How did I end up with 25 stuffed toys, stuffed in my motorcycle? While my heart was breaking?
My best friend, Michael McMillan, and I go way back and share a deep love of motorcycles. I was in Arizona; he was in Florida. Though he’s ten years younger than I, he had a heart attack and was hospitalized. We talked often while he was waiting for his open-heart surgery, I laughed and promised to make lots of great motorcycle trips for him, til he could get back on his own bike.
But Michael died on December 4, 2024. There are no words to convey that loss. My voice cracked, tears flowed as I explained to his wife, Elise, that I’d keep my promise to ride often, be safe, take pictures, and think of him.
The day after Michael died, I went into a frenzy of downsizing and dropped off unnecessary stuff at a local thrift store. And there it was – a large bin full of stuffed toys, on sale “today only” five for $1. And suddenly I had an important motorcycle trip to make. For Michael and for some kids.
After migrants are legally processed at the southern border, they have to wait for their sponsors to arrange transportation to various locations. The Border Patrol has a long history of delivering them to the Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, and the Annunciation House has developed an efficiently run operation to provide food and shelter for the few days it takes for sponsors or families to arrange for bus or plane tickets from El Paso. The Annunciation House has provided humanitarian aid in this period of transition, at no cost to the U.S. government, since 1978.
Yet, Texas Attorney General Paxton has now declared that the Annunciation House a terrorist organization and is trying to close it. The Texas Supreme Court will hear the case in January.
I have friends in Silver City, NM, who routinely provide supplies to the Annunciation House.
So I stuffed 25 stuffed toys onto my motorcycle to made a quick trip from eastern Arizona to Silver City, NM, (320 miles round trip – I didn’t want to make the 450 mile round trip to El Paso in one day, not at my age of 76. And I needed to get back to feed my dog).
I had to hurry, for the group in Silver City could make only one more trip with supplies to the Annunciation House before it shut down services in light of the threats by Paxton of legal action.
But, Santas are like that – taking off quickly with an overstuffed sled. My hope was to be a tiny part of delivering a smile to a child overwhelmed by a new country (that may not always be kind). And the toys are SO cute! The weather looked best on December 9 for a bike trip.
It was 35 degrees when I left Arizona, and then the winds kicked up. I was dressed like the Michelin Man; if the bike were blown over, I’d just bounce. I watched a few tumble weeds blow across the road; I wouldn’t want to hit one of those on my bike. After less than an hour I had to stop at a filling station to run hot water over my hands; a cup of hot coffee later I was back on the bike and soon up into the mountains. I only stayed in Silver City long enough to unload the stuffed toys and have another cup of coffee and sandwich with friends. The winds were getting stronger, and there were dust devils dancing on the desert flats.
I got back to my RV as the sunset and in time to feed my dog.
My broken heart needed the saddle time as perhaps only a biker would understand. I miss you, Michael.
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