INTRODUCTION
Saddlebag Stories was written by a man they called “Mr. Biker,” one of the several names he used during the 69 years of his life. Whether that name was made up or real, it was appropriate because he spent all of his adult life married to a Harley.
He was a quiet man whose love for freedom and the open road drove him to many places he would admit were places he did not want to be, finding love, finding hate, but most of all finding trouble. He roamed the many highways and byways of the USA, Canada and Mexico, keeping track of his travel through life by tracing his routes on a map that became this book’s cover.
Although he spent most of his adult life riding Harleys, fighting, drinking and partying, he had a private side that was sensitive and loving, a side you could easily miss on meeting him. You’ll discover that rather than conforming to the stereotype of the bikers he emulated, he wrote about his life and longings in a poetic style.
Always chasing after the elusive thing called happiness, he seemed to find the same old problems waiting at each journey’s end. Then his answer again would become the never-ending haunt of the open road.
I met him seven years ago when Hurricane Frances wrecked the boat he was living on in Florida, off Peanut Island. He was always good to me, a very loyal friend and a hard worker.These poems come from previously unpublished notebooks which he always carried with him in his saddlebag. The entries dated back to the 60’s and continued until shortly before his death. Very few people ever read any of his works when he was alive. I hope that in his death many will read and benefit from of the hard lessons he never learned. I know you'll find something you can relate to in his writings whether you're a Harley guy or a preacher.
On March 29, 2009, the whiskey that was chasing him all his life finally caught up with him and he died on his Harley, alone, as he had earlier predicted. I only hope and pray he reached the Harley Heaven he wrote about in his stories years ago.
