When JoJo Kordik rides through town, adults stop and smile.

Children wave and cheer.

Even the cops are inclined to blare their sirens.

Kordik readily admits the reception has nothing to do with him. The 56-year-old Merrionette Park road maintenance worker says, "It's all about the dog."

Snowbaby, an 8-year-old Siberian Husky, loves to ride on the back of Kordik's 2005 Ultra Classic Harley-Davidson. Wearing "doggles," she sits in a custom-made basket that has a built-in harness.

Kordik had to weigh Snowbaby and take her measurements sitting down before he could order the all-leather, fur-lined seat from Beast Riders in Maryland.

"It's specifically made for my model, but it can be modified to fit any motorcycle," he said. Straps hold Snowbaby secure in three places.

Kordik's been riding Snowbaby around the Southland, and even as far north as the Wisconsin border, for the past five years.

"She's got 16,000 miles under her," he said, many of them logged in parades and Toys For Tots events. She rode in the Mokena Fourth of July parade and the Manteno Veteran's Run.

Kordik's a member of the Oak Lawn chapter of Illinois Harley Owners Group and Hogs for Hope, a nonprofit group of Harley-Davidson owners who help raise funds for Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn.

"I always sell the most chances for Hope - 3,500 this year," he said. "But I cheat. I use the dog."

The impressive bike and the extensive tattoos belie a soft spot in Kordik's heart for sick children. Perhaps because he was one.

He endured several bouts of pneumonia as a child and at one point doctors told his mother he would likely die. At 16, he was diagnosed with scoliosis. When he was 23, he had surgery and today his spine is completely fused from the base of his neck to his tailbone.

"I live in pain, but I figure I can sit here and worry or get out and do something to help others," he said.

The kids are the ones who benefit from his outings with Snowbaby. And the kids are the ones who are his biggest fans when he passes them on the streets.

"They go nuts," he said.

Adults can be just as awe-struck, though. Once Kordik was stopped by two cops who said, "See you got your co-pilot with you."

To which Kordik replied, "Nope, she's my seeing-eye dog."

Snowbaby seems to enjoy the attention, although it took a good six months for her to get acclimated to the ride.

When she was first placed in the harness, she went wild. She didn't like being constrained, Kordik said.

"She'd shake the bike so bad, I'd have to stop," he said.

But now she loves it. She has her own vest and when she hears the sound of a motor revving, her ears perk up.

Despite her celebrity status in the community, Kordik said, Snowbaby is not a big fan of the dark glasses.

"She gets fed up with them sometimes," he said, "and flings them while we're riding."

 

I think I posted this last Mothers Day, but it says so much and says it so well, I wanted to share it again..to encourage and to celebrate each of us who are mothers and to remind us all of the awesome place our mothers or "mothers" (and for some that might even have been dad) have had and, for some of us, still do in our lives.

The greatest thing my mother shared with me was her faith

that became mine.

Thank you, Mama.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!
 
This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up puke laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here".
 
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
 
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.
 
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.  And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
 
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
 
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football , hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars so that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?'  they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway?
 
Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...

And mature mothers learning to let go.
 
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
 
Single mothers and married mothers.
 
Mothers with money, mothers without.  This is for you all. For all of us.
 
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.

Please pass along to all the Moms in your life. "Home is what catches you when you fall. l and we all fall."
 
Please pass this to a wonderful mother you know.

Remember the movie Big with Tom Hanks? The piano used in that movie is now at FAO Schwartz NYC. Here is a piece by Bach played by a couple of the store's employees.

Whether it's quitting smoking (I'm close to two months now smoke-free!!!) or beating the odds while in remission from cancer (some may know to whom I'm referring with that one ), whatever your dream may be, read on...

Realizing Your Dream

~ Saralee Perel ~

CTA train operator offers pleasantries and smiles aboard the Red Line

By Christopher Borrelli

March 31, 2009

Tribune reporter/CTA Red Line rider Christopher Borrelli has dubbed Michael Powell (above) The Nicest Train Operator in Chicago (Tribune photo by E. Jason Wambsgans / March 30, 2009)