* I have spent most of my life around cars, motorcycles, and all things that move fast and can get you into trouble. I look back at all of the cars I have owned, and I guess I have done pretty well & had a lot of fun before having to consolidate to a minivan. Here is a short list of some of the cars I've had in the the past along with few other memories.

* My '72 Mustang - 1st car, custom painted it myself my Junior year of HS/1st yr of college (I attended college also during my Jr yr). Experienced my first spin-out in a car on ice in Virginia.

* My '69 Cougar XR-7 - Rootbeer brown (painted it myself & put in a new high-perf. motor my Senior yr of HS) with Fat rear tires & a very cool rumbly exhaust. Cruised Oak Harbor, WA a ton in this car. Chased a lot of girls & did a lot of illegal drag racing (very fast car).

* My '69 Pontiac LeManz - Custom painted it white with red flames & put in a big fast engine too. Some of you may remember it in OH. Chased more girls, did more illegal drag racing.

* My '68 Corvette Convertable - Bright yellow with a black top & big black side pipes. Fast car, chased more girls (easier to catch in this car), more illegal drag racing (and some cat-mouse chases) in Oak Harbor with my buddy in his black TransAm.

* My '69 Chevelle SS - Holy Crap, someone like me shouldn't have a car this fast. It was custom built from nose to tail for drag racing. Only I never did it legally. I loved to cruise the streets lookin for a race (oh yeah, and girls) in this car. I never lost. It's pretty exciting to drive a car with the power to pull the front wheels off of the ground. I miss that car the most.

* My '78 Camaro Z-28 Black on Black. Very fast with a factory 4 speed. Rare car. Chased girls, more illegal drag racing. My first experience with slamming a car head-on into a power pole. Dang, that was a fast stop! Had my seat belt on (I'm big on Safety, yeah right). Fixed the car right away (had my own shop). Didn't slow down (didn't learn much).

* My Yamaha Seca 900 streetbike. 4 cylinders, 4 carburators, 6 speed transmission, 95 mph in 2nd gear, 125 mph past a WA highway Patrol car, handcuffs, back seat of a HWY Patrol car, verbal lashing from a pissed off officer, huge speeding ticket, no motorcycle licence, met the Oak Harbor Justice of the Peace, pleaded for mercy (didn't get any). Sold the bike. It was fun while it lasted.

* My '69 ElCamino - Black on Black. I put a new motor in it too. Gave it a show-car paint job. Showed it in some shows. Met a girl in Seattle that was visiting from CA & chased her to CA. Got married, sold the ElCamino for a down payment on a house. Made kids. Got an SUV.

* My '77 L82 Corvette - Painted it pearl white & silver 2-tone. Nice car, T-tops, fast, no racing. The wife registered it in her name (not allowed to chase girls in it either). Sold the vette.

* Many years go by...

* a few more...

* Then a buddy of mine pulls up on a new Harley on Fathers day in 2000 to show me his new toy. As I'm standing there drooling in envy, my wife walks up and says "you want one too?". I looked at her in a very confused way (this could be dangerous, it may be a loaded question). I threw all care to the wind & said, "Of course I want one". She said, "OK, as long as you quit test driving new Corvettes". I said "Deal!". 4 days later I had a new Harley!

By the way, I did keep my promise. I haven't test drove a new Corvette again (daa-gum they sure look nice though).

 OK, I sat in one.

* I Still have the Harley. I've customized it quite a bit now. I will never sell it.