Evan sat at his bedroom window and stared at the night sky. It had been a strange day for him indeed. He thought about what happened and smiled. Today was a turning point. A day when he summoned all of his courage and made a decision on his own, against the wishes of his parents and everyone else who thought they knew him.

He registered for classes at Ganton Valley High this morning. At fifteen years of age, he was excited at the prospect of a new challenge. Education came easy for Evan. He could maintain a 3.8 GPA without trying. But now it was time to learn something new, to learn to use his hands, along with his mind. To be able to create things that people could see and touch, and be amazed by, this was his dream.

Evan registered for metal shop and knew that his parents would be angry, and they were. They wanted him to continue learning traditional arts, whilst studying other boring subjects to achieve a respectable career. His parents were both professional people and wanted Evan to be the same. Still it was a sleepless night, filled with anticipation, for new things to come. His life was beginning.

The school bell rang; the classroom was full, but still no teacher. Everyone knew Evan. He was a very likable person, although he had few close friends. And now they wondered what he was doing sitting in the shop class with them. He sat quietly; this was the day he had been waiting for. Then the teacher arrived, rolled in actually. He was in a wheel chair. A man of ordinary build and appearance, name was Mr. Henry Ellis, Mr. Ellis to the class. His voice was powerful and commanded attention. Evan wondered if this was a practiced technique to command respect, due to the wheel chair. No matter to Evan, who listened intently, absorbing everything.

As the days turned into weeks, Evan’s parents noticed the change in him. A positive change. He seemed happier and newly motivated. As angry and disappointed as they were previously, they couldn’t help but be happy. He was becoming a man, making his own decisions, and if the result of his choices were positive, then life would be okay.

Evan learned quickly. As months passed, he learned to use of tools, to assemble and disassemble, to bend, cut and weld, to use machines. He was at the head of his class and he couldn’t get enough. He started to study metallurgy in his spare time. To understand the properties of the materials that he loved to work with. Henry Ellis was quite impressed with Evan. It had been a long time since he had such an enthusiastic and gifted student, and he felt that it was time to enhance Evan’s enthusiasm.

After class one day, Henry Ellis held Evan back.

“Evan, have you given any thought to what you want to do after you graduate?”

“Not as far as a career Mr. Ellis, I just want to keep learning, to experience different things, to see the world and to wake up every day feeling the same enthusiasm that I do right now.” Henry couldn’t believe the scope this boy contained, and decided right then, that he would do everything possible to help Evan find his way.

“Do you like motorcycles Evan?” Evan never really thought about it. He saw plenty of small commuter bikes and multi-colored sport bikes, and they were “okay”, but nothing really interested him.

“Sure, they seem like fun.” He said.

“I’d like you to come over to my house on Saturday morning. I have something I need a hand with, okay?”

“Sure Mr. Ellis, see you then”. Evan’s interest was peaked. What could a man as knowledgeable as Mr. Ellis, possibly need help with.

“Patience Evan”, he thought to himself, “You’ll find out on Saturday”.

On Saturday morning, Evan was up early. He dressed and gobbled breakfast, then told his mother that he was working with Mr. Ellis for the day. He couldn’t wait to get started on whatever it was he would be doing. When arrived at Henry Ellis’s house, Henry was rolling out the front door.

“Morning Evan”, he called, “This way, to the garage.” Evan looked at the big four-car garage and couldn’t wait to see what kind of cool machinery might be inside. To his surprise, the garage was considerably empty. There was an old MGB convertible parked in the back, covered in dust, but appeared to be in good shape. A bunch of covered boxes were stacked next to it, a lathe, a drill press stood against one wall, and two large tool boxes, one on each side of a work bench, along the other wall. Henry rolled near the workbench. There was an object on the bench in front of him, covered by a sheet.

“A statue maybe, or some other piece of art,” thought Evan.

“Come over here Evan, I want to show you something”. Evan walked over to the bench as Henry removed the sheet. He couldn’t believe what he gazed at. It was the most beautiful thing Evan ever saw, all black and chrome and begging for attention. He knew it was an engine, but had no idea what this beauty was. He looked at Henry and asked

“What is it?” Henry replied,

“Son, this is a Panhead”………….

-----To be continued.

Dan “Ozzy” Franco

On to Part 2....