Mostly about my backyard chickens. (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....
AS THEY PASSED BY THE BEER COOLER, ONE NUN SAID TO
THE OTHER, "WOULDN'T A NICE COOL BEER OR TWO TASTE
WONDERFUL ON A HOT SUMMER EVENING?"
THE SECOND NUN ANSWERED, "INDEED IT WOULD, SISTER,
BUT I WOULD NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE BUYING BEER, SINCE
I AM CERTAIN IT WOULD CAUSE A SCENE AT THE CHECKOUT
STAND."
"I CAN HANDLE THAT WITHOUT A PROBLEM" THE
OTHER NUN REPLIED, AND SHE PICKED UP A SIX-PACK AND
HEADED FOR THE CHECK-OUT.
THE CASHIER HAD A SURPRISED LOOK ON HIS FACE WHEN THE TWO NUNS ARRIVED WITH A SIX-PACK OF BEER.
"WE USE BEER FOR WASHING OUR HAIR" THE NUN SAID, "BACK AT OUR NUNNERY, WE CALL IT CATHOLIC SHAMPOO."
WITHOUT BLINKING AN EYE, THE CASHIER REACHED UNDER THE COUNTER, PULLED OUT A PACKAGE OF PRETZEL STICKS, AND PLACED THEM IN THE BAG WITH THE BEER.
HE THEN LOOKED THE NUN STRAIGHT IN THE EYE, SMILED, AND SAID:
Yesterday morning I was awake at 4 AM. and wasn't up because of Charlie (this time). Just couldn't sleep. I was checking the news around 5:30 and having coffee when I heard what sounded like some animal scratching right under the window. So I took my trusty, crappy camera and pointed it out the window to see if I could take a picture of the critter. Couldn't see a thing - it was still pretty dark out, but you can sure hear it scurrying around!
Sounded like some farmer was shooting varmints - probably coyotes. There are a lot of them around here and they were looking for a place far away from the shotgun.
Inside that unassuming barn near Spanaway, Washington was what many folks
regard as one of the motorcycle industry's premier private bike collections.
Among the some 50 vintage cycles is the entire Harley-Davidson Knucklehead series,
all 12 from 1936 to '47 - believed to be one of only three complete series in existence.
Across the hardwood floor is a handful of restored military bikes. The most valuable
and rarest cycle in the room is an unrestored 1907 FN.
Downstairs, in a dingy repair shop where hundreds of motorcycle parts and tools
surround you, is where Johnnie Clifton Burgin did his magic. Johnnie a leading
collector and restorer of vintage Harley Davidson and other motorcycles and a
native of Old Fort, NC, died Feb. 18, 2005 at age 85.
Born in Old Fort, N.C., on Christmas Day, 1919, Johnnie was the son of Howard
Gurney Burgin and Vassie Louise Souther. He was taken out of school as a boy
to help work the family farm and soon showed his mechanical aptitude."When he
was about 12 and his grandfather's tractor broke down and Johnnie managed to
put it back together," said Bernadine Burgin, his wife of 60 years.
"He just figured out how it worked," she said.
Johnnie was turned on to motorcycles at the age of 16 when he read his first
issue of the Harley-Davidson magazine, (The Enthusiast). He broke in on a 1930
Harley-Davidson VL. At the outbreak of WWII, at age 18, he enlisted in the Army
and became an Army Motor Sergeant. Burgin served 3 1/2 years in the South Pacific.
After the war ended in Europe, he bought himself a 1939 H-D knucklehead and rode
it from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Fort Lewis, Washington and a year later
moved to that state permanently. There, he met and pursued Bernadine Barker. They were
married September 23, 1945.
Johnnie and Bernadine settled in the Tacoma area, where he owned and ran Burgin's
Engine Rebuilding, an automobile engine rebuilding shop, for about 15 years.
He retired in 1970 at age 50, and several years later moved to Spanaway, where
he opened a motorcycle repair and restoration shop in front of the family home
and began building his vintage collection. He kept busy rebuilding vintage bikes,
building his collection with an uncanny comprehension of antique cycles.
His other specialty was military motorcycles, drawn from many countries and
different wars. He built 32 of them from recycled parts and was an internationally
recognized authority in this specialty. Johnnie described his work as a hobby
that got out of control. "I went from working on my own bikes, to working on
other people’s bikes, to hiring people to work on bikes.” In 1980, he started
Vintage Motorcycles Northwest, and according to Johnnie, “the work never slowed
down.”
His collection, except for the military bikes, was all
"American-built"
Gone, friends say, is a respected and heavily sought-after authority on vintage
motorcycles. They say people traveled from around the world to visit his collection
or to have him provide his deft touch to their rare bikes.
(Johnnie Burgin)
"With his passing, a lot of knowledge, it goes - it's just gone, just gone,"
said Nik Lamkin, who sells motorcycle parts at Destination Harley-Davidson of
Tacoma. Lamkin, one of the many people whose road just happened to cross Burgin's,
was always fascinated with the spectrum of knowledge and talent Burgin displayed.
"He could rebuild a Knucklehead on the side of the road," said Lamkin, who
often bought parts from Burgin while he worked on his own bikes. Burgin was
never shy in giving him a good deal.
The two met over a bottle of scotch at a swap meet in 1980. "John didn't need
an excuse to enjoy some scotch," Lamkin said.
Beyond his love of motorcycles, Burgin also showed a compassion for people,
his friends said. He fixed bikes for kids to keep them out of gangs. He
sometimes gave out-of-work friends odd jobs.
"He was the kindest man I ever knew," Bernadine Burgin said. "He was as moral
and honest as the day is long."
Johnnie and Bernadine had two daughters Lola and Joy, three grandchildren and
a great-grandson.
Sources: Burgin Family Members
WFMY News - Greensboro, NC (http://www.wfmy.com/)
The News & Observer (http://www.newsobserver.com/)
Onionwerks Vintage Motorcyle Site (http://www.onionwerks.com)