Ride In Peace – Code Blue

By: Alan Do

ery

ne of the

oolest things about motor

cycling is meeting all kinds of people from every walk of life who enjoy motorcycles and hanging out with other folks who dig life on two wheels. You meet the coolest people on motorcycles.

There are way too many that you wish you could have spent more time with. Riders you barely know and only see once in a while at local events, but seldom really talk with. Close friends or family are sometimes gone too soon.

I think I first met Code Blue at a Harley drag race. He was a member of the Rare Breed MC and they had some race bikes. I was taking a short break from the starting line but had to ask about the name Code Blue. Gotta be a doctor. Sure enough he was a heart surgeon and a real good one. I told him my heart problems are electrical and not plumbing.

I meet so many of you bikers across the Carolinas who have great stories about your jobs and riding. Dr. William Penn Sweezer, Jr. is one biker I wish I had spent some time sitting and talking with. While reading obituaries and reports of his passing on medical websites I learned about his

life away from motorcycles. “Kickstand”, from Rare Breed MC, told me about the biker and man, “Code Blue”, who so many of y’all knew.

Code Blue’s obituary says he was really good at math and science from the time he was in elementary school in Saginaw, Michigan. It mentions his laboratory under the stairs and experiments and calling himself a “mad scientist.” So, the man was destined for the medical field. He was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout. Code Blue worked from a young age as a paperboy and pushing an ice cream cart. His family picked crops with the migrant workers.

The obituary details his schooling from Flint Northern High School to Michigan State University to Meharry Medical College. While completing his internship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine he married Arlene Rachal in 1981.

Over the years, Code Blue perfected his skills and got advanced training to become a talented and respected cardiovascular thoracic surgeon. He joined the faculty at Duke University Medical Center in Danville, VA.

Code Blue was 70 years old when he passed in August, but he had 43 years of experience in the medical field and performed more than 15,000 vascular and abdominal surgeries. Imagine how many people are alive and healthy today because of his skill and dedication. The hospital and medical news websites had lots of posts from other doctors praising him and telling how much he will be missed.

One of his brothers in the Rare Breed MC told me a little more about Code Blue.

“Kickstand” said, “I’ve known Code Blue for more than 10 years and he’s always been the same person,”. “Always been that person who is about solving problems.”

“There wasn’t much Code Blue wouldn’t do if he wanted to. He had a pilot’s license and was in the process of build

ing a plane. Ain’t much I could have asked him about that he ain’t already done. I showed him a video of those giant trees in California. He showed me a picture of him standing in the middle of one that had been cut out.”

“As far as his character; Code Blue was a down to earth man. Anybody could talk to him and ask him a question. He gave medical advice to folks for free. And he would do any- thing in his power to help anyone out. It didn’t matter to him what race, creed or color you are. He was just a kindhearted man who would give you anything he had if you needed it. As the business manager in the club, he was the kind of guy who would step into any role he was needed,” Kickstand said.

“Code Blue lived his life how he wanted. There wasn’t anything that he didn’t do. Nothing that he didn’t achieve in his life. He lived a prosperous life. He cared about people. He made sure that everything he learned in his life he passed on to the younger generation.”

“He dedicated his life to helping solve other peoples’ problems and. would go out of his way to do so. From simple small issues to the most difficult. He will be missed by many,” Kickstand said.