Get well wishes are for Pervis Leewright from Fairfield. He is currently in the Veterans Hospital in Martinez where he celebrated his 80th birthday. I suppose all good things must come to an end. Obviously, Pervis isn’t riding anymore. However, he passed his Harley on to his son, Dave. Dave, may you have many years of sun in your face and the breeze on your knees… Before we get to the happy birthday wishes, we have a special birthday to celebrate. Will you still need me, will you still feed me is the theme song to a happy 64th to Mark Gross in Pleasant Hill. Mark is an original member of the Bagger Brigade of 1998, and he has known Reg Kittrelle for years. Mark says he is lucky to have participated in all but a couple of Baggers in the past 19 years. I have to tell you that he made my day when he said that he has read my column for years and thoroughly enjoys it. Wow! Thanks, Mark… Happy birthday to all riders who celebrate in August. Happy birthday to IHR members Patty Brassfield in Los Gatos and David Kinchloe in Wilderville, Oregon. Happy birthday to IHR camper-outer Bonnie Temple in Scotts Valley. In ABATE Local 17, happy birthday to Mike Landers and Rich McDonald. Some of you may not know this, but Mike is a very skilled chef. His chocolate mousse cake can make you change religions. In Santa Cruz, happy birthday to Paul Fletcher, Angel Kraten and Bob Warren. Happy birthday to my good friend, Debbie Macdonald in Scotts Valley. Debbie, I know it has been a long time since we have talked, but time never fades friendship. Happy birthday to Managing Editor of THUNDER PRESS, Cristy Pazera. Happy birthday to “LoDown” Dan Parker in Sacramento and to Kyle Dalton in Salinas. Happy birthday to Frank Lukachinsky of Iron Steed H.O.G. in Vacaville, to Erin Simmons of Hangtown Motorcycle Riders in Placerville and to Pat Pine and his stepson, Travis Lorenzo of Redwood Empire H.O.G. in Cotati. Hey, Travis, if I haven’t lost count, you will be blowing out 22 candles this year. Congratulations. Happy birthday to that sexy celebrity rider, Sam Elliott… Go round up your June issue of THUNDER PRESS and turn to page 6. There you will see a picture of my friend, Sam Fernandez of Vacaville, with his trophy-winning chopper. Yeah, I know the caption has his name as “Hernandez,” but it is actually “Fernandez.” This picture was taken after his win at the Vietnam Veterans event in Jamestown, but Sam almost always takes first place in custom or people’s choice. In fact, Sam and his chopper took first place in the Dixon May Fair Parade and didn’t know it until I told him. It was published in a Dixon newspaper. In fact, Iron Steed Harley-Davidson of Vacaville also took a first place but was never told. The last time I saw Sam was at the Iron Steed H-D/ABATE #17 Hot Rods and Harleys event. I was shocked to see Sam with his right arm in a sling. He had just had surgery to fix his rotator cuff and to remove a bone spur. Now this is a ride-in competition, and I could see Sam’s chopper in the lineup. No one rides Sam’s chopper but Sam, so how did he get it here? He said that he had to make an exception this day. His nephew, Brian Duncan, knew that Sam would need him and he rode the bike in. Once again, the Hot Rods and Harleys event was very successful. Every year, ABATE Local 17 President Glenn Phillips and Iron Steed Harley-Davidson owner Ed Forbush work very hard to present a spectacular day of fun and amazing bikes and hot rods. There were 69 cars, 68 bikes and over 3,000 attendees. As much as I liked the Harleys, the Camaros were not to be missed. Camaro has been my favorite car since the early 1980s. The Northern Nevada Camaro Club was there with some awesome cars. A couple of them had been customized to have gull-wing doors. I was in Camaro heaven. Look them up on their Facebook page at Northern Nevada Camaro Club. As you scroll down, you will see the gull wings… I wouldn’t say that it is easy to get things by me, but when did Michael’s Harley-Davidson in Cotati become Sonoma County Harley-Davidson? It looks like the Harley Owners Group is still called the Redwood Empire H.O.G. Pat Pine? Did you forget to tell me about this?… One of our most outstanding Harley-Davidson dealerships in California is Dudley Perkins Co. Harley-Davidson in San Francisco. This long-standing dealership is known for unique, fun rides and events. Did you also recognize the generous community charitable work and devotion exhibited by the Tom Perkins Legacy Foundation? Tom lost his leg when he was 18 years old. He was hit by a truck when he was riding his motorcycle in downtown San Francisco, and he lived with a prosthetic ever since. In fulfilling his legacy, the TPLF raises funds to provide secondary prosthetics so that people can resume activities they enjoyed prior to their injuries. If you act fast, you can join the ride on August 19 and participate in the Foundation’s Second annual Fund Raising Event. Riders will meet at Dudley Perkins Company at 4:00 p.m. and ride for dinner, raffle and auction. The ride is priced at $10 with run pins available to the first 250 riders. Tickets for the full event are priced at $75 and include a ride pin, dinner and event gift bag. Pre-registration and RSVP are required as the restaurant capacity is limited to 225. Check out tomperkinslegacy.org.
