I'd like to tell you about a shop I stumbled onto in Baltimore, Maryland. I found some notes I made from that weekend visit around Christmas, and the rest of the details I culled from my Jack-soaked memory. Here's what happened:

I was traveling around the world on a rusting, 20-year-old freighter. When we meandered into some snow-covered harbor (always on the wrong side of town), I tried to find a brother who knew someone in the berg. I figured that if I didn’t, I’d be stuck sitting on the cold, concrete dock with a six-pack 'cause it's nearly impossible to find the way out of the steel ghetto and into a descent part of town. I thought of Frank Kaisler, the editor of Hot Rod Bikes, whom I knew was originally from Baltimore. I dropped a dime to the big guy in Los Angeles and he turned me onto a guy named Larry McCullough, who owns a shop called Pro Paint. I had never heard of Larry although Frank had covered his bikes several times in Hot Rod Bikes.

Larry, 31, is a nice guy who volunteered to introduce me to the strip joints on the outskirts of Baltimore and let me see the sights. The first night I spent with him we partied with some of his brothers and I found out that he has some inclination to become a Hamster. Don't hold that against him. As I got to know him I discovered a young builder with heart and taste. He works with his girlfriend, Debbie, who is a redhead, and redheads drive me right over the top. Add to that a set of tits that push hard against any top she wears and I was on the edge of my seat. In addition, she takes care of business. It's difficult to explain without sounding ridiculous, but this couple have the character and charisma of two people who would enhance any list of friends. I also saw their new home, a small clapboard house they’ve refurbished on the inside. Every thing they finish has class, taste and a serious sense of craftsman quality. I was dying to see the inside of Larry’s shop.

So we hit the town, got shit faced and made a plan to see the shop the next day. I don't know about you, but if a guy is going to work on my motorcycle, I want to make sure his shop isn’t a rat hole and that he isn’t just too cool to talk to. There's another aspect of dealing with builders we all face: Some shops are simply retail stores, some have a service department and some have a machine shop. Very few handle fabrication or modifications. Larry’s shop is located in an industrial building behind a gas station on North Point Boulevard in Baltimore. The shop is clean and detailed. All of his employees wear uniform shirts from the days when he worked for Ford. "I like the NASCAR team look," Larry said.