Hello, I'm a semi retired mechanical gear head living in northwest MO. I moved here in late 03 from the warm desert of southern Arizona to be near my Daughter but Arizona is the place I call home and I will return once my Daughter graduates and goes off to college. My youth & career were mostly devoted to motorcycles and the motorcycle industry, I worked? (good thing they didn't know I would do it for free) many years at local motorcycle dealers & for myself before taking it to a higher level.

   I moved to Phoenix, AZ after receiving a job offer of teaching at MMI in Phoenix, AZ. I went to school there early in my career a long time ago, in fact I was one of their very first students. I worked there quite some time and at several dealerships and custom / high performance shops around the valley. I was fortunate to have chosen a career that I enjoyed and going to work was enjoyable.

   On a warm spring day in 2000 I was riding a custom bike I had just completed for the annual Laughlin, NV, River Run & Show. I started out in the morning from a hotel in Prescott, AZ. where I stayed the night before heading north on 89-A. Only a few miles into the journey I was struck head on by an oncoming vehicle that crossed the center line and I had no where to go & no way to avoid being hit. 366 days in the hospital and various rehabilitation centers I was released to live out the rest of my days in a wheelchair.

   Since then times have been tough, my wife could not deal with the change and went her own way soon after and of course took everything. The driver of the car that hit me was an illegal immigrant with no insurance of course, so there was nothing good to come from obtaining a lawyer, just another bill. And to this day I have been unable to find an employer willing to give me a chance. There is much I can still do and would love to return to work, but it must be the liability of employing the disabled or my physical appearance that has kept me from finding employment, perhaps both. So I have no choice but to just watch life pass me by from the sidelines.

   Losing the ability to ride on 2 wheels was very hard on me, it was the center of who I was, I can't imagine anything worse other than losing my child. I keep myself as busy as I can now and have become obsessed with making my Yamaha Rhino very surprising to the unsuspecting rider I might meet along the trail. I love to see the guys with $20 - $30k invested kick the sand and make excuses when they get roosted by a disabled guy in what appears to be a stock Rhino or mildly tuned at the most. Building sleepers has long been one of the many things I loved to do in the business. Building flashy chromed out choppers or sport bikes that can make your hair bleed is fun but I have always been the type to root for the underdog and love leaving the wealthy guys with an attitude scratching his head and cursing. Good times!

   I will add more at a later time, God bless you and yours.