The Legend

The Legend of Tomto & Chemo-sabi


Some of you may be too young to recall the thrilling days of yesteryear when lawlessness ruled the plains, when the Lone Ranger and his faithful sidekick Tonto fought evil doers wherever they were found across the west. Every evening at 7:00 for half an hour our ears were glued to the Crosley as the radio exploded with the William Tell Overture and "a hearty Hi,Ho Silver away...". The Lone Ranger was the "must hear Radio" nightly entertainment of our childhood. Before "timeouts" or "grounding" were invented by parents "no Lone Ranger tonight" was the most feared punishment of the era.


The Lone Ranger was a former Texas Ranger (a lawman not a baseball player) who was the sole survivor in a band of Rangers which was ambushed by the notorious Cavendish Gang. Tonto, a Native American, found the wounded ranger, took him to a secret cave location and nursed him back to health. Tonto addresses his new friend as 'Kemosabi' which in some Indian language means 'friend' or perhaps 'Lone Ranger'. Together they determine to find and bring to justice the ultra-evil Cavendishes who brought down the rangers. Fortunately for the two the cave in which they hide is also a rich silver mine. The mine explains some of the mysteries of their lives such as: How do they pay for food and lodging? How does the Ranger pay cleaning bills on his all white cowboy outfit? How to explain the silver studded saddle and harness? Why call your big white horse 'Silver'? Why shoot silver bullets? And finally answer that age old question:
"Who was that masked man why did he leave me this silver bullet?"



All this is background for the present day legend of Tomto and Chemo-sabi. Tom Moore (Tomto) and Dave Heigle (Chemo-sabi) first met 50 years ago at a Pi Kappa Alpha rush party at Ohio State. Both were products of small then rural high schools outside Columbus, both were commuters not campus dwellers, and both were unsophisticated enough to pledge the first fraternity that asked. They became friends, Tom married one of Dave's high school classmates and Dave became a sort of extra parent to the Moores' new son Mike. Over the years Tom and Dave took Mike and his friend on camping trips, rode dirt bikes together. Tom was the best man when Dave and Loretta were married. However, as life conditions changed and Dave and Loretta moved across town the families lost contact with each other.





After a period of 10 or 15 years they were reunited and and the friendship continued where it had left off. In the 'lost' years Tom had become a Harley Davidson rider and Dave still harbored the embers of motorcycle lust. It took some time but in 1997 after Dave had survived a bout with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and the associated chemotherapy both bought used Harleys from Tom's brother-in-law who had purchased 3 bikes when Harleys were scarce. The boys rode locally never doing more than a couple of hundred miles and never staying overnight.



The next milestone came in 2001 when Dave's cancer recurred and he received a bone marrow transplant that required more chemo and an extended stay in hospital isolation. While confined Dave read about a couple of motorcycle riders who had ridden to all of the lower 48 states in less than a week... this type of riding is known as an Iron Butt fete. In Dave's mind the idea of riding in all the states transformed into a new reason to survive, the idea included a new kind of bike for Dave, a long admired 2 cylinder BMW, the favorite of long distance riders. In early 2002, not long after he was released from post-transplant care Dave bought and outfitted his dream cycle, an R1150GS. Vague plans of riding, over a period of years, in all the states formed in his head. Original plans called for Loretta to follow along in a car but after one trip to eastern Pennsylvania the logistics of that arrangement proved the plan impractical.



Into the void steps Tom. He volunteers to join the quest, buys his own BMW and the ride is on. Part of the original plan had Dave chronicle the rides as an inspiration to other cancer survivors. Past trips have been recorded in emails to friends from public libraries around the country. This years epic is being recorded on Dave's blog at drheigle.blogspot.com.


Since 2002 Tom and Dave have ridden to and in all 48 of the lower states. This summer's ride to the 49th state is the culmination of a quest which we hope gives credence to the power of having a survival goal when faced with a life crisis. It's also a tribute to enduring friendship and the power of just being with, or riding with, a person who is in need.



This should bring you up to date with Tomto and Chemo-sabi. We hear many are reading the blog but few are commenting. At the end of each post you may click on the word 'comments' and window will open to allow you to leave a message. The boys would love to hear from you