back to grandparenting

Mid-Week trip

Our 13th Anniversary so we went up to Bay View Inn
in ... Bay View Michigan, which is also the home to The Bay View Association

On the way, it was lunchtime, so we caught a bite at Pearl's - New Orleans Kitchen. "Cajun and Creole Cooking with a Heap of Southern Hospitality" in Elk Rapids.

Shirley went for
Big Easy Mary
Garnished with a blue cheese stuffed jalapeno, crawfish and pickled carrots, rimmed with Creole seasoning.

I stuck to Arbor Brewing's Tree Fort Ale.

We split
Bayou Sampler
Crawfish cake, Andouille & Grits, Blackened Alligator, Oysters Rockefeller
Sans the Rockefeller as they were out of sauce, doubled the Crawfish cakes.

I added a cup of Gumbo Ya Ya
Homemade, with chunks of chicken and spicy Andouille sausage, finished with rice.
While Shirley chose
Red Bean Cakes
Red beans simmered with vegetables, herbs and spices. Pan-fried and served with Cajun cream sauce, roasted corn salsa, white rice and fresh vegetables.

Discovered J.T. Pappy's TERMIGATOR Gator Sauce ... yum.

Elk Rapids is a bit our of our way, so, while we really like it, we don't get there often enough.

Cruised on up, checked in to the Inn, dropped our bags and up to Cross Village for
Legs Inn
Shirley wanted to try the:
Old Fashioned Polish Berry Szarlotka - A house specialty. Old World Polish crumble cake baked with a blend of fresh apples, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Served warm, with vanilla bean ice cream. I helped a little.

Back through Tunnel of Trees to Harbor Springs
Shops were closing, so we just checked out the town
Harbor Springs is a bit on the "old money" side ... much from downstate, so we saw a lot of for sale signs... a lot.

Late super back at the Inn where I had the "Chilled Cherry Soup" (sweet and tart cherries with yogurt) followed by "Osso Buco" style BBQ Rib (one large) which was delicious.
Shirley chose the Cherry Pork (lightly brined and smoked, then char-grilled with a sweet and smoky cherry sauce)

She declared mine the winner for the evening.

Wine:Broquel Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Today was up and out, after a so-so breakfast (I suggested that they source local fruit) a stop at Crooked Tree Arts Council and re-visited Harbor Springs - not really to our taste.

At Crooked Tree, we cruised :
Reflections of Superior

Through August 17, 2008

A rotating crew of artists -- Fritz Seegers, Ladislav Hanka, Cynthia Cote, Brent Spink, Mark Spink, Mary Brodbeck, and Phyllis Fredendall -- sailed the Alwihta, a replica of an historic wooden sailboat, around the circumference of Lake Superior from ice-out in June until the storms of October. Sailing in short hops, they chose anchorages based on visual interest rather than convenience.

Their work reflects on the wilderness coastlines, history, and industrial aspects of the Lake.

Reflections of Superior is a contemporary mix of artwork that reflects post-modern sensibilities and spans the richness of traditional media as well as multimedia explorations of cutting-edge technology. The common denominator is the artists' fascination for this unforgiving, yet exquisitely beautiful environment.

Bobby Kennedy: A Time It Was

Through July 26, 2008

It has been forty years since photojournalist Bill Eppridge was assigned by Life magazine the task of capturing on film images of Bobby Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign. There will be over forty of these photographs on display taken just days before and after the assassination.
"Everything I saw and everything I heard, it's still there inside my head, like a slow-motion movie," photojournalist Bill Eppridge has said of that night—June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.”

The Kennedy photos were truly moving.

Then a leisurely cruise back home.

Soup :: Thursday Morning Infineon Test Images

Soup :: Thursday Morning Infineon Test Images

Ben Spies, lower right image
Drags his elbows ...
Think about it

Says that Fritz was his hero