If you said, "Bette Midler, 1972, from the album The Devine Miss M," you get 25 bonus points. If you said, "Well, it was written by Buzzy Linhart and Moogy Klingman in 1971 and performed by Linhart before Bette Midler did it," you get 250 bonus points.
If you said, "Old friends are good friends," you are so right. I got to spend some time today with my long-time friend, Dick...
We first met when Dick was a young salesman at a Honda dealer and Joan and I went in to buy 2 Goldwings. He said, "Great - what color do you want?" I remember that clearly because I had gone into a different Honda dealer earlier that day and pointed at 2 Goldwings, an Aspencade and an Interstate, and the salesman said, "Yeah, right."
I said, "Wrong answer," and we turned around and left. Dick was smart and engaging and we wrote up the sale. We have stayed friends ever since. He later bought that Honda dealership... and then bought another Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW dealership. He is definitely a go-getter. We shared a mutual passion for motorcycles, and Joan and I bought quite a few from him over the years. We have made it a point to stop and see Dick anytime we have been in the Black Hills. And, when I called his Sturgis shop to schedule an appointment for Joan's Xmax this summer, I found out he had sold the place and is officially retired... one more thing we have in common. I called him right away and said, "What's up..."
Today, he and I got together for lunch. Afterwards, we went to his "warehouse/storage building"... he had told me he had a bunch of motorcycles that he has collected over his many years in the business. These aren't part of a retail business, they are... his bikes. I was amazed at this eclectic collection...
Some were common in their day, some are very unique. I'm sure I came across like a little kid: "Is that a ...?" It was a lot of fun looking at this part of his collection - yes, he has more bikes at his shop at home. All these years I've known Dick, and I didn't know about this. And, some cool cars and trucks in that same storage building ... including a 1967 Chevelle 396 that is drool-worthy and came with a story that hit me right in the feelings.
Looking at bikes aside, it was a lot of fun catching up, hearing about his family... and another surprise: his daughter Chrissy happened to be at the same restaurant with her daughter. I did Chrissy's senior portraits back in the day. She had worked at the dealership with her Dad.
Dick and I have that kind of friendship where we can go a couple years and not see each other, and pick right up where we left off when we get together again. He is a good guy.
When I left Sturgis, I took the long way, via twisty roads, back to Hart Ranch. With a big smile on my face. A really good day.
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