Happy New Year! Hope everyone’s holidays were exactly as you wanted them to be. Mine certainly was; I had a great time catching up with all my once-a-year toy run friends and had just as good a time with my own family and friends. Come to think of it, many of those run-ins are once a year, too. Congratulations to the all the good folks over at Barger Harley-Davidson in Canoga Park. I hear your December grand re-opening was a fun success. I also hear your freshly remodeled store is top notch… You meet the nicest people going out for sushi; at least I do! Last month I joined nephew Jim and his new wife Kristine at Tokyo Kitchen in Montclair and met Bennie Bon. Bennie shared his sushi with us and somehow we got to talking bikes (what’s new with me?). He kinda joined our little dinner group and we chatted for the rest of the evening… I have to give a big, huge thank you to Ed Fortelny of the CREW for hauling my butt out of the fire just before Thanksgiving. I had a crowd coming to my house for the big dinner and realized all my portable tables were still at my sister’s up in Van Nuys. Ed, who I knew worked up in Tarzana, stopped at my sis’s house, loaded up the tables and, above and beyond the call of duty, met up with me on his way home to drop them off. Poor Ed spent four hours in traffic just to get ’em to me. What a guy! I owe you big time, Ed!… And about Van Nuys—you green gentlemen that live next door to my sis? For god’s sake, some people need their beauty sleep, and don’t need you to be working on your bikes in the front yard after the bars close—you own a garage; need I say more?… Nice running into Don Kline from the Riverside Motorcycle Examiner at a couple of recent events. So sorry to hear about your recent accident, and even more sorry to hear your bike is so damaged! Such a bummer, but glad you’re doing mostly OK… Amy Broich, thanks for the care package sent via Halle and George Fetty. Amy’s new venture is Simply Natural. Got an e-mail addy for me, Amy?… Halle and George, from Valley V-Twin in Indio, thanks for meeting up with me at the Totally Kids Ride! It was great having the time to chat in person—and thanks for lunch, you two! I had such a nice visit… The Fire Group’s 5th annual Poker Run, benefiting Imperial Valley Charities, is on January 26. Registration is at 8:30 a.m., and KSU at 10:30 a.m. at the American Legion Post 60, 509 G Street, Brawley. For more info, give Eddie a call at 760.455.1676… Ran into my ex, Jeff Allen, at the PV H.O.G./ABATE 19 Toy Run; nice catching up—thanks for the See’s. As always, you know the way to this girl’s heart!… Wooster from the Nuggets; you take care, honey. Sorry to hear about your recent go-down. Glad to hear both you and your bike are recovering. It was good running into you; sure hope it all gets paid for through insurance… Sorry I didn’t get to say hi-ya to my old pal Rodney Hair while he was here in town. I did tell Wooster and Jeff to give you my love!… I ran into original PV H.O.G. members Buck and Lois Fries recently, along with his bro Dennis the Menace, VP from the Final Option MC. We had lunch and did some 20 years’ worth of catching up. Several names got dropped. Mike and Janie Gott, you were part of the conversation, as were Lisa and Ed Vadnais and Ellen and Randall Kruger. Miss you guys—drop me an e-mail one of these days, why don’t you?… Also part of original PV H.O.G. were Sam and Johnny; nice to chat with you, too… Caught up with Sporty from ABATE and Shaggers fame… Howdy to Bill Baum; good luck on that new(ish) truck search!… A big ol’ “Thank You!” to Brian Ratliff and Susie Mason. I know this is gonna sound peculiar, but thanks for the winning bowling ball, you guys! I sure hope those fine folks up at the Brunswick Zone in Upland will exchange it for a more manageable size… Holy moly! Here’s a whole bunch of birthday greetings for you January babies. Ron Downing, hope your day is fun. Allison Getty (co-owner of Coachella Valley Motorcycle Training), enjoy your day. Halle’s brother, Brad Valdez—have a good one! Trudy Brown (who just left California for Colorado), hope you’re having fun. And the aforementioned Amy Broich is having a birthday, too. Cool girl, I know you’ll be having fun! Happy birthdays to Kelley Cox and Jen Esqueda, too. Walt Gaston, Saralyn Delk and Ana Storton also share January birthdays. Anna Chavez of the CREW, hope you have a sweet day, honey! Also of the CREW, Bobbie Mars-White and, my longtime friend Richard Hestlow are celebrating. You guys all have a great day. Frank Waldrop—you do so much for so many others; you have a fabulous birthday, too! Suzie Nellis back in Pennsylvania, hope your day is filled with fun (I gotta send you my bracelet!). Paul Wilson, happy birthday to you—now fling me some orders, dangit! Happy Birthday to my own Marine, Aaron Weigand! Hank Hallmark, of the high desert and Wrightwood, you have a happy January birthday. Congratulations also to Allison Getty and Dave Woods, who are newly engaged! And Splatt, sorry to hear about it; you take care, honey, and hang in there… January is National Blood Donor Month, so for those that can, get out there and give it up! See you all next month. As always, send me your “stuff!” Your birthdays, anniversaries, runs that need a little extra push, and businesses that could use some free word-of-mouth advertising. You know what I want, so bring it on! See you all in February. Enjoy your ride.
