Blocking…

I announced on Facebook that I was blocking some people. Only a few. I have been careful about who I am friends with on Facebook since I started a new profile over a year ago. However I also run a Scooter Club. 2 of them in fact. I also play in a band. This makes me kinda a public figure and many people want to contact me. I have over 10K followers on The Hornets Scooter Club FB page. Some however want to do more than just contact me. Some do not want to contact me at all. They do not respond to my contacts or events or even simply “like” my posts. Some just simply have bad intentions.

I have met some wonderful people from these projects of mine. So many kind people come see my band play and the other bands are always nice to me and my band. There is no competition or jealousy shown. My band has dealt with every kind of issue you can imagine and we are still close as family and feel part of a larger community. However being the leader of a Scooter Club is not always a bowl of cherries. Any Leader is a target for sure and I knew this from the start, 24 years ago. During that time we have had a few insurrections. For most of those years I left the club and myself open to anyone that wanted to join.

Open & free is how I like things to be. The Internet has not allowed this. Some things like Facebook are too open and too free. They keep changing the rules to make even more so. This degrades our Privacy. Last year a couple of members abused this concept and tried to take over The Hornets. They failed. In doing so, they caused a lot of Drama and many friendships were hurt badly.

I am a Christian man and forgiveness is part of that whole scene. I am here to admit that I can not forgive some people and I do not have the energy to deal with them anymore. So they are getting Blocked. It isnt the worst of punishments, Butt he best weapon I have is Karma. If I do not have faith in forgiveness, I have faith in Karma.

I do these things to make other people happy. I have a hard time make myself happy, so making others happy works for me. What doesnt work for me is the classic “smile to my face and stab me in the back”. What doesn’t work for me is people calling my friends and telling lies about me. I am going to let Karma do my dirty work and enjoy the silence I will get from Blocking these jerks, so I can,

Carry On… Marbles Mahoney

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I’m a 140 Pound Italian!

When I first started riding, like most of us, I had a 50cc Scooter. Also like most I souped it up with all kinds of modifications and kits. My Scooter mechanic at the time said to me “You know these things were made for 140 Pound Italians”. He then added… ” if you want to go any faster you are going to have get a bigger bike or loose weight”. At the time I was around 200 pounds and I was pushing that darn Scooter to 60mph. I also rebuilt the motor 3 times and blew it up twice. That was in 1995. I lost a lot of weight since then due to Diabetes, Heart Attacks & Starvation. I have been about 180lbs for the past 20 years.

Fast forward to 2023. This year’s major health crisis (Double Bypass & a Diabetes Crash) had me loose even more weight. I came out of the Hospital a 140 pound Italian! I could not wait to get back on my Scooter! I should also mention that I also have a bigger 150cc Scooter now. Wow, what a performance upgrade that was! I could have saved lots of money on engines & parts. My Vespa really leaps out of my hands now, off the line. I also set a new top speed record this weekend. 68 MPH as verified by GPS. I could have hit 70 but I ran out of room. My previous record was 64 MPH at full throttle.

The sudden weight loss was a sign of the bigger health issue that I am dealing with now. A major diet & lifestyle change is going on. I am also on many medications to deal with the Diabetes and Heart issues. It is working. The operation took a lot out of me. Even though a lot of Scary things have been going on their is always something positive to find. If going faster on my Scooter is a side affect of my health issues, I for one am not going to complain.

Scoot On… Marbles Mahoney

The Double M Update…

What a long strange trip it has been. It is not over, by far. Scary health crisis’ aside, there is a lot going on in the M world. The health thing is still the major story with me, however. I am getting stronger everyday, but it is slow. I am increasing my psychical activity, which is a double edged sword. One one hand I feel the strength from the exercise and on the other hand it tires me out. So a gentle balance of exercise and rest has naturally occurred. I could not push it any harder if I wanted to. That being said, I have signed up and been approved to use the gym at work. Basic Treadmill and minor exercise is all I will be doing, only a few minutes at a time. My array of wounds are still healing okay. The one on my Leg is still bothering me and taking its time healing. I will be checking in with the doctors on that later this week.

The Physical changes are many. They range from Diet & Cooking to Regularly taking Medications & slowing down. It has been a challenge. Those challenges are also a Mental change too. It is not easy. None of this has been easy. I just make it look that way. My Brain does not fully grasp the concept of being sick easily. There are days when I do not want to bother taking pills and giving myself injections. It has been almost 6 months that I have been living a changed lifestyle. Am I better off? They tell me, I am. I can tell you that I felt better before all this happened to me. The small progress that I do make, however is keeping me interested and hopeful. If I didnt see any progress, I may not be so pro-active with my recovery. It is the way I am.

Another change is in the air. It isnt easy to explain, but I will try. While in the hospital, it became clear what projects I am involved with are the ones that make me happy. Some of my projects do not always make me happy. I realize even more now than ever, how short life is. I do not want to waste time on projects or people that are on board with what makes me happy. What I want… What a concept. I have always lived my life for what other people want. So, the change over to making what I want a priority is a rather big one. Its hard to not feel selfish or single minded. Everything is on the table right now. Do I keep doing this? Do I keep doing that? Does this or that make me happy?

One project that rose to the top while I was in the hospital contemplating life was my music. It always was sort of a hobby to me, but i realize now, it is much more. The fact that I may not be able to play like I used to, really scared me. That surprised me. I always took it for granted. In looking back I have worked harder on my band Strange But Surf than any other project in my life. From our infamous beginnings to our many many comebacks, it has endured. It has also made me and many others happy. A win win situation. Before I went to the hospital we recorded a new album. I insisted we do this, because I predicted that I would not be able to do it after. I was right. I can still play, but recording can be a grueling task. The recording came out amazing and my playing was noted as being the best I ever did. That is because it was a matter of life & death. The Album is being mastered as we speak and will be available in a few weeks for Twangstock.

Speaking of my Projects. TWANGSTOCK. My Music Festival is now in NYC at Otto’s Shrunken Head. A vast and huge undertaking. I could not do this without the help of Unsteady Freddie. He has been a champion of Surf Music forever and is THE authority on the music. We combined forces to turn his monthly Surf Rock Shindig in June into a 2 day Shindig called Twangstock. Originally Twangstock started in my backyard in Levittown and went on for ten years. Moving up to clubs as as grew, but it came to a halt when Covid hit. Now it is back and as an Artist I always have to out do myself, so now it is in NYC at one of the greatest Tiki Bars in the world. I also have to thank all the bands that have joined up to make this happen. Here is the 411 on Facebook… https://www.facebook.com/events/6426246027406944

I will end this off, with this… I am engineering another one of my comebacks, but this one will be major. Please stay tuned, be supportive (because those that are not will get the boot out of my life forever) and, Carry On… Marbles Mahoney