I recently posted the following Big Lie on a forum for Cushman motor scooter collectors. There were no comments. Maybe they:
1. Lack a sense of humor
2. Didn't fall for it even for a minute
3. Didn't read it because it was too long
4. All or none of the above

Rare Bike
On a recent trip to Hawaii, I spent a lot of time at Poipu Beach on the south shore of Kauai. While I was there, I became aquainted with a man who was half native Hawaiian and half Chinese. His name was Dan. His family left Kauai when he was about six and moved to Arizona. After he finished college, he returned to Kauai and spent almost 40
years as a teacher and later a principal. About the time of his retirement, he learned that
an uncle he hadn't seen in years had died. When his cousins were settling the estate they
ran across a bicycle that he had owned. He had left it with the uncle when he went off to college and soon forgot about it.

None of the cousins was interested in it, so they crated it up and shipped it to Poipu. It was in remarkable condition, due partly to the dry climate in Arizona and partly to the
way he had carefully cleaned and waxed it on a regular basis.

Now for the strange part of the story. The day I met Dan, I was sitting on the beach at
Poipu wearing a Cushman hat that I got at the SECC meet last fall at Philadelphia, Tennessee. He saw the Cushman logo on the hat and commented that he
had a Cushman. Naturally, I asked if I could see it. We drove to his home which was only about a quarter mile from the beach, and there, proudly displayed in the living room was his Cushman. It
was the bicycle. It had fat, 26 inch tires, a New Departure coaster brake, a skip-link
chain and a springer front fork. The shield-shaped badge on the head tube said "Cushman" in the familiar script. Under that were the words
"Lincoln, Nebraska." The badge was chrome plating over brass, which showed through where the
chrome had worn off. The horn tank also carried the Cushman name in script. The springs were on the side of the front wheel just behind the axle
in an arrangement that looked like a minature version of the early 50 series scooters.
The headlight was mounted just below and slightly ahead of the handlebar, in front of the badge. It looked like a half-scale Scoot-Lite, but I could see no brand on it. The batteries for the light and horn were carred inside the horn tank.
The paint was red, faded almost to brown, with white penstripes. This same color scheme was used on the wheels. There were two glass reflectors on
the rear, one on the fender and the other on a short carrier, below and behind the seat.
The seat was molded brown leather. He said the only parts that were not original were the
grips and pedals.

I know that most of you are unaware that Cushman made bicycles. Would I lie to you? Well, I think of it mostly as pulling your leg. If Cushman
didn't make bicycles, they
should have, and I think I know as well as anybody what what they would have looked like.
For the record, I really did spend some time at Poipu a couple of weeks ago, but Dan is only a figment. Too bad. I think I would have liked him.
Howard

Okay, Rinkpeople, don't you think a yarn like that deserves at least an insult or some kind of comment?
H