Pete Gallagher from Santa Cruz is back in the news. Last month it was my duty to tell you of Pete’s passing. We had been friends for years, and I was very saddened to see his obituary in the Santa Cruz newspaper. Well, I heard from Pete. To quote a famous authority, Pete says, “Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated.” What? I was (and still am) stunned. He said, “I looked in THUNDER PRESS expecting to see your kind birthday wishes and saw my obit.” What? Pete, I am so glad you are still with us and still riding. This is cause for a celebration and, by the way, happy belated birthday. Who could have known that there were two Pete Gallaghers in Santa Cruz? True to form, Pete said, “Well, looks there might be only one of us PG’s now.” Folks, Pete is a survivor. He was reported K.I.A. in Vietnam and later scared the bejeezus out of a buddy in his unit when they ran into one another… You know how it goes. Time passes, friends move away and we lose touch. So, what do you do about it? Well, Bruce and Becky Andrade from Valley Springs said that ain’t happening with this group, and they threw an awesome party to bring us all back together. Friends we had not seen in years showed up. There was Keri and Alan Clements, Linda and Ernie Vasquez, Rich and Jenny McDonald, Debbie and Joe Owens, Steve and Lori Lee Nejako, Larry and Deane Pieterick, Sue and Steve Claxton, and Jack Munoz and me. Many thanks to Bruce and Becky. We all had a wonderful time… Happy birthday to all riders who celebrate in December. Happy birthday to IHR member Forrest “Trees” Linderman in Watsonville; and in Santa Cruz, to Colleen Ferrigan, Alice Warren and to THUNDER PRESS founder Reg Kittrelle. Happy birthday to Beth Ubil in Kernville, Nick Yee in Palo Alto, Linda Fernandez in Iron Steed H.O.G. and Duwayne King in the Hot Chocolate Gang. Happy birthday to two special guys who share a birthday with me on the 4th: Dennis Hinsz in Lovell, Wyoming, and Juan Majan of Viet Nam Vets/Legacy Vets MC in Santa Cruz. Say! Where are all the rest of you December 4 motorsickle riders? Happy birthday to celebrity riders John Walsh and Brad Pitt… Hey, Dave! Yep, you, Dave Silva in Danville. Your good buddy, Bob Dell in San Ramon, is joining me with a great big shout out and a happy belated birthday wish. You were 64 in November? But, you know what? You will always be younger than Bob. Happy, happy belated birthday… All of us who are big Bogart fans will remember one of his most renowned movies, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and we probably agree that the most famous lines from that movie would be the ones about “stinking badges.” Mexican actor Alfonso Bedoya played the bandito, Gold Hat, and when he tried to convince Bogie’s character (Dobbs) that he and his gang were Federales, Bogie asked to see Gold Hat’s badge. Gold Hat said, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.” Well, personally, I like badges, and if you like badges, you have to check out Diana Visage’s store on eBay. You can Google “pinlady51” and click on her store, or you can go directly into eBay advanced search to find the store for “pinlady51”. While Diana has a lot of quality jewelry in her store, it is the badges that grab my attention. You can get a whole line of biker and law enforcement badges, but my two favorites are the U.S. Marshal Old West badge and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Investigator mini badge. Check it out; you won’t be sorry… When Bob Dron, owner of Oakland Harley-Davidson, retired in October 2010, the dealership was purchased by Mike Genthner, Jess Bettencourt and Dan Doiron, owners of Faultline Harley-Davidson in Fremont. At that time, they closed up the Fremont dealership and moved all of the business into Oakland. Now they have some great news. Oakland Harley-Davidson has won the bid to supply the California Highway Patrol with 350 new Harleys. This is a two-year contract that runs from February 2013 to February 2015. Congratulations to Oakland H-D and to the CHP who will be back in the Harley saddle.