James Sharp:  

Hi friends! Well, after an interesting year in 2024, things have sort of settled back into normal for me, albeit a new type of normalcy. I lost my wife of 30 years, Cathy, in September of '24. That pretty much upended me for a few months. Cathy and I did not have any children. If you have experienced the death of a spouse, you know how it impacts your life. In 2003, Cathy and I had moved from Dunedin to northern Alachua County, FL. I still reside in this area. For the past 25 years, I have been making a living in sales in the HVAC industry. I get to travel quite a bit for work, mostly in the eastern US. But I'm not a road warrior and I have worked remotely since long before covid. Cathy and I lived on five acres, which I sold in December, about 20 miles north of Gainesville FL. I'm still living the country life near High Springs. If you went to Epiphany Catholic School in the early-70's, you might remember my late mother who taught there. She lived on our property from 2009 until just before her death in 2020 (age 92). My "now" photo is me with my former sister-in-law, Melissa, taken at Chillowhee Mountain in far southeastern Tennessee in May of 2025. Melissa and I are now engaged. It is amazing how God closed one door of my life while simultaneously opening another. I say a prayer giving thanks every night before I go to sleep and then again in the morning after I awaken. And I've never really been that religious. But I am beyond blessed; I know that. I have been riding motorcycles since junior high. I got my first motorcycle in 9th grade (a new 1974 Kawasaki G-5 100) and have owned at least one bike ever since. In 2023, I purchased a new BMW R1250RS. What a bada** machine. It was my first brand-new motorcycle in 35 years. I'm an old geezer living fo...Expand for more