Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/738714
70 nNovember 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS WHERE AM I? WINNER SKIP BELL With a little help from my friends For the past 37 years, prior to his (make-believe) retirement, Skip Bell worked in the fi eld of beautifi cation, though he'd probably not call it that. He began in an auto body shop as a pup, sweeping fl oors, and when he retired he owned his own business doing body work and custom paint on cars, vans, bikes, and the occasional Coke machine. He'll still occasionally succumb to the pleas of friends who'd like some treasure painted, and he's painted his own bikes over the years. An Electra Glide he took to the Arctic Circle was a 9/11 tribute bike with tear-off design revealing the American fl ag beneath. His custom license plate said, NVR4GOT. He explained that, "NVR4GET was taken." Now that plate's on his current ride, a Screamin' Eagle 110 Street Glide. From the East Coast, the lion's share of family is still in New Jersey, but it was the invitation from a buddy in June of 1979 that brought Bell to the West Coast, to Chico initially. The conveyance that brought Skip Bell west was a 1977 Kawasaki 1000, a bike he still has a fondness for in ret- rospect. He said, "Nothing could touch it." A childhood friend's Honda Trail 90 with knobby tires was Bell's fi rst taste of riding, and that hook was set at around age 10. He knew he'd get no traction in his own home for a bike purchase, so he saved his pennies and when he moved a couple towns away at age 18, he explained, "I bought the biggest, baddest bike available at the time." Other bikes stabled at the Bell house have included a '59 Pan, a '75 Sportster, a '77 Sportster, a Low Rider, the Electra Glide, and a Road Glide. The Electra Glide had 185,000 miles on when the driver of a Cadillac SUV backed over it where the bike was parked. It was totaled. An early 90's blind date set up by mutual friends resulted in Skip meeting Nancy, to whom he's been married for over 25 years. Nancy works from home mostly, having been in the insurance industry for 37 years. Skip explains she probably works too much, and at times he threatens to fl ip the breaker, or disconnect the Internet connection when she puts in more than a 12- to 14-hour day. He'll say to his workaholic bride, while his hand is on the light switch, "OK, 15 minutes, that's it," to get her to take it easy. They've lived together in the same home for 26 years. Skip and Nancy have no children, but there have been some mighty good dogs along life's way, some that have taken to riding motorcycles along with Skip. All the dogs have been rescues, with one exception, Joe, a Cocker Spaniel, who Skip met while he was driving Nancy's car and the stray ran in front of the Honda. "So I hit it with the car, but then I rescued him." Skip said, "It's a good thing I wasn't driving my truck because I'd never have been able to stop in time." No tags, no collar, and so matted that no one would have been able to identify the breed, they were initially going to call him Bumper because of the acci- dent. He was given a new name once the identifi cation was made. Joe the Cocker lived a good life for just shy of 20 years. Skip Bell, one of the most delight- ful interviews in the history of the "Where am I?" game, was walking in an area park, carrying his cell phone when we spoke on October 9. The park was in the midst of setting up several kiosks for an event called Bow Wows & Meows with half a dozen animal shelters offering $30 pet adoptions. Skip was early for the day-long event, and I'll let you know in next month's column whether he went home with another rescue, or empty handed. My money's on the former. 4 Where Am I? e "Where Am I?" game is for all THUNDER PRESS readers, what ever part of the country you hail from. Off ered each month is a set of clues within a riddle, and from those clues your job is to guess where our wandering reporter (and riddlemeister) Susan might be. Lo cations chosen are always in the Western U.S. or Canada. How does it work? e clues can be solved either by personal familiarity with the location, with the aid of a map, or by using the Inter net. When a clue is particularly important, and/or somewhat vague, we o en italicize that trickier portion to make sure your attention is drawn there. Where/when/what do I win? Very important: Do not e-mail your guess until the 8th of the month, so every one in our circulation area has a chance to get a copy of the paper. en on the 8th e-mail Susan at susan@tohonor.org and if you're the fi h correct e-mail you win. (Note: If there's no phone number in your e-mail where I can call you, your e-mail will not arrive fi h. Some law of physics or something…) Winners are profi led and pictured in the following issue. Good luck. Last month's mystery location: Ouray, Colorado It's the fastest growing city under a Big Sky And a popular musical's title to boot It has everything, Sapphires, barbecue to bio-hazard All nestled in the valley of the Bitterroot So tell me, Where am I?