Daddy and the Suzuki Shop

I drove through Cullman the other day - where Little Bit was before April 27th. There is only a blue and red cement floor, but that floor stirred so many memories for me!

The year was 1974. I graduated from West Point High School and immediately started working for Daddy at the Suzuki shop - where Little Bit was...until April 27th. Daddy worked for Bill Smith and Jimmy Waldrop who, at the time, owned the shop. My cousin, Michael Butler, was working for Daddy too. Michael, who went on to be a successful accountant, was...and probably still is...a pretty good mechanic.

I was the parts girl. Don't ge me wrong. I knew absolutely nothing about motorcycle parts, but I figured I could learn, and Daddy gave me a chance. That whole summer Daddy and I drove motorcycles home and back to work. No way would I get on a motorcycle now unless there is absolutely nobody else on the road. But I was young and Daddy always thought I could do anything I wanted - including driving a motorcycle. He taught me how to do that exactly the way he taught me how to drive anything I ever drove (a stick shift, once...and only once...one of his big trucks, a tractor, and a motorcycle) - he put me on or in and said, "Drive." When I asked, "How?" He said, "You'll figure it out."

And I did. I still do, and he still has confidence in my ability to do anything. Gotta love a daddy like that.

But back to the blue and red cement floor. It was blue and red then too. There were two wide doors into the building and a garage-type door out. In between was the sidewalk - which survived April 27th.
Before housing the Suzuki shop Mitch Smith Chevrolet was there if I remember correctly. Probably the same blue and red floors.

So the other day when I was driving through and I saw those floors, I was reminded of one day when Daddy put on a helmet that was way too small, got onto a little 75 Suzuki, and drove through the store, out the doors, down the sidwalk, and back into the other doors singing "Taking Care of Business" at the top of his lungs. Gotta love a daddy with a sense of humor, and mine has one!

For just a moment I was 17 just out of high school with the whole world in front of me. For just a moment my daddy was young. For just a moment.

I don't know what they'll build there, but I'm guessing they'll cover those blue and red cement floors. And in a few years nobody will remember them.

Some change seems small and insignificant...but this one doesn't to me.