01/06/07 - Dan's Memorial Ride

Today was the memorial ride for Dan Harris. Dan was a close friend of mine who I have ridden many miles with. I met Dan about 5 years ago and he was one of those guys you could connect with immediately. He was always smiling and always had a positive outlook on life. We spent many a lunchtime either during the week or out at a waffle house somewhere talking about life, family, motorcycles. His outlook didn’t change even when he got a brain tumor. Till the end he was a fighter but this thing gave him no more chance than a June bug on my windshield at 80. Unfortunately Dan is not the first person I’ve known who became a victim of this dread disease and he won’t be the last. On this day some friends planned a memorial ride. January rides are usually torture but we hit a beautiful 78 degree day. We ride down to Centerville to a place called the Saw Mill restaurant. They have good vittles there, If you ever go make sure you get to the peach cobbler early because they only make one dish for lunch and the slow ones don’t get any. I will never forget "Papa Dan" Harris. The Royal Star I ride was his bike. It is now mine by law, but in my heart it will always be his.