Charlie & Martha

Charlie and Martha Thomas, circa 1940
Charlie Thomas was an early member of the Indianapolis BMW (Motorcycle) Club.
The club was founded as an all-male organization back in the early 1960s. The guys would go off on day rides and long trips together and once a year, on the Saturday night before or on Valentine's Day, they put on a banquet to thank their wives for letting them go riding.
Charlie was married to Martha. He took her for her first motorcycle ride the day she turned 20 back in 1939. Martha was reluctant to go until her mother said, "If you don't go for a ride with him, I will."
"My folks could hear me screaming for a block after we pulled away," Martha recalled years later.
By the time they returned more than an hour later, Martha had calmed down and was enjoying herself.
And so the courtship continued and they were married before Charlie went into the Navy at the start of World War II. He'd had two or three Harley-Davidsons by then, but sold his last bike before enlisting.
After the war, they set up housekeeping in Indianapolis and raised a son and three daughters. Charlie got back into motorcycling and they rode whenever they could.
Charlie loved having Martha on the pillion seat as much as she loved being there.
So when Charlie showed up for a BMW Club ride with Martha aboard - a clear violation of the men-only rule - he let it be known that if they wanted him along, Martha was part of the deal.
That was the end of the guys-only arrangement. Pretty soon, all of the guys were bringing along wives and girlfriends - presumably not at the same time. It was only a matter of time before some of the women got their own bikes. By my unofficial count, the club has had three women presidents and it's a rare club ride that doesn't include a woman, either as a rider or a passenger.
By the 1990s, Charlie wasn't riding much. But that didn't stop him and Martha from attenting every montly club meeting or traveling hundreds - sometimes thousands - of miles to the annual BMW Motorcycle Owners of America national rally.
In fact, Charlie was a grand prize winner at the 1994 BMW MOA rally in Oshkosh, Wisc., claiming a brand new blue BMW K75LT.
Charlie died in January, 2000, at the age of 83.
Martha was desolate, but she pulled through and continued to be the club historian, statistician and all-around inspiration.
She bought one of the first Chrysler PT Cruisers when they first came out and let her grandkids stick magnetized flames on the sides. She was always around and she was always upbeat and cool. She took computer lessons so she could e-mail her grandkids.
She only let a few people know last June when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Those of us who did know, fully expected her to beat it.
So it was like a body blow Aug. 9 when she died.
The club turned out in force at the funeral home visitation and her family was deeply touched at how much we cared about Martha and considered her a second mother to us all.
We offered a motorcycle escort to the cemetery and were grateful when the family enthusiastically accepted.
Consequently, a week ago yesterday about 30 of us gathered at Little Flower Catholic Church on the eastside of Indianapolis. I had the honor of riding the second bike in the procession that totaled 16 motorcycles as we preceded the hearse down the leafy streets of her old neighborhood and on to a southside Catholic cemetery.
This was no rolling thunder Harley-Davidson loud pipes affair. This was a staggered line of elegantly quiet gleaming autobahn burners with properly attired riders - all helmets, boots and jackets.
We learned later that Martha had requested such a sendoff and we were honored to have made that last ride with her before sending her off to ride into eternity with Charlie.