One of my “beats” when writing for Motorcycle Consumer News was training schools. I loved going to them, ate up learning new riding techniques, and enjoyed writing about them. Things I’d always considered impossible on a motorcycle, at least for me, turned out to be doable with expert instruction, patience,… Continue reading
Our home in Pasadena had become the “go to” spot for Thanksgiving (and occasionally Christmas) for Maggie’s sister and the Stickney family. We loved having Diana, Joe and their children around, and Ginger was in heaven with all her Arizona cousins on her turf. I’m not sure where the idea… Continue reading
In 1994, we lived in NY and decided to try a home exchange. Agreeing to exchange our home just north of NYC with a family living in Scotland required reaching a compromise on our trip objectives: for Maggie, it was seeing castles, churches, and tartan fabrics. My goal was to… Continue reading
In high school, my daughter Ginger was cast in a theatrical presentation of the Sound of Music. She threw herself into the two roles she played, greatly enjoying all the rehearsals and tasks associated with getting the production ready for an audience. After opening night, she had issues with her… Continue reading
My friend, Rich Marin, posts a blog every day. I greatly admire his discipline. Reacting to riots in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing, on Monday he wrote about his brush with riots as a Cornell college student and drew parallels with those going on around his family members. … Continue reading
Late in 2010, my plans to travel to South America for the 2011 Dakar Rally across Argentina and Chile had been finalized. While I felt mostly ready, I decided one more challenging tune-up test ride was in order to ensure my riding skills were suitably sharp. This is the story… Continue reading
Dr. Ed Banner gave me a glimpse into a part of the world of which I was mostly unaware, but in a way that made me feel there was nothing I couldn’t accomplish. We were vastly different in age and light-years apart in economic and social status, but he treated… Continue reading
In the early 1970s, after purchasing my Lotus Elan, I was working at Schaak Electronics in Rochester Minnesota. We were suffering yet another long and exceptionally cold winter. Little did I know, the following spring I was going to experience one of those self-realizations and experiences that would forever change… Continue reading
Keith Martin’s Sports Car Market Magazine is the most respected publication for the collector car market. Period. In the July 2020 issue, they published my letter to the editor, in which I commented on an article appearing in their June 2020 issue. Readers of my newsletters know I’ll always use… Continue reading
Okay, no surprise, I’m a car guy. Everyone knows it. I’ll not clog this newsletter with information on my collection of three of the most iconic cars of all time: a 1969 Lotus Elan, a 2002 Acura NSX and a 2014 McLaren MP4-12C, although the McLaren makes an appearance later… Continue reading