I have to take somebody for a ride... An amazing old gal named Beverly- she was just "Gramma" to everybody for years, now with a couple new arrivals, she's "G.G." She's pushing 80 now, goofy as a bedbug, but has that inner wisdom- sometimes she'll say something profound out of the blue that will blow you away... Husband Fred passed a few years ago, those two never went anywhere without making a new friend. Fred was a master rigger at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for many years, all through the time they were building nukes- if someone mentioned the Guitarro (look it up) he'd tear up and say "those go@@amn clipboard jockeys"
I took a DVD of the movie "Zodiac" over to the daughter's house when it came out- now they lived in Vallejo, daughter was 14, son 13 in '69, and they lived about 3 miles from Blue Rock Springs golf course- Lake Herman was about 2 more miles. BTW, all the scenes in the movie are real, those two, the bridge and park at Lake Berryessa, the Ace Hardware, etc. So we're watching it, and daughter is getting on the edge of her chair, as she had never really focused on the Zodiac being in her backyard at 14. A scene comes on with Sgt. Mullinex talking about something, and Beverly pops up with "yeah, I remember Mullinex telling Freddy about that at the Bubble". Daughter's head snapped around, "WHAT???" Turns out 'ol Fred and Mullinex were drinking buddies at the Golden Bubble, a great old place in Vallejo. "You guys never said anything about that!!" "Well, we didn't want to frighten you, dear- hush up, I can't hear the movie".
Now this 'ol gal, until her early 70's, could still cut a mean rug, and could high-kick over her head straight out of a chair- we would hide from her, she could wear out a half-dozen people.
Now she's just gushed over my 2000 Chief since I got it, but she gushes about caterpillars walking down the railing these days, too, so I never took it to seriously when she'd say "I want to go for a ride"- until she said "when I had my motorcycle-" got my attention She starts describing her old 160 Scrambler to a "t", and Fred's old Harley (a Panhead) and how they would take the kids for a ride, daughter with her, son with Fred- and daughter's sitting there, nodding her head. She's probably asked about a hundred times, always when I don't have the bike with me- but today, the sun's shining, I'm going over there for Christmas dinner, so I think I'll put the backrest on, and go a little early
