I'm a Lifer

I recently earned my Life Membership in the American Motorcyclist Association.
That's what you get if you join and renew anually for 25 years. I can't decide if it's a big deal to me or not. Probably not. It's just the consequence of doing something by habit for a quarter century. But then there are a lot of people who can't manage that kind of consistency in their lives, so I guess it's kinda significant.
Like the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America and the BMW Riders Association, I joined the AMA mostly to get their magazine.
I first saw the AMA mag in 1982 when I was hanging out at the BMW dealership in Grand Haven, Mich., while the mechanic fixed a drive shaft seal on my 1972 R50/5. It was my first out-of-state tour and my first wife was on the pillion seat when the drive shaft started hemhorraging hypoid gear oil onto the rear wheel rim, which in turn was flinging it onto my wife's legs, our luggage and everything else nearby.
The Grand Haven BMW shop appeared to do most of its business in wood stoves and snowmobiles. There were no BMWs in the showroom and nothing to tell you it was a BMW dealership other than the roundel sign hanging outside. I found a copy of the AMA magazine and spent an hour or so reading it, noting with interest an editorial cartoon by Jerry Barnett. I knew Jerry because he was an editorial cartoonist at The Indianapolis News but I had no idea he had a motorcycling connection.
The trip came at a time when leaded gasoline was being phased out and my 11-year-old motorcycle engine was not happy with unleaded fuel. I mentioned that to the mechanic at the dealership and he suggested I top off the tank with 100 octane leaded aviation gas at the airport just up the road. This, by the way, is illegal because aviation gas - like the gasoline used in agricultural applications - has no road tax included in the sale price.
Nevertheless, I rode up to the fuel shack at the airport and asked if I could buy a tankful of av-gas. The attendant gladly took my money and my bike ran amazingly well for the rest of the trip up to Beulah and Crystal Lake.
The Grand Haven BMW dealership is no more, Jerry is retired from newspapers but still cartoons for the AMA and I'm still a member.