As the story continued, Rick was left sitting on the "Fat Boy" that he couldn't accept and decided to wait for the original order. He walked out thinking, " Should I have taken the deal? What's a little different color anyway? Why couldn't he have that one? Principles!!! my friends. I have principles.

The only thing that was accomplished that day, was putting together a list of accessories for the new ride. Now, you thought when you ordered a new bike that you were given a price and that would be that. Oh nooooooooo! You have to have Accessories! You can't accept a stock vehicle, no way. You have to customize it to make it your bike. Every bike that comes off the line looks the same except for the color. So I decided to add some goodies. I always said that, "Chrome don't make it go." Well, that was in my younger years. I paid my dues and now it's time for some fluff! Put a little jingle in your jangle. A little pep in your step. I want to travel in style. So the dealer says let's look through the catalog and see if we can't find something for you to dazzle your fazzle. We sure did, and I walked out of there with about, ohhhhh lets say around $2,000 worth. Ole' Harley Davidson is going to make a killing on this kid. After all, I have another saying, "You're going to be dead a long time". So why not enjoy life, before it passes you by.

I did some more riding in the next few months with ole' faithful and as the weather was getting colder, I got to thinking. Winter is coming, soon the snow will be flying and I won't be able to ride much more anyway living in the state of PA. So I decided to sell old paint. Now this was a tough decision. I have been in every state from Maine to the Florida Keys on the east coast with my old shovelhead and this bike has become a part of me. In fact, some of those long trips to Daytona, I think it was attached between my crouch. But time has come to say, "Adios, my friend." So I put her in the bike ads in the paper, but it turns out that one of my fellow working buddies decided to buy her. I had second thoughts, believe me, but I took the chance at the end of the riding season. Now you already know what the rest of the winter is going to be like. That's right, real warm and comfy. Last year we got record snow falls, this year I could have pissed more than we got. Murphy's Law! If I ever get to meet this guy Murphy, I'm going to kick his ass. We set record highs for the month of February. Just my luck, here I sit with an empty space in my garage with just a picture hangin' above it. There's no justice. My so called friends ride by the house and rev the shit out of the motor just to piss me off. They call and asked me to go for a ride and then say, "Oh, I'm sorry, you don't have a motorcycle." So I take off and run for the Rolaids bottle again. This waiting really sucks!

As winter passes us by, the time for delivery is getting closer and the waiting is getting worse by the minute. If anyone has ever gone through this, they know what I'm talking about. Now I have about a month to go and as I'm leaving work on Friday afternoon, I see dozens of bikes on the back of trailers. I stopped for gas and they say they are heading for Daytona. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! Again I pop a few more tablets to try and kill this heartburn that I have. I can't go to Daytona! I don't have a bike. This is killing me. I should be paid for pain and suffering! I'll have to see if we can work that into the contract.

I'm starting to drink heavily now, beer, wine, hard stuff, anything that will ease the pain. My hangovers are getting worse, much worse. Nothing helps. I'm thinking about seeing a shrink, but what the hell would he know about ordering a new Harley. He'd probably tell me that deep down inside I hated my mother. I can't sleep at night and have visions of little "Harley's" dancing across my head and if I do sleep, it's only for a few hours. Then I wake up an hour early before the alarm clock rings. Ohhhhhh....the insanity. I look in the mirror and my bags have bags.

A few more weeks pass and then I received a card in the mail from my dealer, Schaeffer's Harley Davidson in Orwigsburg, Pa. The card says that your motorcycle will be here on April 24, 1997. YES!!!!!!!!!!!! The days are drawing closer and the tension really starts to build. Unfortunately, the so called friends that I work with won't leave me alone. The know the waiting is killing me and decided to capitalize on it. The phone calls start coming disguising their voice like the dealer. "Hello, Rick, this is Schaeffer's calling, your motorcycle has arrived, come up immediately to pick it up." Bikes would drive by my house revving the engines, just wanting me to come out and play. I even received E-Mail stating that I should be out riding instead of sitting inside behind a keyboard. They would all band together and come up one by one saying, "Hey, let's go out riding this weekend. Oh, I'm sorry that's right.............you don't have a motorcycle!" This is the kind of crap I had to deal with plus the fact that they were right. I didn't have a motorcycle!!!!!! Soon to be rectified.

Finally, coming home from work one night as I walked in the door, the phone rang and sure enough it was the dealer telling me that my bike has arrived and they were unloading it as we speak. Alrightttttttttt.............I grabbed my keys, jumped in my cage and drove as fast as those wheels could go. There, in the back of the shop sat the monster of a box with all kinds of logo's from Harley Davidson on it. It was the "Egg" to be hatched, just waiting to break out. So I climbed up on the box and pretended. I figured, "What the hell, a chicken can do it, why can't I?" I patted it, stroked it, talked to it and low and behold, my baby came to life. I was so excited I couldn't see straight. Suddenly my hangover went away and so did my heartburn that I suffered with for months and months. As I walked around that gorgeous beauty of the best damn motorcycle in the world, I now know why I waited through all that pain and suffering. It had all it's fingers and toes and all it needed was to be cracked on the ass to bring it to life. Naturally, it had to be prepped with all the accessories that had to be installed. But it was mine.........all mine. Any one that has gone through this extraordinary experience, knows what I went through. It wasn't fun, but it certainly was worth the wait.

When I got the final phone call to pick up the newly hatched egg with all its goodies on board, I realized what it feels like to father a child for the first time. What am I saying? This is a damn motorcycle for Christ's sake! But not just any motorcycle, it's a Harley Davidson. My bros' wanted to be a part of the experience, so they took me to the dealer and watched my reaction as I saw it in all its glory. Pictures were taken to record this epic event. The smile on my face, the signing of the check, the handing over of the keys, and finally the starting of the engine. As I cracked it on it's ass, the powerful V-Twin gasped for air and came to life. I was the proud father of an FLSTF or better known as a "FAT BOY"! It was conceived in Milwaukee, nurtured in York and came to life in my hands. It was an awe inspiring momentous occasion. Now the fun starts.

I want to thank Schaeffer's Harley Davidson, located in Orwigsburg, Pa., for helping me through this crisis. The whimpering and crying over the phone, even accepting the long face when they told me it didn't come in. They patted me on the shoulder and told me it will be OK. They stuck by me through thick and thin. At last I got my wish and it came true. As I fired it up, kicked it in gear and let out the clutch I felt and urge to sing, "On the Road Again, I just can't wait to get back on the Road again."

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