newlywed tim...

so, on wednesday night newlywed tim called me and said that he had done some reseach on the 1980 batavus regencey and that he was coming over to look at the moped. "finally," he said, "let's figure out what's wrong with this thing and get you riding it before frostbite sets in."

he came over, we chit-chatted, wheeled the bike out of my garage and then he proceeded to give it a meticulous once-over to see what he could find. i brought him a bottle of water, some towels for working and kneeling on and left him, a kid in a candy store, to tinker around with the bike, that he himself declared as "awesome."

a good hour and a half later, i had lost myself in iTunes... i mean studying for graduate school, and didn't realize how long he had been out in the driveway. suddenly i heard him in the kitchen washing his hands. he told me that he had spent most of the last hour or so checking all the parts to see what exactly was missing, before we (as if i had anything to do with the process) could move forward with diagnosing the problem, much less fixing it. then he said throttle a few times, rubber sealant at least once and gas tank. he then told me he was taking the filter and tank with him and declared he would return in a week or so after more research.

i then offered to buy him ice cream for his time and so we walked a couple of blocks to the local ice cream dive in my neighborhood. as we sat eating our sundaes, we talked of mopeds, life, and the good feeling of having people in each other's lives to share, laugh, enjoy, support and care for one another during times of family distress as in his case or moped distress as in my case.

we returned home, i thanked him again, wished him well and off he drove into the crisp night air.
i realized after spending quality time with newlywed tim that moped or not, he and his wife, newlywed stephanie, also my friend, who was on the west coast at the time comforting another friend in distress, are good people.....and those, you don't come across every day. hopefully you know their type, big smiles and even bigger hearts.

THAT is newlywed tim....my personal moped mechanic and friend.

more to come...