Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/617259
56 nJanuary 2016n www.thunderpress.net A m I crazy? (Don't answer that.) Wasn't it just a few years ago we were all worried that computer systems worldwide would crash seconds after midnight as 1999 slipped into his- tory and 2000 stepped up to the plate messing with personal check blanks and uptown stationary? Now it's 2016, seem- ingly here in a blink. But of course, it's a tad more than that. Yet I remain as youthful and defi ant of gravity as ever (ha ha). As we all endure clicks of our old-ometers I'm reminded of the spunky Melba Brown of Ione, Washington, who explained how time played out on her physique, "All my sands have shifted." Yes, indeed Melba (R.I.P)… Birthday congratulations to Sas Alford, Lois Lorenz, Tom Barrett, Jess Goodnight and Pete Thomas in December. Now Tom, seri- ously, you're getting old. The visuals are going all raisin-like now—try some mois- turizer or, at least, sunscreen so those crags are shined up some. I know how you rustic bikers like shiny things—heck, don't we all?… Chica, or should I say Yasuyoshi Chikazawa, gave us a call a few weeks back. Chica was looking for an old Harley, specifi cally, a '66 FL because 49-year-old California custom bike builder Chica wanted to have a bike from his year of birth. He arrived on Thanksgiving Day and after some business, rolled the blue police bike down the driveway and up a ramp into the back of his red van with Chica Custom Cycle painted on the side panels. He hit the road, returning to his Huntington Beach, California, home and business with the prize. Chica, if you put a video on YouTube on that gorgeous old FL we enjoyed for 20 years, do let us know, deal?… For those who've been following along through the summer of 2015 as I groomed fi ve acres like Disney World and kept a log home "show ready" for real estate in Monroe, Washington, the house sale closed December 11 and I'm back in the remote reaches of NE Washington State looking out my farmhouse window at a 1912 barn, with snow coming down. It's good to be home. Moving in winter is not something I'd wish on an enemy, but there have been some memorable moments around closures of Stevens Pass (SR-2) due to trees down and landslides, detours for miles around area fl oodwaters in the Snoqualmie Valley, the loss of brakes in the F-250 and using the trailer brakes for the last 200 miles. The truck tire blow- out on I-90 while hauling a tilt-bed trailer carrying my '51 GMC with a John Deere riding mower in the bed introduced us to the lads from Les Schwab in North Bend. We'll always cherish (not so much) memories of the water pump, brake vac- uum pump, and glow plug replacements. Oh, and when unloading the trailer using the forestry tractor the alternator gave out. So it's been interesting, and in the end, we were lucky to be moved before any major snowstorms hit. The old farmhouse here looks like an episode of Hoarders because two households are crammed into one. The earthen-plastered straw- bale-insulated post-and-beam house we're building here won't be ready to receive furnishings until summer, so it's mighty inspiring to live like a tinned sardine in the farmhouse until that happy day. But in truth, I'm just plain grateful we're safe, and it's done. And 2016 is going to see more riding once the new house is fi nished. So here's to that. And to all of you, happy New Year! And for any of you who have news to share, friends to embarrass, a funny tale to tell or life celebrations to broadcast, e-mail me at susan@tohonor.org.