6 RenegadeMagazine.com
WOW, when I am out in the “real world” I realize just how
much people really do imitate sheep. I have realized that
public school serves no other function than to brainwash the
masses into all behaving the same way. I often wonder how
some of us graduated without getting that “lesson”. It boggles
my mind as I never missed a day of school. I was in trouble a
lot and they never could figure out why they couldn’t “fix” me
even though I maintained honor student status, was in “Gifted
and Talented” and went to college on scholarships!
Kids are taught to fol-
low the rules (without
asking questions), raise
their hands (even to go
to the bathroom), get
into a single line (to go
anywhere or to get anything done), dress like everyone else
(in order to fit in), and everything will be okay. I have found
time after time that NOT following the rules and instead doing
what is “different” always tends to reap better results.
It’s hard to believe that I have not worked a “real job” since
January of 2006, when I was managing a body shop. It is
amazing to think back to when I was one of the very first
people to join the newly formed site called Facebook, back
when they used to solicit people to join by giving out coupons
for FREE items that could be printed an unlimited number of
times. I was also the first person to start extreme couponing,
back when stores had never seen or heard of anything like
that and I was the very first person I knew, while working for
minimum wage to own a CELL PHONE!
I can honestly say that NOT being like everyone else has
its advantages! It’s funny that when I contacted all of the
companies that sponsored me to go on my trip to The
Smoke Out (consisting of almost $2000 in cash, apparel
and needful things) that the first question they asked me
was how many “friends” I had on Facebook, how many “fol-
lowers” I had on
Instagram, etc.
When I admitted
to all of them
that I am not on
ANY social me-
dia BUT I am in over 20 magazines a year; I have writ-
ten for Renegade Magazine for over four years, I work with
Throttle Gals Magazine, and am the Arkansas Representa-
tive for the Global Women Who Ride project, among other
things, they ALL donated to the cause!
I have always believed “If everyone is special, then no one
is special” and there’s nothing special about broadcasting
every bit of your life 24/7 on multiple social media channels.
I am living proof that there are other ways. There is AL-
WAYS another way! I always strive to keep going forward
and can definitely say that each year I am “further” along
than the previous year.
RenegadeMagazine.com 7
It’s also amazing to me how many people don’t realize the
potential opportunities that are presented right in front of
them. I can admittedly say that I am no genius but I do
always try to look for hidden opportunities. Who knew that
when I won the Garage Girls Ultimate Biker Makeover in
2014 what a HUGE opportunity that would be for me and for
the sponsors. I would bet that most people who have won it
in the last nine years have taken their free prizes and ran. I
have been promoting it since the day I was selected as the
winner and have now been able to get even more sponsor-
ship to continue my projects! I am proud to say that Avon
Tyres has stepped up to sponsor me again this year!
I enter contests, large and small all of the time because you
never know WHAT opportunity might arise from it. I recently
won an online photo contest with my Panhead and am get-
ting published in an upcoming “Reader’s Ride” section of
Easyriders. My ‘81 Ironhead was in their “Reader’s Rides”
section back in 2014.
Gabe and I have been in nearly all of the latest issues of
Easyriders in their “In the Wind” section. My Panhead re-
ceived four pages in The Horse Backstreet Choppers and
just last month it received six pages and a cover shot on
American Iron Garage Magazine. It is also slated to be fea-
tured in “100% Biker” out of the UK, “Wild Motorcycles” from
France and “Harley Davidson Dream Machines” published
in Germany.
When I got back from North Carolina I was presently sur-
prised to find that the Arkansas tourism department wanted
to feature me in a video to be their official Ambassador for
motorcycle tourism for the entire state of Arkansas! I was
flattered and at the same time NOT excited to be on camera
as I have turned down two national television appearances
in the past; one on raising hedgehogs and the other on be-
ing the world’s best extreme couponer. I figured this time;
this was one opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
It seems that Matt Bell, the Executive Director of the Harri-
son CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) along with Dar-
ryl Treat, President of the Searcy County Chamber of Com-
merce had both contacted the Parks and Recreation division
in Arkansas about my eagerness to host events, what I am
doing in the motorcycle and hot rod world and the enthusi-
asm I have for the hobby! The video can be seen on www.
Arkansas.com if anyone wants to check it out! I have to say
that the videographer Greg Spradlin did an AMAZING job on
the riding shots.
We were able to get through all five months of our “Throw-
back Thursdays” event at the local drive-in without any bad
weather last year. The event continued to grow, as did the
media coverage and the door prizes.
After fighting my brother for my portion of my mother’s
estate, the case is finally settled. I have always said that
“Knowledge is Power” and in fighting a narcissist, it really
helps! Narcissists ALWAYS think they are smarter than you,
in fact, they think they are smarter than everyone (including
attorneys) and think they can threaten and bully people into
bending to their warped sense of entitlement. My brother
tried so many ways to screw me that I have literally forgotten
in which order they occurred! He first had his attorney put in
a claim against the estate for unpaid debts claiming that the
estate was his as he has never moved off of her land in 44
years. He even submitted an unsigned deed as evidence.
He told the attorney that he had paid all of my mother’s prop-
erty taxes for the last 20 years, course I had proof that that
wasn’t the case. He had a real estate agent that he used
to work for write out an “appraisal” that the property was
worth very little and that my mother’s house which is a 1000
square foot home with three bedrooms and one bath, with a
two car detached garage, along with other outbuildings was
worth zero dollars, ZERO dollars! When I called the county
collector, he was actually speechless and told me even a
pair of used jeans has a value of something!
I only started receiving checks when I threatened to have
the entire property sold at the courthouse square. I didn’t
get much money, especially after having to pay an attorney
to fight for what should have been an easy payout but I just
wanted it over. I finally got what I asked for and used that
money to buy a 1937 Knucklehead! I was originally going
to buy a 1955 Panhead- a Panhead that Gabe had actually
owned a few years ago but had sold to a friend. Several
events happened that made the deal not work for me and as
always, I knew GOD had something better in mind for me so
I was not upset.
We were at the motorcycle swap meet that we go to every
spring when a guy came up to Gabe and asked if he knew
of anyone looking to buy a Knucklehead. This guy already
knew that I had a Panhead and my ‘39 Knuckle..... A few
years ago I made the statement “The only bikes I am going
to own are Knuckleheads and Panheads” and Gabe replied
“Don’t you mean the singular form of Knucklehead and Pan-
head?” No I do not! It is AMAZING what GOD puts out
there in the world for us!!!
One of the best days of my life was getting the final check
from my brother but it was also one of the worst as I lost the
sweetest chicken I had ever known. On May 15th as I was
getting ready to leave for town to sign the papers at the at-
torney’s office, my pet chicken Memphis Raines and I spoke
our last words to each other. As he was walking away, I
yelled in my chicken
language and he
screamed back in
his. When I got
home that night he
was nowhere to be
found. When I called
for him he didn’t an-
swer and when
it started getting
dark he was not
at the back door
wanting to come in.
I looked for Memphis
