Dear Ma,
I hope you’re doing well up there in Heaven. We are doing OK down here in Dallas.
So Ma, it’s your birthday! I remember when I was a kid and I could never remember when your birthday was. I was maybe in first grade and I’d repeatedly ask you when your birthday was. One day you said, “It’s easy to remember, 3939, March 9, 1939!” Well, I’ve never forgot it again, Ma! So, happy birthday to you up there in Heaven! Maybe you can have a party with all them big shots, like God, Jesus, Tom Landry, Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon and maybe even some of them apostles! I hope you have a LARGE time for your 82nd birthday!
Believe it or not, Ma, after a solid year, we are still dealing with this ugly COVID-19 virus. Things are getting better as more people get their immunization shots. Because of my age and my cancer problems, I have already received both my shots and I am very happy about that! My wife Sue just got her first shot, so we are doing our part to help control the virus! Sue and I have had several friends die from the COVID virus… what a sad deal that is, to see an otherwise healthy person die from a virus. Well, it’s just plain heart wrenching.
Maybe you saw on TV, Ma, wait, do y’all have TV up there or can you just keep an eye on whatever you want, looking down through them clouds? Anyway, Texas had a BAD winter storm a few weeks ago. In my whole life, I’ve never seen a winter storm this bad. We had a solid week of ice and snow and freezing temperatures. We broke a lot of records, including one day we dropped to -2 degrees below zero…WHAT??? A lot of people lost power because our power company couldn’t keep up with the demand. Also, nearly everybody had broken pipes because homes here aren’t built to withstand such low temperatures. Anyway, we survived it and things are getting back to normal, kind of!
My daughter Lena (Bigun) and I have been doing a lot of riding videos on YouTube. They are really good, Ma, so please check them out by clicking here. We have hundreds of cool videos online already!
On one video, we rode to Bonnie & Clyde’s graves and the house where Clyde was raised. We ride a couple of my RF Custom Choppers and we both have cameras and microphones on our helmets. That way, you can see the Choppers going down the road and hear our commentary on what we’re talking about as we’re riding! Sometimes we are doing other things or maybe driving around in on of my cool old classic trucks. We have pretty candid conversations, maybe not always PG rated, but usually it’s not too bad.
The motorcycle industry is in a stable place right now, considering all the crazy things that have happened in the last year. I don’t know if we’ll ever make a full recovery from the COVID in our beloved industry, but hopefully we can all survive it. Bike sales were pretty good, but we are having a hard time getting Harleys to sell right now. I refuse to go to the auctions because so many other shops are buying bikes for more than retail. Maybe they are OK making super skinny dough on a bike sale, but I ain’t!
Thank God I have many different avenues of revenue besides just bike sales. Right now, my service department is the biggest source of income for Strokers Dallas. Also, since I added Punch Wally Garage, it’s been going great and we are working on a lot of classic cars and hot rods! I would never be happy just doing one or two things at work. I have to be spread out like a Christmas Turkey with people pulling from all directions! Anyway, you know what I mean, Ma!
Well, I better go for now, Ma. I gotta get ready to go out of town tomorrow. I’m going to Dad’s ranch outside Abilene for a few days. He’s recently suffered two strokes and I need to go be with him for a while. I’ll do better about writing, Ma, I promise.
Love ya Ma!
Your boy, RF
