The Everyday Millionaire Series

The Money Thing Hits The Radio

Tuesday October 2nd is the inaugural date for our new radio show,

The Money Thing with Howard Bono. 

The show will air every Tuesday from 2:00-3:00PM on KKNW 1150AM.  If you are out of the area or the signal is fuzzy, we will also stream the show in the web.  Go to www.1150KKNW.com and click on the Listen Live button on the upper right corner. 

The Money Thing with Howard Bono will focus on the financial challenges of “Working America”.  You know, that group that almost everyone you know is a part of.  We will bring ideas and strategies to help people really understand their money.  With a better understanding of your money comes the ability to make better financial decisions.  It’s like healthy eating, if you eat well for a day, good for you.  If you string some days together, you will see results.  Your money works the same way. 

Working America currently gets no help with their money.  Most of us didn’t get any education from our parents and if we are parents, we don’t give any financial education to our children.  The school system doesn’t help either.  We don’t get any education about the real world of money from the government so the only people who want to teach us anything are those with a commercial stake in what we buy or borrow.  So whom do we turn to?  You can turn to me.

So why am I doing it?  For 15-years, as the owner of Old West Mortgage I have been looking at people’s financial situations and figuring out how to help them.   My recently released book, The Money Thing Made Easy, distills more than five years of educating clients on how they can dump their debt and start building wealth.  To put all of my cards on the table, I hope you will find value in our discussions and buy my book and maybe let us help you with a mortgage too.

After learning from my own financial mistakes, and studying how the people with money do things, I have created wealth and security for my family.  Of course I have made a lot of mistakes that I will share with you to save you the pain.  We have created the The Everyday Millionaire to help distribute more of this information to via our website www.TheEverydayMillionaire.com. 

My vision is to create 1,000 millionaires.  It takes work and time but if you string enough days together, anyone can do it. You work hard for your money.  You have earned it and now is the time to use it to create a better life for you and yours.

I hope you, and everyone you know will tune in to the show.  When you do, please email or call me with your feedback.  Since I am new in the radio world, any ideas or criticism you could give me would be appreciated.   

Thanks for taking your time to read this.

Howard

My response to Hillary Clinton's mortgage crackdown

I read Hillary Clinton's blog today about what she wants to do to "crackdown" on the mortgage industry for causing all of the new foreclosures.  While I agree that the mortgage industry has some problems and I don't believe government will solve them.  I wanted you to see my response to her.

Hillary's comments from her blog are below (in blue) and my response follows.

Crack Down on Unscrupulous Brokers:

• Require mortgage brokers to disclose to borrowers that their compensation rises when borrowers' mortgage rates and mortgage fees are high. 
  

• Work with states to develop strong licensing standards and require federal registration for mortgage brokers. 
  

Crack Down on Mortgage Lending Abuses:

• Eliminate prepayment penalties on mortgage products. 
  

• Require mortgage lenders to include the cost of taxes and insurance in the underwriting assessment of higher-risk mortgages. 
  

Help Reduce Foreclosures:

• Establish a $1 billion fund to assist state programs that help at-risk borrowers avoid foreclosure. 
  

• Expand Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's Foreclosure Prevention Efforts. Hillary would expand the goals of Fannie and Freddie, the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that help stabilize the mortgage markets, to include helping a larger number of at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosure. 
  

Expand Affordable Housing:

• Establish a $1 billion fund to provide federal support to housing trust funds established by state, county, and municipal governments. 
  

My Response:

First, I want to say that I have been in the mortgage business for 15 years.  I teach people about their money and have written a book for "Working America" titled, The Money Thing Made Easy.  I have seen thousands of people’s finances and I have documented many commonalities in both those that handle their money well and those that don't.  The mortgage problems we are facing now are completely centered on those that don't handle their money well.  I don't want to say that it is not their fault because I am a proponent of personal responsibility.  However, there is no place for people to go to in order to learn how to handle their money.  People are on their own and they have to be taught that.

The banks will only help you if you want to borrow money and the investment people only help people that already have money.  So who teaches "Working America"?  I contend that the mortgage industry is the prime place where this education could take place.  At this point, that cannot happen because many of the people in the mortgage industry don't understand money themselves and they are giving advice to people who are borrowing huge amounts of money. 

While people need to be proactive in seeking good advice when they are borrowing money, many borrowers are seeking advice from unqualified mortgage people.  You probably would not hire an obese person to help you get your body in shape, you would not hire someone who cannot read to tutor your children, yet many people are turning to people who do not handle their own money well to get advice on a mortgage.  These people have proven that they are not yet ready to offer advice on mortgages and finance.  The sub-prime meltdown is proof.

Sub-prime loans are made available for people who have had credit issues.  The goal of a sub-prime loan is to allow people to get into a house, and then take that two-year time frame with a fixed rate of interest to fix the problems that got them there in the first place.  The people that I have seen that have or are losing their homes, they didn't do anything to fix the problem and on top of that, they did not seek help when the problem started to get worse.  What I mean by that is that if people would just seek help immediately when they start to get behind, most of those people would have kept their homes.  It is the inactivity in the early stages that is usually caused by embarrassment or the lack of a good source of information on what to do.  Good mortgage people can help.  Inexperienced, unqualified or those that just don't care, are not a good source for people to turn to when things get tight.

In terms of your ideas on solving the problem, here are my comments:

1. Requiring brokers to disclose every penny they make is neither a good nor a bad idea.  For example, If you need a truck and you get a great deal on a motorcycle, what have you really accomplished?  You still did not get what you needed.  If the consumer focuses on the lowest price, the consumer will probably get hurt in the end.  The issue that most people should focus on is strategy and product, not the lowest price.

2. If we are going to focus on licensing standards, don't focus all of the standards for mortgage people on how much they know about regulations and products.  While that would be an important part of any future standards.  I believe that mortgage people need to be financially solvent personally.  This does not mean that they should be wealthy, but they should be on stable ground financially.  I would never want anyone I know to go to a mortgage person with bad credit.  If, for example they are in bankruptcy themselves, they should not be allowed to practice on the public.

3.  Prepayment penalties are not always bad.  If you eliminate prepayment penalties, rates and fees will go up.  Due to the costs of providing loans, lenders need to keep loans on their books for a period of time in order to break even.  If they don't know that they are going to be able to keep them long enough, they will simply charge more upfront in rates and fees.  This really won't help.

4.  The issue of taxes and insurance included in the payment calculations is incorrect.  In every case, when the borrower is evaluated for affordability, taxes and insurance and even flood insurance is included in the calculation.  The problem lies in the scenario where the lender does not collect those fees in the monthly payment.   People get behind because they do not budget well or they just don't take care of it.  I want to say again, all lenders already calculate the cost of taxes and insurance in the affordability ratios when underwriting a loan.  Unpaid taxes and insurance can affect the collateral for the loan. 

5. Throwing money at the problem will only help this immediate situation with people in trouble today.  If you want to help people avoid this scenario completely.  Spend money teaching people how to handle money.  What they are in for in the future and what steps they can take to be responsible.  Usually government does not spend money on these types of programs because it preaches personal responsibility. 

I realize that I have ranted on at length here but this is a topic that I have devoted my life to.  I want to teach "Working America" that they have to do things differently and with a good plan and some time they can succeed.  This mortgage issue is the symptom of the larger problem, it is not the problem itself.

How to recognize a dishonest lender

I am about to turn 51.  I do feel a little older and my body isn’t what it used to be.  But for the most part, I enjoy life now more than ever.  For our Saturday date night last weekend, my wife and I went to The Bite of Edmonds a local weekend celebration just north of Seattle.  We have a friend who runs the beer garden there and the Beatniks were playing.   We grabbed a beer and moved up right next to the stage.  As we were moving through the crowd I realized that there are a lot of people our age that still like to return to our youth and have a good time.  On the other hand, looking at the faces in the crowd I realized that there is a whole generation of adults that look at me as Dad or even Grandpa.  Then it hit me, I am now old enough to join the AARP.   Woo Hoo!

Today I was reading the newspaper and there was a full-page ad from the AARP talking about the housing choices that we older people have.  At the bottom of the page there was a few paragraphs titled:  How to Recognize a Dishonest Lender.  This struck me because with all of the recent changes in the mortgage industry recently, especially the past few weeks.  Over the years, I have talked to many people who have been damaged by doing business with these types of lenders.  Some we have been able to help get them out of the mess, some we haven’t. I thought the article had merit and I wanted to pass it on.  The print it red type is the word for word article the way it was published in the paper.

How to Recognize a Dishonest Lender

AARP, the not-for-profit membership organization of people ages 50 and older, provides seniors with advice on how to spot a dishonest lender.

“Be suspicious of anyone who offers you ‘bargain loans,’ whether they mail or e-mail you an offer, call you by phone or come to your door,” the online article advised. 

“Avoid salespeople who promise ‘No credit?  No problem.’  A bad loan is a mistake.  Beware of offers that are only ‘good for a short time.’ Be suspicious of anyone who contacts you first – most good mortgage lenders or credit companies don’t solicit business over the phone or just show up on your doorstep.

The article warned seniors to avoid lenders who call you and promise guaranteed, low-interest loans, who take applications over the phone or who offer next-day approval if you pay them some money today.

Another concern is so-called lenders who ask for up-front fees to “cover the first payment and other expenses.”  This is obviously someone who wants to take your up-front money and run, the article stated.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, adults age 50 and older account for 60 percent of all health care spending and 80 percent of all luxury travel; spend $7 billion online annually; and own more that three-fourths of the nation’s wealth. 

The largest 55-plus population resides in California, New York and Florida.  This age group is also the fastest-growing segment to embrace computer technology.

While the discussion of housing options was the basis of the full page, the discussion of mortgage lenders I thought was important.  There are so many lenders out there, many of whom work for the “household name” lenders that are just looking for a paycheck.  They don’t have any regard for what this loan will do to you in the future because even if they are in the business, they won’t be working with you after this one loan anyway.

Our vision at Old West Mortgage is to create 1,000 millionaires.  We can’t do it with one loan so we want to make sure that every time you are doing something mortgage related, it is a step toward that goal.  In our minds, it is simple.  You take great care of the people you work with and they come back, with friends.

If there is anything we can do for you or anyone you know, answer questions about your finances or your mortgage, give us a call.  We are here to help.  Now, and in the future too.

Thanks for reading…

www.oldwestmtg.com

You may have to become an Everyday Millionaire

How much money will you need to be able to retire?

     This is a question that most people don't even want to think about.  Mostly because they know they are not prepared and don't think they can get there.  This post will give you an idea of how much money you would need to have saved in order to be able to retire with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life.  I talk to people all the time that tell me that they don't care if they become a millionaire but the more research I do, the more I am convinced that people may have to become an Everyday Millionaire just to be able to retire.

     Here is a chart I put together to give you an idea of how much money you will need to maintain your lifestyle through your retirement years.  I don't want to scare you, well yes, I guess I do.  But the truth is you can do it with some changes in the way you look at and handle your money, combined with some time.  For more information on how to get started, go to my website at www.TheEverydayMillionaire.com

1. Take the monthly amount of money you need to support your lifestyle now.

2. Subtract your expected monthy social security and pension payments.

Use that figure for the first column and the chart will show you how much you will need to start with from your 401K, IRA and Savings.

Monthly Income	Number 10	Of 15	Years 20	In 25	Retirement 30
$1,000	$86,126	$111,255	$128,982	$141,486	$150,307
$2,000	$172,252	$222,511	$257,965	$282,973	$300,615
$3,000	$258,379	$333,767	$386,947	$424,460	$450,922
$4,000	$344,505	$445,023	$515,930	$565,947	$601,230
$5,000	$430,631	$556,279	$644,912	$707,434	$751,537
$6,000	$516,758	$667,535	$773,895	$848,921	$901,845
$7,000	$602,884	$778,791	$902,877	$990,408	$1,052,152
$8,000	$689,010	$890,047	$1,031,860	$1,131,895	$1,202,460
$9,000	$775,137	$1,001,303	$1,160,842	$1,273,382	$1,352,768
$10,000	$861,263	$1,112,559	$1,289,825	$1,414,869	$1,503,075

In order to put this together I made some assumptions that are not helpful.  They actually will add to the number you need to have saved.  Those assumptions are.

1. That you receive an average of 7% per year on your invested money.
2. That your cost of living will not increase.
3. That you will pay no income taxes in your retirement.

     Right now you are probably feeling that this is an impossible task.  The point I am trying to make is that you have to get started.  After you get started you will see that you will be better off in the long run, no matter how big or small of a dent you are able to make in this number. 

     Just remember that a penny doubled ten times is only $5.00.  A penny doubled 20 times is over $5,000.  But a penny doubled 30 times is over $5,000,000.

Thanks for reading

www.TheEverydayMillionaire.com

Are You Ready To Cash In?

For the past couple of years we have been telling our clients and anyone who would listen that the time is coming for people who are prepared, to cash in.  At Old West Mortgage and in my book, The Money Thing Made Easy, we have been preaching that you have to take control of your money. 

Our message is that you have to do three things:

1.     Eliminate your consumer debt

2.     Raise your credit scores

3.     Save some money

     If you have been to any of our classes you have heard this message and  hopefully you have acted on this advice.  If you have, your time is almost here.  If you have not, please contact us soon so we can help you get on the right track.  We have new classes starting and we are improving our systems to make handling your money an easier task.

First, the bad news:

     You have probably heard on TV or seen in the paper that the mortgage industry is going through some changes.  That is an understatement.  Over the past month or two, the whole industry has lost the ability to fund almost half of the loan products we have had available.  Like most situations, the people who are the least able to deal with it are the ones who are getting hit the hardest.  If you have credit issues, if you are overextended with consumer debt and your income is not verifiable, we have very few loan choices available for you.  There are still some solutions available they are just more expensive. 

     The reason we are seeing this is that in the past few years, Wall Street investors were buying these loans and using them as a way to increase the return on investment for their investors.  As the real estate market heated up around the country, these investments paid very well.  As the real estate markets slowed down, these investments didn’t pay as well and the rate of default increased.  As the default rate increased, investors slowed their buying of these loans and in some segments, stopped all together.  If we can’t sell the loans we can’t make them.  Wall Street now wants loans from solid borrowers.  Solid borrowers pay lower interest rates on their loans, so these loans don’t pay the investors as much.  Investors are moving toward them because they are a safer bet.

     This has caused us to almost stop making loans to people with below average credit.  Many of these people took out what we call a “sub-prime” loan.  This is a loan with typically a 2 year guaranteed rate, which will jump up quickly after the 2 years is up.  If the borrower used that 2-year window to eliminate their consumer debt and increase their credit scores, they will be able to get a better loan with a better rate and would actually be much better off.  The problem is that most people who have these loans didn’t do that.  Their window is closing and they are still in the same boat they were when they started.  The reason, nobody was there to help them with a plan to fix the problem that got them there in the first place. 

     I blame this lack of assistance on the mortgage industry itself.  Banks and financial planners have never had any interest in this segment of the population.  Credit counselors are only interested in helping you pay off the debt, not fixing your credit and attorneys only make money when you give up and file bankruptcy.  As Mortgage Professionals I believe we have an obligation to help people understand where they are, why they have the kind of loan they have and what they need to do to get a better one next time.  If we do that and outline a plan to help people get there, they will be able to weather a financial storm like we have brewing now.  This is exactly the reason we have been teaching money classes for over five years and why I wrote my book. 

     If this is a description of your financial situation, you have to fix it.  We will help in whatever way we can.  But you have to change the way you handle your money.  This mortgage situation will loosen up over the next few months but it should be a wake up signal to you that you have to handle your money differently.  Wall Street and the world’s lenders are looking at this situation and are making determinations about the kind of people they will lend money to in the future.  More important is that they are changing the way they determine how much you will pay to borrow money.  Ultimately, investors will be charging each individual with different rates and terms based solely on how well they have proven to handle their money in the past.

     Read my book and come to our classes.  The classes will remain free of charge at least until the end of this year.  We will show you how to fix the problem so you never have to worry about it again.

Now, the good news:

     The main focus of loans in the coming months will be for people who have good credit, little or no consumer debt and a verifiable income. 

     The verifiable income part is very important.  In the past we have been able to make loans where we just trust the amount put down on the application.  We call them “Stated Income Loans”.  You state an income, we trust you.  These loans were made to people who are self-employed, wage earners and commission based employees.  The big change we are seeing is that to get a “stated income” loan now, you have to be self-employed. If you are a wage earner or are paid on a commission, you will have to prove your income. 

If you have prepared yourself and have those 3 things, again they are:

1.     Eliminate your consumer debt

2.     Raise your credit scores

3.     Save some money

     You are the type of borrower that the investors are looking for.  If you don’t need a loan right now it this may not mean anything to you.  But, if you have those things, you have an opportunity in the real estate world that we have not seen in a long time.  This is especially true in our area where events are aligning in a way that could create a real financial windfall over the next decade.   

Let me explain.

     Earlier I talked about the situation that people who have not prepared themselves are in.  Unfortunately, most of these people won’t do anything, they won’t call anyone to help them and they will sink lower and lower.  Some will take action quickly and will be all right, but many of them will lose their homes and will have to go back to renting. 

     This new influx of people and homes into the rental market does two things:

1.      Allows you to get an investment property in between times of rapid price growth.

2.      Creates more competition for people who want and need to rent from you.  This ultimately will create higher rents too.

     I believe that with this influx of new renters and pressure on the rental market will increase rents by 15-20% over the next year or two. 

     We have seen enormous growth in the value of properties in our area over the past few years.   We have seen gains of 13-19% per year in previous years.  From July of 2006 to July of 2007, we still saw increases from 4-8% while the rest of the country was stagnant or even lost ground. 

If you have been to any of my classes you know that our average growth in the Puget Sound area over the past 40 years has been an average of 7% per year which means that our properties double in value every 10 years or so.  What we have seen in growth this past 12 months is more of the norm.  The previous years growth at 13-19% is nice for investors but is not normal or sustainable.  So in my opinion, the slower growth is actually better. 

So what do you do now?

     Regardless of which side of this issue you find yourself on, we have some solutions.  If you need to work on your credit and your debt, call us so we can help you determine where you stand.  From there we will let you know which options you have now and help develop your financial strategy for the future.  The next time these forces line up in this way you will be prepared to cash in.

     If you are financially prepared, your time is here.  Don’t let this opportunity go by without getting in.  With one or two changes in the way you are doing things now, you could double or even triple the amount of money you will have in your retirement nest egg.  Let’s talk about it. 

     Give us a call at the office.  The number is 425-252-1121.  You can call Alex; she can set up a time for you to talk to Patti, Heather or me to talk about your particular situation.  You can email Alex at alex@oldwestmtg.com too.

     If you would like to read my book, we have copies available at the office or you can order it on my website, www.theeverydaymillionaire.com or on Amazon.com.  If you want to sign up for one of our classes you can go to http://www.oldwestmtg.com/our_workshops.htm

     If you have any comments on this posting, please reply below.

You have to watch your credit, now more than ever.

We noticed for the past few months that the average credit scores we are seeing are lower than they were even at the beginning of the year. It is possible that this is because the people we are seeing right now just have lower scores. I don’t believe that is the case.

We all know that the American budget is getting zapped from every direction. People are just trying to keep up and many are using their credit cards to do it. When those cards get maxed out, they are getting another one and the cycle continues. I can tell you from personal experience that this is a difficult cycle to break and yet you have to break it in order to get ahead.

Some research with the credit companies yielded no hard facts. They won’t admit to changing any of the factors used to calculate credit scores. This didn’t surprise me because they have always been pretty secretive about how they calculate those scores in the first place.

Here is what our local credit company will say: Unofficially

They have seen overall lower scores over the past four months. Those scores of people with debt over 30% of their credit card limits are getting hit hard. Those with debt over 50% of their credit card limits are getting pounded. If those people just apply for any kind of additional credit like another card, a car or a mortgage, their scores are getting hit again.

Credit lenders are concerned about the debt people are taking on. When you combine this with the fact that most people don’t have any money to fall back on, it creates some real problems for the working family.

In my book, The Money Thing Made Easy, we talk about how to get back to solid ground with your spending. 

Here is what you must do:

1.  Sit down today and put together your family budget.  The forms can be found on the resources section of our website.  www.theeverydaymillionaire.com

2.  Fill out the "Know your debt" worksheet so that you make sure you are clear on what you owe.

3.  If you have credit card debt.  Look at whether it is possible to pay it off all at once or if it will take some time.  If you can take out any kind of loan to clear it out like a personal loan or even a loan from a family member.  You should do it.  But only do it if you have already set up your budget so you know that you will not run your credit card debt again.

4.  Work toward the goal of NO CREDIT CARD DEBT.  This will raise your credit scores and help you in the future to assure yourself that you get the best financing terms on whatever you buy.

Once you do this.  If you have questions about the system or need some ideas from me.  Email me at howard@theeverydaymillionaire.com.

Just get started.  It really works.

The Devil's Backbone - Part 8 of 8

Sunday – June 10^th

The American Iron guys left really early.  I didn’t get up to say goodbye.  I said goodbye the last night. Mark and I met with Billy and the film crew by the pool to film a final piece for Mark’s motorcycle accessories and for The Money Thing Made Easy.  We were just too tired to do it.  Billy, being the constant promoter, invited Mark and I back to the lodge for two complimentary days of fishing, sporting clays shooting and shooting promotional pieces for our products in the fall.  I had such a great time on this trip that I jumped at the chance to come back.  I had already got enough on film and in pictures to promote the book. 

Sammy and Mike drove Mark and I to the Airport.  We thanked them for making this the ultimate guys vacation. 

We had experienced a lot in the past week.  We rode The Devils Backbone, ate too much, drank too much, made a TV show, made some great new friends, burned, crashed and laughed uncontrollably. 

Not bad for an old guy trying to sell a book!

The Devil's Backbone - Part 7 of 8

Saturday – June 9^th

Sammy knocked on the door at 4:30 with coffee.  I told him that I didn’t need any.  We were supposed to meet in the parking lot at 5:15 for breakfast so we could be to the dock by 6:00.  I didn’t plan to eat much anyway so I slept another hour and ran to meet the guys.  I got there when we were supposed to leave and still had time for a piece of toast and a cup of coffee.  I took a couple of Dramamines so I wouldn’t get seasick.  They warned me that I might get drowsy but that would be better than getting sick.

We got to the docks and split into two teams.  The Botana boys on the other boat consisted of Sam and Joe from American Iron and J-Mac from Steel Thunder Outfitters.  J-Mac was a little sore from going down on his bike a couple of days earlier but he was there with a smile on his face ready to go.  I found out later that the name Botana came from a strip club in town that they visited on their previous trip to Mazatlan. We called our team the Boomers.  Billy, Mark, Chris and I are all over 50 so we went with the Baby-Boomer thing.  There may be another strip club somewhere named Boomer but I have no idea. 

Since there already was a lot of testosterone on the trip, the whole competition thing incited some real tough talk between Billy, our tour leader and Sam, from American Iron.  I didn’t care much because, like I said, I am not much of a fisher-guy.  As a matter of fact, I don’t even like fishing.  I haven’t been fishing since I was 16 and even that wasn’t much fun.  However, I am here and Billy went to the trouble of putting the whole thing together so I would go, I would participate and I would do my part to have a good time and help the team.

We would have to go out over 20 miles to where the fish were.  They tell me that this time of year is great for fishing.  We would be bill fishing.  That means the fish we were out for have a bill, like a sword or pointed end.  Sailfish are the most common.  They range from 70-130 pounds.  We also might get into some Marlin which can go over 200 pounds.  They also mentioned Swordfish but that would be unlikely.  We might see a Dorado, which is also called Mahi Mahi in Hawaii. 

It took about an hour to get out to the area we would fish.  We got our lines in the water and guessed numbers for who would go in which order on our boat.  Mark won so he would go first, Chris second and I got the third spot.

We were only there about 10 minutes when Sam on the other boat hooked a Sailfish.  It took him about 10 minutes to land it and that started the whole testosterone thing between the boats again.  It was the Botana boys (them): 1 and the Boomers (Us): 0  By the way, we would not keep any of these fish.  We caught them and let them go.

A few minutes later Mark from our boat hooked a Sailfish.  It was great to watch him work the fish.  Like me, he didn’t have much fishing experience either.  He listened to the guide tell him what to do and got the fish to the boat.  Now the score was tied.

About 30 minutes later, Chris hooked another Sailfish and landed it.  I missed most of it because the Dramamine had kicked in and I slept most of the trip.  However, I didn’t get sick.  I woke up long enough to see Chris land the fish and for us to yell to the other boat that we were now leading 2 to 1.

Joe from American Iron hooked another Sailfish and landed it quickly.  The score was tied again.  All four fish that were caught were Sailfish and were 80-90 pounds.  I was next.  I was excited but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  I laid down on the bed in the cabin and I was out again.  I heard someone yell fish on and I jumped up and went out the chair in the back of the boat.  The guide handed me the pole and the line instantly started running out.  When it slowed I pulled on the pole and about 250 yards behind the boat I saw this huge fish jump.  They said it was a Marlin and it was over 200 pounds.  I got to work that fish for only a few minutes and the line went slack.  I lost it.  I guess it was because I was still partially asleep and I guess Marlin are tougher to land and, oh yeah, I had no idea what I was doing too.  In any event I get a short experience of what it is like to tangle with large fish.  However, I did not help my team by landing the fish.

We spent a few more hours out without any activity.  The score was still tied.  We were just talking about heading in when the other boat started yelling we knew that meant that they had a fish on.  We expected to see J-Mac working the fish because it was his turn.  Instead, it was Mike the cameraman working the fish.  J-Mac must have been a little more pain from the accident than we thought.  It took Mike about 10 minutes to land the fish.  That started a huge round of trash talking from the other boat.   We trash talked back but as we turned for home we knew that the Botana Boys were the winners.

We got back to the doc and put the award ceremony on film for the TV show.  The prize was a baby hog, a tie in to the motorcycle thing.  Sam was so excited that he kissed the pig on camera.  A cute ending to a great experience.  I had a great time fishing but it is still not on my top 20 things to do on vacation.

We got back to the hotel and spent some time in the pool.  We met for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant.  We didn’t eat much or drink much.  I guess everyone was pretty spent after a day of all of the fishing excitement.

The Devil's Backbone - Part 6 of 8

Friday – June 8

Sammy knocked on my door at 7:00 with another cup of coffee prepared just the way I like it.  I didn’t know what time I went to bed the night before because I couldn’t find my watch and my cell phone was dead.  I realized when he came to wake me up that again I did not get as much sleep as I wanted.  I didn’t know then that I would not get enough sleep until after I got home.

I was upset with Billy because he got us up at 7:00 and we didn’t leave until almost 10:00.  I am pretty punctual and I don’t eat much for breakfast.  I could have slept for another couple of hours and still not held anyone up.  I spent the extra time in the morning writing some of what you are reading, which is enjoyable for me and hopefully for you too.

We pulled out of Mexiquillo just before 10:00.  The roads we were traveling today would be pretty good but are filled with turns and lots of construction too.  There would be opportunities for photos and filming some great riding and beautiful vistas.  The views coming down the mountains are completely different than those going up.  Unfortunately when you are riding The Devil’s Backbone on a motorcycle you don’t want to be looking around too much.  Any lack of focus could cause you to miss a turn and cause serious injury or even kill you.  The crew is getting lots of pictures, which I am including, in this story. 

The closer we got to Mazatlan, the hotter it got.  When I ride, I am always looking for the perfect temperature, adding and shedding clothes as I go trying to be as comfortable as possible.  Since my preference is to be a little cold rather than to be a little warm the perfect temperature eluded me on this trip except for a very short period of time. 

We reached the outskirts of Mazatlan about 4:00 and the traffic was pretty heavy.  I don’t think it was a rush hour thing, I think it is usually pretty busy.  The stop and go traffic, the hottest part of the day and having ridden all week made the final 15 miles or so really uncomfortable.  If we were going slow, it was brutally hot.  If we were going fast, we were getting pelted with rocks and sand being thrown up from the cars and trucks ahead of us.  That little bit of discomfort was overshadowed by the fact that we were almost home and we had successfully ridded The Devil’s Backbone. 

We got back to Billy’s air-conditioned shop and got cooled down a bit.  We hung out for about an hour and got back into the van for the 15-minute ride to the hotel.  Sammy greeted us at the hotel with Margarita’s.  We went out to the pool to film a teaser for the TV show.  We were hot and dirty and just wanted to put on some shorts but we filmed the teaser before we adjourned to the pool for a real cool down.

We had dinner in the parking lot across the street from the hotel.  Giovanni made another shrimp feast.  Prepared several different ways along with incredible corn chowder to start off with.  We decided that the parking lot would be easier and quicker because our final full day in Mexico would include a bill-fishing trip 20 miles off shore.  I am not a big fisher-guy and part of the reason is that it would require a 4:30AM wakeup call. 

We ate and headed out to try to get some sleep.  I didn’t get to sleep until about midnight and my last thought was I hope I don’t get seasick.

The Devil's Backbone - Part 5 of 8

Thursday – June 7^th

It was kickstands up again at 8:00.  We were headed back to the cabins.  This time we would head back up the eastern side of the Sierra Madres and start our descent to the cabins.  As we crested the summit, the views were spectacular.  Our descent today and tomorrow would be particularly slow because of the constant starting and stopping for filming. 

We stopped for lunch at the side of the road where and old steam train was set up for display.  Billy wanted to use the train as a backdrop for some American Iron Magazine commercials that they would shoot right after lunch.  This all happened right next to an Oxxo gas station and a place at the side of the road where they fix truck tires.  We had roasted chicken and tortillas with fresh steamed vegetables.  We set up the cots under a covering at the back of a vacant lot full of piles of rocks.  The sun was hot so the shade felt great and we all napped away part of the afternoon.  I know it sound rough.  It was.

The guys from American Iron shot a whole slew of takes for commercials as we all looked on.  We laughed a lot but mostly at Joe.  Joe is a large man with a scruffy beard.  He did a few takes ordering people to subscribe to the magazine or he would come to their house.  We laughed until we cried out next to the Oxxo station in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico.

We were at a gas station about two miles from the cabins when Chris noticed that we had been there for several minutes and Joe and J-Mac weren’t here yet.  Sometimes on The Backbone we get separated by traffic or the unplanned pit stop, but this was too long.  Chris, Billy and I took off to go back to see if anything had happened.  We got about four miles back and found J-Mac’s bike off the road and pretty messed up.  He had tried to take a corner too fast and wound up off the road.  He went off the road in a place where there was about a 12 inch drop from the paved road to the shoulder.  The engine guard caught on the road and spun him around in the dirt of the shoulder.  Fortunately this was right at a turn out section and not near a cliff.  His pants were torn up and he was little scraped up but nothing was broken.  We all expressed our thankfulness that he was okay but we knew that he would be sore for a few days.  We were only going to be riding for one more day but J-Mac would spend that day in the van with his bike on the trailer. 

Dinner that night was another feast by Giovanni.  Filet mignon wrapped in bacon with baked potatoes and steamed vegetables.  We thoroughly enjoyed our meal under the stars high in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

We stayed up too late again on this night.  It is amazing how a few adult beverages; motorcycles and a campfire can keep the boys talking.