High Hopes Head Injury Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation and retraining or people who had been devastated by traumatic head injuries. From their website...

Conservatively, one million six hundred thousand head injuries are estimated to occur annually in the United States. There are about 22,400 traumatic brain injuries in California alone each year. On average, seven million dollars will be spent over lifetime for the rehabilitation and care of each survivor. Automobile, motorcycle, stroke, and sports related accidents cause the majority of head injuries. Although head injuries range from mild to severe, more than 50,000 victims each year are left with severe physical and cognitive impairments. For any individual and family faced with the prospect of significant life-changing disabilities and lengthy rehabilitation, the task often feels overwhelming to say the least.

As you my know, Tom's son Brad suffered a debilitating brain injury in 1997 while riding a mini bike. You can learn more about Brad on Tom's website.

Tom now uses his museum as a vehicle to make others aware of the millions who suffer head injuries each year by bringing in medical experts to speak to groups that visit his museum. Tom has created a great program, using his fantastic collection of bikes as the catalyst to get the word out.

With lunch coming to a close, naturally mx guys gravitate to what they love most...the bikes. And on that note, there's really no equal to what was waiting for us right inside the door. Tom has created what has to be one of the definitive collections of bikes on the west coast and probably the whole country. It's a collection of bikes that he has a connection to, bikes that are unique to their place in history, and bikes that we all rode, raced and loved. There's really something for everybody and even if you have no connection to or ever saw a 1952 FB Mondial 250cc Motocross, you just can't help admire the workmanship put into this early racer and really admire the ironmen who took them to the track. This bike, along with all of Tom's bikes, hides a secret past life and past glories. It takes people like you and I to remember and bear witness to that greatness.

Yes, I admit, I'm somewhat passionate about these old bikes, whether they are mine, belong to Tom or live in your garage. They are all pretty special in their own right and each one allows me and maybe you to relive a time when life was so much simpler...where young men met to ride on rough, dusty, rutted, rocky, sometimes muddy, always dangerous, exhilarating, and glorious race tracks. Some claim it was simply a misspent youth, but I feel it made us what we are today. Then, as now, these bikes play a small part in providing color to my life as I'm sure in some part they do yours.