April fools are running amuck this month and I surely remain the world’s greatest. I’ll never forget asking, years ago on my first-ever trip to Daytona, whether “DILLIGAF” was the name of some famous Floridian. Lots of bikers were wearing tees with the logo. The waitress at the White Eagle Lounge in Korona blinked. Then, she leaned in and whispered, “Yeah, it’s an old family name.” Soon, I learned the meaning: “Do I look like I give a f**k?” Close enough. Her kindness saved me from an eternity of teasing… In more current news, I recently talked to Marine Corps Vietnam veteran Patrick J. Hughes, national photographer for Rolling Thunder Inc., and owner of Patrick J. Hughes Photography in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. My old friend told me he is working closely with the POW-MIA National Chair of Honor program. He and others are helping to install “One Empty Seat,” sporting bold POW-MIA graphics, in every major sports venue in Pennsylvania. He said the program is in place in many states. Hughes learned of the program through a friend, Joe D’Entremont, president of Rolling Thunder Inc., Massachusetts Chapter 1. Hughes credited Joe D., also a Vietnam veteran, with the placement of many chairs and with having legislation passed to place a “Chair of Honor” in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., tentatively over Memorial Day weekend. Learn more and see, “We Will Never Forget,” a photo gallery, online at patrickjhughes.com… Elsewhere, biker Steve Endza, 66, of South Bristol, Maine, suffered on Friday, January 13, (yes, Friday the 13th) the loss in a garage fire of undetermined cause his 14 antique Harleys and an Indian. An update, posted on Thursday, January 26, by Aaron Curtis of Messenger Post Media.com, noted Endza is rebuilding his garage, which was a ways from the house. I called Mike at Twisted Iron Customs in Wiscasset, Maine, to see if Endza had surfaced there, as the shop is only 30 miles from Endza’s town. Twisted Iron Customs specializes in motorcycles and hot rods. So far, no sign of Endza there but if he’d like to make an intricate metal sculpture out of all those burned-up Harley skeletons, I’m sure Mike can oblige… It is happier news for Boyd Spencer Esq., 76, of Boyd Spencer & Associates in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He is retiring. He was the Pennsylvania and New Jersey attorney for Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (AIM). I called him on Monday, February 6, to confirm an e-mailed notice. He said fellow attorney Steven R. Kmette, whom he deemed “my trusted associate for 17 years” will take over activities. Spencer said he hopes to do more of what he loves best: ride motorcycles and fly planes. I can attest to Spencer’s skill as a pilot for in the early 90’s I flew with him in his lawyer-shared four-seat Piper Cherokee airplane. Spencer piloted me and two of my fellow journalists—Dan and Marilyn McCarthy of (still thriving) Keystone Motorcycle Press—from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Tulsa, Oklahoma. We went to attend a convention hosted by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM). There and back, we all landed for eats and fuel, only at mom-and-pops where a raggedy windsock blowing sideways mostly ensured some tasty, rustic vittles. Ah, good times… That’s all for now, friends. See you down the road.
