I hope your holiday was a Royal one, too

Two of the nicest gifts I received this Christmas were gifts to charity in my name, from my daughters.

Anna contributed through Oxfam America's gift program to provide training for farmers in the use of organic manure. The gift certificate was adorned with a lovely photograph of exactly what you would expect.

The card went on to explain that organic manure increases crop yields and is safer than chemical fertilizers. I am all for that. Thank you, Anna.

Erin contributed a micro-loan through the Kiva program to a fellow named Froilan Pasok in the village of Sinonoc, in the Philippines. He is 42 years old, married, and has three school-aged children.

To make a living, Froilan provides motorcycle services to local community members. He needs the money to repair one of his vehicles. If his business is a success, the loan will be repaid.

I'd be satisfied with a handshake and maybe a ride, should I ever get to the Philippines. You can use the gadget here to make your own contribution to Froilan or another deserving person around the globe.

Happy Holidays!

Hope your holiday is a Royal Enfield one

Best Royal Enfield wishes to readers everywhere around the globe. And thank you to this eBay seller for use of the Made Like a Gun logo.

Royal Enfield project keeps him going

Greenman's mock-up of his Norfield project.

Jack Greenman is a 25-year-old man with severe chronic pain and the Triumph motorcycle logo tattooed across his chest. He is in the process of installing a Royal Enfield Bullet motor into a Norton Atlas frame. The project is a kind of tribute to his deceased father, the former owner of the deteriorated Norton.

Greenman is an articulate writer who lately has been sharing progress reports on the Enfield-Norton in his blog, Wizid's 2nd Home. He writes and talks (in YouTube videos) about himself, he says, because he must.

"You have to talk about it," he says. In a calm voice, seemingly without anger, he explains:

"I'm 25, and I live in my mother's basement. And I can't move, and I can't go to school, and I'm waiting on disability — and I mean what what else can I do? What else do I have to do? I can't... I can't work with my hands much any more, I can barely read books, I can barely write and I used to write all the time, and I can't write — and I can't draw... and and like what the hell... am I supposed to do?"

Greenman doesn't name his disease, in so far as I can find, and doesn't ask for anything except, maybe, understanding that he is not "just complaining" or seeking attention. He seems genuinely grateful that someone out there might be listening. I became a "Follower" of his blog because I am interested in what he writes.

You might be, too, and not just for discussion of how to fit an Enfield motor into a Norton frame.

Take a look. And, if you'd like to encourage him to keep it up, maybe become a Follower.

What's the best horn for a Royal Enfield?

Royal Enfield motorcycles and the people who ride them never fail to find their own road. When I complained recently about the wimpy horn I chose for my 1999 Bullet, I expected comments.

I hoped I'd get recommendations for a better horn and I did get one, from Jonathan Hanson, executive editor of the outstanding Overland Journal magazine. He wrote:

"You need a Stebel Ear Cannon horn. I got one each for my Royal Enfield and Triumph. That pedestrian would have jumped out of his shoes if you'd let him have it with one of those."

And he may be right. Here's a link to the Stebel horn, where you can actually click to hear it (my advice: turn your speakers down first.)

What I didn't anticipate was the unusual note struck by Jorge Pullin, who writes the informative and amusing My Royal Enfields blog. He forwarded this video, virtually without comment.

I think it says it all.