The Life and Times of Bandit

Well here it is 2024. The years are flying by like the high line poles, to quote the late great Merle Haggard. I just turned 77. I finished building a classic style chopper for a young guy who thinks he wants to be part of the lifestyle. The bike came out nice and he loves

As usual, I don’t know where to start. The shop was finished and we experienced our first real winter in the Black Hills. The redhead slid off the driveway in her Subaru and it took two pickups, chains and an excavator to pull her back onto the concrete, and we don’t live on a hill…

This is going to be good, like the party of parties before the battle for freedom and America begins. I’ll stay between the white lines as I attempt to cover the rally and my first wild experience after relocating to the Black Hills and available for action every day. The constant hum of action prevailed

I’ve never been a fan of velocity stacks. One, I was just a hardworking sort and couldn’t afford top end jobs every year. I tried to build shit that was fast but would hang together. One time back in the ‘70s a brother called me and needed back up for a weed score in the

I’m trying to write something, but for the first time in my life I can’t get a solid story line rolling. I almost bought another chopper project yesterday. It would be my first build project in Deadwood. A buddy of mine came over yesterday. He’s from the old school Chicago streets and he’s a riddled

This is a strange one. I’ve been an outlaw most of my life and my drug of choice was women. I don’t know how to explain or if I can. I’m not proud to say, Laurie was one of the first episodes in a series of many. I’m reading a book by Dr. Pat Allen.

Sam picks for the Week October 27, 2020 This effort has forced me to think about all the bullshit in my past, the good and the bad. It makes me think about how and why I survived. I’m sure Sonny had to face the same demons when he started to write about his life. I

Hey, This is a test with Sam’s Picks of the Week as a backdrop. I’ve been bugged about a book about my life. But my life is checkered with ups and down and violent does and don’ts. So, this is sort of an attempt at an outline or rough story line. There won’t be a

This is going to be a tough one. Hell, this is one of the toughest years in a while. How the hell do you judge it. In a sense we don’t. We just deal with it and move on. That’s life. It’s always changing, whether we like it or not. I’ve studied Buddhism for a

Here’s some of the bikes I’ve had since the late ‘70s. There were several more, but they were just something to roll over and make a few bucks. I am currently buying a ‘98 1200 Sportster slightly wrecked for $1000. I’ll send pictures of what I am doing to it to make money to build

So, here is the story. After living in Boulder City, Nevada for eight years I decided I needed a change. I have a daughter in Oklahoma City and a son in Nashville. They both have homes with extra rooms for me. I have never really explored the east, so I packed up my old ‘86

I’ve known and worked with Gene Thomason at Bartels’ H-D in Marina Del Rey, California for about 35 years. He was always known for his Harley-Davidson and Marlboro Man bikes, but he worked with way more celebrities during his long history with Bartels. Gene has been with Bartels’ most of his adult life, for 35

This is a tough one. About five years ago, I turned 65 and my old lady of 14 years split. We would sit in bed with our first cup of coffee and kick around what was happening in our lives and the world. That sunny morning, she told me she couldn’t stand how my keys