Livid's new chopper, a party in Kirkwood,
the 2008 Harley Davidsons
and a Woman to
Mentor
Don't forget to move your mouse over pictures
for a description We Blackberried the interview with Lothar
to the General Offices of the Crystal Angel
on the 69th floor of the Thorn Building in
Moove, left New Haven and arrived at the
Marriott in St. Louis at around 11:00 A.M. Upon checking in, we were given a message
from CC and Waya saying that the group had
gone to Doc's Harley Davidson in Kirkwood, which was just a few miles
away. Wood Nymph and MysteryMan had gone
over to BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups (where
we were to catch the Sean Carney Band later
that evening) to make sure the front row
seats and V.I.P. treatment we were to get
were ready. Since we were all riding Lacy Motorbikes,
I was wondering if someone had grown tired
of their Lacy and was picking up a new 2008
Harley Davidson. We checked our hotel room
over, Mela made a few calls and we rode over
to Docs.
We turned off Highway 44 and saw Doc's sitting
proudly at the corner
of Lindberg and Big
Bend Road. We pulled into the parking lot which
was jammed packed full of chrome, leather
and bikes, while the smell of roasted whole
pig hung in the air. As we shut down the
Lacy's, Mela rolled her eyes and said, "I
would have thought our bunch had eaten enough
pork on this road trip". I laughed,
but deep inside I was really wanting to taste
whatever was causing the yummy smell in the
air. As we walked through the crowd, we heard
someone say, "here
come some more",
and then whistles
and "looking
fine"
were heard. "I
guess we are not
the
first Avatars to
arrive", I said
to
Mela and sure enough,
we saw the rest of
our group chatting
up a storm with bikers
and babes from Real.
After the customary Moove hugging, we were
introduced to a wonderful mix of new friends.
Big Burl, One Eye, Sasha Snake, Slim and others.
One of the things that Mela and I had noticed
on this trip was the welcoming spirit that
other bikers had towards Avatars - and the
crowd at Doc's was no different.
I was still not sure why we had come there,
but the fact that it was the big Fall Open
House at the dealership explained the festivities.
The Legendary Monster Truck BIGFOOT was there,
Full Spectrum Tattoos out of High Ridge had
a booth open for fresh ink, Gary Friedrich
(creator of the Ghost Rider Comic Book) was
there, and a silent auction to benefit James
S. McDonnell, a soldier who had been in the
wars. As if that was not enough to make it a full
blown party, Alandale Brewery had tasty beverages
while Pik'n Lik'n played some serious party
music. "This is kewl", I thought
to myself as I entered the spotless (except
for the drool on the floor from my mouth)
showroom which glistened with the best Milwaukee had to offer. I was in
HOG heaven. I had a chance to sit and talk with Patty,
Doc's daughter and the spirit (along with
Ralph her older brother) of the dealership.
As Miss Mona (the resident kitty) sat on my lap purring, Patty told me the
history of Doc's. Over the course of the last 50 years, Doc’s
Harley-Davidson has
seen a number of
changes.
Established in 1955
by Ralph “Doc” Schneidewind
and his good friend
Charlie Popovich,
Doc
and Charlie’s was
a small sales and
service
store offering Doc’s
first love, Harley-Davidson®
motorcycles. When
Doc passed away,
his son
Ralph took over the
8,400 square foot
metal
and concrete cinder block facility. Ralph welcomed
the responsibility
and became the heart
and
soul of Doc's. Other
family members took
part also including
Ralph's wife Fran,
sister
Barb and his brother
Ronnie. As the dealership progressed and built a
loyal customer base,
Ralphs younger sister,
Patty, made a career
choice at the age
of
17 that would inevitably
change the face
of Doc’s forever,
she entered beauty
school.
LOL But in 1998, tragedy struck the family. Patty’s
brother Ralph suffered
a brain aneurysm
while
driving and sadly,
was unable to return
to
work. With no line
of succession for
the
dealership, Harley-Davidson
came in and expressed
interest in shutting
Doc's doors. In an
effort
to significantly
upgrade facilities
nationwide,
Harley granted a
relocation for another
dealer
6.1 miles from Doc’s
and prepared to shut Doc's down for good. So with a successful established career as
a hairstylist in
the balance, massive
opposition
to a woman running
a “man’s business”
in
a “man’s world” and
facing a gamble with
the family name and
millions of dollars,
Patty did what any
other 5’ 4”, 112
pound
redhead would do,
put on a pair of
biker
boots and prepared
for a fight in the
sandbox. Over the course of 30 years, Patty continued
to ride her Harley®
but left the dealership
in other family members
capable hands. Patty
became widely recognized
as one of the best
in her trade. She
developed a strong
customer
following through
hard work, long hours
and
exceptional customer
service. As a hair
stylist,
Patty made her living
not by a haircut
here
or there, but by
building long lasting
relationships.
She made relationships not by a hundreds
of customers with
a single haircut, but by single customers with hundreds of
haircuts. Doc’s was
a profitable family
business
and Patty had become
a success in her
own
right. As I listened to Patty tell me her story,
I saw a woman I could
look up to - a mentor
that displayed all
the good qualities
of
a strong, intelligent
woman. I liked her
and I knew we would
be friends. Out chat was interrupted as the General Manager,
Gina came up and
told Patty, "you
have
just got to see this",
and the three
of us headed back
to the parking lot
where
a crowd of leather
clad "gawkers"
we ooohing and ahhhing
over something I
could
not see yet. As I
got closer to the
crowd,
I could hear the
voice of Livid. OMGAWD. I found an opening in the crowd and made
a bee-line for my
dear friend and gave
her
the biggest hug.
"Whaddya think"?
Livid asked as she pointed to a Chopper in front
of her. "I built
it just for this
trip".
There in front of
my eyes was the most
beautiful
creation I had seen
in such a long time. The Chopper was simply spectacular with chrome
everywhere, a sissy
bar, and a front
end
rake just enough
to make it look fast
at
a standstill without
causing it ride funky.
Livid had hidden
the fuel and oil
lines in
the frame and it
had no battery. Instead
it had a thing, I
had never heard of
called
a magneto. "This
is just awesome",
I gushed. Livid just
smiled. "Are you going to sell it on Moove",
I asked. "Nope",
Livid replied,
"although the
design specs (srf)
are
for sale". Click here to find out how to buy the specs
and build your own
Chopper. Since the crowd really wanted to talk to
Livid on the design
and build of her
Chopper,
I gave Livid one
last hug and asked
if she
would go on the rest
of the road trip
with
us. "I ain't
here to get married",
she laughingly said.
WOO HOO. Mela, CC, Waya, Tigre, Jargon and C@ndi and
I decided to check
out the new 2008
models
that were shining
in the showroom.
Rando
was making friends
with one of the models,
and Dave and Maggy
were sitting around
with
with a group of Rough
Riders explaining
what
Avatars are, where
Moove is and why
we are
all so friggin gorgeous. As I browsed the news models, Sportsters,
Dynas, Softails,
VRods and Touring
Bikes,
I fell totally in
love with a Softail
Deluxe
in Suede Blue Pearl
and Vivid Black with
pull back handlebars
and a totally kewl
tombstone
taillight. I did
not care that it
had a rigid
mounted 1584 CC engine
or a 6 speed cruise
drive transmission.
Nor did I care that
it
had GORGEOUS whitewalls.
All I cared about
was that it came
in baby blue and
everyone
knows I look fantastic
in blue.
It is amazing how you can tell a person
by the bike they choose. Tigre loved the
VRod, Mela the Rocker, Jargon and C@ndie
the Hertiage Classic, Latin princess wanted
the Night Train, while CC and Waya went gaga
for the Fatboy. We spent a couple of hours
looking over the chrome and steel and chatting with the friendliest sales folk
I have ever met. The employees at Doc's know
that Harley Davidsons speak for themselves,
and you do not find a high pressure sales
talk. Just relaxed and informative chats.
If I ever buy a new Harley, this is where
I am headed. The rest of the day was spent making new
friends - alot of
them had beards,
'cept
for the GORGEOUS
girls, and all had
tattoos.
I really felt at
home, more-so than
any place
I had been so far
on this road trip. With the day of partying and meeting new
friends fading fast, we headed back to the
hotel to get ready to jam with the Sean Carney
Band at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups - minus
one rider who decided to stay in real. We
stayed till closing and then went back to
the Marriott for an early morning wake up
call.
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Contact Us: CrystalAngelFashion@earthlink.net
We Blackberried the interview with Lothar
to the General Offices of the Crystal Angel
on the 69th floor of the Thorn Building in
Moove, left New Haven and arrived at the
Road. We pulled into the parking lot which
was jammed packed full of chrome, leather
and bikes, while the smell of roasted whole
pig hung in the air. As we shut down the
Lacy's, Mela rolled her eyes and said, "I
would have thought our bunch had eaten enough
pork on this road trip". I laughed,
but deep inside I was really wanting to taste
whatever was causing the yummy smell in the
air.
Burl, One Eye, Sasha Snake, Slim and others.
One of the things that Mela and I had noticed
on this trip was the welcoming spirit that
other bikers had towards Avatars - and the
crowd at Doc's was no different.
the best Milwaukee had to offer. I was in
HOG heaven.
concrete cinder block facility. Ralph welcomed
the responsibility
and became the heart
and
soul of Doc's. Other
family members took
part also including
Ralph's wife Fran,
sister
Barb and his brother
Ronnie.
Doc's down for good.
but by single customers with hundreds of
haircuts. Doc’s was
a profitable family
business
and Patty had become
a success in her
own
right.
asked as she pointed to a Chopper in front
of her. "I built
it just for this
trip".
There in front of
my eyes was the most
beautiful
creation I had seen
in such a long time.
chatting with the friendliest sales folk
I have ever met. The employees at Doc's know
that Harley Davidsons speak for themselves,
and you do not find a high pressure sales
talk. Just relaxed and informative chats.
If I ever buy a new Harley, this is where
I am headed.
